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Job 24:9-10
9 They pluck [gazal] the fatherless [yathowm] from the breast [shad], and take a pledge [chabal] of the poor [`aniy].
10 They cause him to go [halak] naked [`arowm] without clothing [labuwsh], and they take away [nasa'] the sheaf [`omer] from the hungry [ra`eb]; KJV-Interlinear
9 'Others snatch the orphan from the breast, And against the poor they take a pledge. 10 'They cause the poor to go about naked without clothing, And they take away the sheaves from the hungry. NASB
If you escape the reach of one type of wicked person, there are many more types of wickedness to follow in their footsteps.
Some, who are wicked, attempt fraud or extortion in getting what they want. Others lie and cheat and steal in order to get what they want. Still others will use deceit or gossip or power plays in order to crush their intended victims.
In every case, whether the wicked are poor nomads themselves or wealthy politicians, their sole ambition is to advance themselves at the expense of others.
Their victims are helpless and that is depicted by Jobs use of the terms orphan and breast.
Most infants who are nursing, usually nurse from their own mother. Immediately after being born, is generally the time when mothers milk is flowing. However, when an infant is orphaned and is still nursing, it is from someone else. Someone other than their own mother. That is a helpless state. Probably one of the most extreme situations that a person can be in.
To be totally dependent on someone else, someone who is not responsible for you, and have no parents, means that there is no one who really cares for you. When push comes to shove, you could easily be set aside, totally at the mercy of the world. And that is when infants, young children, even teenagers can be taken advantage of quite easily.
This is an act of extreme cruelty based on extreme selfishness. And there are people out there in the world who have no objection to treating people in this manner.
This is a description of a jungle characteristic. Helplessness makes one a victim. Predators thrive on helpless victims.
They take them away from secure situations. They orphan them. They make life miserable for their victims. The lend at exorbitant rates. They rest easy in their warm homes, while their workers, half starved, do work for them for grossly unfair wages.
And, the wicked will even try to take those low wages, as well, just because they are greedy.
And that is what life in the jungle is like. Disregard God in your life, and the jungle is as good as life will get.
You will either be a victim, as the bulk of the world is inhabited by victims, or you will become a predator. But even predators eventually become victims, as other predators come along and take their place.
And, if you disregard God in your life, if you see no use or importance in your spiritual life, then the jungle will seem to you, very much like the normal way life is supposed to be. And for that attitude, you will pay a hefty price.
