Job did not begrudge his children the joy of feasting, but he did see the dangers that accompanied it. As soon as a feast was over (in the ancient Near East, feasts could last for days), Job would send for his children. Although the sons were already living in their own homes, Job still considered it his fatherly duty to supervise and intercede for them. We can imagine him asking how things had gone at the feast, and then proceeding to purify all of them.
We are not told exactly what this purification entailed. We do see, however, that Job was eager to do it; the phrase early in the morning
often does not denote the time of the day, but rather the eagerness with which something is done. Also, it involved the sacrifice of burnt offerings—one offering for each child. This shows us that Job was always conscious of the need for forgiveness and atonement. Purification was not only something that he did occasionally. It was his regular custom.
Later, Job would be tempted to commit this very sin that he was so afraid of in his children: the sin of cursing God (Job 2:9). Yet this example shows us how tenderhearted and fearful of sin Job was. He knew that one could sin even without speaking, by cursing God in one’s heart.
5 And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.