24:1 In the midst of his existential crisis, Job began to question the fundamentals of his faith. He felt "in the dark" and left out of the purpose of his own life. He trusted in God's authority and plan but struggled with not knowing the reason behind it. In that, Job shares similarity with perhaps every person to have ever lived and believed in God.
God always reveals truth but does so in tidbits. He always has plan for our lives but it unfolds in segments. Job wanted to know the whole picture form within the picture, and so often so do we, but that is not God's way.
24:2-8 Job continued to feel as though the wicked had too much power, prowess and progress. As he observed the world, he became distressed at the magnitude of their negative impact. Job felt there was no justice in his own life and when he looked outward, he realized that injustice pervaded the whole world.
24:9-12 Job noted that the wicked were not thwarted as quickly or efficiently as the innocent needed. This is the lament of the whole world. A lot of people turn away from faith because of the very notion that evil should not be able to exist at all. Yet evil is the consequence of freedom. God created this world and these temporary vessels for each individual to express themselves freely. To make their own choices, to pursue their own motivations, to identify themselves.
24:13-17 Job saw persecution. Dark against light, and from his fractured position of faith, he felt like dark was winning. He forgot that Light has already won.
24:18-21 What Job wanted was for the evil to be extracted from the world. But he forget that evil had already been sentenced to death. God's children have already been promised life. The unjust conditions of this world are temporary but justice reigns eternal.
24:22-24 Like Asaph in Psalm 73, Job found comfort in remembering that even the wicked are subject to finality. No matter how bold or grand or powerful, their kingdoms crumble, their legacies are forgotten or denounced. Though they seem indestructible, they do inevitable destruct.
24:25 Job hoped that his "friends" would finally listen and agree with him. He felt that though they had denied him, they could not deny his observation of the world. His friends continued to press that Job was wicked and it was the reason for his distress; Job pointed out that even the actually wicked were not punished as severely as he seemed to be.
Job knew that something deeper was happening with his life but he did not understand precisely what it was. Evil was challenging his faith and it was a tremendous effort to resist. At the same time, it was easy for Job not to abandon his faith altogether because his relationship with God was so personal, so strong. Evil challenged him but did not win. Faith continued to have the victory in his heart.
