Job 31:1 Study Bible: "I made a covenant with my eyes, how then should I look lustfully at a young woman?

◄ Job 31:1 ►

"I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze with desire at a virgin?

I have made a covenant with my eyes.
This phrase reflects a personal vow or commitment to purity and self-control. In biblical times, covenants were serious agreements, often involving solemn promises before God. Job's use of the term "covenant" indicates the gravity of his commitment to avoid lustful thoughts. The eyes are often seen as the gateway to the heart, and Job's proactive stance highlights the importance of guarding one's thoughts and intentions. This concept is echoed in Matthew 5:28, where Jesus teaches that looking at someone with lust is akin to committing adultery in the heart. Job's covenant is a precursor to the New Testament's emphasis on internal purity.

How then could I gaze with desire at a virgin?
In the cultural context of the ancient Near East, a "virgin" would typically refer to an unmarried young woman. Job's rhetorical question underscores his commitment to moral integrity and respect for others. The act of "gazing with desire" implies more than a casual look; it suggests a lingering, lustful intent. This aligns with the wisdom literature's broader theme of avoiding temptation and maintaining righteousness, as seen in Proverbs 6:25, which warns against lustful looks. Job's question also reflects a deep understanding of sin's progression, beginning with a look and potentially leading to more significant transgressions. This self-awareness and commitment to purity can be seen as a type of Christ, who was without sin and exemplified perfect self-control and respect for others.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Job
A man described as blameless and upright, who feared God and shunned evil. He is the central figure in the Book of Job, known for his immense suffering and unwavering faith.

2. Covenant
In this context, a solemn agreement or vow that Job makes with himself and before God, emphasizing his commitment to purity and righteousness.

3. Eyes
Symbolic of perception and desire, representing the gateway through which temptation can enter.

4. Virgin
Represents purity and innocence, highlighting the object of potential lust or inappropriate desire that Job is committed to avoiding.

5. Desire
The internal inclination or temptation that Job seeks to control through his covenant, emphasizing the moral and spiritual discipline required to maintain purity.

Teaching Points

Commitment to Purity
Job's covenant with his eyes serves as a model for believers to make intentional commitments to purity in thought and action.

Guarding the Heart
By controlling what we allow our eyes to see, we protect our hearts from sinful desires and maintain spiritual integrity.

Proactive Measures Against Temptation
Job's example teaches the importance of taking proactive steps to avoid situations that may lead to sin.

Inner vs. Outer Righteousness
True righteousness begins in the heart and mind, not just in outward actions. Job's internal covenant reflects this principle.

Accountability to God
Recognizing that our commitments are ultimately made before God, who sees and knows our hearts, encourages us to live with integrity.

Bible Study Questions

1. What does it mean to make a "covenant with your eyes," and how can this be applied in today's context?

2. How does Job's commitment to purity challenge or inspire your own approach to dealing with temptation?

3. In what ways can guarding your eyes help in maintaining a pure heart, according to biblical principles?

4. How do the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament reinforce the principles found in Job 31:1?

5. What practical steps can you take to ensure that your thoughts and desires align with God's standards of purity?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Matthew 5:28
Jesus speaks about looking at a woman with lustful intent, equating it to committing adultery in the heart. This connection underscores the importance of internal purity, aligning with Job's commitment.

Proverbs 4:23
Advises guarding the heart, as it is the wellspring of life. This relates to Job's proactive stance in guarding his eyes to protect his heart from sinful desires.

Psalm 101:3
The psalmist declares a commitment to set no vile thing before their eyes, paralleling Job's covenant with his eyes to avoid sin.

Sermons

Guard the Senses	Gurnall, William	Job 31:1-32
Methods of Moral Life	Joseph Parker, D. D.	Job 31:1-32
Solemn Assurances of Innocence	E. Johnson	Job 31:1-40
The Consciousness of Integrity	R. Green	Job 31:1-40

People

Abaddon, Adam, Job

Places

Topics

Agreement, Attend, Covenant, Fix, Gaze, Girl, Lustfully, Maid, Regard, Virgin

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Job 31:1

     1466   vision
     5149   eyes
     6237   sexual sin, nature of
     6241   seduction
     6242   adultery
     8299   love, in relationships
     8326   purity, moral and spiritual
     8339   self-control
     8777   lust

Library

Thou Shalt not Steal.
This Commandment also has a work, which embraces very many good works, and is opposed to many vices, and is called in German Mildigkeit, "benevolence;" which is a work ready to help and serve every one with one's goods. And it fights not only against theft and robbery, but against all stinting in temporal goods which men may practise toward one another: such as greed, usury, overcharging and plating wares that sell as solid, counterfeit wares, short measures and weights, and who could tell all the …
Dr. Martin Luther—A Treatise on Good Works

Question of the Active Life
I. Do all Acts of the Moral Virtues come under the Active Life? II. Does Prudence pertain to the Active Life? III. Does Teaching belong to the Active or to the Contemplative Life? IV. Does the Active Life continue after this Life? I Do all Acts of the Moral Virtues come under the Active Life? S. Isidore says[407]: "In the active life all the vices are first of all to be removed by the practice of good works, so that in the contemplative life a man may, with now purified mental gaze, pass to the …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life

Whether virtue is in us by Nature?
Objection 1: It would seem that virtue is in us by nature. For Damascene says (De Fide Orth. iii, 14): "Virtues are natural to us and are equally in all of us." And Antony says in his sermon to the monks: "If the will contradicts nature it is perverse, if it follow nature it is virtuous." Moreover, a gloss on Mat. 4:23, "Jesus went about," etc., says: "He taught them natural virtues, i.e. chastity, justice, humility, which man possesses naturally." Objection 2: Further, the virtuous good consists …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether after Christ, it was Proper to the Blessed virgin to be Sanctified in the Womb?
Objection 1: It would seem that it was proper for the Blessed Virgin, after Christ, to be sanctified in the womb. For it has been said [4131](A[4]) that the Blessed Virgin was sanctified in the womb, in order that she might be worthy to be the mother of God. But this is proper to her. Therefore she alone was sanctified in the womb. Objection 2: Further, some men seem to have been more closely connected with Christ than Jeremias and John the Baptist, who are said to have been sanctified in the womb. …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether Corporal Alms are of More Account than Spiritual Alms?
Objection 1: It would seem that corporal alms are of more account than spiritual alms. For it is more praiseworthy to give an alms to one who is in greater want, since an almsdeed is to be praised because it relieves one who is in need. Now the body which is relieved by corporal alms, is by nature more needy than the spirit which is relieved by spiritual alms. Therefore corporal alms are of more account. Objection 2: Further, an alms is less praiseworthy and meritorious if the kindness is compensated, …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether Confession is According to the Natural Law?
Objection 1: It would seem that confession is according to the natural law. For Adam and Cain were bound to none but the precepts of the natural law, and yet they are reproached for not confessing their sin. Therefore confession of sin is according to the natural law. Objection 2: Further, those precepts which are common to the Old and New Law are according to the natural law. But confession was prescribed in the Old Law, as may be gathered from Is. 43:26: "Tell, if thou hast anything to justify …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether one Can, Without a Mortal Sin, Deny the Truth which Would Lead to One's Condemnation?
Objection 1: It would seem one can, without a mortal sin, deny the truth which would lead to one's condemnation. For Chrysostom says (Hom. xxxi super Ep. ad Heb.): "I do not say that you should lay bare your guilt publicly, nor accuse yourself before others." Now if the accused were to confess the truth in court, he would lay bare his guilt and be his own accuser. Therefore he is not bound to tell the truth: and so he does not sin mortally if he tell a lie in court. Objection 2: Further, just as …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

The Advanced Christian Reminded of the Mercies of God, and Exhorted to the Exercise of Habitual Love to Him, and Joy in Him.
1. A holy joy in God, our privilege as well as our duty.--2. The Christian invited to the exercise of it.--3. By the consideration of temporal mercies.--4. And of spiritual favors.--5. By the views of eternal happiness.--6. And of the mercies of God to others, the living and the dead.--7. The chapter closes with an exhortation to this heavenly exercise. And with an example of the genuine workings of this grateful joy in God. 1. I WOULD now suppose my reader to find, on an examination of his spiritual …
Philip Doddridge—The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul

Trials of the Christian
AFFLICTION--ITS NATURE AND BENEFITS. The school of the cross is the school of light; it discovers the world's vanity, baseness, and wickedness, and lets us see more of God's mind. Out of dark afflictions comes a spiritual light. In times of affliction, we commonly meet with the sweetest experiences of the love of God. The end of affliction is the discovery of sin; and of that, to bring us to a Saviour. Doth not God ofttimes even take occasion, by the hardest of things that come upon us, to visit …
John Bunyan—The Riches of Bunyan

The Christian Business World
Scripture references: Proverbs 22:29; Romans 12:11; Psalms 24:1; 50:10-12; Haggai 2:8; Psalm 49:6,10,16,17; 62:10; Matthew 13:22; Mark 10:23,24; Job 31:24-26; Proverbs 3:9; Matthew 25:14-30; 24:45-51; 6:19-21; Luke 12:16-21. THE IDEAL IN THE BUSINESS WORLD There is often a wide difference between the methods actually employed in doing business and when they should be. Good men who are in the thick of the battle of competition and rivalry with other firms in the same line of trade, are the quickest …
Henry T. Sell—Studies in the Life of the Christian

The Seventh Commandment
Thou shalt not commit adultery.' Exod 20: 14. God is a pure, holy spirit, and has an infinite antipathy against all uncleanness. In this commandment he has entered his caution against it; non moechaberis, Thou shalt not commit adultery.' The sum of this commandment is, The preservations of corporal purity. We must take heed of running on the rock of uncleanness, and so making shipwreck of our chastity. In this commandment there is something tacitly implied, and something expressly forbidden. 1. The …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

Tit. 2:06 Thoughts for Young Men
WHEN St. Paul wrote his Epistle to Titus about his duty as a minister, he mentioned young men as a class requiring peculiar attention. After speaking of aged men and aged women, and young women, he adds this pithy advice, "Young men likewise exhort to be sober-minded" (Tit. 2:6). I am going to follow the Apostle's advice. I propose to offer a few words of friendly exhortation to young men. I am growing old myself, but there are few things I remember so well as the days of my youth. I have a most …
John Charles Ryle—The Upper Room: Being a Few Truths for the Times

Thoughts Upon Worldly-Riches. Sect. Ii.
TIMOTHY after his Conversion to the Christian Faith, being found to be a Man of great Parts, Learning, and Piety, and so every way qualified for the work of the Ministry, St. Paul who had planted a Church at Ephesus the Metropolis or chief City of all Asia, left him to dress and propagate it, after his departure from it, giving him Power to ordain Elders or Priests, and to visit and exercise Jurisdiction over them, to see they did not teach false Doctrines, 1 Tim. i. 3. That they be unblameable in …
William Beveridge—Private Thoughts Upon a Christian Life

Job
The book of Job is one of the great masterpieces of the world's literature, if not indeed the greatest. The author was a man of superb literary genius, and of rich, daring, and original mind. The problem with which he deals is one of inexhaustible interest, and his treatment of it is everywhere characterized by a psychological insight, an intellectual courage, and a fertility and brilliance of resource which are nothing less than astonishing. Opinion has been divided as to how the book should be …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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