This study is from an on going online Daily Bible Study at:
DailyBibleStudy.Org | Daily Bible Study Index Page | Daily Bible Study Online E-Book Library
Job 31:26-27
26 If I beheld [ra'ah] the sun ['owr] when it shined [halal], or the moon [yareach] walking [halak] in brightness [yaqar];
27 And my heart [leb] hath been secretly [cether] enticed [pathah], or my mouth [peh] hath kissed [nashaq] my hand [yad]: KJV-Interlinear
26 If I have looked at the sun when it shone, Or the moon going in splendor, 27 And my heart became secretly enticed, And my hand threw a kiss from my mouth, NASB
The word for sun means light or illumination. Back in ancient times, light was a reference for worship, as God is the light of the world. But, as worship of God changed to objects, then the light changed to the sun during the day and the moon and stars during the night.
So, what was originally a genuine worship, turned to idolatry as objects were used as substitutes for that (light) which one cannot see.
Naturally, when idolatry was introduced into the fabric of society, then other things became the object of worship.
And the kiss of the hand is ones giving respect, reverence, acknowledgment of the object that is being worshipped.
Throughout history, people have knelt before princes and popes, idols and various objects and kissed the ring, the skirt, or kissed the object in a fashion, which recognizes their superior station, status, authority, even deity. In some cases, this is courtesy and in other cases it is worship. The Muslims, in their worship at Mecca, kiss the black stone.
When the object is beyond the reach of the individual, then they kissed their own hand as though blowing a kiss of recognition to the object. The sun, the moon, the stars, and later on the planets Saturn and Venus and Mars were acknowledged as deities in this fashion.
And though surrounded by these idolatry tendencies, Job did not succumb to them. Remember that Job has made a contract between his eyes (the lusts or enticements of the world) and his own soul. And he has chosen his own soul, the content of which is Bible doctrine, over that which is offered by the world or the sky's above.
Job has kept his 'arms raised high' looking toward God, whom he has never seen, even though there are many opportunities to see the sun daily, the moon almost nightly, the stars when the sky is clear, and other objects on a regular daily basis.
Job has been diligent in his worship, consistent in his spiritual life, and perseverant in his beliefs toward God despite all of the blessings and now the sufferings he has faced in his life.
