Resource > Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable) >
Job >
Exposition >
II. THE DIALOGUE CONCERNING THE BASIS OF THE DIVINE-HUMAN RELATIONSHIP 3:1--42:6 >
D. The Third cycle of Speeches between Job and His Three Friends chs. 22-27 >
2. Job's third reply to Eliphaz chs. 23-24 >
God's irresistible power and inscrutable behavior made Job afraid (23:13-17). Nevertheless he determined to confront God with His apparent injustice.
Job could not understand why God did not always judge overt sin quickly (24:1-12). He mentioned three sins specifically: removing boundary landmarks and thereby appropriating someone else's land, stealing flocks of sheep, and mistreating the weak. Job could not see why God seemingly ignored the perpetrators of these terrible sins yet afflicted him so severely. Neither could he see why God did not judge sinners who practiced secret atrocities, specifically murderers, adulterers, and burglars (24:14-17).
