Slices
Prepare
‘Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face’ (Helen H Lemmel, 1922).
Bible passage
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
2 ‘How long will you say such things?
Your words are a blustering wind.
3 Does God pervert justice?
Does the Almighty pervert what is right?
4 When your children sinned against him,
he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.
5 But if you will seek God earnestly
and plead with the Almighty,
6 if you are pure and upright,
even now he will rouse himself on your behalf
and restore you to your prosperous state.
7 Your beginnings will seem humble,
so prosperous will your future be.
8 ‘Ask the former generations
and find out what their ancestors learned,
9 for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,
and our days on earth are but a shadow.
10 Will they not instruct you and tell you?
Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?
11 Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?
Can reeds thrive without water?
12 While still growing and uncut,
they wither more quickly than grass.
13 Such is the destiny of all who forget God;
so perishes the hope of the godless.
14 What they trust in is fragile;
what they rely on is a spider’s web.
15 They lean on the web, but it gives way;
they cling to it, but it does not hold.
16 They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
spreading its shoots over the garden;
17 it entwines its roots round a pile of rocks
and looks for a place among the stones.
18 But when it is torn from its spot,
that place disowns it and says, “I never saw you.”
19 Surely its life withers away,
and from the soil other plants grow.
20 ‘Surely God does not reject one who is blameless
or strengthen the hands of evildoers.
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with shouts of joy.
22 Your enemies will be clothed in shame,
and the tents of the wicked will be no more.’
Explore
I have sometimes thought I could have handled a pastoral conversation better, but I hope I have never been as insensitive as Bildad: ‘Your children must have sinned against him, so their punishment was well deserved’ (v 4, NLT). Even if life did work like this, we know that Job had regularly made sacrifices to cover any sin his children may have committed (Job 1:5).
Bildad’s appeal to previous generations of teachers (v 8) oversimplifies things. Like Eliphaz, he draws the wrong conclusion about Job and his family. There is, however, some truth in this ancient wisdom. This life is temporary (v 9). Other parts of the Bible liken the span of human life to that of grass (eg 1 Peter 1:24), a simile often used in funeral services. Jesus explores the temporary nature of life and the foolishness of forgetting God and trusting in material possessions in the parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:13–21). We can easily forget this perspective as we put our trust in human wisdom and possessions which will not last (vs 14,15).
Like Eliphaz, Bildad assumes that Job’s situation must be the result of sin, exhorting him to repent so that God will restore him. He is right in principle, but Job is blameless (Job 1:1). God will again bless him with joy, but we have to wait to the very end of the book to see that.
Respond
Consider carefully: what is the source of your security?
Deeper Bible study
‘But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’1
The search for justice is an inner human desire and can be seen in every human society since records and writing began. Most ancient civilisations built their concepts of an afterlife on the fact that we would we be judged at the end of our life. If the scales tipped in our favour then we might live out our days in paradise. Job 8 continues the setting of the courtroom as Job’s friend Bildad introduces the concept of justice to the discussion. In Bildad’s first response to Job, we see that justice is fundamental to his understanding of God. Just as Eliphaz held to the principle that good things must happen to good people, Bildad is convinced that justice goes even deeper, to the very heart and character of God (vs 3–6).
Whereas Eliphaz is softer, Bildad is blunt as he takes the concept of a just God to its logical conclusion. Job’s children must have died simply because they sinned (v 4). Now Job has an opportunity to return to prosperity if he is pure and upright (v 6). Bildad’s words echo the accusation of Satan in chapters 1 and 2. If God is like this, is the only reason for good living to try to receive prosperity in return?
Just as Christians understand God as both powerful and personal, so also we trust our God to uphold justice while abounding in gracious love. Bildad’s limited view of God’s justice means that it becomes mechanical, not about relationship and love. Instead, we believe in a God who maintains justice while holding us in love. Romans 5:8 tells us: ‘while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’
Pray for places in the world which are in deep need of God’s trustworthy justice. Pray also that God’s gracious love will permeate every part of your life.
1 Rom 5:8
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Ezra 7,8; Luke 4
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray for Sue Hill, Mission Events Coordinator, as the Mission Events team continue to process volunteer applications for the events that are able to run this summer. Pray for all those children and young people taking part that, as they hear about Jesus, they will respond by giving their lives to him.
