Ever wonder, “Where is Justice?” (Job 24)

Ever wonder, “Where is Justice?” (Job 24)

Scripture reading - Job 24

Eliphaz, the third of Job’s friends to argue Job’s troubles were like those of the wicked, evoked a response from Job that began in chapter 23 and continued to chapter 24. Having slandered Job’s character, Eliphaz accused him of some great evil and urged him to repent promising God would restore him (Job 22:23-27)

Nevertheless, though he suffered overwhelming afflictions and felt abandoned by God, Job maintained his innocence (Job 23). He lamented, if God would give him a hearing, he would maintain his troubles were greater than his sins (Job 23:1-7). Yet, though he was wrongly accused by his friends, Job was confident God knew he was a man of integrity, who desired to walk according to His commandments (Job 23:8-12).



Job 24

Accused of gross wrongdoing, the accusations brought against Job by his “friends” left him wondering why he suffered, when the wicked prospered and went unpunished? Job’s reflections on the sins of the wicked was recorded in Job 24:2-17.

Wrongs Committed by the Wicked (Job 24:2-17) 

Tyrannical Thieves (Job 24:2-8)

Job first considered the company of thieves, and their wiles, deceptions, and effronteries against God and humanity. (Remember, as you read verses 2-8, the setting was an agrarian society, and the perspective was rural and agricultural. Of course, thievery and robbery are the same, though the coveted objects of the thief change with the culture). Times have changed, but the nature of man is as wicked as ever!

Before making an application to 21st century society, let’s consider Job’s observations. The first were land thieves who removed “landmarks,” essentially physical stakes, that designated the boundaries of a family’s lands (Job 24:2a).  Not surprising, but the same criminal activity continues in our day. (Note Deuteronomy 19:14; 27:17; Proverbs 23:10-11). There were thieves who would seize a neighbor’s sheep, and move them to graze in his pastures, thus robbing a man of his livelihood (Job 24:2b).

Tragically, the wicked have always preyed upon the most vulnerable of a society, the poor and the weak (Job 24:3-8). In Job’s day, evil men would steal the donkey of an orphan (Job 24:3a), and demand a widow’s ox for surety or collateral (Job 24:3b). They would abuse the poor, and mislead them (Job 24:4), and leave them to forage for food and shelter like wild beasts (Job 24:5-8).

Cruel Oppressors of the Weak and Defenseless (Job 24:9-17)



Job described children taken from their mothers (Job 24:9) as collateral for debt (tragically, the 21st century has revived this abuse with “human trafficking,” and the mass movement of humanity across international borders). The wicked would take the robes of the poor (a symbol of the bare necessities for life) as collateral for debt (Job 24:10). Such is the way of the wicked. While a farmer would reward an ox with the grain he treads, the wicked would leave the poor destitute, hungry, and thirsty (Job 24:11-12;  Deuteronomy 25:4; 1 Corinthians 9:9; 1 Timothy 5:18).

Murderers and Adulterers (Job 24:14-17)











Warning: “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, Beholding the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3).



Copyright © 2023 – Travis D. Smith

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