Job 24 - Introduction

TODAY'S ENGLISH VERSION

1 Why doesn-'t God set a time for judging,

a day of justice for those who serve him?

2 Men move boundary markers to get more land;

they steal sheep and put them with their own flocks.

3 They steal donkeys that belong to orphans,

and keep a widow's ox till she pays her debts.

4 They keep the poor from getting their rights

and force the needy to run and hide.

5 So the poor, like wild donkeys,

search for food in the dry wilderness;

nowhere else can they find food for their children.

6 They have to harvest fields they don-'t own,

and gather grapes in wicked men's vineyards.

7 At night they sleep with nothing to cover them,

nothing to keep them from the cold.

8 They are drenched by the rain that falls on the mountains,

and they huddle beside the rocks for shelter.

9 Evil men make slaves of fatherless infants,

and take the poor man's children in payment for debts.

10 But the poor must go out with no clothes to protect them;

they must go hungry while harvesting wheat.

11 They press olives for oil, and grapes for wine,

but they themselves are thirsty.

12 In the city you hear the cries of the wounded and dying,

but God ignores their prayers.

13 There are men who reject the light;

they don-'t understand it and avoid its paths.

14 At dawn the murderer goes out to kill the poor,

and at night he robs.

15 The adulterer waits for twilight to come

and hides his face so no one can see him.

16 At night thieves break into houses,

but by day they hide and avoid the light.

17 They fear the light of day,

but darkness holds no terror for them.

Zophar

18 The wicked man is swept away by floods,

and the land he owns is under God's curse;
he no longer goes to work in his vineyards.

19 As snow vanishes in heat and drought,

so a sinner vanishes from the land of the living.

20 No one remembers him, not even his mother;

worms eat him; he is completely destroyed.

21 This happens because he mistreated widows

and showed no kindness to childless women.

22.

God, in his strength, destroys the mighty;

he acts and the wicked man dies.

23 God may let him live secure,

but keeps an eye on him all the time.

24 For a while the wicked man succeeds

but then he withers like a weed,
like a stalk of grain that has been cut down.

25 Can anyone deny that this is so?

Can anyone prove that my words are not true?

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 24:1-25

483.

Name and discuss the two emphases fundamental in the O.T. doctrine of God.

484.

Does God know or care about the present day oppression of the poor? Discuss.

485.

Pure religion (James 1:26-27) has a real part of the discussion of verse three. Explain.

486.

Why do the poor of the earth hide themselves? Cf. Job 24:4.

487.

How have we in America been guilty of the sin of verse five? Discuss.

488.

Some poor live no better than animals. How so? Cf. Job 24:6.

489.

Why are the poor naked and cold? Who is at fault?

490.

What is meant by embracing the rocks as in verse eight?

491.

What is the imagery of verse nine; i.e., where does such a cruel act take place?

492.

The poor are treated worse than animals in the kind of work given to them. Discuss.

493.

What work is discussed in Job 24:11? What is the point?

494.

What commandments are broken as discussed in Job 24:12-16?

495.

Please give your own explanation of the problem of suffering of the poor.

496.

Why do wicked people escape divine retribution? What type of stealing is here described?

497.

Why steal and kill the poor and needy? Discuss the circumstances.

498.

Why are darkness and secret action always associated with wrong doing?

499.

Who is digging to get into a house? For what purpose?

500.

How does the term seal relate?

501.

What is every man's long day's journey into night?

502.

Who speaks in Job 24:18-24? Discuss.

503.

What will happen to the wicked? Discuss.

504.

Snow water is compared to whom in Job 24:19?

505.

In what sense will the womb of the wicked forget him?

506.

Who is raised up in Job 24:22?

507.

Who is speaking in Job 24:25? For what purpose?