◄ Job 31:4 ►
Does He not see my ways and count my every step?
Study Bible
Does He not see
The phrase "Does He not see" emphasizes the omniscience of God. In Hebrew, the word for "see" is "רָאָה" (ra'ah), which implies not just a casual glance but a deep, penetrating insight. This reflects the belief that God is all-seeing and all-knowing, a theme that runs throughout the Bible. The rhetorical question posed by Job underscores his awareness of God's intimate knowledge of human actions and thoughts. It serves as a reminder that nothing is hidden from God, aligning with passages like Psalm 139:1-4, which speak of God's comprehensive understanding of our lives.

my ways
The term "my ways" refers to the paths or courses of action that Job takes in his life. In Hebrew, "דֶּרֶךְ" (derekh) is often used to denote a person's conduct or manner of living. This word choice suggests that Job is speaking about the entirety of his life journey, including his moral and ethical decisions. The use of "ways" in the plural form indicates the complexity and multitude of choices and actions that define a person's life. Job's assertion that God sees his ways is a testament to his belief in living a life of integrity and righteousness, knowing that God observes all.

and count
The word "count" in this context is derived from the Hebrew "סָפַר" (safar), which means to number or to take account of. This implies a meticulous and detailed observation by God, who not only sees but also evaluates and records each action. The idea of God counting suggests a level of accountability and precision in His judgment. It reassures believers that God is attentive to every detail of their lives, reinforcing the notion of divine justice and the importance of living a life that aligns with God's will.

my every step
The phrase "my every step" highlights the individual actions and decisions that make up Job's daily life. In Hebrew, "צַעַד" (tsa'ad) refers to a step or stride, symbolizing progress and movement. This imagery conveys the idea that God is aware of even the smallest actions, emphasizing His intimate involvement in the lives of His people. The notion of God counting every step serves as both a comfort and a challenge to believers, encouraging them to walk in righteousness and be mindful of their actions, knowing that each step is observed by God.

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. God
The omniscient and omnipresent Creator, who is the ultimate judge of human actions and thoughts. In this verse, Job acknowledges God's all-seeing nature.

3. The Land of Uz
The setting of the Book of Job, traditionally considered to be in the region of Edom or northern Arabia. It is where Job lived and experienced his trials.

4. Job's Friends
Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, who visit Job to offer counsel and challenge his understanding of suffering and righteousness.

5. Satan
The adversary who challenges Job's integrity, suggesting that his faithfulness is due to his prosperity and protection from God.
Teaching Points
God's Omniscience
God sees and knows all our actions and thoughts. This should encourage us to live with integrity, knowing that nothing is hidden from Him.

Integrity in Suffering
Job's declaration is part of his defense of his integrity. Even in suffering, we are called to maintain our righteousness and trust in God's justice.

Accountability
Recognizing that God counts our every step should lead us to a life of accountability, where we are mindful of our actions and their alignment with God's will.

Comfort in God's Knowledge
For the believer, God's omniscience is a source of comfort, knowing that He is aware of our struggles and is with us in every step.

Self-Examination
Job's statement invites us to examine our own lives and consider whether we are living in a way that is pleasing to God, knowing He sees all.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Job's acknowledgment of God's omniscience challenge us to live differently in our daily lives?

2. In what ways can the knowledge that God "counts our every step" provide comfort during times of trial?

3. How does Job 31:4 relate to the concept of integrity, and how can we apply this in our personal and professional lives?

4. What other biblical characters demonstrate an awareness of God's all-seeing nature, and how did it affect their actions?

5. How can we cultivate a heart that is transparent before God, knowing that He sees and knows everything about us?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Psalm 139
This Psalm speaks of God's intimate knowledge of us, echoing Job's acknowledgment of God's awareness of his ways and steps.

Proverbs 5:21
This verse highlights that a man's ways are before the eyes of the Lord, reinforcing the theme of divine oversight.

Hebrews 4:13
This New Testament passage emphasizes that nothing is hidden from God's sight, aligning with Job's assertion of God's omniscience.
Sermons
God's WatchfulnessW.F. Adeney Job 31:4
Guard the SensesGurnall, WilliamJob 31:1-32
Methods of Moral LifeJoseph Parker, D. D.Job 31:1-32
Solemn Assurances of InnocenceE. Johnson Job 31:1-40
The Consciousness of IntegrityR. Green Job 31:1-40
People
Abaddon, Adam, Job
Places
Uz
Topics
Count, Doesn't, Numbered, Step, Steps
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Job 31:4

     1020   God, all-knowing
     8228   discernment, examples

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

Links
Job 31:4 NIV
Job 31:4 NLT
Job 31:4 ESV
Job 31:4 NASB
Job 31:4 KJV

Job 31:4 Commentaries

Bible Hub
Job 31:3
Top of Page
Top of Page