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Job 31:16-18
16 If I have withheld [mana`] the poor [dal] from their
desire [chephets], or have caused the eyes [`ayin] of the widow ['almanah] to
fail [kalah];
17 Or have eaten ['akal] my morsel [path] myself
alone, and the fatherless [yathowm] hath not
eaten ['akal] thereof;
18 (For from my youth [na`uwr] he was brought up [gadal]
with me, as with a father ['ab], and I have
guided [nachah] her from my mother's ['em] womb [beten];) KJV-Interlinear
16 'If I have kept the poor from
their desire, Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail, 17 Or have eaten my morsel alone, And the
orphan has not shared it 18 (But from my
youth he grew up with me as with a father, And from infancy I guided her), NASB
The calamities of life fall hardest on the slaves, the
poor, the orphaned, and the widows. It
is these groups that cannot fend for themselves, and of which the world often
times takes advantage.
In the previous verses, Job expresses how he has
treated those who were employed by him.
Some with high positions or rank within his organization, and many who
held lesser rank or positions in his employ.
Whether a skilled or an unskilled worker, their position in life was
never used by Job to his advantage over them in their positions of
disadvantage.
Job grew up as a man of wealth and means. He possessed both wealth, intellect, ad
position within society. He could have
used his good fortune to elevate himself (snobbishly) over those who were of a
lesser stature in life. But Job did not
look condescendingly down on anyone.
If someone in need came to him with a request, he
fulfilled it. Some folks of means might
withhold small amounts of money, a blanket, or even a small portion of food
from someone simply because they were too busy, or they just did not want to
take the time (waste their time) on someone who was obviously 'beneath' their
own level in society.
But Job treated everyone as he would treat the members
of his own family. He did not make
everyday a Christmas day, but used prudence and discretion and common sense in
his dealings with people.
With the poor who had no resources for their own self-care,
with orphans who lacked parental guidance and support, with widows who lacked
the male driving force and stability in their life, Job dealt with all in a compassionate
and sensible manner.
From his youth, from a very early age, from the womb, from
infancy, which is an expression which means 'all of his life as far back as he
can remember,' he has dealt with people in this manner.
We know nothing about his younger years, but from the
day of ones birth, when a person who grows up with manners and empathy toward
others, reflects on his parents and the training he received as a young man. It also reflects on the foundations of his
personal character.
Now is the time to post a prayer.
End Of Lesson
Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth.
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