What would be my portion from God above and my heritage from the Almighty on high?
Job has just made a promise about what his eyes will look at. This verse gives his reason. He asks what God above would hand down to a man who lives by other rules — and the question shows both the strength and the weakness of Job's whole defence.
The eyes and the God above
Job guarded his eyes because of what he believed about God. One writer links the promise of verse 1 to the reason given in verse 2:
Leslie M. GrantHe says he had made a covenant with his eyes (v.1). That is, he had decided he would not be seduced by what his eyes observed. He would clearly look away from anything that might be tempting. For he recognised that God above knew every thought of his heart, for the Almighty was high above Job (v.2). So destruction was not meant for Job, but for the workers of iniquity (v.3). Job knew that God watched his ways and the details of every step (v.4).
Portion and inheritance from on high
The verse uses two names for God. A closer rendering keeps the Hebrew words behind "God" and "the Almighty":
William KellyAnd what would be the portion of Eloah from above, and inheritance of Shaddai from on high?
The answer Job expects — and its limit
Job asks because the answer is obvious. One writer gives it, then adds what a clean record still lacks:
William KellyNone at all for a corrupt man who takes advantage of another… He had a perfectly good conscience, but that is not enough. There is the great principle of self-judgment. There is also the grand principle of full submission to God, and of vindicating Him — He is right and wise in everything, not only in what He does, but in what He allows. It is all for good.
Purity guarded at its entrance
Job shut the door at the eye. One writer connects this with other Scripture, and with two men who faced the same test:
Samuel RidoutHis eyes, the avenue to the heart, had been closed by full purpose — a "covenant," against even a look at what might stir up passion. Our Lord in the "sermon on the mount" had shown that real purity must be in the heart, not only in outward self-control (Matt. 5:27-28). Claiming his purity, Job points out that the fear of God moved him, and that God would repay sin on the wicked. "How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" said Joseph when the woman pressed him to sin (Gen. 39:9). In an hour of spiritual sloth, David had allowed his eyes to wander, and had fallen (2 Sam. 11:2).
Where the defence goes wrong
Job really was upright. The problem is what he did with that fact:
J. N. DarbyJob was upright, but he began to make this his righteousness. That proves he had never really been in the presence of God… In Job 29 we also find that his heart had dwelt on his upright and kind life with satisfaction. He commended himself, and fed his self-love with it. "When the eye saw me it gave witness to me." God was bringing him to say, "Now my eye sees You and I abhor myself."
Another writer names what that mistake costs:
Samuel RidoutJob's thoughts are mixed: he is not exactly meeting God as a sinner, but as one who is conscious of "the root of the matter" in his heart. His mistake is to confuse this with his own personal worthiness, and so spoil the very thought of grace. Who of all the sons of men could stand before a thrice holy God, and say "I am clean?" "In Your sight shall no man living be justified."
Summary
- Above. Job guarded his eyes because God is above him. He knows every thought of the heart, not just behaviour.
- Portion. The verse asks what God hands down from on high. For a corrupt man who takes advantage of another, the answer is nothing at all.
- Entrance. Job shut the door at the eye, "the avenue to the heart." Real purity lies in the heart, not only in outward restraint.
- Conscience. A perfectly good conscience is not enough. Self-judgment is still needed, and full submission to God — even to what He allows.
- Grace. Job's uprightness was real, but he made it his righteousness. He mixed it up with his own worthiness, and that spoils the very thought of grace. God brought him to say, "Now my eye sees You and I abhor myself."