What is the meaning of Job 24:10? Without clothing – Job pictures laborers so impoverished that their outer garments have been taken as collateral (compare Exodus 22:26-27; Deuteronomy 24:10-13; Job 22:6). – Scripture assumes clothing is a basic human need; depriving others of it is a mark of oppression (James 2:15-16; Matthew 25:36). – The scene exposes social injustice: the wealthy have what they need, yet the poor shiver in the fields they service. they wander about naked – “Wander” hints at aimless, humiliating exposure, much like Isaiah 58:7 urges God’s people to “cover the naked.” – Their naked state testifies against the landowners who refuse mercy (Micah 2:8-9). – God records this suffering, showing He is not indifferent even when human courts ignore it (Job 24:1). They carry the sheaves – The same destitute laborers harvest grain for others, bending under heavy bundles (Ruth 2:2-7). – Mosaic Law required landowners to leave gleanings for the needy (Leviticus 19:9-10; Deuteronomy 24:19), but here the command is callously ignored. – The image underscores irony: those producing abundance cannot share in it. but still go hungry – Hunger after hard work violates God’s design: “The laborer is worthy of his wages” (James 5:4; cf. Proverbs 13:23). – The verse exposes how sin twists society so that effort no longer guarantees provision (Isaiah 3:15). – Job highlights this to show that, in a fallen world, judgment on the wicked is not always immediate or visible. summary Job 24:10 portrays real people degraded by greedy employers: stripped of clothing, forced to harvest crops, and left unfed. The verse challenges any assumption that earthly prosperity equals righteousness. While affirming God’s justice, it reminds believers to reflect His character by defending and providing for the vulnerable, confident that the Lord sees, remembers, and will ultimately set all wrongs right. |
    |