What is the meaning of Job 24:17? For to them - Job has just cataloged how the wicked steal, oppress, and murder under cover of night (Job 24:14–16). - “Them” therefore points to people who reject God’s light and choose a path of sin (compare Proverbs 2:13–15). - Scripture consistently distinguishes between “children of light” and those who “walk in darkness” (1 Thessalonians 5:5; John 12:35). Job is describing the latter group. deep darkness - “Deep darkness” is not ordinary nightfall; it is the pitch-black gloom that conceals all sight (see Exodus 10:21–23 for a physical picture of such darkness). - Proverbs 4:19 says, “The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.” - Spiritually, this darkness symbolizes separation from God’s truth (Ephesians 4:18). The wicked are at home in that realm. is their morning - Morning normally signals hope, work, and worship (Psalm 5:3). For these people, the very opposite is true: the darker it gets, the more alive they become. - Jesus exposes the same reality: “People loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). - The inversion shows how sin twists everything. What God designed for rest (night) becomes their peak activity period. surely they are friends - “Friends” implies familiarity and fondness. These individuals don’t merely dabble in darkness; they welcome it, defend it, and depend on it. - Amos 3:3 asks, “Can two walk together unless they are agreed?” Their alliance with evil proves agreement with it. - Romans 1:32 portrays the same mindset: approving and encouraging what God condemns. with the terrors of darkness! - Darkness in Scripture often carries fearful connotations—uncertainty, danger, judgment (Deuteronomy 28:65–67). - Ironically, the wicked cozy up to what should terrify them. Isaiah 5:20 warns against calling evil good and good evil; that is exactly what is happening here. - Yet Psalm 139:11–12 reminds believers that even darkness is as light to God; He sees, He judges, and ultimately no secret deed will stay hidden (Ecclesiastes 12:14). summary Job 24:17 paints a stark portrait of the wicked: they are so committed to sin that the darkest hours feel like dawn, and the very horrors that ought to frighten them have become their companions. The verse warns that when people embrace sin, their values invert—night becomes day, fear becomes friendship—yet God remains fully aware and will bring every work into His perfect light. |
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