SUMMARY
Job speaks of injustice on the earth and asserts that God does not care about it.
ANALYSIS
After Job speaks of the hiddenness of God, he turns to a description of sin and wickedness in the world. He speaks of those who oppress the orphan, the widowA widow is a woman whose spouse has died, often plunging her into poverty and putting her in a vulnerable position in society. Jesus, in his concern for the poor, regards widows with compassion and concern. More, and the poor. The wicked remove landmarks, encroaching on their neighbor’s land. They care nothing for the poor, even taking their children as pledge. Murderers and adulterers prowl about at nightfall, so that there are no witnesses to their crimes.
And God’s place in all of this? “Why are times not kept by the Almighty, and why do those who know him never see his days?” (24:1). The hiddenness of God leads to sin rampant on the earth. When the poor and the needy cry out to God, “God pays no attention to their prayer” (24:12). A prosperous man in his previous life, Job has now experienced profound suffering and it has made him both more sensitive to the suffering of others and more skeptical about God’s governance of the world.
