Job: Tragedy, Repentance & Restoration – Part VI

At the end Job’s first reply to Eliphaz, he’s starting to show signs of breaking down.

Who could blame him? His first friend, Eliphaz, was of no help to him at all. In spite of being the “voice of experience,” his experiences only served to make Job more miserable!

Now it’s Bildad’s turn. Bildad is the “voice of tradition.” Bildad goes back in time to make judgments on what is happening now. He is more crude than Eliphaz but just as unhelpful.

The Book of Job – Part VI: Bildad’s first speech to Job

Then Bildad the Shuhite answered, “How long will you say these things, and the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?” –Job 8:1-2.

What a way to start a conversation with a hurting friend. “Job, you’re nothing but a lot of hot air. How much longer are you going to keep this up?” Terrible!

As a reminder, Bildad is a Shuhite. He’s a descendant of Shuah, the son of Abraham and Keturah; an Arab.

“Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert what is right?” –Job 8:3.

Translation: “Job, you’re getting what’s coming to you.” Bildad was saying that Job is suffering all this because of his sin.

“If your sons sinned against Him, then He delivered them into the power of their transgression.” –Job 8:4.

This statement is absolutely untrue. First, God is not the one who destroyed Job’s children, Satan is. Secondly, Bildad had no way of really knowing if Job’s childrens’ sin is what caused their demise.  Naturally, we know this because we saw how everything went down in chapters 1 and 2.

“If you would seek God and implore the compassion of the Almighty, if you are pure and upright, surely now He would rouse Himself for you and restore your righteous estate.” –Job 8:5-6.

Here again, Bildad is like a doctor giving a complete misdiagnoses. He has no clue as to why everything happened the way it did. His position, still, is that “Job something obviously isn’t right in your life.”

“Though your beginning was insignificant, yet your end will increase greatly.” –Job 8:7.

Although Bildad is wrong on most counts, here he gives a prophetic word, though there is no way he could have known it the moment he uttered it. This will ultimately be fulfilled in Job 42:10.

“Please inquire of past generations, and consider the things searched out by their fathers.” –Job 8:8.

Here is Bildad’s foundation for his suppositions: the past; tradition.

“For we are only of yesterday and know nothing, because our days on earth are as a shadow. Will they not teach you and tell you, and bring forth words from their minds?” –Job 8:9-10.

All of Bildad’s authority is based on the teachings of his predecessors and he expects Job to listen to and hear them.

“Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh? Can the rushes grow without water? While it is still green and not cut down, yet it withers before any other plant.” –Job 8:11-12.

Another one of those statements that attempts to come off as some sort of uttered brilliance. In reality, who doesn’t know that if you don’t water a plant, it’s going to wither and die?

“So are the paths of all who forget God; and the hope of the godless will perish, whose confidence is fragile, and whose trust a spider’s web. He trusts in his house, but it does not stand; he holds fast to it, but it does not endure.” –Job 8:13-15.

Bildad accuses Job of being godless, whose faith was as weak as a spider’s web. How could this have possibly helped Job?

“He thrives before the sun, and his shoots spread out over his garden. His roots wrap around a rock pile, he grasps a house of stones. If he is removed from his place, then it will deny him, saying, ‘I never saw you.’ Behold, this is the joy of His way; and out of the dust others will spring. Lo, God will not reject a man of integrity, nor will He support the evildoers.” –Job 8:16-20.

Bildad continues with the spider web analogy. This year, for some reason, we have had more spiders and spider webs around the outside of our house. I love nothing more than to get rid of them, spiders and webs, especially with having a toddler running around the outside of the house now. Sweeping away the webs doesn’t take much effort, and once they’re gone, I don’t seem them anymore. Bildad is likening Job’s faith to that of these webs that you can just sweep away and never see them. How wrong he is about Job!

“He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouting. Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more.” –Job 8:21-22.

Bildad concludes his speech by telling Job that he has been reduced to nothing but ashes and boils because he is a sinner. The problem is that Bildad does not know God, and in spite of being called Job’s friend, he doesn’t even know Job. Appealing to his traditions and past experience do nothing to help Job at all.

Job will answer Bildad in the next installment.

May He Increase!