let God weigh me in honest scales
and he will know that I am blameless—
Job 31:6 | NIV | Other Versions | Context
Brief
Job was frustrated. He did not understand why he was made to suffer so much, and he did not understand how he could alleviate his suffering. Perhaps his frustration would have been lessened had his 3 friends not antagonised and villainised him. But again and again he asked to be weighed & scaled – either to measure the depths of his pain [Job 6:2-3], or to measure his righteousness against God [Job 23:10]. Job was a man who knew God better than others, and he was a man who knew himself. He knew, that according to the righteousness of God, he had been blameless. He had lived a life that upheld the righteousness of the Lord. If he were to be tested, he knew that he would score an A+. His integrity was something he constantly insisted upon [Job 27:5], and he had always maintained his innocence [Job 27:6]. Well, Job wasn’t wrong – he was indeed blameless, and God indeed knows it [Job 1:8]. But how many of us today can recite this verse for ourselves? In today’s study, we will focus our attention on the heavenly scale of God, and what it means for us.
Analysis – Our Scales vs God’s scales
You know how a faulty scale can be infuriating? Try asking a lady to stand on a faulted weighing machine. That extra decimal or so could kick start a diet. Try baking some pastries with a faulted scale. It is a guarantee for disaster. Now, even if we try our very best to keep our scales accurate, there will always be some buffer of error. That is not even addressing the many who often intentionally tamper with their scales in deceit and falsehood. Often, when we measure ourselves against our own scales, we find ourselves to be satisfactory. Great, even. That’s natural, for with our limited scope and perspective, we are privy only to the sides of others that we can see. Or, when we measure ourselves against the scales of others, of the society, we may find ourselves perpetually inferior. But that too, is a weighted scale, a flawed scale, a scale that will not accurately let us see how much we weigh up to.
But here, Job isn’t telling men to weigh him on humanly scales. Job is referring to God’s own scales. The heavenly scales. The personal scales of God.
honest scales – perhaps the most significant difference between the heavenly scales and our very humanly scales are the accuracy of it. Try as we may, there is always some extent of human error in our scaling. Maybe it is insignificant. But God’s scales are honest, and beyond honest. It simply cannot stray from the truth. God values honesty in scales and weights to the point where it was established as a law in the early days of Israel – You must have accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you [Deu 25:15|Article]. Our Lord is just, and he detests dishonesty – The Lord detests dishonest scales, but accurate weights find favor with him [Proverbs 11:1]. Hence, his scales cannot be dishonest. His scales reflect our true nature, our true thoughts, our true desires. His scales reflect the things that we have done while nobody is looking. There is nothing hidden. There is no fault in this scale. There is no margin for error.
and he will know that I am blameless – Job knew, that he himself has led a pure and simple life, and thus he wasn’t afraid to be weighed upon the scales of God. He wasn’t wrong. He was indeed blameless, and God knows all about it. It was the Lord himself who first declared it to Satan, in amazing words – There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil [Job 1:8]. Job knew himself. But above and beyond that, Job knew that God knows him. Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts [Psa 139:23]. God knows all of us, most intimately. Not just our names and our faces, but he knows us without us having to say a word about ourselves. He knows more about us, than we would ever know about ourselves. He knows us, and thus there is no need to explain ourselves to him. There is no need to defend ourselves or to boast of our deeds when we’re face-to-face with God.
Conclusion
Looking back on your Christian life so far, what has been your testimonial as a Christian? Can you be measured on God’s scales? If we weigh ourselves on humanly scales, most of us would likely get a good score. We would probably be regarded as good Christians, too. But does it just stop there? Do we just satisfy ourselves with humanly recognition and acknowledgement that we are holy? Do we just delude ourselves with the good number that is reflected on the humanly weighing machine, without facing the extra flabbiness that has appeared on our waist over the years? Without condemning ourselves, and without playing the guilt game, let us think deeper about how much we will amount to, if we are truly weighed on God’s scales. Job could call to be weighed on the heavenly scales – and he would do fine, for his acknowledgement came from God himself.
But, what about us?
God bless,
Z.
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