S) "3 For as long as life is in me,
And the breath of God is in my nostrils,
4 My lips certainly will not speak unjustly,
Nor will my tongue mutter deceit."
Job 27:3-4 (NASB)
O) There are many ways in which Job can be seen as an example for holy living. Obviously, God saw him as righteous (see the beginning of his story), and that righteous way of life extended to many areas of his life. Here, we see Job proclaim and affirm his honesty. The Hebrew word life, here, can actually be translated literally as breath, and the Hebrew word for breath, here, can literally be translated as Spirit. In Hebrew, the concepts for life, breath, and spirit are all very closely related. With the way that Job presented his statement, it gives the sense that his honesty is almost by compulsion. That is to say, because the spirit/breath of God was in his nostrils, giving him life, then as long as he has life/breath, he can only speak justly, and can only be honest. Because speaking unjustly and even muttering deceit would be against God's character, and this same God is who sustained Job's very life, his breath, then there was no way he could, with that same breath-spirit-life, speak lies.
A) Honesty became a very big issue for me, when I submitted my life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. I had lived such a deceitful life when I was rebelling against God, that it was one of the most stark differences between my life apart from Jesus, and my life with Jesus. In my marriage, and in my family, we place a very high premium on honesty. Without clinging to the truth, and in fact clinging to the Truth, every other part of my life will fall apart. Repentance and confession, sacrifice and compassion, teaching and serving, these all require truth in order to function. The way that Job presents the need for honesty, as a fundamental, necessary, axiomatic part of the very life within him, this is probably the very best way to explain the need for honesty. God gives me life, gives me breath. The Holy Spirit within me, gives me life and breathes into every part of me. So how could I, with that same breath, mutter lies or speak unjustly. If lies are every anything less than repugnant to me, then I should be alarmed.
P) Father, Your grace is upon me is readily apparent. I cannot abide lies in my life; they eat away at my soul. I confess that lies still try to creep in. There are still times, situations, instances however rare, when I am tempted to lie. I confess that I have crumbled under those temptations. Forgive my lying lips, Father God. Stoke the fire of Your Spirit within me, to purge me of lies that corrupt my heart. Let me lead my family in honesty, as an example of how You change Your children to reflect Your Truth. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
very nice blog.
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