Job is not only disturbed that he is being punished—and for what?—but that the wicked are not.
Thank you for letting us take a side trip from the passage at hand to lift up our eyes past the evening news. It’s so refreshing, isn’t it, to look beyond the present distress and see the divine program at work! But now back to the text. Job begins by posing a question that at first may seem obscure: “Since times are not hidden from the Almighty, why do those who know Him see not His days?” (Job 24:1). This issue led Sir Robert Anderson to pen his book The Silence of God. Job has been accused of personal wickedness, of committing many of the very things which he has seen (and we see) in society. He is not guilty of such things, but it has raised a quandary in his mind. First, “times are not hidden from the Almighty,” meaning God certainly knows all the evil going on in the world and obviously has the power to judge it. Even so, “those who know Him see not His days.” In other words, God’s people watch in vain to see Him bring the day of judgment. So why doesn’t God DO something! The meaning of “His days” is often used in Scripture (Ezek 7:7-8; 30:3; Jn 12:48; Acts 17:31) to speak of the days when God says to those living in open rebellion against Him, “Gentlemen, it’s closing time.” Peter describes this well. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come…” (2 Pet 3:9-10). Thus the three answers to Job’s query. First, as to His character, God is patient. Second, as to His creatures, He has a passion—to save as many as possible. Third, as to His will, He has a plan, and will do exactly what needs to be done in the right time and way. You can count on that.