Job 24: 1 – 25
The Thief
1 “Since times are not hidden from the Almighty, why do those who know Him see not His days? 2 “Some remove landmarks; they seize flocks violently and feed on them; 3 they drive away the donkey of the fatherless; they take the widow’s ox as a pledge. 4 They push the needy off the road; all the poor of the land are forced to hide. 5 Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert, they go out to their work, searching for food. The wilderness yields food for them and for their children. 6 They gather their fodder in the field and glean in the vineyard of the wicked. 7 They spend the night naked, without clothing, and have no covering in the cold. 8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and huddle around the rock for want of shelter. 9 “Some snatch the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge from the poor. 10 They cause the poor to go naked, without clothing; And they take away the sheaves from the hungry. 11 They press out oil within their walls, and tread winepresses, yet suffer thirst. 12 The dying groan in the city, and the souls of the wounded cry out; Yet God does not charge them with wrong. 13 “There are those who rebel against the light; they do not know its ways nor abide in its paths. 14 The murderer rises with the light; He kills the poor and needy; and in the night he is like a thief. 15 The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, saying, ‘No eye will see me’; and he disguises his face. 16 In the dark they break into houses which they marked for themselves in the daytime; they do not know the light. 17 For the morning is the same to them as the shadow of death; If someone recognizes them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death. 18 “They should be swift on the face of the waters; their portion should be cursed in the earth, so that no one would turn into the way of their vineyards. 19 As drought and heat consume the snow waters, so the grave consumes those who have sinned. 20 The womb should forget him, the worm should feed sweetly on him; He should be remembered no more, and wickedness should be broken like a tree. 21 For he preys on the barren who do not bear, and does no good for the widow. 22 “But God draws the mighty away with His power; He rises up, but no man is sure of life. 23 He gives them security, and they rely on it; yet His eyes are on their ways. 24 They are exalted for a little while, then they are gone. They are brought low; they are taken out of the way like all others; they dry out like the heads of grain. 25 “Now if it is not so, who will prove me a liar, and make my speech worth nothing?”
In today’s study we come across a term that has caused significant interest to prophecy buffs. It says in verse 14 ‘The murderer rises with the light; He kills the poor and needy; and in the night he is like a thief.’
Throughout the Bible when we see this word –‘thief’ – it describes a negative aspect. For example look at these verses;
Joel 2 verse 9, “They run to and fro in the city, they run on the wall; they climb into the houses, they enter at the windows like a thief.
Zechariah 5 verse 3 - 4, “Then he said to me, “This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole earth: ‘Every thief shall be expelled,’ according to this side of the scroll; and, ‘Every perjurer shall be expelled,’ according to that side of it.” “I will send out the curse,” says the LORD of hosts; “It shall enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name. it shall remain in the midst of his house and consume it, with its timber and stones.”
John 10 verse 10, ““The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
So, you might be saying to yourselves, okay- what’s your point.’ My point is that I have heard many good bible teachers’ use this same negative word and somehow spin it around and give it a positive application toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
Many of you who are interested in the future have heard teachings on this passage from the first letter to the Thessalonians. In chapter 5 we read, “1 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. 2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.11 Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.
The teachings I have heard used are that our Lord Jesus Is coming for us His bride [ the church] like a thief. Look again at the scripture in chapter 5. Who are being addressed? The answer is non-believers. We as believers are His sons and daughters and as verse 4 points out, ‘4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.
Now a question I want you to consider is this, ‘Why would this be written to a non-believer who probably never looked at the bible. How would they be warned? Well you might say that it is up to us believers to point out this verse to them. So, if they will not turn to The Lord Jesus Christ then this will be their outcome. In a way this is right. However, in all truth, how many of you or others with this point of view has ever done this. Are we letting God down and other humans for not doing this?
In a way yes this is true. Yet our Great God knows about us thru and thru. If this was up to all of us I guess the church would cease to exist. No, our Great God accomplishes His mighty works in spite of us. We were talking about the ‘thief’ as described to the letter to the Thessalonians - right? These verses come from what we know are the letters to the 7 churches of the book of Revelation. The church addressed was the church at Sardis. What does it say here?
‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.
The church at Sardis was described as being “dead”. It appeared to be alive – had “a reputation of being alive” – looked spiritually vibrant on the outside – but was spiritually lifeless. The church was Christian in name only. In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 23 verse 27 our Master and King gave a scathing rebuke of the Pharisees by saying that they “look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean” This is what had become of the church in Sardis.
This church had a ‘reputation’ of being alive but in reality was dead. Here are some important points to consider;
. Reputation = what others thought
. Appeared to be alive = what others see
. But was really dead = what is not seen
As with all the churches, the Lord declares, “I know your deeds.” That which is invisible to men is perfectly clear to the Lord who is in the business of revealing our true condition regardless of how spiritual we may think we are. He uses His Word, the convicting work of the Spirit, and other agents (trials and members of the body of Christ) as mirrors of reproof to show us our need and draw us to Himself. The question is, as He will challenge us in verse 6, do we have eyes to see and ears to hear?
So, in the very next words, we see a rude awakening and reality:
• We see that they had a name, a reputation—what men thought.
• We see they were alive, that is, they were an active church full of programs and church activity—what men see.
• But, regardless, they were dead, without true spiritual vitality—what the Lord saw and knew.
The point is they had a reputation, they were known far and wide, and they were active, filled with activity, action, and programs, just like a great deal of the churches today all across America. By the world’s standards they were successful and they were probably proud of their church, but our Lord says not so, “you are dead.”
What was dead about the church and what needed reviving? First, there was no indication of persecution or trouble from outside forces. Our Lord Jesus has promised that if we want to live godly lives we ‘will’ suffer persecution. Do your own inventory! Have you been in hiding afraid to let anyone know you are a Christian? Have you or are you experiencing any type of persecution? If you honestly review your life and are having a good old time without any problems, I suggest that you really examine yourselves to see if you really are a believer.
Neither was there any heresy within, in contrast to some of the other churches. Things seemed to be peaceful and religiously correct. Perhaps it was a church that was too good to be true. Its religiously proper appearance may have only meant that it had fully and silently compromised with the truth and the pagan society around it. I heard someone refer to this type of church as “the perfect model of inoffensive Christianity”
Outwardly this church is prosperous. In many cases it is busy with the externals of religious activity; however, when you analyze it you find that it is devoid of spiritual life and power”
In the book of 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 5, Paul had described such Christians by saying that they had a form of godliness, but, because of their failure to walk with the Lord, they were denying the real power of God through their hypocrisy. They were out of touch with elements of true spirituality. Some may have been only professing Christians engaged in religious activities that had never truly trusted in Jesus Christ. More than likely, however, they were carnal believers who had made a good start, but had failed to move on, to grow and experience true spirituality. They were active, engaged in works, but temporally dead, out of fellowship with Christ.
This is a warning. A church is in danger of death:
• when it begins to worship its own past or history, its reputation or name, or the names in the church,
• when it is more concerned with forms than with function and life,
• when it is more concerned with numbers and noses, than with the spiritual quality of life it is producing in its people,
• when it is more involved with management than with ministry or with the physical over the spiritual.
2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. 3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.
Our Lord Jesus Christ therefore gave Sardis a jolting command to “Wake up!”. The rousing call was meant to encourage the church to take action. The members were to strengthen what little remained, to obey, to repent.
Please notice the term “The things which remain.” When people stop operating from the base of God’s Word and from the power of His Spirit, spiritual decline always begins. It’s a kind of law of spiritual degeneration. But even in such a state there is at first some semblance of what is right in a man’s life—good habits, traditions and actions, a remembrance of morality, even though people forget the source.
Our Adoni Yeshua is writing to people who think that they are believers yet they are not so they would be hearing this letter of warning directed to them. Our Holy Master told the church at Sardis to wake up or He would come like a thief does. “You will not know at what time I will come to you,” If you take a look at this verse again, it is not so good. This action by our Lord is not something to look forward to, but is a warning.
Let me take a few minutes and speak about ‘The Thief in the Night.’ Let me ask you a couple of questions;
Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
Please look again at what our Lord says will happen if the people do not repent, “Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you “
Now before I show you something I think is awesome which I have not seen any teacher describe. Let us look at some of the remaining references of the term ‘Thief in the night.
We read in “2 Peter 3: 9 – 10, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”
Job 24: 14, “The murderer rises with the light; He kills the poor and needy; and in the night he is like a thief.
Does any of this sound like something believers should look forward to happening?
Let me now show you something quite awesome. See if you can see the significance of what is going on.
Luke 22: 52, “Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him, Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves?
Do you see what just happened? Our Wonderful Master, Messiah, Lord, and Savior Is preparing to go to the cross for you and me and look at what occurs. The religious leaders came with a mob to arrest our Lord Jesus in the ‘night’. He Is hurt by their actions even though He knows it must come about. He asks them do they consider Him to be what? – a thief!
Our Lord came the first time as the suffering Lamb of God to take away our sins. He Is coming back as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah the second time. Since these people thought and treated Him like a ‘thief’ – look at how He says He will come back and deal with these phonies - Revelation 16: 15, “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”
In other words He says, ‘You people consider and treat me like a thief and do not recognize Me for Who I AM - The Son of God, The Messiah. Okay, then when I do come back then I will come back as a thief does and it will be the end for you because you would not accept Me, when I have came to You as Immanuel – God with us.’
Back in chapter 12 we learned that Job had claimed that wicked people prosper in this world. In this chapter he is going to give more reasons as to why this occurs.
In verses 1 through 12 Job comments that he has witnessed in his life that wicked people are not dealt with here in this world nor are those who have been injured by them righted.
1. In verses 13 thru 17 Job claims that these wicked people go unnoticed
2. Job claims in verses 18 thru 20 that our Holy God has witnessed what these evil people have done; He has put forth His Judgment for a future time.
3. This delayed judgment will even apply to the most vicious of individuals as indicated by Job in verses 21 and 22.
4. So, to bring his thoughts to a complete application, in verses 23 through 25 it shows that not all those who we see in this world as being prosperous are righteous in God’s eyes.
1 “Since times are not hidden from the Almighty, why do those who know Him see not His days?
We need to take note here of our Holy Master’s Omnipresence and Omniscience. He Is Everywhere and Is All Knowing. He Was and Is and Is to come. He Is outside of time and therefore knows everything from start of time to its end.
2 “Some remove landmarks; they seize flocks violently and feed on them;
Job asserts that those who know him that is, wise and good people who are acquainted with Him, and with whom His secret is, do not see his day, —the day of his Judging for them. This thought is relative to our Holy God Judging for them not against them. This was the thing he complained of in his own case spoken in the last chapter, which was that he could not see God appearing on his behalf to plead his case,—the day of his judging against open and notorious sinners. Therefore Job is looking forwarded to that which is called his day. That day will come, but we do not see it, because it is future. When it will happen is God’s secret. Only He knows when it shall be.
For proof that wicked people prosper, Job specifies two sorts of unrighteous ones, whom the entire world saw thriving in their iniquity. First of all wicket people do wrong under pretence of law and authority.
They seize their neighbors of their real estates, which came to them by descent from their ancestors. They remove the land-marks, under pretence that they were misplaced, and so they encroach upon their neighbors’ rights and think they effectually secure that to their posterity which they have got wrongfully, by making that to be an evidence for them which should have been an evidence for the rightful owner.
In today’s world we see this somewhat in what some low down neighbors do. They build and plant items on their neighbor’s property acting like it belongs to them. Sadly, many families have had to invest in costly surveyors to prove that the property is theirs.
3 they drive away the donkey of the fatherless; they take the widow’s ox as a pledge.
If a donkey got loose and wandered onto a wicked person’s property they kept the animal. Being poor and fatherless these evil people laugh as they tell the widow and her child, ‘If you want it back then sue me.’ Have you ever experienced an evil person who keeps a ball that was accidently hit into his yard? I remember one year down the shore [that means ‘Beach’] when my children were young we were walking to the ocean when my son who was about 6 bent over and picked up a half piece of a clam shell. The owner of the property came rushing out of his house and screaming at all of us. He was totally a person who was not mentally stable.
For the slightest error these evil people will also keep pledges of poor people. Living in a city area I have personally witnessed many occasions where owners of apartments keep the down payments of renters by saying that they had to repair damage. In most situations people will not go through all the hassle to sue to get their money back.
God has taken it among the titles of His honor to be a Father of the fatherless and a Judge of the widows; and therefore those will not be considered His friends that do not to their utmost protect and help them; but those who hurt these disadvantaged individuals God will certainly deal with them as His enemies that hurt and oppress them.
4 They push the needy off the road; all the poor of the land are forced to hide.
Have you ever read or seen in the news how some elderly or needy people have been abused by others. A family who is lost stops you and asks for directions. Some wise guys think it is a joke to give the wrong directions sending this family even further away from their pursued destination. What these wise guys fail to know is that there might have been an emergency that these travelers needed to take care of. And of course you have seen reports of people getting lost and somehow driving to a dangerous area.
Just a year ago two young news reporters turned into the wrong section in Virginia Beach. When they were at a traffic light a group of evil delinquents attacked them and caused them significant injuries. A comment made by one of the residents of this community said that those people had no business being in their turf. I have personally aware that many people in Philadelphia and its surrounding towns are afraid to go out after dark in fear of being assaulted.
5 Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert, they go out to their work, searching for food. The wilderness yields food for them and for their children.
Their character is like a wild donkey in the desert. – Untamed and unreasonable like Ishmael. We see him described in the book of Genesis chapter 16 verse 12, “He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, and every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”
Evil people choose the desert for their dwelling We see the same type of people described here now with the label ‘ISIS’ With today’s technology they can be seen by satellite but even more important they are spotted by our Majestic Holy Ruler.
Amazingly this is the career path they have chosen. They even go to extremes in labor to accomplish their practice. They adapt their lives to match their victims. The nearby homes, businesses which is called the ‘Wilderness’ provide the materials and food to supply their family needs. If need be they are up early and stay up late to rob and hurt innocent people.
This is further pointed out in verse 6 that these criminals not only rob travelers they break in and steal from their neighbors.
6 They gather their fodder in the field and glean in the vineyard of the wicked.
They enter other property and help themselves to neighbor’s fruit and vegetables. Even when they bring the booty back to their location others wind up stealing from them.
If you are unfortunate enough to fall into their paths you need to understand that you will not receive any mercy.
7 They spend the night naked, without clothing, and have no covering in the cold. 8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and huddle around the rock for want of shelter.
Those heroes who serve in our military special services are presently doing clandestine operations to protect us that we are not aware of. In many situations they go about their duties without any identification. If they fall into the enemies hands they know that they will suffer through extreme torture. We in America have certain disciplines in dealing with prisoners. Evil terrorists have no such restrictions. In many cases the soldiers keep one bullet to use against themselves which they know would be a better ending than being captured.
Here we see that these horrible animals cause their captives to be stripped. They are exposed to the weather elements. They have no relief from the cold and rain and have to depend upon survival techniques such as finding a cave or at the last response to cling to rocks that have been warmed by the sun. [This is similar to solar energy]
Now, a key point for you to understand is that Eliphaz had charged Job as being the ring leader of these wicked terrorists.
9 “Some snatch the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge from the poor. 10 They cause the poor to go naked, without clothing; And they take away the sheaves from the hungry. 11 They press out oil within their walls, and tread winepresses, yet suffer thirst.
Having made poor infants fatherless by murdering their dads, the women are ill treated. This causes the children to be taken from them. Ultimately they starve to death. Some of the healthier young boys and girls wind up being sold into slavery.
I have a hard time coming to understand how we humans can so hurt other human beings. During World War II this type of barbaric slavery was done by the Nazi’s. The use of forced labor in Nazi Germany and throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II took place on an unprecedented scale. It was a vital part of the German economic exploitation of conquered territories. It also contributed to the mass extermination of populations in German-occupied Europe. The Nazi Germans abducted approximately 12 million people from almost twenty European countries; about two thirds of whom came from Eastern Europe. Many workers died as a result of their living conditions - mistreatment, malnutrition, and torture were the main causes of death. They became civilian casualties of shelling. At its peak the forced laborers comprised 20% of the German work force. Counting deaths and turnover, about 15 million men and women were forced laborers at one point or another during the war.
Forced laborers who worked in bakeries for example could not eat what they made. If they were caught taking a piece of bread they would be shot. They were given only a slight amount of slop and water. In most cases the Germans knew about the time when average life expectancy of a slave laborer on a work assignment amounted to less than four months. The emaciated forced laborers died from exhaustion or disease or they were deemed to be incapable of work and killed. Nazi top German firms like Bosch, Mercedes, Deutsche Bank, VW and many others,involved the use of almost 300,000 slaves. Up to 25,000 of the 35,000 prisoners appointed to work for IG Farben in Auschwitz died.
12 The dying groan in the city, and the souls of the wounded cry out; Yet God does not charge them with wrong.
Here is the irony of life. With all the injustice and wickedness – ‘Yet God does not charge them with wrong.’ Our Majestic Holy Supreme Ruler Knows and sees all. He does not immediately Judge them for their crimes nor mark them an example to others to not go the same way. But let me add one significant word to this point of view – ‘Yet’. They will ultimately pay for their evil. You know we were just talking about the Nazis. Even will all the horrible results from their existence, their evil only lasted 12 years.
We have talked about those who in their brazen actions have caused significant hurt to other human beings. We are now going to hear about those who do their evil behind the scenes.
13 “There are those who rebel against the light; they do not know its ways nor abide in its paths.
We see that it says that there are those who rebel against the light. You know what the ‘light’ means. This is sin against God’s Holy Word and that which He has revealed to their conscience. In addition they choose the dark to commit their crimes. Our Lord Jesus explained that the Apostle John recorded in his Gospel chapter 3 verse 20, ““For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” Sinful works are called works of darkness because he that does evil hates the light.
There are three principal types of these evil deeds done in the dark;
1. Murder [ verse 14]
2. Adultery (verse 15)
3. Home and Business Robbery [ verse 16]
14 The murderer rises with the light; He kills the poor and needy; and in the night he is like a thief. 15 The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, saying, ‘No eye will see me’; and he disguises his face. 16 In the dark they break into houses which they marked for themselves in the daytime; they do not know the light.
When you watch the news you see and hear accounts of some brutal murders. When they are caught and you find out that the murderer has no remorse about what he or she did.
Just recently there was a movie starring Johnny Deep as James Joseph "Whitey" Bulger, Jr. a former organized crime boss of the Boston Irish Mob crew known as the Winter Hill Gang.. The United States federal prosecutors indicted Bulger for 19 murders. When you read the court documents as to each murder you see that it was done like it was a normal routine work day.
In the book of Proverbs chapter 7 our Precious Holy Spirit lists the horrible outcome of adultery. “ 1 My son, keep my words, and treasure my commands within you. 2 Keep my commands and live, and my law as the apple of your eye. 3 Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call understanding your nearest kin, 5 that they may keep you from the immoral woman, from the seductress who flatters with her words. 6 For at the window of my house I looked through my lattice, 7 and saw among the simple, I perceived among the youths, a young man devoid of understanding, 8 passing along the street near her corner; And he took the path to her house 9 in the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night. 10 And there a woman met him, with the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart. 11 She was loud and rebellious, her feet would not stay at home. 12 At times she was outside, at times in the open square, lurking at every corner. 13 So she caught him and kissed him; with an impudent face she said to him: 14 “I have peace offerings with me; Today I have paid my vows. 15 So I came out to meet you, diligently to seek your face, and I have found you. 16 I have spread my bed with tapestry, colored coverings of Egyptian linen. 17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. 18 Come, let us take our fill of love until morning; Let us delight ourselves with love. 19 For my husband is not at home; He has gone on a long journey; 20 He has taken a bag of money with him, and will come home on the appointed day.” 21 With her enticing speech she caused him to yield, with her flattering lips she seduced him. 22 Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter or as a fool to the correction of the stocks, 23 till an arrow struck his liver. As a bird hastens to the snare, he did not know it would cost his life. 24 Now therefore, listen to me, my children; Pay attention to the words of my mouth: 25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, do not stray into her paths; 26 For she has cast down many wounded, and all who were slain by her were strong men. 27 Her house is the way to hell, descending to the chambers of death.”
Now please jump back to Proverbs chapter 4 and let us see what our Holy Ghost says about robbers. “14 Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil. 15 Avoid it, do not travel on it; Turn away from it and pass on. 16 For they do not sleep unless they have done evil; and their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall. 17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. 18 But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. 19 The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.”
Job sees in the same way Solomon was observant and it is this as he imparts in verse 17.
17 For the morning is the same to them as the shadow of death; If someone recognizes them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.
A secret punishment that those who commit their evil deeds in the dark is that they fear being exposed or caught. The light of the day which we love is a terror to bad people. They are afraid of hearing any siren. And even when it is quiet them fear that the police are surrounding their homes for a bust.
18 “They should be swift on the face of the waters; their portion should be cursed in the earth, so that no one would turn into the way of their vineyards.
We see here that some cause their evil ways on the sea. When we read 18 “their portion should be cursed in the earth, so that no one would turn into the way of their vineyards’, we come to understand that these types of criminals love to ply their trade on ships compared to those who do their evil on land. At this time in existence fleeing a crime scene would be faster if you took to the water than land.
19 As drought and heat consume the snow waters, so the grave consumes those who have sinned. 20 The womb should forget him, the worm should feed sweetly on him; He should be remembered no more, and wickedness should be broken like a tree.
From our observation we seem to think that these horrible people pass off this life without suffering serious consequences. This is brought out by the example of snow melting. It just nicely melts into the ground. In addition, you have heard of the comment, ‘stand back because I think lighting is going to strike.’ We say that comment when someone we feel has said or done something wrong that God Is going to shoot a lightning bolt from heaven and we do not want to be near that person and get hit also. You might at one time seen lighting hit a tree. It sometimes splits the tree in half. Even though we feel that some wicked people that we know should be struck by a lightning bolt by our Holy Judge, God Almighty but as you know it does not always happen as we would hope. The evil person just fades away and we tend to forget his being around us.
21 For he preys on the barren who do not bear, and does no good for the widow. 22 “But God draws the mighty away with His power; He rises up, but no man is sure of life. 23 He gives them security, and they rely on it; yet His eyes are on their ways. 24 They are exalted for a little while, then they are gone. They are brought low; they are taken out of the way like all others; they dry out like the heads of grain. 25 “Now if it is not so, who will prove me a liar, and make my speech worth nothing?”
When a woman went childless she looked upon this as God’s disfavor. In many cases we see that the withholding of a baby being born was the work of God to do something miraculous. For example we see the cruel treatment being done to a childless woman and the pain that accompanied this issue and then we will see brought out the Lord’s miraculous work as described in the book of 1 Samuel chapter 1, “1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the mountains of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 And he had two wives: the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. 3 This man went up from his city yearly to worship and sacrifice to the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. Also the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there. 4 And whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an offering, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although the LORD had closed her womb. 6 And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the LORD had closed her womb. 7 So it was, year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, that she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat. 8 Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?” 9 So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the LORD. 10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish. 11 Then she made a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.” 12 And it happened, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli watched her mouth. 13 Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk. 14 So Eli said to her, “How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you!” 15 But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD. 16 Do not consider your maidservant a wicked woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.” 17 Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.” 18 And she said, “Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad. 19 Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her. 20 So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the LORD.” 21 Now the man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the LORD the yearly sacrifice and his vow. 22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “Not until the child is weaned; then I will take him, that he may appear before the LORD and remain there forever.” 23 So Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him. Only let the LORD establish His word.” Then the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him. 24 Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD in Shiloh. And the child was young. 25 Then they slaughtered a bull, and brought the child to Eli. 26 And she said, “O my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the LORD. 27 For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. 28 Therefore I also have lent him to the LORD; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the LORD.” So they worshiped the LORD there.
In my lifetime I have undergone some pretty significant evil done to me. I had worked for the Post Office as a Postmaster. The Lord had blessed me in amazing way. Little did I know that behind the scene there were three people [just like Job had against him] who had laid plans to get rid of me.
It appeared at first that they had succeeded in their plan. I was fired. It was quite painful, embarrassing, and fearful an experience to go through at what their action had caused me. Little did I know that the Lord had allowed this to happen to move me on to dedicate my life in service to Him.
Please note in verses 23 and 24 how it describes how evil people are quickly done away with. When I was in the midst of the direct assault of these three evil men I drew comfort from Psalm 37 which says this, “For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; indeed, you will look carefully for his place, but it shall be no more.”
I had done nothing wrong so I finally turned everything that I was going through over to the Lord. Amazingly everything that the Psalm spoke about happened to those three men who had set themselves to do me harm. In the long run I heard that each one of these horrible men suffered the consequences of their evil ways and received far worse than what they caused me to experience.
