The murderer rises before it is light that he may kill the poor and needy and in the night he is like a thief. The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight saying, “No eye will see me.” And he veils his face.
– Job 24:14–15
So in the middle of this chapter, Job 24, Job is talking about how the wicked perform their sinful, evil actions in darkness, where it seems like no one will know, or no one will see, what they do. There’s a lot that we could talk about when it comes to why Job is wrestling with this, specifically because of these accusations of a wickedness from these so-called friends of his. But I want to lead us to pray according to this biblical reality, that Job is expressing here that sin, evil, wickedness attempts to thrive in darkness, in secret, in apparent security.
Job 24:14–15 Teaches Us Sin Thrives in Secret
I just think of numerous conversations I’ve had recently with people where I just keep coming back to this biblical truth, like sin thrives in secret. Evil thrives in secret, in darkness and the reminder for every single one of us in our lives to beware of secret sin, which is really not secret at all. God knows, right? God sees all things. Who are we? We’re so foolish to think that we are hiding anything from God. He knows all of our thoughts, all of our desires, all of our words even said underneath our breath, all of our motivations.
Think about reading 1st Corinthians 4 not long ago, he knows the purposes of our heart and these things that are hidden will one day be disclosed and so to guard against secret sin, and even the possibility for secret sin. Was having a conversation not long ago with someone just saying, don’t have an email account or digital or social media where somebody else who loves you doesn’t have access to that account or they can see things where you can’t give in to sin in secret. Where else knows.
Job 24:14–15 Reminds Us No Sin is Secret
I think about another conversation recently, just with someone doing something that they thought nobody else would ever know, and indeed, if God had not revealed it, nobody else ever would’ve known, but God would have known. That’s the point. There is no such thing as truly secret sin, so God help us. We pray to not believe the lie of the adversary that no one else will know about this, or no one else does know about this, or that doing this will not lead to disastrous consequences.
God, help us to see and remember at all times that sin always hurts. Sin always harms our lives. Always, always, always. God helps to hate sin knowing that it always harms us and it always harms others, always, either directly or indirectly in the reality that when we are giving in to what we think is secret sin, that it’s affecting us and our relationships to others in ways that we don’t see. In ways that we can’t imagine.
So God help us. We pray to turn from sin all day long today.
Job 24:14–15 Leads Us to Expose Sin
Help us not to harbor so-called secret sin in our lives. God, keep us from darkness. Bring everything into the light in our lives that you might be honored by our purity and our holiness of thought and desire and motivation and word and deed in every way. Just you are the light of our life. We want to honor you by living in such a way that the light of your love and life in us shines before others.
That people see our lives and everything about our lives and give glory to you and heaven. God, please may it be so, we pray. Keep us from darkness, from sin, from the foolishness of so-called secret sin and help us to live in a holiness in the light. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
