Job 31:9-12
9 “If my heart has been enticed toward a woman, and I have lain in wait at my neighbor's door,
10 then let my wife grind for another, and let others bow down on her.
11 For that would be a heinous crime; that would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges;
12 for that would be a fire that consumes as far as Abaddon, and it would burn to the root all my increase.
This is a bold statement. How we would feel if our spouse cheated us like we cheat them? We would probably feel angry and betrayed, and rightfully so. But Job is so aware of the wrong of adultery that he declares that it would be a just punishment if he was guilty of adultery himself. He didn't have any illusions about holding his wife to a higher level of purity than he himself was willing to do. Yet so often we selfishly think that others should be perfect while we indulge in sin. Job realized the seriousness of his sin (verse 11), and thus was willing to make a serious covenant (look back at verse 1) to be pure.
Lord, I confess to judging others while wanting grace for my own behavior. Help me to see the seriousness of my own sin.
9 “If my heart has been enticed toward a woman, and I have lain in wait at my neighbor's door,
10 then let my wife grind for another, and let others bow down on her.
11 For that would be a heinous crime; that would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges;
12 for that would be a fire that consumes as far as Abaddon, and it would burn to the root all my increase.
This is a bold statement. How we would feel if our spouse cheated us like we cheat them? We would probably feel angry and betrayed, and rightfully so. But Job is so aware of the wrong of adultery that he declares that it would be a just punishment if he was guilty of adultery himself. He didn't have any illusions about holding his wife to a higher level of purity than he himself was willing to do. Yet so often we selfishly think that others should be perfect while we indulge in sin. Job realized the seriousness of his sin (verse 11), and thus was willing to make a serious covenant (look back at verse 1) to be pure.
Lord, I confess to judging others while wanting grace for my own behavior. Help me to see the seriousness of my own sin.