Hello everyone! Welcome to today’s Bible study on Job 24 -Job complains of violence on the earth. According to Bible scholars, the events of the book of Job took place approximately before 2100 B.C.
I encourage you to turn to Job 24 in your Bible. Kindly invite the Holy Spirit to guide you as you read and study Job 24 with me. I mention this in all the Bible Studies because it is through the Holy Spirit that we get fresh revelation and knowledge to understand the word of God. I am using the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible, just in case you want to know. All the scriptures that you find highlighted in purple in this post are from the NKJV.
In the Bible Study on Job 23, we read about Job proclaiming God’s righteous judgments and how God terrifies him. Well, in this Bible study on Job 24, we will read about Job complaining of the violence on the earth. As I have already mentioned before, most of the chapters of the book of Job are conversations between Job and his friends. This chapter is a continuation from Job 23.
Without any further delay, let us read and see what is Job Chapter 24 about, shall we?
Job: Why Does God Put Off The Wicked’s Punishment
1 “Since times are not hidden from the Almighty,
Why do those who know Him see not His days?
2 “Some remove landmarks;
They seize flocks violently and feed on them;
3 They drive away the donkey of the fatherless;
They take the widow’s ox as a pledge.
In Verse 1 of Job 24, Job questions why God puts off the season (times) of punishment from the wicked. Those who know God have never seen the days of God’s judgment against the wicked. In Verses 2-4 of Job 24, Job explains how the wicked people behave. Some of them remove landmarks by destroying them. They seize flocks (sheep and other cattle) that does not belong to them and they kill and eat them. They do injustice to the livelihoods of the fatherless children and the widow.
Side note: In those days, people’s livelihoods mostly depended on the cattle or animals they owned. They used the animals or even the products of those animals such as milk, eggs, etc. to sell and gain a living.
The Oppression Of The Needy And The Poor
4 They push the needy off the road;
All the poor of the land are forced to hide.
5 Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert,
They go out to their work, searching for food.
The wilderness yields food for them and for their children.
6 They gather their fodder in the field
And glean in the vineyard of the wicked.
7 They spend the night naked, without clothing,
And have no covering in the cold.
8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains,
And huddle around the rock for want of shelter.
In Verses 4-8 of Job 24, Job talks about how the wicked man oppresses the needy and the poor. The poor and needy run like wild donkeys searching for food in the desert (where there is not a lot of food), out of desperation, to feed themselves and their children. Furthermore, they force the poor man and the needy to gather fodder from another man’s field and they glean the leftovers from the wicked man’s vineyard. The poor are naked at night with no clothes to cover them from the cold and are wet when it rains. Hence, they huddle around the rock in search of warmth and shelter because the wicked man has robbed them of their clothes and shelters. Therefore, they have no place to hide from the elements.
Job: God, Seemingly, Does Not Punish The Wicked
9 “Some snatch the fatherless from the breast,
And take a pledge from the poor.
10 They cause the poor to go naked, without clothing;
And they take away the sheaves from the hungry.
11 They press out oil within their walls,
And tread winepresses, yet suffer thirst.
12 The dying groan in the city,
And the souls of the wounded cry out;
Yet God does not charge them with wrong.
In Verses 9-12 of Job 24, Job talks about how some wicked men snatch fatherless infants while they are nursing on their mother’s milk. And, they force the poor to make unjust pledge/promise. Besides, they force the poor to go naked by stripping them of their clothes. They, also, take away the poor man’s bread while he is eating out of hunger.
The wicked men force the poor to press oil within their walls (to make oil). Also, they force the poor man to tread winepres (stomping grapes with barren feet to produce wine). Despite, their hardwork, they thirst for water. They do not get even a drop of the oil or the wine to drink. The wicked man does not pay the poor man’s wages for his hardwork. The wicked extract work freely from the poor. The dying people groan in the city and the wounded (physically and mentally) cry out for help from God. Yet, according to Job, God seemingly does not charge the wicked with wrong deeds. He does not punish them according to Job’s observation and Job wonders why.
Job Talks About Evil People
13 “There are those who rebel against the light;
They do not know its ways
Nor abide in its paths.
14 The murderer rises with the light;
He kills the poor and needy;
And in the night he is like a thief.
15 The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight,
Saying, ‘No eye will see me’;
And he disguises his face.
16 In the dark they break into houses
Which they marked for themselves in the daytime;
They do not know the light.
17 For the morning is the same to them as the shadow of death;
If someone recognizes them,
They are in the terrors of the shadow of death.
In Verses 13-17 of Job 24, Job continues talking about the deeds of the wicked. They rebel against the light and do not know what is light (in other word, what is good or right). They do not seek to do good. A murderer kills the poor and needy at dawn and steals from homes at night. The adulterer waits for twilight to cheat with another. Because, he thinks that no one would see him doing adulterous things in the dark and he covers his face so that no one recognises him.
Therefore, at night, in the dark, they break into houses which they picked out for themselves during the daytime. Such people do not know light. They do not know any goodness. The morning is equal to the shadow of death for them. Light and dark mean the same to them. Also, they are familiar with the ways of darkness and with the terrors of the night because they perpetuate wicked deeds throughout the day. Hence, there is not an ounce of light in them because they fill themselves with darkness.
Job Desires To See The Wicked’s Punishment
18 “They should be swift on the face of the waters,
Their portion should be cursed in the earth,
So that no one would turn into the way of their vineyards.
19 As drought and heat consume the snow waters,
So the grave consumes those who have sinned.
20 The womb should forget him,
The worm should feed sweetly on him;
He should be remembered no more,
And wickedness should be broken like a tree.
21 For he preys on the barren who do not bear,
And does no good for the widow.
In Verses 18-21 of Job 24, Job talks about how the wicked must pass swiftly with the waters. Also, according to him, the wicked’s portion ought to be cursed in the earth as their punishment so that no man stumbles in their vineyard. Just like drought and heat melt the snow waters, the grave consumes the sinful, wicked, man when he is dead. The womb that begot him should forget him. The worm should feed on him sweetly and have its fill. A wicked man’s name should be blotted out from all history and his wickedness should be broken like a tree which cannot grow any further. He ought to be punished in the ways mentioned above because he preyed on the barren woman and oppressed the widow.
God, Seemingly, Prolongs The Life Of The Wicked
22 “But God draws the mighty away with His power;
He rises up, but no man is sure of life.
23 He gives them security, and they rely on it;
Yet His eyes are on their ways.
24 They are exalted for a little while,
Then they are gone.
They are brought low;
They are taken out of the way like all others;
They dry out like the heads of grain.
25 “Now if it is not so, who will prove me a liar,
And make my speech worth nothing?”
In Verses 22-24 of Job 24, Job tells how God pulls the wicked away with His power. He rises them up in life, yet no man is sure of how long he would live. He gives the wicked man security and they rely on it. However, God sees all that they do. Despite, their wickedness, He allows them to exalt themselves for a little while until He takes them out suddenly. He brings them low and takes them out just like all the wicked men before them that have lived on the earth. Hence, the wicked men perish and dry out like the heads of grains in drought. In Verses 25, Job asks his friends to prove his speech wrong. He asks them to reason with him and see the truth behind all he had said.
Conclusion
This brings us to the end of the bible study lesson on Job 24. The wicked perish eventually. Therefore, they cannot continue in their evil ways. They cannot assume that they could escape their bad harvest because God is a just God and justice will eventually reign supreme. I hope you learnt something from this free bible study and found it helpful in your Bible study journey.
If you have any comments or questions for me, kindly leave them in the comments box below. I highly appreciate it. I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Until Next Time!