Job 24:13  They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.
14  The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief.
15  The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me: and disguiseth his face.
16  In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light.
17  For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.
18  He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards.
19  Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which have sinned.
20  The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree.
21  He evil entreateth the barren that beareth not: and doeth not good to the widow.
22  He draweth also the mighty with his power: he riseth up, and no man is sure of life.
23  Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he resteth; yet his eyes are upon their ways.
24  They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all other, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn.
25  And if it be not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth?

Job had some good insight into how life really is. He stated that there are those who fight against the light. They fight against the truth. That would include Eliphaz and his two friends. They were not interested in truth. They were seeking to invent their own truth and they were trying to cram that down Job’s throat. Job was wiser than that. He was not gullible and he was not going to agree just to get along. This was of far greater importance than that.
In the following verses Job gave some examples of what he was talking about in verse 13. He began by pointing to the murderer. The murderer is so brazen that he will go and kill the innocent in broad daylight. That was happening Job’s day. It is certainly happening today as well. We see again the depravity of wicked people. Those who do not know the Lord are capable of all kinds of evil. We know that the justice system of our day is failing miserably and these types of crimes are not prosecuted properly. This crime was already there in Job’s day. Justice was not being conducted properly then already. Job stated further that the murderer is like the thief in the night. They lurk in the dark and try to surprise the person.
In verse 15 Job mentioned the adulterer. It used to be that the adulterer had some shame and they would commit their wickedness at night. They did not dare to go and commit their evil in plain view of others. God directed Solomon to write about the strange woman in the book of Proverbs. She commits sin and wipes her mouth and says she did nothing wrong.
Job stated that the adulterer waited until dark and assumed that no one would see what he was doing and so he could get away with it. Job pointed out that the adulterer puts on a disguise and assumes that will protect him. In verse 16 he describes further the nature of the wicked. He pointed out that this person does not know the light. They have hardened themselves to the light. The conscience of every person gives them enough sense of right and wrong to put some caution into their plans. However, when a person sears their conscience, they push the truth so far back in their lives and they trample on it.
Job understood that murder and adultery are sin. He understood that those who live this way have shut out the light. They are not interested in truth. They are governed by lust and they will do as they please. These are not the only sins that man can and does commit. Jesus taught that to hate my brother is the same as killing him. There are a lot of people who hate others today. We are being told that it is normal for a girl to think she is a boy and a boy to think he is a girl. We are told we need to make room for the people and change our bathroom policies for them. Those who promote these lies demonstrate their hatred for others. There are people who live in this confused and wicked way and they get so frustrated that they commit suicide. Those who promote this ungodliness demonstrate their hatred for others and will encourage this evil and then act surprised when one of those deluded people kill themselves.
We know that the physical act of adultery starts in the heart and mind. It begins with lust. Rather than understanding that lust is sin, the porn industry is doing quite well. There are many ways that a person can pursue their lusts. Jesus also pointed out that to lust after a woman is to commit adultery in the heart already.
In mentioning these two sins, Job was directed to cover many sins that affect people. Job continued by pointing out that sinners do not want to be caught in their sin. Thus we know that even though they have seared their conscience, and even though they do not know the light, they still have some thought of truth. They still know what they are doing is wrong and that is why they have to do it in the night.
Job pointed out that even though murderers and thieves and adulterers and all sinners look for ways to hide their sin, judgment is coming. In verse 18 and following, we read that there is a judgment coming. It will be swift as the waters. The wicked seem to do well as Job already noted. However, that supposed success is short lived. They may build businesses and they may abuse the poor and the needy for a time. God is not asleep. He knows what is going on.
It is almost impossible to wake up any day now and not hear of some corruption in government. Then we hear the governments trying hard to avoid admitting to, and dealing with their wickedness. They create diversions to try to take people’s attention off the real issues. In the midst of the recent revelations of corruption, our P.M. is wasting tax-payer dollars travelling around and talking about $10.00 daycare for all children or about some new housing initiative that he is proposing with tax-payer dollars. People are not thinking and they are so greedy that they are willing to sell their young children to morally bankrupt people who will indoctrinate those young children with the sodomite agenda and other vile things. People are willing to be bought off by corrupt politicians so that they can pursue their selfish agendas.
This wickedness is not new. It seems to be more rampant, but it is not new. We might get quite upset about it and we might wonder what we can do to stop it and often times we overlook God’s answer to this problem.
The answer is not complicated.

Joshua 1:6  Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
7  Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
8  This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

The answer is in God-fearing men who will take the Word of God and live it and preach it faithfully. Walking around with placards will not change the world. It will only further feed the wicked. God’s Word is powerful. If Joshua would take God’s Word and live by It, he would know success. We can follow his life and see just how successful he was. We can learn from his failures and we can adopt the good things he did.
God does not give us the Bible so we can be arrogant as Job’s friends were. He gave us the Bible so that we can know Him and know the truth and see how fragile and weak we are, and how necessary it is to know Him and follow Him. The truth is not meant to be hidden in a closet somewhere. It is meant to be lived out in every aspect of the true Christian’s life. A few will take notice and seek after the truth. Most will reject it and some will become quite hostile toward it. That does not mean we need to stop living the truth. It means we need to understand how necessary it is to draw nigh to God and follow Him humbly and faithfully.
The world needs to be reminded of the truth, constantly. Those who are saved are privileged to be able to encourage the lost to be saved. The saved also need to be encouraged to be faithful. That is why the true local church is so vitally important. Don’t miss out on God’s blessings in your life.
Pastor Bartel