Bildad Misspeaks God’s Justice
Job 8:1-10, 20-22
SS Lesson for 02/20/2022
Devotional Scripture: Ezekiel 33:13-20
Aristotle, a Greek philosopher who lived 300 years before Christ, influenced modern understandings of philosophy and rhetoric. Other aspects of his work focused on syllogisms, which are logic arguments where a conclusion is required by two premises. One of Aristotle’s famed syllogisms goes as follows: All men are mortal. Socrates is a man. Therefore, Socrates is mortal. The first phrase is called the major premise, while the second phrase is called the specific premise. If the two premises are properly stated, then the resulting conclusion will be valid. In the midst of Job’s suffering, his friends—who lived hundreds of years before Aristotle—attempted to explain Job’s suffering through an implied syllogism. Their syllogism, espoused by Bildad in this lesson’s text, went as follows: Only wicked people suffer. Job suffers. Therefore, Job is wicked. In the perspective of Job’s friends, the premises were true, so it would seem the conclusion was validated!
The book of Job is among the oldest biblical texts, and it deals with one of humanity’s oldest challenges: maintaining hope in the face of suffering. The text also addresses another shared experience: the desire for justice in the midst of suffering. Job’s suffering was the catalyst for his friends’ arrival. At the onset of the book, Job was described as “blameless and upright,” one who actively “feared God and shunned evil” (Job 1:1). However, Job experienced undue tragedy. His flocks and servants were taken or killed (1:13–17), his 10 children died (1:2, 18–19), and he was afflicted with intense physical suffering (2:7). Without an explanation for the tragedies, Job remained faithful to God and “did not sin in what he said” (2:10). Job’s friends—Bildad, Eliphaz and Zophar—are introduced when, on hearing of Job’s suffering, they “met together, to go and sympathize with him and comfort him” (Job 2:11). When they reached Job, they were shocked at his appearance and were unable to recognize him. They raised their voices, wept, and took a posture of mourning, remaining silent “for seven days and seven nights” (2:12–13). Finally Job spoke, pouring out his anguish in great torrents of despair. His suffering overwhelmed him to the point of his cursing his own birth (Job 3:3). Job cried out that the thing he dreaded in life had happened: he experienced no consolation and no peace (3:25–26). In response to Job’s lament, his friends spoke in cycles of back-and-forth discussions. Eliphaz and Bildad each addressed him three times, while Zophar addressed him twice. Each argument was countered by Job. This lesson’s Scripture text highlights Bildad’s first response to Job’s lament. It is reasonable to conclude that Job’s friends were sincere in wanting to care for Job, even though their counsel was incompetent (see Job 6:21; 16:2).
1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: 2 "How long will you speak these things, and the words of your mouth be like a strong wind?
Bildad accused Job of impugning the justice of God (v. 3) whereas Eliphaz had accused Job of resenting God’s discipline (5:17). Both of these self-appointed consultants held the view that a man’s calamities are the consequences of his crimes (8:11-13; cf. 4:7-8). Bildad, like Eliphaz, invited Job to repent as the way to recovery (8:5-7; cf. 5:8).
8:1-2. Beginning abruptly and bluntly, Bildad asked two questions, one pertaining to Job’s windy words and the other pertaining to God’s upright management of the moral universe (v. 3). Accusing Job’s words of being a blustering wind, Bildad probably was picking up on Job’s own reference to wind (6:26). The Hebrew word translated “blustering” is unusual; it means strong and abundant; thus Job’s words, to Bildad, were like a forceful, continuous windstorm. Perhaps Bildad also was hinting that Job’s rash, wild words were destructive, like the windstorm that killed his 10 children (1:19).
8:3-4. Bildad argued that to complain against God meant that Job was accusing Him of injustice (cf. 9:19). Since God never does pervert (“distort,” used twice in 8:3) justice, He certainly would not be punishing Job for nothing. If Job had not sinned, then his suffering would mean that God had perverted His ways. And to Bildad that was unthinkable! Obviously, then, Job had sinned. Anyone who has sinned against God suffers the consequences, Bildad said. Job’s children illustrated that fact. They died because they sinned, and now Job was dying because he sinned. Why else would Job be suffering? Bildad and his cohorts were blinded to other purposes in suffering besides retribution. Surely this cruel, heartless remark hurt Job deeply. After all, he had offered sacrifices to cover his children’s sins (1:5).
8:5-7. If Job were as pure and upright as he claimed to be, all he needed to do was look to God and plead with (lit., “implore the grace of”) Him (cf. 5:8). “Look” translates šāḥar (“to seek or search”), the same word Job had used in 7:2d. Bildad was saying Job should seek God, not expect God to search for him. Such a simple step, Bildad claimed, would result in God’s restoring Job to a place of blessing that would make his former estate seem like nothing! However, since Job had already pleaded with God (7:20-21) and nothing happened, Bildad’s counsel was inappropriate.
8:8-10. Eliphaz had supported his viewpoints by appealing to his own experiences (4:8). Bildad tried to upstage him by introducing a supposedly greater authority, the observations made by people in past generations. Since Job’s and his compatriots’ knowledge was limited (we... know nothing) and their lives were short (shadow may refer back to Job’s words about life’s brevity, 7:6-7, 9), they could learn from their ancestors. Their words came from their understanding, and were not words merely from their mouths, as were Job’s words. How could Job dare suggest that the accumulated wisdom of many others was wrong? Bildad believed that if the dead could speak they too would testify that people suffer because of their sin.
8:11-19. To depict this cause-and-effect principle, Job’s antagonist number two gave three illustrations—two from plant life and one from the insect world. Just as papyrus wilts without the water of a marsh even more quickly than grass, so a person who opposes God... the godless (hānēp, used eight times in Job, meaning “profane” or “irreligious”) will perish. Anything such a person may depend on for hope—such as Job’s alleged innocence—is as useless and inadequate as leaning on a spider’s web. Job’s wasting away, Bildad asserted, might be likened to a well-watered plant (with extensive shoots above the ground and entwining roots below the ground among rocks and stones) which is then pulled up (torn). It is then forgotten (that place disowns it) and other plants grow in its place. The words its life withers away are literally, “this is the joy of its way” (cf. niv marg.), that is, the only joy such a plant could experience is knowing that something else will replace it. Again, such virulent talk must have only compounded Job’s emotional wounds. Certainly Job was not forgetting God, nor was he a godless person (cf. 1:1, 8; 2:3) relying on perishable material things.
8:20-22. Once again affirming God’s justice (cf. v. 3), Bildad said, Surely (cf. v. 19) God does not reject a blameless (cf. 1:1, 8; 2:3) person, or strengthen the wicked. If Job were blameless (cf. 8:6) he would not be treated this way by God. Job, then, could experience laughter and joy once again, and any who opposed him would be shamed (ironically Job’s friends became his enemies and were later shamed; cf. 42:7-9). Besides blessing the blameless, God punishes the unrighteous (cf. 8:4, 13) by removing their tents (cf. 4:21), their places of security and protection. Bildad’s speech ended with the words, no more, the same words with which Job concluded his speech in 7:21. Bildad’s harsh words included another heartless hint at Job’s losses. The antagonist’s attempt to defend God’s justice only intensified Job’s frustration about the Lord’s apparent injustice. Since the sufferer had not sinned, the counselor’s words were wasted.
(Scriptural Text from the New King James Version; cross-references from the NIV)
1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:
2 "How long will you speak these things, and the words of your mouth be like a strong wind?
3 Does God subvert judgment? Or does the Almighty pervert justice?
4 If your sons have sinned against Him, He has cast them away for their transgression.
7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
6 Surely every man walks about like a shadow; Surely they busy themselves in vain; He heaps up riches, And does not know who will gather them.
13 Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, And washed my hands in innocence. 14 For all day long I have been plagued, And chastened every morning.
1 Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain. 2 It is vain for you to rise up early, To sit up late, To eat the bread of sorrows; For so He gives His beloved sleep.
12 For who knows what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he passes like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun?
4 He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.
25 "Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' Hear, O house of Israel: Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust?
20 Yet, O house of Israel, you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' But I will judge each of you according to his own ways."
5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.
7 And I heard the altar respond: "Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments."
27 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,
29 Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord, 30 since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, 31 they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.
16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.
13 The Lord said, "It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law. 14 Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts; they have followed the Baals, as their fathers taught them.
2 If a man or woman living among you in one of the towns the Lord gives you is found doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God in violation of his covenant, 3 and contrary to my command has worshiped other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or the moon or the stars of the sky, 4 and this has been brought to your attention, then you must investigate it thoroughly. If it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, 5 take the man or woman who has done this evil deed to your city gate and stone that person to death.
23 You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24 As it is written: "God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.
5 If you would earnestly seek God and make your supplication to the Almighty,
6 If you were pure and upright, surely now He would awake for you, and prosper your rightful dwelling place.
7 Though your beginning was small, yet your latter end would increase abundantly.
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
17 pray continually;
13 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,
30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.
25 Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth,
9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
10 For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. 21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation
17 For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.
8 "For inquire, please, of the former age, and consider the things discovered by their fathers;
9 For we were born yesterday, and know nothing, because our days on earth are a shadow.
10 Will they not teach you and tell you, and utter words from their heart?
32 Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created man on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of?
12 Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?
18 what wise men have declared, hiding nothing received from their fathers
44 We have heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have told us what you did in their days, in days long ago.
4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
15 As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field;
4 Man is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow.
29 What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none;
14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
1 O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old 3 what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us. 4 We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done. 5 He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, 6 so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
22 For Moses said, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. 23 Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from among his people.' 24 "Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have foretold these days.
10 Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.
20 Behold, God will not cast away the blameless, nor will He uphold the evildoers.
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughing, and your lips with rejoicing.
22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the dwelling place of the wicked will come to nothing."
12 For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'
13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace
16 When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God Almighty.
6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.
17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? 18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
3 But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.
10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.
43 Rejoice, O nations, with his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants; he will take vengeance on his enemies and make atonement for his land and people.
2 The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The Lord takes vengeance on his foes and maintains his wrath against his enemies.
30 For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people."
Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said. This was the second of Job's friends that came to visit him, Job 2:11; and is mentioned next to Eliphaz there, and takes his turn in this controversy in the same side; which no doubt was agreed upon among themselves, as well as the part each should bear, and the general sentiment they should pursue, which was the same in them all. Some have observed, that Job's friends were like the messengers that brought him the tidings of his losses, before one had done speaking another came; and so as soon as one of his friends had delivered his discourse, and before Job could well finish his reply, up starts another to charge him afresh, as here Bildad did, who said as follows.
How long wilt thou speak these [things]?.... Either what he had delivered in the "third" chapter in cursing the day of his birth, and wishing for death, in which sentiments he still continued, and resolutely defended; or those expressed in the "two" preceding chapters, in answer to Eliphaz; this he said, as wondering that he should be able to continue his discourse to such a length, and to express himself with such vehemence, when his spirits might be thought to be so greatly depressed by his afflictions, and his body enfeebled by diseases; or as angry with him for his blasphemy against God, as he was ready to term it, his bold and daring speeches of him, and charge of unrighteousness on him, and for his disregard to what Eliphaz had said, his contempt of in and opposition to it; or as impatient at his long reply, wanting him to cease speaking, that he might return an answer, and therefore breaks in upon him before he had well done, see
Job 18:2; or as despising what he had said, representing it as idle talk, and as mere trifling; and so some render the words, "how long wilt thou trifle after this sort?" g or throw out such nonsense and fabulous stuff as this?
and [how long shall] the words of thy mouth [be like] a strong wind? blustering, boisterous, and noisy, to which passionate words, expressed in a loud and sonorous manner, may be compared; and so we say of a man in a passion and rage, that he "storms". Bildad thought that his speeches were hard and rough, and stout against God, and very indecent and unbecoming a creature to his Maker, and not kind and civil to them his friends; and yet they were like wind, vain and empty, great swelling words, but words of vanity; they were spoken, and seemed big, but had nothing solid and substantial in them, as Bildad thought.
Doth God pervert judgment?.... In his dealings with men in the way of his providence; no, he does not; here Bildad opposes himself to Job, who he thought had charged God with injustice in dealing with him, and his children, in the manner he had done: the same thing is intended in the following question,
or doth the Almighty pervert justice? for judgment and justice are the same, and often go together in Scripture, as being done either by God or men, when righteousness is executed by them, and this is never perverted by the Lord; there is no unrighteousness in him, neither in his nature, nor in his ways and works, either of providence or of grace; he is the Judge of all the earth, that does and will do right; to subvert a man in his cause, he approves not of in others, and will never do it himself; to justify the wicked, and condemn the just, are both an abomination to him, and therefore neither of these can ever be thought to be done by him; for though he justifies the ungodly, he does not justify their ungodliness, nor them in it, but from it, and that by the perfect righteousness of his Son; whereby the law is fulfilled, and justice satisfied, and so he is just while he is the justifier of him that believes in Jesus; though he is gracious and merciful, he is also righteous, and will not clear the guilty, or pardon sin without satisfaction to his justice; and such as are truly just or righteous, he never condemns here or hereafter; he may afflict them, but he delivers them out of their afflictions, nor are they ever forsaken by him; and, on the contrary, he punishes wicked men in this world, and in that to come, as he has the angels that sinned, the old world, Sodom and Gomorrah, and many others, and all wicked men will be punished with everlasting destruction; yea, even so strict is his punitive justice, that the sins of his own people being laid and found on his Son as their surety, he has most severely punished him for them; he awoke the sword of justice against him, spared him not, but delivered him to death for us all; and though he forgives the iniquities of his children, he takes vengeance on their inventions, and chastises them for their sins, that they may not be condemned with the world; and, on the other hand, he is not unrighteous to forget their work and labour of love, which he rewards in a way of grace, as well as it is a righteous thing with him to render tribulation to them that trouble them: the righteousness of God is known by the judgments he executes on wicked men, and especially will be manifest in his judgments on antichrist; and though the justice of God in the course of his providence, in some instances, may not now be so clear, his judgments will be made manifest, and especially at the great day of judgment, when everything shall be brought to account, and God will judge the world in righteousness; all which, we may be assured of, is and will be executed by him, from the consideration of his nature and perfections, and particularly from the name he goes by in this passage, being El, the mighty God, who is able to save and to destroy, to save the righteous, and destroy the wicked; and is Shaddai, all sufficient, stands in need of nothing; nor can he receive anything that is not his own, and therefore incapable of being bribed to the perversion of justice and judgment.
If thy children have sinned against him,.... As no doubt they had, and, as Bildad thought, in a very notorious manner, and therefore were righteously punished for them; this instance is produced as a proof of God's not perverting, but doing justice, and the rather, because it was on account of this that it was supposed that Job charged, or was ready to charge, God with injustice; this was so far from it, that it was a righteous thing to do it, "if" or "seeing" his children had sinned; or "because" they have sinned, or "though" they have sinned, as the words have by some differently rendered; and either way shows that God did not pervert justice, but acted agreeably to it. Mr. Broughton renders them, "as thy children have sinned against him, so hath he sent them into the hand of their trespass"; as a righteous retaliation for it: that Job's children had sinned, there is no question to be made of it; they were born in sin, though born of godly parents; and though they had a religious education, yet no doubt were guilty of sin in their younger years, as well as when grown up; and even though good men, as there may be reason to conclude they were, yet daily sinning, for there are none without sin; and also it is true, that all sin is against God, contrary to his nature and will, a breach and transgression of his law, and an act of hostility against himself, and a trampling under foot, or at least a neglect, of his legislative power and authority, which is an aggravation of it; yet it does not appear that Job's children were guilty of any notorious sins or atrocious crimes, or lived a sinful course of life, for which the judgments of God came upon them; nor is it a clear case that they were taken away by death in the manner they were on account of their sins, but rather purely for the trial of Job's integrity, faith, and patience:
and he have cast them away for their transgression; or "by the hand of it" i; by means of it, because of it, being provoked with it. Bildad represents them as abandoned sinners, as castaways and reprobates, rejected of God with abhorrence, and utterly ruined. Some render it, "hath sent them into the hand of their transgression" k, or trespass; that is, delivered them up to the power and dominion of sin, gave them up to their hearts' lusts, and to vile affections, to do things not convenient, and which they pursued to their ruin; the Targum is,
"he sent them into the place of their transgression l;''
into hell, which their transgressions deserved, and for which they were fitted by them. Some a little more mildly render the words, "he sent them away" m; that is, dismissed them out of the world, took them out of it by death; which dismission is sometimes in peace, as good old Simeon prayed for, and sometimes in wrath, as Saul was taken away, see Luke 2:29; the latter is the meaning here.
If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes,.... Here Bildad seems to think more mildly, and speak more kindly to Job, that though he had sinned, yet not in so gross a manner as his children, since he was spared, and they were not; and therefore if he would apply himself to God, and supplicate his grace and mercy, and live a godly life, it might yet be well with him, and he be restored to his former or to better circumstances; his sense is, that he would advise him, as Eliphaz had done before, Job 5:8; to seek unto God "by prayer", as the Targum adds, and of which it is explained in the next clause, and that he would do this "betimes", or "in the morning" n; which is a proper time for prayer, and was one of the seasons good men in former times made use of for that purpose; see Psalms 5:3; or that he would seek him in the first place, and above all things, take the first opportunity to do it, without any procrastination of it, and that with eagerness and earnestness, with his whole heart and soul; for God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him, and those that seek him early shall find him:
and make thy supplication to the Almighty: not pleading any merit of his own, as deserving of any blessing on account of what he had done; but ask what he should as a favour, as a free gift, in a way of grace and mercy, as the word o signifies; call for the pity of the Almighty, as Broughton renders it.
If thou [wert] pure and upright,.... By which he tacitly intimates that he was neither; though the character given of him is, that he was perfect and upright, feared God and eschewed evil, and which is confirmed by God himself, and even after he had been tried by sore afflictions. Bildad's meaning is, if he was pure in heart, and upright in his life and conversation, then things would be well with him. Men's hearts are naturally impure; no man is pure of himself, or can make his heart pure; nor is there any good man that is so pure as to be entirely free from sin; but such are pure in heart, who have clean hearts created, and right spirits renewed in them; or have new hearts and new spirits given them; have their hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and so keep the faith in a pure conscience; having their hearts purified by faith in the blood of Christ, whose blood cleanses from all sin; and in this sense Job was pure, having an interest in a living Redeemer, and in his blood, and a partaker of his grace; and that he was upright is before testified of him, though now called in question, an if being put upon it, as well as on the former, having in the course of his life walked uprightly, according to the will of God revealed unto him:
surely now; directly at once, without delay, as Sephorno interprets it; it need not be doubted of, verily so it would be:
he would awake for thee; who though he neither slumbers nor sleeps, yet seems to be asleep when he suffers his people to be afflicted, distressed, and oppressed, and therefore they cry unto him to awake to their judgment, and their cause; see Psalms 7:8; the sense is, that he would stir up and exert himself, and show himself strong on his behalf, and appear to be on his side, and work deliverance and salvation for him; or awake his mercy, grace, and goodness, as some Jewish commentators p interpret it; that is, bestow his favours upon him:
and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous; which some understand of his body, the earthly house of his tabernacle, which if his soul was pure and upright that dwelt in it, might be called the habitation of righteousness; which, were this the case, would become healthful that was now covered with worms, and clods of dust: others interpret it of the soul, as Aben Ezra and Ben Gersom, the seat of righteousness, and of all the graces of the Spirit; which is in a prosperous condition when these graces are in lively exercise, and the presence of God, and the light of his countenance, and communion with him, are enjoyed; but rather his dwelling house in a literal sense, and all his domestic affairs, are here meant; and it is signified that all would be again in peace and prosperity, and he should enjoy great plenty of good things should he behave well; and here is a tacit intimation as if his habitation had not been an habitation of righteousness, but had been filled with the mammon of unrighteousness, with goods ill gotten, such as were obtained by rapine and oppression, and neither he nor his family righteous; a very unjust and iniquitous insinuation: the Targum paraphrases it, "and, shall make the beauty of thy righteousness perfect" q; but Job had a more beautiful righteousness than his own; his was but as rags, and neither pure nor perfect; even the righteousness of Christ, which is perfect and beautiful, and makes such so, that are arrayed with it; see Psalms 50:2.
Though thy beginning was small,.... When, he first set out in the world; and which though it greatly increased, and he was the greatest man in all the east, yet Bildad suggests, should he behave well, that was comparatively small to what it would be with him hereafter; and which was fact, for he had double of what he before enjoyed; so Mr. Broughton renders the words, "and thy former state should be little to thy latter": or rather the sense and meaning is, "though thy beginning should be small" r; be it so that it is; or rather that though he should begin again in the world with very little, as indeed at present he had nothing to begin with, and when he did it was but with little; one gave him a piece of money, and another an earring of gold:
yet thy latter end should greatly increase; as it did, for the Lord blessed his latter end, and he had more than at the beginning, even double to what he had in his most flourishing circumstances; see
Job 42:11, c. Bildad seems to have spoken under a spirit of prophecy, without being sensible of it, and not imagining in the least that so it would be in fact for he only affirms it on supposition of Job's good behaviour for the future, putting it entirely upon that condition, which he had no great expectation of it ever being performed.
For inquire, I pray thee, of the former age,.... With respect to the truth of what he had said, or should say; he does not desire Job to take his word for it, but inquire how it was in former times; by which it would appear, that when good men have been in affliction and trouble, and have behaved well under it, as became them, they have been delivered out of it, and have been afterwards in more flourishing and comfortable circumstances, as Noah, Abraham, Lot, and others; and that wicked men and hypocrites, though they have flourished for a while, yet destruction has sooner or later come upon them, and they have utterly perished, as the descendants of Cain, the builders of Babel, and the men of Sodom, and others; whereas good and upright men are never cast away by the Lord, no instance can be given of it; all which would appear, if inquiry was made into what had happened in the "former age" not the "first age", as the Septuagint version, the age or generation in which the first man and woman lived; for who were "their fathers", mentioned in the next clause? but the age or generation preceding that in which Job and his friends lived; and the knowledge of things done in that might with some application and diligence be more easily obtained:
and prepare thyself to the search of their fathers; of the fathers of the men of the former age, who lived in the age preceding that, and from whom their posterity had received the knowledge of many things by tradition, as they had received from their fathers that lived before them and so upwards; things being handed down in a traditionary way from father to son; and though these fathers were dead, yet, by their traditions that were preserved, they were capable of teaching and instructing men; and their sayings and sentiments deserved regard, and were had in much esteem; but yet being uninspired and fallible men, were not to be received without examination; for though truth is of the greatest antiquity, and to be revered on that account, yet error is almost as old as that; and therefore great care is to be taken how any thing is received purely upon the score of antiquity; and great pains, diligence, and circumspection, are necessary to a due search of the fathers, and coming at their sense and sentiments; and so as to distinguish between truth and error, and get a true knowledge of facts done in ancient times; such a search is to be made in like manner as one would search for gold and silver, and hidden treasures.
For we [are but of] yesterday s,.... Which is not to be understood strictly of the day last past, but of a short space of time backward; and especially when compared with the antediluvian fathers, who lived the far greater part of them upwards of nine hundred years; otherwise Bildad and his two friends were men in years; Eliphaz says, that with them were the gray headed and very aged men, much older than the father of Job, and Elihu speaks of himself as a young man, and of them as very old; see Job 15:10;
and know nothing; which is not to be taken in an absolute sense, for they knew much of the things of nature, providence, and grace; they were men of great understanding in things natural, civil, and religious, as appears by their discourses; but in a comparative sense, or when compared with the long lived patriarchs, who through the length of their days had much time and opportunity to make their observations on things, to learn the arts and sciences, and improve themselves in all useful knowledge, human and divine; for which reason Job is sent to inquire of them; whereas they had been but a little while in the world, and knew but little, to whom might be applied that saying, as now to men since, "ars longa, vita brevis"; and they knew nothing as it is to be known, or perfectly, or in comparison of the saints in heaven; for they that know most here know but in part, see through a glass darkly; but in the other world they see face to face, and know as they are known. Moreover, Bildad might say this of himself and his friends, in a modest manner, having learned to know themselves, their weakness, and their folly; and the first and great lesson of wisdom is to become fools in men's own apprehension, in order to be truly wise, having the like sense of themselves as Agur had, Proverbs 30:2; see 1 Corinthians 3:18; or rather this might be said as being the sense of Job concerning them, who had a very mean and indifferent opinion of them; see
Job 12:2; and therefore Bildad would not have him take their sense of things, but inquire of persons older and wiser:
because our days upon earth [are] a shadow; man's time is rather measured by days than by months and years, being so short; and these are called "days" on earth, to distinguish them from the days of heaven, which are one everlasting day, in which there is no night of darkness, either in a literal or figurative sense, and which will never end; but the days of this life are like a "shadow", dark and obscure; full of the darkness of adversity and trouble, as well as greatly deficient in the light of knowledge; there is nothing in them solid and substantial; the greatest and best things of this life are but a vain show; in heaven there is a better and more enduring substance: every thing is mutable and uncertain here; man is subject to a variety of changes in his mind and body, in family and outward estate and circumstances: and life itself is but a vapour, which appears a while and soon vanishes away; or rather like a shadow, that declines, is fleeting, and quickly gone; see 1 Chronicles 29:15.
Shall not they teach thee, [and] tell thee,.... That is, the men of the former age, and their fathers before them, Job is directed to inquire of, and to prepare for a search into their records and traditions; from whom he might reasonably expect to be taught and told things that would be very instructive and useful to him in his present circumstances:
and utter words out of their heart? such as were the effect of mature judgment and long observation, and which they had laid up in their hearts, and brought out from their treasure there; and, with the greatest faithfulness and sincerity, had either committed them to writing, or delivered them in a traditionary way to their posterity, to be communicated to theirs; and which might be depended upon as true and genuine, being men of probity, uprightness, and singleness of heart; who declared sincerely what they knew, and spoke not with a double heart, having no intention to deceive, as it cannot be thought they would impose upon their own children; and therefore Job might safely receive what they uttered, and depend upon it as truth and fact; and what they said, as Jarchi observes, is as follows; or what follows Bildad collected from them, and so might Job, and think he heard them "saying", as Piscator supplies the text, what is expressed in the following verses, if not in their words, yet as their sense.
Behold, God will not cast away a perfect [man],.... A sincere, upright, good man; one that is truly gracious; who, though he is not "perfect" in himself, yet in Christ; and though not with respect to sanctification, which is as yet imperfect in him, yet with respect to justification, being perfectly justified by the righteousness of Christ, and all his sins pardoned for his sake: such an one God will never "cast away"; not out of his sight, being engraven on the palms of his hands, nor out of his heart's love; or will not "loath" r him, as the Targum, or reject him with abhorrence and contempt; he will not cast him out of his covenant, which is ordered in all things and sure; nor out of the hands of his son, where he has put him, and from whence none can pluck; nor out of his family, where the son abides for ever; or so as to perish eternally, this would be contrary to his love, to his foreknowledge, and to his covenant; so far is he from it, that he has the greatest regard for such, delights in them, admits thereto nearness to himself, sets them as a seal on his heart, keeps them as the apple of his eye, and preserves them safe to his kingdom and glory:
neither will he help the evil doers; meaning, not everyone that does evil, or sins, but such who live in sin, make a trade of sinning, are frequent and constant in the commission of it; such God will not help, or "take by the hand" s, in order to deliver from evil, as Gersom observes; to help them out of mischief and trouble their sins have brought upon them; or to strengthen them, support and uphold them, in their present circumstances, and much less so as to admit them to fellowship and communion with him: these words, with what follow, are Bildad's conclusion upon the sayings and sentiments of the ancients, which may be supposed, and are thought by some, to end at the preceding Job 8:19.
Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing. Directing himself to Job; and suggesting, that if he was a perfect, sincere, and upright man. God would not cast him away utterly, but help him out of his present circumstances, and restore him to prosperity; and not leave him until he had filled his heart with so much joy, that his mouth and lips, being also full of it, should break forth in strong expressions of it, and in the most exulting strains, as if it was a time of jubilee with him; see Psalms 126:2; but Bildad tacitly insinuates that Job was not a perfect and good man but an evil doer, whom God had cast away and would not help; and this he concluded from the distressed circumstances he was now in; which was no rule of judgment, and a very unfair way of reasoning, since love and hatred are not to be known by outward prosperity and adversity, Ecclesiastes 9:1. Bar Tzemach interprets "laughing" as at his own goodness, and "rejoicing" as at the evil of the wicked.
They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame,.... The Chaldeans and Sabeans, who had plundered him of his substance, when they should see him restored to his former prosperity, beyond all hope and expectation, and themselves liable to his resentment, and under the displeasure of Providence: the phrase denotes utter confusion, and such as is visible as the clothes upon a man's back; see Psalms 132:18;
and the dwelling place of the wicked shall come to naught; or, "shall not be" t; shall be no more; be utterly destroyed, and no more built up again; even such dwelling places they fancied would continue for ever, and perpetuate their names to the latest posterity; but the curse of God being in them, and upon them, they come to nothing, and are no more: thus ends Bildad's speech; Job's answer to it follows.
(Adapted from URL:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/geb/job-8.html)
Being present to someone in the midst of a tragedy presents unique challenges. In an effort to explain the suffering, we may put too much pressure on ourselves to comfort in a wrong way. Platitudes will likely overstep the bounds of what is helpful. At best, our words might be little more than hollow clichés; at worst, they might cause further harm. Bildad’s counterproductive interaction with Job reminds us of the best ministry we might offer: the ministry of presence in the midst of difficult seasons. At first, Job’s friends approached him in this manner (Job 2:13). But their silent presence changed to unhelpful arguments. They were quick to suppose that wickedness was the primary reason for Job’s suffering. However, Bildad’s logic did not account for the entire story of how God works. In reality, wicked individuals might experience blessing, while righteous individuals might experience suffering. Unbeknownst to everyone present, Job’s suffering was an example of the latter. When others experience suffering, our natural response is to be with them. To draw near, cry, and share in grief is an appropriate course of action to comfort the sufferer. Conjecture on God’s behalf is unwise and unnecessary. Sitting silently with a grieving person often provides the best support.
Unexplainable Suffering - After Job lost his animals and servants and a great wind collapsed a house and killed his children, three friends came to comfort him. They started out to bring comfort, but their methods were anything but comforting. The three friends approached Job's suffering with disdain and superiority Each statement they made centered on sin bringing suffering and that suffering is always evidence of sin. They accused him of bringing this suffering upon himself. They badgered and pleaded with Job to confess, admit the wrong he did—but Job maintained his innocence.
It's Your Fault - Job's friend Bildad heard Job's explanation with his ears, but his heart heard nothing. He insisted that Job got what he deserved. Job's suffering was proof of his disobedience toward God. He blamed Job for his miserable plight. Self-righteous Bildad ended up being super "holy" and was no earthly good to Job as a counselor or a friend. Bildad wanted Job to plead for God's mercy for restoration. He set forth tradition and arguments. Bad men are cursed; good men prosper. But Bildad's counsel of blaming Job for his suffering just made it worse for his friend. Bildad had encouraged Job to return to God and repent, although Job never turned away from Him. Job never claimed to be perfect, but he considered himself blameless. God agreed with Job: "There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil" (Job 1:8).
Lessons about Suffering - Still today, many people approach the suffering of others like Bildad. If things are going well, God is pleased; if things are falling apart, it is the fault of the person suffering. The person then keeps reviewing his or her sins, past and present: "What have I done wrong? What do I need to confess?" We can learn a lesson from Job. We need to speak cautiously with people who are suffering and hurting deeply. They need our comfort, not our accusations