23:1 Then Job answered:
Job will not answer Eliphaz until chapter 31. Job reflected on some other problems with these men’s theology.
23:2 “Even today my complaint is still bitter; his hand is heavy despite my groaning.
Job is bitter, because he believes that God’s hand is weighing him down.
23:3 O that I knew where I might find him, that I could come to his place of residence!
Job wanted to turn to God, but he did not know where to find Him.
23:4 I would lay out my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments.
If Job could find God, then he would present his case..
23:5 I would know with what words he would answer me, and understand what he would say to me.
Job would gladly listen to God’s response.
23:6 Would he contend with me with great power? No, he would only pay attention to me.
Job was confident that God would declare Job’s innocence and no longer oppose Job with His awesome power.
23:7 There an upright person could present his case before him, and I would be delivered forever from my judge.
Job felt that if he could meet God, then He would acquit him for his innocence and end his troubles.
23:8 “If I go to the east, he is not there, and to the west, yet I do not perceive him.
Job could not find God in the east or west.
23:9 In the north when he is at work, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I see no trace of him.
Job could not find God in the north or south. Job looked everywhere, but God was silent. If a judge is not present in court, then one’s case cannot be presented.
23:10 But he knows the pathway that I take; if he tested me, I would come forth like gold.
Eliphaz claimed that Job had taken the pathway of the unrighteous. Job claimed that if he could meet God in court, that God would test him and find out that Job took the path of righteousness. If Job was tested, he would shine like gold.
23:11 My feet have followed his steps closely; I have kept to his way and have not turned aside.
Eliphaz claimed that Job followed the “old path” of sin. Job claimed that he followed the path of God.
23:12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my allotted portion.
Job had studied and applied the Bible doctrine which was given to him by God.
23:13 But he is unchangeable, and who can change him? Whatever he has desired, he does.
God is unchangeable. No one can change Him. God does whatever He desires to do. He does not have a committee or a council of men to help Him make decisions.
23:14 For he fulfills his decree against me, and many such things are his plans.
God is sovereign over all things. He decided before the foundations of the world that Job would experience this trial. God was with Job through this entire ordeal.
23:15 That is why I am terrified in his presence; when I consider, I am afraid because of him.
Righteous men fear God. Job was terrified of God. He knew that God can give or take away life at anytime. He can give wealth or take away wealth at anytime. He can give power to whom He wishes, or He can take it away when He wishes. Good or bad health is controlled by God. Where one spends eternity is controlled by God. Not one squirrel can jump from one tree to another without God’s pre-planning. God is the God of all of history, but He wrote the entire book in advance.
23:16 Indeed, God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me.
God allowed Job to be placed in a terrible situation. Job had learned firsthand to fear God.
23:17 Yet I have not been silent because of the darkness, because of the thick darkness that covered my face.
Job will not be silenced by the thick darkness which had come upon his life.
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24:1 “Why are times not appointed by the Almighty? Why do those who know him not see his days?
Job asked why God does not appoint specific times of judgment upon the wicked. He asked why the believers do not have the opportunity to see God and talk to Him about their suffering.
24:2 Men move boundary stones; they seize the flock and pasture them.
Men are natural thieves. They move boundary stones in order to steal property. They steal flocks from others and pasture them as their own.
24:3 They drive away the orphan’s donkey; they take the widow’s ox as a pledge.
Men are greedy. They exploit orphans and widows for profit.
24:4 They turn the needy from the pathway, and the poor of the land hide themselves together.
Men are selfish. They refuse to use their resources to help the poor and needy.
24:5 Like wild donkeys in the desert they go out to their labor, seeking diligently for food; the wasteland provides food for them and for their children.
The victims of these evil men are forced to go out into the desert like wild donkeys so that they can find what little food that they can for their children.
24:6 They reap fodder in the field, and glean in the vineyard of the wicked.
The poor glean what little food that they can from the fields and vineyards of the wicked.
24:7 They spend the night naked because they lack clothing; they have no covering against the cold.
The poor spend the cold nights without proper clothing.
24:8 They are soaked by mountain rains and huddle in the rocks because they lack shelter.
The poor are homeless, so they must spend their nights huddling together to keep themselves warm from the soakings of cold mountain rains.
24:9 The fatherless child is snatched from the breast, the infant of the poor is taken as a pledge.
Evil oppressors yanked young babies from their mothers in order to pay off their debts.
24:10 They go about naked, without clothing, and go hungry while they carry the sheaves.
The poor were forced into labor without food or clothing.
24:11 They press out the olive oil between the rows of olive trees; they tread the winepresses while they are thirsty.
The poor were forced to crush olive oil and tread on grapes to make wine while they were hungry and thirsty.
24:12 From the city the dying groan, and the wounded cry out for help, but God charges no one with wrongdoing.
People were dying and crying out in the cities, but God seem oblivious to it all. These people of poverty seemed to suffer for no specific wrongdoing, while others seemed to sin openly and prosper more.
24:13 There are those who rebel against the light; they do not know its ways and they do not stay on its paths.
Evil men who do not know God work in darkness, hoping that their dirty deeds will not be noticed.
24:14 Before daybreak the murderer rises up; he kills the poor and the needy; in the night he is like a thief.
Murderers and thieves work during the night, hoping that their dirty deeds will not noticed.
24:15 And the eye of the adulterer watches for the twilight, thinking, ‘No eye can see me,’ and covers his face with a mask.
Adulterers work at night, hoping that they will not be noticed.
24:16 In the dark the robber breaks into houses, but by day they shut themselves in; they do not know the light.
Robbers work at night, but they hide during the day. They know darkness but not the light.
24:17 For all of them, the morning is to them like deep darkness; they are friends with the terrors of darkness.
These evil men love the darkness, but they hate the light. The light exposes their evil. The Word of God is the same way. It shines on evil and exposes it. According to Ephesians 5:11, believers are to expose evil.
24:18 “You say, ‘He is foam on the face of the waters; their portion of the land is cursed so that no one goes to their vineyard.
Evil oppressors are unstable like foam. Their land is cursed and unproductive. Therefore, no one will go to their vineyards to glean grapes.
24:19 The drought as well as the heat carry away the melted snow; so the grave takes away those who have sinned.
When evil men die, then the elements of nature will erode away their bodies in the grave.
24:20 The womb forgets him, the worm feasts on him, no longer will he be remembered. Like a tree, wickedness will be broken down.
When the wicked die, even the mother’s womb forgets them. The worm eats their bodies in the grave. No one will remember the wicked. Like a tree with bad fruit, the wicked will be cut down.
24:21 He preys on the barren and childless woman, and does not treat the widow well.
Wicked men who mistreat widows will be judged by God.
24:22 But God drags off the mighty by his power; when God rises up against him, he has no faith in his life.
When wicked men with power oppose God, then God will bring them down to size.
24:23 God may let them rest in a feeling of security, but he is constantly watching all their ways.
Wicked men may think that they are living in security, but God is watching and recording everything that they do.
24:24 They are exalted for a little while, and then they are gone, they are brought low like all others, and gathered in, and like a head of grain they are cut off.’
God may allow wicked men to climb to the top, but eventually they will be humbled. Eventually, they will die just like any other person. These wicked men may have been prosperous as full-grown heads of wheat at one time, but their sheaves will be cut and devoured.
24:25 “If this is not so, who can prove me a liar and reduce my words to nothing?”
If Job is not telling the truth about the wicked, then who can prove him wrong?
The truth is that the wicked do prosper in the satanic world system. They gain the most wealth, the most power, and the most fame. Satan rewards his own on this earth while God rewards His own in the next life. The rewards of Satan will not be taken into the next life. They will rust away or be eaten away by moths. The rewards of God last for eternity. The eternity of the wicked will be much worse than the eternity of the godly.