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Job 24:2-4
2 Some remove [nasag] the landmarks [gabuwlah]; they violently take away [gazal] flocks [`eder], and feed [ra`ah] thereof.
3 They drive away [nahag] the ass [chamowr] of the fatherless [yathowm], they take [chabal] the widow's ['almanah] ox [showr] for a pledge [chabal].
4 They turn [natah] the needy ['ebyown] out of the way [derek]: the poor [`aniy] [`anav] of the earth ['erets] hide [chaba'] themselves together [yachad]. KJV-Interlinear
2 'Some remove the landmarks; They seize and devour flocks. 3 'They drive away the donkeys of the orphans; They take the widow's ox for a pledge. 4 'They push the needy aside from the road; The poor of the land are made to hide themselves altogether. NASB
Wickedness is a cancer. Wickedness is the disease of ridicule of the helpless. Those who have and of whom are wicked, will take every opportunity to take advantage of those who are unable to help or defend themselves.
Governments are among the worst of these, with people who hide behind legislated law and bureaucracy in order to justify their seizing the rights and property and livelihood of those who lack the resources to protect themselves.
But wickedness is not limited to governments. Governments are made up of people and it is the people who are short on ethics and long on rigidness, short on Bible doctrine and long on self-righteousness, who abuse the powers and positions they possess.
And from governments, to companies, to individuals, all of which are made up of people, the policy of the world is to devour the helpless in the name of justice and law.
Here Job, in his first set of examples, uses the widow and the orphan, and the helpless person in general to demonstrate that evil runs rampant even within the legal system. Systems in which people should be able to find shelter and protection, but in fact generally becomes their executioner.
The nature of life is that we all have needs. We all need clothing, food, shelter, educations, jobs, resources and such in order to survive in this life. Those needs and even the desires for better things, for a better life, will sooner or later get you into debt. And, if your own actions do not create a debt for yourself, then there are many involuntary activities in this world which will cause you to go into debt.
Life is full of exposures to failures, economic failures, health failures, storm caused failures, accident failures, and so forth. Even taxes will catch up to you sooner or later, and they could be your nemesis.
And there is one thing that is certain if anything in life is certain, and that is when disaster strikes, it usually dominoes into many more disasters, and your life can spiral downward quickly.
All of life hangs in the balance. In fact your life is always hanging on by only the thread of Gods will. He can strengthen that thread into a rope, or let it fray and snap.
Under the protection and pretense of law and authority, property can be removed. It can be deemed condemned and removed by government and removed from your possession. Property can be seized for non-payment of debt. The orphan or widow, or those who have very little, can easily be taken advantage of. They do not have the resources to fight for what little they have.
And when laws or life become oppressive then the poor or the weak, are forced into hiding, they are forced into underground activities. They conduct themselves in what should be normally legitimate activities, but because of the abuse of laws, legitimate activities are now by legislation, considered engaged in criminal activities. They are ostracized from a normal life.
When the Tribulation comes along, then this abuse of economic regulation will become extreme. People will actually starve because they will be restricted from buying or selling. All of history gives us examples of abuse, and the Tribulation will become the extreme.
When laws or justice cease to protect the fundamental rights or subsistence of the individual, then the laws themselves are evil. When society allows prejudice or gossip or ridicule against individuals or groups, then the norms and standards of society have degenerated into evil. When individuals or organizations use the law or justice or contractual terms in order to take advantage of others, to their own profit or benefit, excluding reasonable solutions designed to protect the original purpose of their relationship, then the designs of fairness and equity have become evil.
Do not enter into any arrangement with others, unless you are more than willing to work with them through the problems that might arise in their life. You do not loan with the hopes of being able to repossess, thus stealing someone else's equity resources. You do not come to someone's aid with hopes of their failure and thus enriching yourself because of their bad luck. You do not become a member of a social group or club with the intention of advancing yourself at the expense of someone else's reputation destroyed by gossip. You do not advance your career through negative office politics. You do not defeat competitors through unscrupulous methods.
In every activity of life, we look to God who will advance us in life with everything we need and want, and He will accomplish it without bringing harm to anyone else.
When evil rules your life, then you can only gain those things you want and need, by means of causing harm to someone else.
You certainly have the right to protect yourself from those who would try to take advantage of you.
But, any advancement or promotion you cause or force for yourself, which means harm for someone else, is not really a promotion. If God does not promote you, then your position is temporary at its very best.
Anything gained by your own deceitful or self-righteous efforts, at the expense of others, is not legitimate.
'Well, it’s the law. Well, they failed to meet the terms,' is a self-serving, judgmental, and self-righteous view of life.
When you enter into a transaction, you have your goal, a legitimate profit, and your opposite has a goal, getting something for their money. Both interests should be served honorably.
To enter into a loan, knowing that the borrower might well fail, thus hoping to get your loan back as well as their collateral, is nothing less that attempted robbery. To tax and spend, to attempt to sway organized groups with promised advantages is nothing short of prejudice and corruption.
We will live many years throughout our lives. We will come face to face with many evils during our life, but for the most part, we will probably not see Gods judgment and punishment against those who cause wickedness in this world. Just as Job mentioned in the last verse.
This does not mean that Christ has lost control over history.
