Beloved, I am pleased to share with you today the above theme from Job 24:1 and following. Indeed, in this chapter, Job describes, in a striking and solemn way, the character often assumed by the wicked who succeed in this world. We will not dwell on this topic for the present. For Job 23:10 recalls the purpose of the trial: “I will come out [pure] as gold,” Job says. Although he still lacks the feeling of grace that operates for his good, our Patriarch agrees with the Apostle Peter. You are – writes this one – afflicted for a little time, if necessary, “so that the testing of your faith, much more precious than that of the gold that perishes … happens to be a subject of praise and glory and honor in the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 P 1:3-9).
For now, it seems to him that invoking God is futile. Eloah is of the same spirit. His will is firm, immutable. Death is in the cup and death will come. On this God determined. Nor is it in the case of Job alone, such a painful punishment is performed by the Almighty. Many such things are with Him. The waves of unrest rise from the dark and deep sea and go over the head of the victim. He lies weak and sorry again. The light fades, and with a deep sigh because he never came back to life, he closes his lips. Natural religion always ends with a sigh. The sense of God found in the order of the universe, the obscure vision of God that comes in consciousness, moral life and duty, in fear and hope and love, in the aspiration for justice and truth, these are of great use; but they leave us in the end desiring something they cannot give. The Unknown God whom men worshipped out of ignorance was to be revealed by the life, truth, and power of the Christ Jesus Man.
It is not without this revelation, which is above and beyond nature, that our greedy quest can lead to satisfactory knowledge. In Christ alone, the justice that justifies, the love that sympathizes, the wisdom that enlightens are introduced into the field of our experience and communicated by reason to faith. In chapter 24, there is a development of the reasoning contained in Job’s response to Tsophar in the second colloquium, and there is also a more in-depth examination of the nature and results of misdeeds than has yet been attempted. During his sharp and cautious discrimination, Job allows something alongside his friends’ argument, but puts all the more emphasis on the series of vivid touches by which the prosperous tyrant is represented. He modifies to some extent his previously expressed view that all is well with the bad guys. He finds that certain classes of disbelievers merge, and he separates them from the others, separating himself at the same time beyond any doubt from the oppressor on one side and the murderer and adultery on the other. Accepting the limits of the discussion chosen by the friends, he exhausts the matter between him and them. By the distinctions now made and the choice offered, Job stops the personal accusation, and we no longer hear about it.
Pursuing the idea of divine foundations that has governed his thinking throughout this answer, Job wonders why it should not be held openly from time to time in the history of the world. “Why are the times not set by the Almighty? And why don’t those who know him see his days?” Someone says that the world is full of days of judgment; Job thinks that’s not the case, but it should be. Moving from his own desire to access and plead with God’s bar, he now thinks of a public hearing, a public justification for God’s reign. The Great Assisi is never proclaimed. Ages pass; the Righteous never appears. All things continue as they have been since the beginning of creation. Men struggle, sin, suffer, doubt or deny the existence of a moral sovereign. They ask: Who has ever seen this God? If it exists, it is so separated from the world by its own choice that it is not necessary to consider it. In pride or sorrow, men ask the question. But no God, no justice, no truth, no penetration of reality by the ideal; and thought cannot stop there.
With great vigour and knowledge of the world, the writer points out to Job the facts of human violence and crime, human tolerance and punishment. Look at the oppressors and those who squeak under them, the despots never brought to justice, but on the contrary growing in power by the fear and misery of their serfs. Already we have seen how perilous it is to speak falsely for God. Now we see, on the other hand, that he who truly speaks of the facts of human experience is preparing the way for a true knowledge of God. Those who have searched in vain for indications of divine justice and grace must learn that not in order to be delivered from the poverty and turmoil of this world, but in some other way, they must realize God’s redemption. The author of the book seeks this kingdom which is neither meat nor drink, nor long life and happiness, but justice, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Observe first, says Job, the vile and cruel men who take away landmarks and claim the inheritance of a neighbor, who grow in their pastures herds that are not their own, who even take away the only donkey of the orphan and the only ox of the widow. has to plough his meager fields, which thus dominate with an upper hand all the defenseless people within their reach. Tsophar had accused Job of similar crimes, and no direct response was given to the accusation. Now, speaking forcefully of the iniquity of such acts, Job makes his accusers feel their injustice toward him. There are men who do such things. I saw them, I was amazed at them, I was amazed that they were not struck by God’s hand. My distress is that I cannot understand how to reconcile their immunity from punishment with my faith in the one I served and trusted as a friend.
The following picture, from the fifth to the eighth verse (Job 24:5), shows in contrast to the pride and cruelty of the tyrant the fate of those who suffer in his hands. Deprived of their lands and herds, assembling in common danger and misery like wild donkeys, they must seek for their food the roots and wild fruits that can be found here and there in the desert. Half enslaved now by the man who took their land from them, they are pushed to the task of harvesting his fodder and harvesting the gleanings of his grapes. Naked, they lie in the field, snuggling up to each other to warm up, and in the middle of the hills they are wet by the impetuous rams, squatting in vain under the edges of the rock for shelter. Worse things are also being done, suffering greater than these must be endured. There are men who snatch the orphaned child from the mother’s womb, claiming the poor little life as a pledge. The wretched debtors, vanished by hunger, must carry the sheaves of wheat of the oppressor. They must grind at the oil presses, and without ever a bunch to quench their thirst tread the grapes under the scorching sun. It is not only in the country that cruelties are practiced.
Perhaps in Egypt the writer saw what he had Job describe, the misery of urban life. In the city, the dying groan without care, and the souls of the wounded scream. Universal are the scenes of social iniquity. The world is full of injustice. And for Job, the trouble is that “God does not look at evil.” Today we speak as if the misery and distress that reigned in our great cities proved that the churches were unworthy of their name and their place. That may be the case. If this can be proved, let it be proved; and if the institution called The Church cannot justify its existence and Christianity where it should by freeing the poor from oppression and guaranteeing their rights to the weak, then let it go to the wall. But here is Job taking the accusation one step further, carrying it, with what may seem a blasphemous audacity, to the throne of God. He has no church to blame, because there is no church. Or, he himself represents which church there is. And as a witness of God, what is His part? Here it is, where many servants of divine justice have been in the past and are now, deep in the depths, the poorest of the poor, bereaved, sick, despised, misunderstood, desperate.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
Reply from Job (continued): God lets the wicked do it:
- Divine knowledge, general references
1 S 2.3 Do not speak with so much height; Let arrogance no longer come out of your mouth; For Jehovah is a God who knows everything, and through him are weighed all actions. Esa 40:28 Don’t you know? didn’t you learn it? It is the God of eternity, Jehovah, Who created the ends of the earth; He does not get tired, he does not tire; One cannot probe his intelligence. Dn 2:22 He reveals what is deep and hidden, He knows what is in darkness, and the light dwells with Him. Mt 6:8 Do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need, before you ask Him. 1 Cor 3:20 And again: The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, He knows that they are in vain.
- Day of the Lord, general references
Ml 3:23(Ml 4:5) Behold, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, Before the day of jehovah comes, This great and fearsome day. 1 Co 5:5 that such a man be delivered to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 2 Co 1:14 as you have already recognized in part that we are your glory, just as you will also be ours in the day of the Lord Jesus. 2 P 3:10 The lord’s day will come as a thief; on this day the heavens will pass with a bang, the burning elements will dissolve, and the earth with the works it contains will be consumed.
- Social and political corruption, the predominance of violence
Gen 6:13 Then God said to Noah: The end of all flesh is stopped by me; for they have filled the earth with violence; behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Jb 24.2 The terminals are moved, herds are stolen, and grazed; Ps 55:10 Reduced to nothing, Lord, divide their tongues! For I see in the city violence and quarrels; Ps 73:6 Also pride serves as their necklace, Violence is the garment that envelops them;
- Villains, end of
Ps 37:38 But the rebels are all annihilated, the posterity of the wicked is entrenched. Ps 73:17 Until I had entered the sanctuaries of God, and had paid attention to the final fate of the wicked. Rom 6:21 What fruits did you bear then? Fruits that you blush today. For the end of these things is death. Rev 21:8 But for the cowardly, the unbelievers, the abominable, the murderers, the shameless, the enchanters, the idolaters, and all the liars, their share will be in the burning pond of fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
From all the above, we note that themurderer who rises towards dawn misleads and kills the poor and needy for the sake of their meager possessions, the adultery who awaits dusk, disguising his face, and the thief who, in the darkness, digs through the clay wall of a house, they find only the punishment for their treacherous and disgusting crimes in this life. The coward who is guilty of such a sin is hated even by the mother who gave birth to him and must hide by paths, familiar with the terrors of the shadow of death, daring, so as not to turnthe way of the vines to enjoy their fruits. The description of these reprobates ends with the twenty-first verse, and then there is a return to the “powerful” and divine support they seem to enjoy. The interpretation of Job 24:18 that it “partly makes it the work of a popular hand, or a parody in the popular way by Job himself,” has no sufficient basis. To assert that the passage is introduced ironically and that Job 24:22 summarizes the true story of the murderer, adultery, and thief is to overlook the distinction between those “who rebel against the light” and the powerful who live in God’s eye. The natural interpretation is the one that makes the whole a serious argument against the creed of friends. In their eagerness to condemn Job, they have failed to distinguish between men whose vile crimes lead them to social reprobation and proud oppressors who thrive on their arrogance. As for the latter, the fact is always that apparently they are under the protection of Heaven. Yet, he supports the powerful by his power, They rise up while they despair of life. He brings them to safety, and they are not restrained, and His eyes are on their ways. They rise high: in an instant they are no longer high; They are lowered, like all the others gathered. And cut like the tops of corn. Otherwise, who then will make me a liar, and to bring nothing my speech? Is the bold evildoer who defies the law wasted by disease, the prey of terror? No. When he seems to have been crushed, suddenly he leaves with a new vigor, and when he dies, it is not prematurely but at the maturity of maturity. With this reaffirmation of the mystery of God’s action, Job challenges his friends. They have his last judgment. The victory he wins is that of the one who will be faithful at all costs. Perhaps in the background of his thought is the vision of a redemption not only of his own life but of all those shattered by the injustice and cruelty of this earth. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom as I walk in your ways.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to react to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “Could man be pure? (Jb 25)
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.