seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Job 24:1 “Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment?
Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?
2 There are those who move boundary stones;
they pasture flocks they have stolen.
3 They drive away the orphan’s donkey
and take the widow’s ox in pledge.
4 They thrust the needy from the path
and force all the poor of the land into hiding.
5 Like wild donkeys in the desert,
the poor go about their labor of foraging food;
the wasteland provides food for their children.
6 They gather fodder in the fields
and glean in the vineyards of the wicked.
7 Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked;
they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.
8 They are drenched by mountain rains
and hug the rocks for lack of shelter.
9 The fatherless child is snatched from the breast;
the infant of the poor is seized for a debt.
10 Lacking clothes, they go about naked;
they carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.
11 They crush olives among the terraces[a];
they tread the winepresses, yet suffer thirst.
12 The groans of the dying rise from the city,
and the souls of the wounded cry out for help.
But God charges no one with wrongdoing.
Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?
2 There are those who move boundary stones;
they pasture flocks they have stolen.
3 They drive away the orphan’s donkey
and take the widow’s ox in pledge.
4 They thrust the needy from the path
and force all the poor of the land into hiding.
5 Like wild donkeys in the desert,
the poor go about their labor of foraging food;
the wasteland provides food for their children.
6 They gather fodder in the fields
and glean in the vineyards of the wicked.
7 Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked;
they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.
8 They are drenched by mountain rains
and hug the rocks for lack of shelter.
9 The fatherless child is snatched from the breast;
the infant of the poor is seized for a debt.
10 Lacking clothes, they go about naked;
they carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.
11 They crush olives among the terraces[a];
they tread the winepresses, yet suffer thirst.
12 The groans of the dying rise from the city,
and the souls of the wounded cry out for help.
But God charges no one with wrongdoing.
13 “There are those who rebel against the light,
who do not know its ways
or stay in its paths.
14 When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up,
kills the poor and needy,
and in the night steals forth like a thief.
15 The eye of the adulterer watches for dusk;
he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’
and he keeps his face concealed.
16 In the dark, thieves break into houses,
but by day they shut themselves in;
they want nothing to do with the light.
17 For all of them, midnight is their morning;
they make friends with the terrors of darkness.
who do not know its ways
or stay in its paths.
14 When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up,
kills the poor and needy,
and in the night steals forth like a thief.
15 The eye of the adulterer watches for dusk;
he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’
and he keeps his face concealed.
16 In the dark, thieves break into houses,
but by day they shut themselves in;
they want nothing to do with the light.
17 For all of them, midnight is their morning;
they make friends with the terrors of darkness.
18 “Yet they are foam on the surface of the water;
their portion of the land is cursed,
so that no one goes to the vineyards.
19 As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow,
so the grave snatches away those who have sinned.
20 The womb forgets them,
the worm feasts on them;
the wicked are no longer remembered
but are broken like a tree.
21 They prey on the barren and childless woman,
and to the widow they show no kindness.
22 But God drags away the mighty by his power;
though they become established, they have no assurance of life.
23 He may let them rest in a feeling of security,
but his eyes are on their ways.
24 For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone;
they are brought low and gathered up like all others;
they are cut off like heads of grain.
their portion of the land is cursed,
so that no one goes to the vineyards.
19 As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow,
so the grave snatches away those who have sinned.
20 The womb forgets them,
the worm feasts on them;
the wicked are no longer remembered
but are broken like a tree.
21 They prey on the barren and childless woman,
and to the widow they show no kindness.
22 But God drags away the mighty by his power;
though they become established, they have no assurance of life.
23 He may let them rest in a feeling of security,
but his eyes are on their ways.
24 For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone;
they are brought low and gathered up like all others;
they are cut off like heads of grain.
25 “If this is not so, who can prove me false
and reduce my words to nothing?”
and reduce my words to nothing?”
a. Job 24:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
The commentary this morning is from the enduringword.com.
Some remove landmarks… they take the widow’s ox as a pledge… all the poor of the land are forced to hide: Here, Job described the mostly financial sins of the wicked, rooted in greed and cruelty. In Job 22:5-11, Eliphaz said that Job’s calamity came upon him because he acted this way towards others, and his riches were therefore gained by greed and wickedness. Job agreed with Eliphaz that this is how wicked people act, without agreeing with him that he himself acted this way.
“The law of Moses denounces curses on those who remove their neighbours’ landmarks. See Deuteronomy 19:14; 27:17.” (Clarke)
“Here you see the rich landowner removing his neighbour’s landmark, curtailing by fraud, in a hedgeless unfenced land, the narrow possessions of his poorer countrymen. Cursed, you remember the solemn words, cursed be he that removeth his neighbour’s landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen! But Job sees no curse fall!” (Bradley)
Yet God does not charge them with wrong: This was the part that was difficult for Job to understand and accept. He knew how wicked the wicked were; what he could not comprehend was why God did not judge them as they deserved.
“Job pleads with God to subpoena sinners and judge them. With mounting frustration, Job cites example after example of sinners who go unpunished.” (Lawson)
“Job felt God should demonstrate his justice by openly punishing the wicked. In the divine speeches God would teach him a tremendous lesson about this, which he did not now understand.” (Smick)
The dying groan in the city: “After having shown the oppressions carried on in the country, he takes a view of those carried on in the town. Here the miseries are too numerous to be detailed.” (Clarke)
Their portion should be cursed in the earth: Job wondered why God did not judge the wicked as He should. Here, it is as if Job gave God advice on how He should judge the wicked; mainly, He should do it in this life and not wait until the life beyond (cursed in the earth).
The worm should feed sweetly on him; he should be remembered no more: Job wasn’t against the idea of the wicked being punished after death; he simply didn’t want the punishment to begin there. He thought it should begin in this life and be continued afterwards.
He preys on the barren who do not bear: “The barren wife was considered more helpless than the widow, as the latter might have sons to help her.” (Bullinger)
It really isn't fair that the wicked get to enjoy life on earth so much.
Now we're being told that the wicked should also inherit Heaven as well. "He was a good man" they say. "He'll go to heaven because he was a good man.... no...never had much use for that whole God thing.... in fact I think him say God didn't exist.... but he was a good man.... he'll go to Heaven."
Job didn't think it was fair. Wicked people get no punishment here on earth. Job wanted the wicked to pay the price here on earth.... in front of everyone....
Job was being accused of having been charged and convicted on some charge that he had no knowledge of..... by God.... and his wicked neighbors who murder, rape, and steal children right out of a mother's arms over a financial debt.... seem to live on worry free..... while the people who have to work for every morsel labor.... the wicked snap the whip. Job says it just isn't fair that God will punish them "after death".
Boy.... Heaven must be some prize..... I wonder.... do the wicked get to see Heaven before it is snatched from them?
My mom believed in reincarnation. She believed she would "get to come back". I asked her once.... "why would you want to come back?" She was baptized on the same day I was. Her mother was a lay minister in her local church.... her mother built the local church.... yet my mother was baptized the same day I was..... and she wants to come back..... her reply was simple.... "So I could do it better".
What if the wicked do get turned away at the gate..... What if the wicked are sent back "to do it better"..... Wouldn't the wicked get better at doing bad better?
