Chapter Three
Chapter Three
The Discussion Continues
“You may be as orthodox as the devil, and as wicked.”
—JOHN WESLEY
As the discussion continues, Bildad presents three logical arguments to prove Job is guilty; and Job counters with three painful questions to help his friends understand how perplexed and tormented he really is.
THREE LOGICAL ARGUMENTS (8:1–22)
“Your words are a blustering wind!” (Job 8:2 NIV). Can you imagine a counselor saying that to a suffering individual who wanted to die? Bildad did; in fact, he used the same approach in his next speech (18:2). Job had poured out his grief and was waiting to hear a sympathetic word, but his friend said that Job’s speech was just so much hot air.
There is a reason for Bildad’s approach: He was so concerned about defending the justice of God that he forgot the needs of his friend. “Does God subvert judgment? Or does the Almighty pervert justice?” (8:3 NKJV). Bildad preached a sermon on God’s justice, and his text was taken from the “vision” of Eliphaz: “Shall mortal man be more just than God?” (4:17). In defending God’s justice, Bildad presented three logical arguments.
(1) The character of God (Job 8:1–7). It angered Bildad that Job even thought that God would do anything wrong. Had Job forgotten what God did to sinners at the flood, or what He did to Sodom and Gomorrah? Isn’t He the holy God, and doesn’t His very nature demand that He do what is right? Job was blaspheming God by questioning Him and accusing Him of wrongdoing.
While Bildad’s theology was correct—God is just—his application of that theology was wrong. Bildad was looking at only one aspect of God’s nature—His holiness and justice—and had forgotten His love, mercy, and goodness. Yes, “God is light” (1 John 1:5), but don’t forget that “God is love” (4:8, 16). His love is a holy love, and His holiness is exercised in love, even when He judges sin.
How are these two attributes of God reconciled? At the cross. When Jesus died for the sins of the world, the righteousness of God was vindicated, for sin was judged; but the love of God was demonstrated, for a Savior was provided. At Calvary, God is both “just and the justifier” (Rom. 3:24–26). God’s law said, “The soul who sins shall die” (Ezek. 18:4, 20 NKJV); and God obeyed His own law in the sacrificing of His Son. In Christ’s resurrection, the grace of God triumphed over sin and death; and all who repent and trust Jesus Christ will be saved.
In Old Testament times, believers looked forward to the cross and were saved by faith in a Savior yet to come (John 8:56; Rom. 3:25; Heb. 11). Job was a believer; therefore, his sins had been dealt with by God. Even if Job had sinned against God in some great way, God would deal with His child on the basis of grace and mercy and not justice. When we confess our sins, God forgives us because He is faithful to His promise and just toward His Son who died for those sins (1 John 1:9).
It must have pained Job deeply when Bildad said that Job’s children had died because they had sinned (Job 8:4). Bildad probably thought he was encouraging Job: “Perhaps they were not killed because of your sins but because of their own sins. They can’t change anything now, but you can; so don’t wait too long!”
Bildad’s appeal in verses 5–7 is another echo of Satan’s philosophy. “You say you have not sinned. Then plead with God to restore your prosperity. If you were right before God, He would do great things for you. Isn’t prosperity better than pain?” Little did Bildad realize that his words would come true and Job’s latter end would be greater than his beginning. However, in the end Job’s prayer would be for Bildad and the others because they were the ones not right with God (42:7–13).
(2) The wisdom of the past (Job 8:8–10). Eliphaz based his thinking on observation and experience, but Bildad was a traditionalist who looked for wisdom in the past. “What do the ancients say about it?” was his key question. To be sure, we today can learn from the past. “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to relive it,” wrote George Santayana. But the past must be a rudder to guide us and not an anchor to hold us back. “How the past perishes is how the future becomes,” said philosopher Alfred North Whitehead.
The fact that something was said or written years ago is no guarantee it is right. As one who enjoys reading the classics, I am impressed with the fact that they contain as much folly as wisdom; and they often contradict each other. Dr. Robert Hutchins, editor of The Great Books of the Western World, wrote in his preface: “In a conversation that has gone on for twenty-five centuries, all dogmas and points of view appear. Here are the great errors as well as the great truths.”
“Tradition” and “traditionalism” are two different things. Historian Jeroslav Pelikan expresses this difference accurately when he says, “Tradition is the living faith of the dead; traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.” To Bildad, the past was a parking lot, but God wants the past to be a launching pad. We stand with the ancients so that we can walk with them and move toward the goals that they were seeking. This includes our knowledge of God as well as our knowledge of man and the world. As John Robinson said to the Pilgrims when they left for the New World, “The Lord has more truth yet to break forth out of His Holy Word.”
Bildad did not quote from the ancients; he knew that Job was as familiar with the past as he was. But Bildad made it clear that he respected the wisdom of the ancients more than the teachings of his contemporaries. The accumulated wisdom of the ages was bound to be worth more than the words of people who were “born only yesterday.” Life is too brief for us to learn all they can teach us. We are fleeting shadows, so we had better learn wisdom while we have opportunity.
(3) The evidence in nature (Job 8:11–22). In this “wisdom poem,” Bildad may have summarized some of the sayings of the ancients as he argued from the law of cause and effect. If this law applies in nature, why not in human life as well?
Take the papyrus plant as an example: If it doesn’t have water, it withers and dies (vv. 11–13). Job was withering and dying, so there had to be a cause: He was a hypocrite, and his hope was perishing.
Bildad then moved from plants to spiders (vv. 14–15). Can you lean on a spider’s web and be held up securely? Of course not! No matter how confident you may be, the web will break. Job’s confidence was like that: In due time, it would break, and he would fall.
The third example came from the garden: If you pull up a plant, no matter how luxuriant it may be, it will eventually die (vv. 16–22). Something had happened to Job’s “root system,” and he was fading away; thus, sin was the cause. Nobody pulls up a good plant and destroys it, so there had to be something wrong with Job for God to so uproot him. God doesn’t cultivate weeds and cast away the good plants! Bildad reaffirmed his earlier promise that God would restore Job’s fortunes if he would only admit his sins and get right with God. It was the Devil’s invitation all over again!
THREE PAINFUL QUESTIONS (9:1—10:22)
From this point on, the emphasis in the discussion is on the justice of God; and the image that is uppermost in Job’s mind is that of a legal trial. He wants to take God to court and have opportunity to prove his own integrity. A glance at some of the vocabulary indicates this:
contend (Job 9:3; 10:2) = enter into litigation
answer (9:3, 16) = testify in court
judge (v. 15) = an opponent at law, accuser
set a time (v. 19) = summon to court
daysman (v. 33) = an umpire, an arbitrator
reason (13:3) = argue a case
order my cause (v. 18) = prepare my case
plead (v. 19; 23:6) = dispute in court
hear me (31:35) = give me a legal hearing
adversary (v. 35) = accuser in court
In Job 9 and 10, Job asks three questions: “How can I be righteous before God?” (9:1–13), “How can I meet God in court?” (vv. 14–35), and “Why was I born?” (10:1–22; see v. 18). You can see how these questions connect. Job is righteous, but he has to prove it. How can a mortal man prove himself righteous before God? Can he take God to court? But if God doesn’t step in and testify on Job’s behalf, what is the purpose of all this suffering? Why was Job even born?
(1) “How can I be righteous before God?” (Job 9:1–13). This is not a question about salvation (“How may I be justified?”), but about vindication (“How can I be declared innocent?”). If a man tried to take God to court, he would not be able to answer God’s questions one time in a thousand! Yet Job doesn’t know any other way to clear himself before his friends.
Most of this section is a declaration focusing on the attributes of God, especially His invincible wisdom and power that control the earth and the heavens. Would anybody dare go to court with an opponent powerful enough to shake the earth, make the stars, and walk on the waves? (See Isa. 44:24 and Amos 4:13.)
But God is not only invincible, He is also invisible. Job couldn’t see Him or stop Him to give Him a summons to court. God can do whatever He pleases, and nobody can question Him! Even the monster Rahab (Job 9:13 NIV, another mythological creature like Yam and Tannin, 7:12) has to bow before God’s power.
(2) “How can I meet God in court?” (Job 9:14–35). In order to prove himself righteous, Job had to take God to court. But suppose God accepted the summons? What would Job say or do? He discusses this by imagining four situations.
a. “If God came, what would I say?” (vv. 14–19). How could Job answer God’s cross-examination? How does one reason with God or present one’s case before God? If God should answer, Job would not believe it was really His voice; and if Job should say the wrong thing, God would only afflict him more. When Job finally did meet God (Job 38–41), the Lord asked him seventy-seven questions! And Job couldn’t answer one of them! His only response was to admit his ignorance and shut his mouth in silence.
b. “If I could declare my innocence, what then?” (vv. 20–24). This is no assurance that God will set Job free. Both Eliphaz and Bildad claimed that God rewards the righteous and judges the wicked, but Job said that sometimes God destroys both the righteous and the wicked. Wicked judges condemn the righteous and help the ungodly, and God apparently does nothing about it. Job is accusing God of injustice, not only toward Job and his family but also toward other innocent people in the land.
c. “If I try to be happy, what good will it do?” (vv. 25–31). Time was running out for Job, like the king’s messengers who hasten to their destinations, and the papyrus boats in Egypt that skim swiftly down the river, and the eagle that swoops down from the sky. Perhaps Job should take a more positive attitude toward his afflictions, forget his pain, and smile (v. 27). But would that change anything? No! He would still be guilty before God, rejected by his friends, and sitting on an ash heap in sickness and pain. Even if he took a bath and changed clothes as an act of public contrition and cleansing, he would still fear what God might do. Job is convinced that God is against him and that any steps he takes on earth will be nullified by heaven. The defendant can smile and put on a brave front in court, but that doesn’t keep the judge from saying, “Guilty!”
d. “If only I had a mediator!” (vv. 32–35). If God were a man, then Job could approach him and plead his case. Or if there were a “daysman” (mediator) between God and Job, he could take away the rod of judgment and bring Job and God together. But God is not a man, and there is no mediator! This is where Jesus Christ enters the picture! Jesus is God and became man to reveal the Father (John 14:7–11) and to bring sinners to God (1 Tim. 2:5–6; 1 Peter 3:18). He is the “daysman” that Job was pleading for centuries ago (Job 16:21).
(3) “Why was I born?” (Job 10:1–22). Job’s argument here is that God made him and gave him life (vv. 3, 8–12, 18–19), but God was not treating him like one of His own creations. After putting time and effort into making Job, God was destroying him! Furthermore, God was judging Job without even telling him what the charges were against him (v. 2). No wonder Job was weary, bitter, and confused (vv. 1, 15). Note that in this chapter Job speaks directly to God and not to his friends.
God is not a man that He has to investigate things and fight against time (vv. 4–6). God is eternal and can take all the time He needs, and God is all-knowing and doesn’t have to investigate like a private detective. Job had previously yearned for an umpire (9:33), but now he asks for a deliverer (10:7) so he can escape judgment. God was an ever-present Guard, watching Job’s every move (v. 14). He was stalking Job like a lion (v. 16) and attacking him with His army (v. 17). Job was hemmed in, and there was no way out.
So Job’s question seems reasonable: “Why then did you bring me out of the womb?” (v. 18 NIV). Job’s existence on the earth seemed so purposeless he begged God to give him a few moments of peace and happiness before his life ended. He could see his life going by swiftly (7:6–7; 9:25–26), and there was not a moment to waste. “Let me alone,” he prays, “so that I can have a little comfort before I go to the world of darkness.”
Job could not understand what God was doing, and it was important that he not understand. Had Job known that God was using him as a weapon to defeat Satan, he could have simply sat back and waited trustfully for the battle to end. But as Job surveyed himself and his situation, he asked the same question the disciples asked when Mary anointed the Lord Jesus: “Why this waste?” (Mark 14:4). Before we criticize Job too severely, let’s recall how many times we have asked that question ourselves when a baby has died or a promising young person was killed in an accident.
Nothing that is given to Christ in faith and love is ever wasted. The fragrance of Mary’s ointment faded from the scene centuries ago, but the significance of her worship has blessed Christians in every age and continues to do so. Job was bankrupt and sick, and all he could give to the Lord was his suffering by faith; but that is just what God wanted in order to silence the Devil.
When William Whiting Borden died in Egypt in 1913 while on his way to the mission field, some people may have asked, “Why this waste?” But God is still using the story of his brief life to challenge people to give Christ their all.
When John and Betty Stam were martyred in China in 1934, there were some who asked, “Why this waste?” But The Triumph of John and Betty Stam by Mrs. Howard Taylor has been a life-changing book since it was published in 1935. My girlfriend (now my wife) gave me a copy on my twenty-first birthday, and its message still grips my heart.
When the five missionaries were martyred in Ecuador at the hands of Auca Indians, some called the event a “tragic waste of manpower.” But God thought differently, and the story of these five heroes of faith has been ministering to the church ever since.
Job asked, “Why was I born?” In the light of his losses and his personal suffering, it all seemed such a waste! But God knew what He was doing then, and He knows what He is doing now.
“You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about,” wrote James. “The Lord is full of compassion and mercy” (James 5:11 NIV). If you had told that to Job, he might not have believed it; but it was still true.
It was true for him, and it is true for us today.
Believe it!
QUESTIONS FOR PERSONAL REFLECTION OR GROUP DISCUSSION
1. Bildad tried to comfort Job through logical discourse. In your experience, how has logical reasoning affected you in a situation where you needed comfort?
2. What experiences have you had in life that taught you about God’s justice?
3. Bildad tried to comfort Job with wisdom from the past. Sometimes we call that wisdom “clichés.” What kind of clichés or general wisdom do people throw at each other when they are going through a hard time?
4. Bildad’s basic argument was “Something bad is happening to you, so you must have done something bad.” What is wrong with that argument?
5. Bildad focused only on God’s justice. What important attributes of God did he overlook?
6. What kinds of questions would you ask God about suffering, were He to take the witness stand as Job described?
7. Read Matthew 5:44–45. If God sends the same circumstances to the wicked and the good, what insights does that give us into suffering?
8. Suffering often seems to us like it did to Job—as if we are being destroyed for nothing. How does our suffering look different to God?
9. What does understanding our life’s mission have to do with facing suffering?