Read Job 22:1-24:25.

Introduction⤒🔗

As we have seen from our previous study, Eliphaz (unjustly) charges Job with being a wicked man (22:5); consequently, he instructs Job to seek God and return to Him: “Submit to God and be at peace [with him]” (22:21).

Job’s response is that he desires to draw near to God, but God has hidden Himself and cannot be found. Job laments, “If only I knew where to find him, so that I might come to his throne!” (23:3) Job is struggling with the question, Why does God hide Himself from the believer?

Later in his speech, Job ponders the question, “Since [our] times are not hidden from the Almighty, why do those who know him never see his days [of judgment]?” (24:1) Here Job is asking: Since He knows all things, and nothing is hidden from His eyes, why does the LORD not display His glory by performing mighty acts of deliverance for His people and by bringing judgment upon the wicked?

In between these two perplexing questions, Job once again grapples with the question, Why am I, as a God-fearing man, being subjected to such suffering? Why do the righteous suffer?

In our previous study we considered some biblical answers to that first perplexing question, Why does God hide Himself from the believer? Now we go on to consider some biblical answers to those other two perplexing questions.

Why Does God Cause the Righteous to Suffer?←⤒🔗

Job desires to appear before God so that he might present his case before Him (23:4). Job wants to present his complaint unto God and gain answers to his perplexing questions (23:4-5). Job is confident that God would not oppose him with his awesome judicial power (23:6-7); God would not overwhelm Job by His awesome divine majesty as the Judge of all the earth, causing Job to be swept away without a hearing. On the contrary, Job has the assurance that God would acquit him: God would acknowledge Job’s righteousness and, in His capacity as the righteous Judge of all the earth, would deliver Job from his present state of affliction, restoring him to the divine fellowship. Thus, Job expresses his firm conviction that God is righteous, He is just and will execute justice.

Furthermore, Job expresses his confidence that he is a righteous man and that this fact is known by God; he confesses of God, “he knows the way that I take” (23:10a). Indeed, if God were to test Job (to discern the state of his heart), if God were to expose Job to the intense fires of trial, Job is sure that he would come forth as gold (23:10b)—Job would prove himself to be a pious, devout man who is thoroughly committed to God.

Now Job submits his own testimony as to his righteousness (23:11-12): his foot has firmly held to God’s steps (23:11); Job has steadfastly followed God, walking in His way step by step. Job has, indeed, treasured up God’s Word, loving it more than his necessary food (23:12); here is a rebuttal to the false charge Eliphaz has made against him (cp. 22:24-26).

Job testifies that God is righteous (23:6b-7). He further affirms that he himself is a righteous man (23:10-12), and yet he finds himself suffering inexplicable isolation from God: the righteous man is suffering the fate of the wicked. The unexpressed question that Job poses is, Why does God cause the righteous to suffer?

At this point all Job is able to do is attribute this apparent anomaly to the inscrutable sovereignty of God:

But he stands alone [as God]; who is able to change him? He does whatever he pleases. ¹⁴He will carry out what he has appointed for me, and many such plans he still has in store. 23:13-14

Job testifies of God, “He stands alone [as God]; who is able to change him?” (23:13a) In His sovereign majesty, God is inscrutable, beyond human comprehension—He is totally beyond man’s grasp. “He does whatever he pleases” (23:13b). Job is acknowledging God’s sovereign will and power, God’s divine freedom of action. Like it or not, Job is subjected to God’s sovereign will: “He will carry out what he has appointed for me” (23:14). God is carrying out to fulfillment the plan He has for Job’s life, and there is nothing Job can do about it other than accept it.

When he contemplates God’s inscrutable sovereignty as that sovereign will now directs his life into paths of adversity and agony of soul, Job testifies that he is terrified at God’s presence (23:15-17). Job has expressed his desire to have a direct encounter with God, and he has been frustrated that he cannot come face to face with the Almighty (23:8-9). But as he contemplates the person of God, who God is and how God is presently dealing with him (23:13-14), Job discovers that at this very moment he is, indeed, having an encounter with God and this terrifies him: “I am terrified before him...God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me” (23:15-16). In the very darkness that has hidden God from view, Job has had an encounter with God (23:17)—an encounter with God in the divine darkness of His sovereign, inscrutable being, as did Abraham at the time God made a covenant with him (Gen. 15:12-13,17).

Up to this point, Job had almost been demanding a personal interview with God, and had been very confident in his ability as a righteous man to stand before God; but even a veiled encounter with God proves to be unbearable, were it not for the mercy of God. Here is a lesson to be taken to heart: The Scriptures indicate that we may, indeed, draw near to God and submit our questions and concerns to Him, but we must do so humbly, and with an awareness of Who it is we are approaching: He is God, and we are mere mortals—still sinful mortals, (no matter what degree of piety we may have attained by the grace of God).

So, herein is to be found the first biblical answer to the question, Why does God cause the righteous to suffer? That answer lies in the fact that we must take into consideration and humbly acknowledge God’s inscrutable sovereignty. If God sees fit to expose His righteous servants to suffering, we can and must be assured that He does so for a righteous purpose.

God is our righteous Creator whose ways are beyond the complete comprehension of us His creatures, and God has the right to do with us as He sees fit according to His holy will. Consider the testimony of the prophet Jeremiah, “Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ⁶’O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.’” (Jer. 18:5-6). But let us also take comfort from Isaiah 64:8, “O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter, and we all are the work of your hand.”

Job has some understanding of this great truth, that we are subject to the divine will of God (23:13­ 14), but it leaves him terrified (23:15-17). But in the light of Job’s final experience, and the greater light of New Testament revelation, the Christian can have a sure confidence. There will be given full—although not divinely definitive—understanding. The Apostle Paul assures us as Christians, “At present we see an obscure image in a mirror, but then [we will see] face to face. At present I know [things] partially; but then I will know fully, just as I am fully known.” (1 Cor. 13:12)

In the following verse Paul goes on to write, “And now abide faith, hope, and love...” (1 Cor. 13:13) “Faith,” in the sense of confidence/dependence, is an eternal attribute. In the kingdom of heaven, the Christian will possess a wonderful, total, child-like dependence upon our loving, covenant-keeping heavenly Father, and complete and perfect confidence in Him. When we couple 1 Corinthians 13:12­ 13 together, we come to see that in the eternal state we will know to the fullest of our finite, human capacity, and that which is beyond our human capacity to comprehend, we will leave to our heavenly Father, in whom we will rest with full confidence.

At present, may we learn from and come to imitate the example of the Apostle Peter. On the occasion of His washing His disciples’ feet, when Jesus approached Peter, Peter refused to comply, because he did not understand. But Jesus warned him that he must accept: “If I do not wash you, you have no part with me.” (Jn. 13:8) But even prior to the warning, He also gave Peter the assurance: “You do not now understand what I am doing; but later you will understand.” (Jn. 13:7) Out of his God-given love for Jesus, and finding it unbearable to even contemplate being separated from Jesus, Peter complied: “Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head!” (Jn. 13:9)

What further light do the Scriptures shed upon the question, Why does God cause the righteous to suffer?

The LORD may subject the Christian to suffering and trial as a means of proving, or, verifying his faith:

...now for a little while, since it is necessary, you have been brought to grief by all kinds of trials. ⁷[This has happened] so that the genuineness of your faith—[being of] greater value than gold that perishes—having been tested by fire, may be verified, [resulting] in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Pet. 1:6-7

This is precisely what was happening to Job, although he appears to have been unaware of it. Ironically, he speaks of God’s testing fires (23:10), but does not seem to realize that even now he is being subjected to those very fires.

Then, too, the LORD may subject the Christian to suffering and trial as a means of pruning the Christian so that he may bear more fruit:

I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. ²He removes every branch in me that does not bear fruit. But he prunes every branch that does bear fruit, so that it may bear more fruit. Jn. 15:1-2

We should also consider the exhortation of the writer to the Hebrews, addressed to Christians who were experiencing trial in their lives: “...whom the LORD loves he chastens... ¹⁰he [chastens us] for our profit, so that we may be partakers of his holiness.” (Heb. 12:6,10)

No matter what may be the degree of our Holy Spirit-produced sanctification, we all are still in need of His sanctifying work. This was also very much true of Job. When Elihu appears, he will caution Job against the self-righteous attitude he was developing. Elihu’s anger is aroused against Job for justifying himself rather than God (32:2). The LORD Himself will bring the same charge against Job; He will inquire of Job, “Would you condemn me so that you might be justified?” (40:8b)

Unlike Job’s three friends, Elihu does not bring the charge that Job is suffering because of some unrepented sin he has committed; rather, Elihu is warning Job to beware that he does not allow himself to respond to his suffering in a sinful way. Job is especially in danger of putting greater trust in his own righteousness than in the LORD, and thereby developing an attitude of self-righteousness by which Job views himself as being more righteous than God.

Thus, one result of being exposed to his present trial is the exposure of the remnants of the old sinful nature that had lain dormant in the depths of Job’s heart, but now are brought to the fore. So, even in this exceedingly pious Old Testament Christian saint, there was still the need for further “pruning.” God used this present trial of suffering to accomplish that necessary pruning, or purging.

Why Does God Tolerate the Wicked?←⤒🔗

Job asks the question with which the righteous at times struggle: “Since [our] times are not hidden from the Almighty, why do those who know him never see his days [of judgment]?” (24:1) Job is asking the question, Since nothing is hidden from the Almighty, why does He not take action against the wicked?

Job now proceeds to describe cases of civil injustice—injustice that surely is not hidden from the Almighty, yet He takes no immediate action against the perpetrators (24:2-12). There are instances where wicked men move boundary stones (24:2). They do so to unscrupulously increase the borders of their own land or to acquire a choice piece of property that lies just beyond their border; and then they nonchalantly pasture the flocks they have stolen. They take advantage of the orphan and the widow (24:3)—the most helpless people of society become the victims of their greed and self-aggrandizement.

So cruel and vicious are these men that they force all the poor of the land into hiding (24:4). These poor are described as having to ravage the wilderness for their food like the wild donkey, even though they glean the harvest for the wicked (24:5-6)—the wicked are so cruel as to forbid their workers from even partaking of the harvest. This is a direct violation of the Levitical law:

⁹When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. ¹⁰Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God. Lev. 19:9-10

These poor laborers lie all night naked with no covering from the cold; they are exposed to the rain and seek shelter in the cleft of the rocks (24:7-8). The wretched condition of the poor is attributed to the treatment they receive at the hands of the wicked. These wicked men even go so far as to seize the widow’s infant as a pledge against her debts and think nothing of taking the garments of the poor as a pledge—the very poor who reap the harvest for the wicked, but who cannot eat of it, and who tread their winepresses, but who are not allowed to quench their thirst with the very wine they are making (24:9-11). Being subjected to such oppression, “The groans of the dying rise from the city, and the souls of the wounded cry out [for help]” (24:12a). “But God charges no one with wrongdoing” (24:12b). Even though the oppressed cry out, God does not intervene by taking action against the wicked. (Note: Elihu will address this subject, see commentary on 35:9-13.)

Job now goes on to describe cases of criminal injustice; again, acts of injustice that are not hidden from the Almighty, but He takes no immediate action against the perpetrators (24:13-17). Job speaks of those “who rebel against the light” (24:13)—those who are the notorious rebels of society: the lawless, the godless, the infidel, the blasphemer. He goes on to speak about the murderer who kills his helpless victims during the broad daylight and is a thief during the night (24:14)—here is a constant life of crime. Then there is the adulterer who waits for the twilight, confident that no one will detect his evil practices in the dark (24:15). All of these criminals together operate in the darkness of night and want nothing to do with the light (24:16). Both literally and spiritually they operate in the darkness and belong to the darkness: “They are friends with the terrors of darkness” (24:17)—darkness is their natural element.

In righteous indignation, Job now utters a curse upon the wicked:

¹⁸[But] they are [like] foam on the surface of the water! Let their portion of the land be cursed; let them not go to the vineyards! ¹⁹As heat and drought snatch away the melting snow, so let Sheol snatch away those who have sinned! ²⁰Let the womb forget them; let the worm feast on them! Let them no longer be remembered! So let wickedness be broken like a tree [shattered by lightning]! 24:18-20

Job describes the wicked as being “[like] foam on the surface of the water” (24:18a). There is nothing substantial about them, they are morally worthless, and as such, they have no firm foundation. Job’s desire is that just as heat and drought snatch away the melting snow, “so let Sheol [the place of the dead] snatch away those who have sinned!” (24:19). Just as swiftly as the snow melts in the spring, so swiftly may the wicked pass out of this life into death. Job is here expressing his wish that the thesis of his friends, (namely, that God enacts swift judgment upon the wicked in this present life), were, indeed, the case.

Job further expresses his indignation against the wicked: may they meet with an ignominious end (24:20): “let the womb forget them”—that is to say, may their own mothers put them out of mind and disown them; “let the worm feast on them”—may their bodies rot and be consumed by worms; “let them no longer be remembered”—let no one honor their memory after their death. Then comes Job’s concluding word of curse: “let wickedness be broken like a tree [shattered by lightning]!” (24:20c)­ like a tree that is split by a lightning bolt or its boughs broken by a strong wind, so may the wicked deeds of wicked men be shattered and brought to an end.

Having expressed his righteous indignation against the wicked, Job now expresses his surprise and dismay over the fact that he does not witness God Himself cursing the wicked (24:21-25). Once again Job calls attention to the deeds of these wicked men, stressing that the wicked are, indeed, wicked: “they prey on the barren and childless woman” (24:21)—the wicked man is as cruel and heartless as a wild beast.

Yet, rather than executing swift judgment against such despicable men, God preserves these men by His divine power (24:22). God grants them security and “his eyes are on all their ways” (24:23). God watches over them, affording them protection, not scrutinizing their every deed so as to bear irrefutable testimony against them. Contrast Job’s present statement with his lament in 7:17-19 where he protests that God is constantly scrutinizing his every moment:

What is man that you exalt him, that you pay such close attention to him, ¹⁸that you examine him every morning, that you test him every moment? ¹⁹Will you never look away from me? Will you not leave me alone long enough for me to swallow my saliva? 7:17-19

Indeed, rather than immediately bringing them to an ignominious end, God grants the wicked to be exalted; then, at the end of their brief time on earth, “like all the [rest of men],” they are cut off like heads of grain (24:24). At the end of their days they are swiftly taken out of this world, spared from suffering a long and agonizing death. Furthermore, all men finally experience the same fate of death: there is in this matter no distinction between the wicked and the righteous—such is Job’s contention. Job concludes by challenging anyone to refute his claims and demonstrate that what he has asserted with regard to the wicked is not the case (24:25).

What light do the Scriptures shed on this question, Why does God tolerate the wicked?

First, there are occasions when God does execute swift judgments against wicked men; as the Psalmist declares, “bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days” (Psl. 55:23b) Although such instances are exceptional, they are evidence of God’s righteousness and they are precursors of the Final Judgment. Some biblical examples include the following:

• Er and Onan:

Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; therefore, the LORD put him to death. ⁸Then Judah said to Onan, 'Lie with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to produce offspring for your brother.' ⁹But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so whenever he lay with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from producing offspring for his brother. ¹⁰What he did was wicked in the sight of the LORD; so he put him to death also. Gen. 38:7-10

• Nabal:
  
  Nabal’s servants say of him, “He is such a wicked man that no one can talk to him.” (1 Sam. 25:17) "[About] ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal and he died.” (1 Sam. 25:38)
   
• King Herod:

​Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there a while. ²⁰He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. Having secured the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply. ²¹On the appointed day, Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. ²²They shouted, 'This is the voice of a god, not of a man.' ²³Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. Acts 12:20-23

Second, the Scriptures emphasize that God’s patience and long suffering are intended to lead men to repentance. If they do not avail themselves of this day of grace, their judgment will, indeed, be inescapable. Speaking of the promiscuous false prophetess who plagued the church in Thyatira, and whom He calls “Jezebel,” the Lord Jesus declares:

I have given her time so that she might repent; but she is unwilling to repent of her immorality. ²²Listen; I will throw her into a bed of great tribulation, and also those who are committing adultery with her—unless they repent of her practices. Rev. 2:21-22

Take note, also, of the warning the Apostle Paul issues in the Epistle to the Romans:

Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness [is intended to] lead you to repentance? ⁵But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. ⁶God will repay each man according to what he has done. Rom. 2:4-6

Third, Scripture informs us that God allows the sinfulness of sin to fully express itself. He allows it to come to its full fruition; He allows the exceeding sinfulness of sin to become manifest. He does so in order to thereby demonstrate that the perpetrators of sin are, indeed, wholly worthy of divine judgment. Consider the LORD’s testimony to Abram at the time He made His covenant with him: “in the fourth generation your descendants shall come back here again; because the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” (Gen. 15:16)

In the same vein, the Psalmist declares,

How great are your works, O LORD! Your thoughts are very deep. ⁶A brutish man does not know, neither does a fool understand this: ⁷When the wicked spring up as the grass, and all the workers of iniquity do flourish, it is that they may be destroyed forever. Psl. 92:5-7

In other words, God often allows evil and its perpetrators to come to full fruition, so that it may become evident to all that they are worthy of the divine judgment when it finally befalls them. It is when “the wicked spring up as the grass, and all the workers of iniquity do flourish,” that their true character and the quality of their deeds becomes evident to all. In like manner, the LORD caused Ezekiel to see for himself the sinful culpability of the Israelite nation against whom the LORD was executing His righteous judgment. As He explains to Ezekiel, “when you see...what they are doing...you shall know that it was not without [just] cause that I have done all that I have done to it.” (Ezek. 14:23)

We might suggest that yet another reason why God temporarily tolerates the wicked may be to allow us to humbly be confronted with the evil that resides in our own and in every human heart. In effect, to hold up before us a human “mirror” by which we are confronted with the truth of our sinful human hearts. (The Lord Jesus declares, “out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, railings,” Matt. 15:19.) The men who are committing such atrocities are not animals, and they are not aliens—they are members of the fallen (rebellious) human race, possessing the same nature as ourselves.

A striking testimony of this comes from Charles Colson’s book, Loving God. Colson writes about a Russian Jewish doctor, Boris Kornfeld, who had been sentenced to one of the prison camps in Soviet Russia. As a Russian Jew, Kornfeld and his fellow Jews had suffered a long history of persecution under the Tsars. Now he found himself condemned to a Soviet prison camp, although he was guilty of no crime.

As Colson picks up the story, we find Dr. Kornfeld in the operating room, performing surgery on one of the detestable prison guards:

The man had been knifed and an artery cut. While suturing the blood vessel, the doctor thought of tying the thread in such a way that it would reopen shortly after surgery. The guard would die quickly and no one would be the wiser.

The process of taking this form of vengeance gave rein to the burning hatred Kornfeld had for the guard and all like him. How Kornfeld despised his persecutors! He could gladly slaughter them all!

At that point, Boris Kornfeld became appalled by the hatred and violence he saw in his own heart. Yes, he was a victim of hatred, as his ancestors had been. But that hatred had spawned an insatiable hatred of his own. [The hatred he had suffered ignited the hatred that lay dormant in his own heart.] What a deadly predicament! He was trapped by the very evil he despised. What freedom could he ever know with his soul imprisoned by this murderous hate? It made the whole world a concentration camp.¹

Finally, the Scriptures affirm that there is coming a day of Final Judgment, and the resurrection of Jesus is the proof of that fact:

[God] has appointed a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead. Acts 17:31

Conclusion←⤒🔗

Job raises some perplexing questions that no doubt also trouble the Christian’s mind. Thanks be to God that the Scriptures shed further light on these matters. But let us remember that the final word will be given when Christ appears in glory. As the hymn writer, Katharina von Schlegel, expresses it, referring to that last great day: All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Discussion Questions←⤒🔗

1. Eliphaz (unjustly) charges Job with being a wicked man (22:5); consequently, what does Eliphaz instruct Job to do? See Job 22:21-23 To whom does Eliphaz’s counsel rightly apply? See Isa. 55:6­ 7 What invitation does the LORD extend to you as a Christian, if you have strayed from God? See Isa. 30:15a,

Acquaint yourself with [God] and be at peace [with him]; the benefits you will thereby derive will be good. ²²Accept instruction from his mouth and put his words into your heart. ²³If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored—remove iniquity far from your tent. Job 22:21­-23

Seek the LORD while he may be found; call to him while he is near. ⁷Let the wicked man forsake his way, and let the unrighteous man [forsake] his thoughts. Let him return to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him. [Let him return] to our God, for he will abundantly pardon... Isa. 55:6­-7

This is what the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, says, Your salvation is found in repentance and rest, your strength is found in quietness and confidence... Isa. 30:15

2. How does Job respond to Eliphaz’s counsel that he should seek God’s acquaintance and return to the Almighty? See Job 23:3 As a Christian, what must you remember at those times when it seems that you cannot “find” God? See Jn. 14:16-18,

If only I knew where to find him, so that I might come to his throne!Job 23:3

I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever, ¹⁷the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive him; because it does not see him, nor does it know him. [But] you know him; because he abides with you and will be in you. ¹⁸I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Jn. 14:16-18

3. Job has been frustrated in his attempt to appear before God in order to present his case (23:3-4); but as a godly man, how does he respond to this trying situation? See Job 23:13-14 As a Christian, when you encounter inexplicable trials, do you acknowledge God’s sovereign right over your life? Note Jer. 18:5-6 Do you take comfort in God’s sovereign lordship over your life? Note Isa. 64:8,

But he stands alone [as God]; who is able to change him? He does whatever he pleases. ¹⁴He will carry out what he has appointed for me, and many such plans he still has in store. Job 23:13­-14

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ^6'O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?' says the LORD. 'Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, [so are] you in my hand, O house of Israel.'Jer. 18:6-7

4. What agonizing complaint do we hear Job raise? See Job 23:16-17 Compare Job’s present experience with that which Abram experienced as described in Genesis 15:12-13a. Like Abram, Job has had an encounter with God in the divine darkness of His sovereign, inscrutable being and His terror-inducing presence; how must we respond to such an awesome God? See Psl. 33:8 In what way was this encounter with God, shrouded as it was in “the thick darkness,” an act of God’s mercy? Note 1 Tim. 6:15-16,

God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me, ¹⁷because I was not cut off in the presence of the darkness, nor did he conceal the thick darkness from my face. Job 23:16-17

And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and a horror of great darkness fell upon him. ¹³And he said to Abram, Know for sure that your descendants shall be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and they shall serve the inhabitants of that land; and that nation shall afflict your descendants for four hundred years. Gen. 15:12-13

Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. Psl. 33:8

[he who is] thee blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords,¹⁶who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light... 1 Tim. 6:15-16

5. Job presents cases of civil injustice (24:2-12) and cases of criminal injustice (24:13-17); in light of all such injustice, what question does he ask? See Job 24:1 What are some answers Scripture gives to this question? See Psl. 92:5-7, also note Gen. 15:16; and Acts 17:31,

Since our times are not hidden from the Almighty, why do those who know him never see his days [of judgment]? Job 24:1

O LORD, how great are your works! Your thoughts are very deep. ⁶A senseless man does not know, nor does a fool understand this: ⁷When the wicked spring up like grass, and when all the workers of iniquity flourish, [it is] that they may be destroyed forever. Psl. 92:5-7

...in the fourth generation your descendants shall come back here again; because the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure. Gen. 15:16

...he has appointed a day on which he will judge the world with righteousness by the man whom he has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all men by raising him from the dead. Acts 17:31