Job
24 reminds me of the response we used as kids when someone called us
a name, “I know you are, but what am I?”. Job has been accused
of corrupt business practices leading to God’s judgment. He
wonders out loud, “Why
does the Almighty not set times for judgment?“.
I wonder if Job is actually throwing their charges back at them?
Remember, there was no welfare system, nor bankruptcy protection.
Instead, God’s Law commanded fields to be harvested in such a way
as to allow widows and orphans to go through after and gather the
left-overs in order to survive. And there were laws against taking
a families source of income, such as his ox used for plowing. He
lists a series of evil deeds, “Men
move boundary stones… take the widow’s ox in pledge… force all
the poor of the land into hiding“.
I believe Job probably had business dealings with these men and most
likely knew the way they conducted business. It is even possible he
was listing specific things he has seen them
do. The harshest words Jesus spoke were directed at those that
behaved like they were morally superior to others. Casting stones
never brings openness. People come to Christ when we show them the
mercy we have experienced.
In
the next section, Job describes how evil loves the darkness. Again I
think there is a link to the hypocrisy his friends have displayed. I
tend to believe corrupt people think everyone else is just as corrupt
as they are. Job’s friends had thrown one false accusation after
the other at him. “There
are those who rebel against the light… When daylight is gone, the
murderer rises up… in the night he steals forth like a thief“.
Perhaps
Job is reminding them that not all is hidden by the dark.
“The
eye of the adulterer watches for dusk; he thinks, ‘No eye will see
me,’ and he keeps his face concealed. In the dark, men break into
houses… they want nothing to do with the light.”
In
the Gospel of John, chapter 8, Jesus declared, “I
am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in
darkness, but have the light of life“.
There is nothing hidden from God. Jesus declared this to the woman
caught in adultery.
Remember the situation; Jesus was presented with a woman caught in
the very act of adultery. We are told it was a set up to trap Him.
We read, “But
Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His
finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him,
He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among
you, let him throw a stone at her first.”
And
again He stooped down and wrote on the ground“.
What did He write? I believe He wrote the hidden sins of her
accusers.
The
chapter ends with Job making it clear that evil may prosper in life,
but in death there will be a judgment day for the rich as well as the
poor. “As
heat and drought snatch away the melted snow, so the grave snatches
away those who have sinned… God drags away the mighty by His power…
they have no assurance of life“.
Wealth is not evil, but the idea that we can put far too much trust
in our stuff instead of God.
“He
may let them rest in a feeling of security“.
Job adds, “For
a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone“.
Job ends his rebuttal with a challenge, “Who
can prove me false and reduce my words to nothing?“.
Be careful about hurling accusations at others. Sticks and stones
make break my bones, but according to Romans 2:4, “the
goodness of God leads you to repentance“.