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Chapter twenty-four is Job's reflections on God's timing. “Why... do they that know Him not see His Days” (24:1)? “His days” is a reference to judgment. For us the question might be that with so much corruption rampant in entertainment, politics and the church, why does not God send Christ to end it all. I am not that eager to see the final judgment come, until I am fully renewed in mind and heart. At that point, I imagine that I will be too busy helping others to want to rush judgment. Those who long for judgment, often falsely believe themselves ready. Job is not asking for judgment here, but asking why do they not fear the judgment of God?
Some four thousand years later we still ask these questions. Why doesn't God smite the wicked. Men still move boundary stones (24:2), the stones that mark out a piece of property. Why is it that a man or a corporation makes an agreement, and then changes it, so that the portion of the victim is suddenly smaller? Perhaps the contract carried a hidden clause, or one party lobbied congress for a change in the law, perhaps there was insider knowledge. The Rockefellers are still wealthy, the Kennedys are still rich and powerful, and Gates sneers at judge Jackson. We can argue about who should or should not be on the list, but the point is clear: God appears to let the dishonest gain stand.
“As wild asses” the poor go forth, “rising betimes for a prey: the wilderness yieldeth food” (24:5) has the sense of rising early (‘betimes’) to scavenge (Strong, H2964) the barren wastes (Strong, H6160) for food (Clarke, note on 24:5). The wild ass is a potent image for Job because of comparison with the domestic ass which was important to the work of the Hebrew community. The wild ass, confined to the wilderness, does not join in the life of the community, therefore its wealth. Now Job, himself driven out, speaks of others left outside of the blessings of community life.
In this country of wealth, how many young mothers or fathers “gather the vintage of the wicked” (24:6) for long hours in low paying jobs, while their children suffer? Many a “soul of the wounded crieth out” (24:12) from hiding under bridges or in doorways. Tortured and tormented by life, they are now tormented in the dark.
There are those who are well educated, where brought up in good Christian homes, but they turn their back on God and teach evil (24:13). These should be the ones to suffer. Instead, they are the ones who dominate our universities, our entertainment industry, the media, advertising. We do not see God punishing them. They become famous for flaunting their wealth, their free expression, their lust. How many thieves and murders go unpunished (24:14)? How many adulterers ruin lives and families (24:15), but still there seems to be no reproach from above.
Jeremiah asks. “O Jehovah, that I might contend with You; yet let me speak with You about Your judgments. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are all those happy who deal treacherously?” (Jer. 12:1). He asks for their destruction, “Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter” (Jer. 12:3). And then replies with God's answer, “if they will not obey, I will uproot and destroy that nation, says Jehovah.” (Jer. 12:17). Job also forsees the destruction of the wicked.
“God layeth not folly to them” (24:12). Job is saying that God ignores their evil. ‘But, don't be fooled,’ says Job, ‘their doom is upon them,’ “if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death” (24:17). Their back is turned as they dig through the mud walls to loot and to steal in the dark of the night (24:16). This applies to anyone who covets the world, the things of the flesh, soulish things. They are digging through walls of earth, and their back is on God. This applies to many who loudly proclaim the Lord, but their desire is elsewhere. All that they have is cursed (24:18) and disappears quickly, and they shall not be remembered (24:20). Jacob (Israel) blessing his sons refers to the insolence of Simeon and Levi when they took it upon themselves to slay Shechem and Hamor and the men of their city, “in their self will they digged down a wall” (Gen. 49:6). He is referring to the destruction of the good will between himself and the surrounding tribes. God places a wall between us and that which is not for us. We are constantly digging down this wall. In Ezekial's vision he digs a hole in the wall to look in on the evil done by the priests of Israel (Ezek. 8:8). Paul refers to digging down the alters of God (Rom. 11:3).
Scholars have argued over the last verses (24:18-20) suggesting that the words contradict Job's general tone, so that some suggest it should read: “You say...”, or even that this is a portion misplaced and is actually part of a missing speech, Zophar's third (Smith 1971, 98). These are possible but my first inclination is to believe that this is Job. He believes these things vehemently even if he doesn't see himself in this circumstance. This is the wonderful grittiness of the book of Job. It doesn't flow gracefully from a carefully structured treatise, it pours out of the wells of the soul. To truly understand the difficulty of addressing this passage, Scheindlin includes a literal translation in his notes (Scheindlin 1998, 200; see also: Young's Literal Translation). The result is a mess of disconnected and unfinished thoughts. It seems to pour out in an incoherent vomit of all that is being poured out against him. It is his cry, ‘It know it, I believe it, but I am not the one.’ Job must affirm his confidence that the wicked will come to destruction in order that he can be confident that his redeemer lives (19:25).
Verse 18 is rendered in different ways. Swift water can mean ‘foam on the water’ (24:18, NET Bible, footnotes 34 & 35), which seems to blend well verse 19, in which gains vanish quickly (24:19). Barnes suggests this implies the image of a thief ready to dart: “I do not know, however, that this comparison of a thief, with a light object on the waters, is to be found any where else, but it is one of great beauty. The word rendered ‘swift’ (‘qal’) may denote either that which is swift, or that which is light. In Isa. 30:16, it is applied to a fleet horse. Here it may be rendered, ‘He is as a light thing upon the face of the waters.’” (Barnes, notes to 24:18).
Even though they appear to be safe and secure, “[God's] eyes are upon their ways” (24:23). “They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low” (24:24). We see the lives of the rich and famous, or perhaps their children, sometimes several generations, seem to fall under a curse. Drugs and alcohol take their toll. They are thrown into court, or the hospital for sexual sins. Some are dead of suicides, overdoses or more mysterious causes. Others simply draw their shades and hide away. It is interesting to study prominent families and the sins which pass generation to generation, as well as the curses that follow them. The Kennedy's are one of the more obvious examples. But, in most cases, even the most flamboyant and perverse appear to be untouched in any noticeable way. It appears to us that God is allowing evil to go unpunished. God does see them, states Job (24:23-24).
Job challenges, “if it be not so now, who will make me a liar” (24:25). Job's friends are not likely to engage in this debate, for surely the wicked often go unpunished to the eyes of this world. The further argument that Job is trying to get across is that since God does not immediately punish the wicked, and that good fortune does not necessarily indicate righteousness, so too, travails are not an immediate indication of unrighteousness.
The larger question is why is Job engaging this debate at all. Job's friends are not likely to listen, so why is Job trying to vindicate himself to his friends? Is Job's faith in his own righteousness less than rock solid? Or is he desperate for vindication in the eyes of the world?
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