Doc Ryan and Pastor Matt take a look at the dialogue speeches in the book of job and the characters that give them. Chapters 3- 27 is the dialogue chapter of the book in 29 begins the discourse section of the book so what we have in chapter 28 is basically an interesting hymn.     Theodicy – the vindication of the justice of God in the light of humanity's suffering The conventional answer in ancient Israel was that God rewards virtue and punishes sin (the principle known as "retributive justice")   In the poetic dialogues Job's friends see his suffering and assume he must be guilty, since God is just. Job, knowing he is innocent, concludes that God must be unjust. He retains his piety throughout the story (belying The Challengers suspicion that his righteousness is due to the expectation of reward), but makes clear from his first speech that he agrees with his friends that God should and does reward righteousness.