Job 24:1-25

Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty.

Great crimes not always followed by great punishment in this life

I. Great crimes have prevailed on the earth from the earliest times. Amongst the crimes specified in this chapter there is--

1. Theft. There were those who stole from others their lands and flocks, and robbed the widow and orphan of their food and clothing (Job 24:2). There is--

2. Cruelty. “They plucked the fatherless from the breast,” made “men groan out of the city.” There is--

3. Murder. “The murderer, rising with the light, killeth the poor and needy.” There is--

4. Adultery. “The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight,” etc.

The fact that these crimes prevailed in Job’s land and times implies--

1. That in those distant scenes and times the same standard of morals existed that we have. They esteemed theft, cruelty, murder, and adultery wrong; so do we.

2. That in those distant scenes and times men had the same sinful propensities as they have now.

II. That although the great God is cognisant of those crimes He does not always visit them with punishment in this life. Job begins with the question, “Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know Him not see His days?” The meaning is, Why, since crimes are not hidden from the Almighty, do not His friends see His judgments? He shows that these great criminals fare as well here, both in life and death, as others. Why is this? Not because the Almighty is ignorant of their crimes, or because their crimes are not abhorrent to His nature. Whatever the cause, the fact is undeniable; and this fact Job brings out here to refute the doctrine of his friends, namely, that great suffering implies great crime. (Homilist.)

Consideration for others

“I would rather be a year or two longer in effecting my purposes than reach them by trampling on men’s hearts and hearths.” (J. Ruskin.)