Job 24:21 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Job 24:21

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These verses confirms that verses 18-20 are not out of place. Job returns to a consideration of the evil which the wicked do and this is given as the reason why they must ultimately be punished. They prey on the barren, which means either that they take revenge on their own wives who fail to give them children, or more likely they prey on those who are already disadvantaged. Not caring about human suffering, they target those who already face misfortune in life because it is easier to abuse them; there is no one to come to their aid. The thought is similar to verse 3. The widow who ought to stir up thoughts of compassion in her need is only seen as easy prey. This is the behaviour of one who is so self-centred that the whole world is seen only as a source his own pleasure, whatever it costs others.Barnes understands verse 22 to refer to the oriental despot. This man did not just prey on the weak and defenceless, but even on the mighty. No one was safe from his machinations. Perhaps he deliberately removed those who were strong lest they become even stronger and pose a threat to him. We have seen tyrants who take awful and cruel steps to try to establish their position, and ruthlessly remove any who might grow to use the same ruthless methods that they use.Job is certain that the wicked will eventually be brought down from their position of power (verses 23-24). They acquire influence and renown in the world and it looks as if no one can prevent the unjust triumph of their lives. But however high they climb God is able to bring them down and will do so in his good time. For the wicked this is a trap, for like evil Haman, they interpret their success as a sign that they are superior to other men; by their own prowess they have prevailed over others. They fail to see that they are being prepared for destruction, and that God has ensnared them in their own self-confidence. Foolishly they attribute far too much ability to themselves and overlook the fact that they have so little real control over their own lives. This and that fortuitous event that happened, they believe, is down to their own skill, while a sober and humbler look at life would have told them that life is a gift, and just as it has been given so it can be taken away again. The truth is that no man is sure of life, and if only men realised this they would not strut around so foolishly. By doing so, they invite the judgment of God, who will not long allow pride to strut before his eyes. They ought rather to be terrified that they are allowed to succeed in spite of their evil ways and wonder what great judgment God has in store for them.This is the nature of the trap: that they rely on the security that God gives them, while not seeing or wanting to see that it is God who gave it. This is what exposed the foolishness of Haman so completely: that he treated his exaltation as a sign that all was well with his soul. The king favoured him, the queen favoured him, the people favoured him, and as far as he was concerned heaven favoured him: all this, even though if he had bothered to consult his conscience for a moment, it would have told him otherwise. Men are counted as fools when they misjudge a situation, but there is no more serious misjudgement than to misjudge our status before God.

Application

God is secretly watching them all the time. Why does he let them go so far before he calls them to account? Because he intends to expose their hearts to public gaze. He is in control of every situation; no matter how much leeway he gives his enemies he is able to undo their evil schemes in a moment. Every tangle can be untangled by the Lord, and his omnipotence is all the more evident and all the more wonderful when it is able to correct the worse that the enemy can do. This way of governing the world also teaches his people faith and it teaches them patience and hope and many other important qualities of character.

Yes, the wicked are exalted for a time, but what does that matter once they have been brought down. Where is the harm to God’s cause in their temporary triumph when so much good comes out of it? How many lessons about the wisdom of God the righteous are taught in the process! And they see that they suffered no real harm but only an apparent harm, but actually much gain. Lessons that are learnt and cannot be learnt by any other means are not to be despised though they are painful at the time.

When God brings them low and they are dried out like the heads of grain, then they have received a full answer to all their triumphant boasting when. They must then eat their own words and admit how greatly they were mistaken. Not a single triumph is left to them, but the fabric of their lives is demolished piece by piece. This is enough; it is God’s full and final answer. They wanted to imagine themselves as special, as different from others, but they have not been able to escape the common destiny of all fallen men and women.

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Job 24:21 Commentary and Bible Study