Burunche’s Blog

Bildad: Job Should Repent

Then Bildad the Shuhite replied: “How long will you go on saying such things? The words of your mouth are a blustering wind. Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right? When your children sinned against Him, He gave them over to their rebellion. But if you would earnestly seek God and ask the Almighty for mercy, if you are pure and upright, even now He will rouse Himself on your behalf and restore your righteous estate. Though your beginnings were modest, your latter days will flourish.

Please inquire of past generations and consider the discoveries of their fathers. For we were born yesterday and know nothing; our days on earth are but a shadow. Will they not teach you and tell you, and speak from their understanding?

Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Do reeds flourish without water? While the shoots are still uncut, they dry up quicker than grass. Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so the hope of the godless will perish. His confidence is fragile; his security is in a spider’s web. He leans on his web, but it gives way; he holds fast, but it does not endure. He is a well-watered plant in the sunshine, spreading its shoots over the garden. His roots wrap around the rock heap; he looks for a home among the stones. If he is uprooted from his place, it will disown him, saying, ‘I never saw you.’ Surely this is the joy of his way; yet others will spring from the dust.

Behold, God does not reject the blameless, nor will He strengthen the hand of evildoers. He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with a shout of joy. Your enemies will be clothed in shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”

It never fails! Suffer long enough and sooner or later, somebody will turn up accusing you of secret sins. Sometimes these same people will even exhibit a salacious interest in the exact nature of those sins, in hopes of  reveling in juicy details. But what if there are no juicy details? What if you have done nothing to deserve your current suffering? Protestation of your innocence in such situations doesn’t help; your accusers will only claim that you are attempting to hide your sins. This is precisely what Bildad the Shuhite is doing, and his accusations are so vicious that they must be lacerating Job’s soul.

1. “The words of your mouth are a blustering wind.” Gee, thanks, Bildad! Job has just poured out his heart to you and this is all you can say?
2. “When your children sinned against Him, He gave them over to their rebellion.” HUH? How does Bildad know anything about Job’s kids? Or is Bildad offended because Job’s children never invited him to any of their parties?
3. “Please inquire of past generations and consider the discoveries of their fathers.”  Oh great! Now Bildad is trying to back – pedal and cover up his lacerating remarks by invoking the wisdom of elders who never knew him. The “Everybody knows” arguments can seem effective until you begin to examine them. Who is “everybody?” What knowledge do these people actually have? And why are you inflicting this so-called knowledge on a grieving father? Even if something is true, is this the appropriate time and place to bring it out?
4. Bildad goes on to speak of plants dependent on water and of spider’s webs, comparing the wicked (Job) to such ephemeral things. The unstated implication is that Job must have secretly sinned so that his wealth and health are as fleeting as spider webs and papyrus plants. But spiders can rebuild their webs and papyrus can actually tolerate a fair amount of drought.
5. “Surely this is the joy of his way; yet others will spring from the dust.” Hmm. Is Bildad referring to himself as one of the “others” who will spring from the dust? Certainly sounds as if Bildad has been envying Job.

6. “Behold, God does not reject the blameless, nor will He strengthen the hand of evildoers. He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with a shout of joy.”  Hmm. Here Bildad is adding a pious statement on the end, presumably in hopes of redeeming himself after saying all these horrible things to Job. While this is a true statement, Bildad’s use of it certainly appears hypocritical.

APPLICATION:  Yet another one of Job’s friends is speaking out, and his statements are even more cruel than the statements made by those before him. The crux of Bildad’s arguments is that Job and his children must have committed terrible sins, for which God has killed Job’s children and is now punishing Job.

The appalling aspect of Bildad’s accusations is that he appears to be gloating over Job’s misfortune. Even though Bildad has sat seven days and nights presumably grieving with Job, it appears that Bildad has simply been biding his time until he can dump all his misconceptions on Job.

“It was God’s will for this tragedy to happen.” Not necessarily. In 1955 we nearly lost my father in a head – on collision with a drunk driver. The driver in question had turned to alcohol when television collapsed his business running the local movie theater. God did not force that man to drink, nor did God force that man to sit behind the steering wheel of his vehicle. The man’s wife was so afraid of his erratic driving that she got out of the car just a mile before the man ran into my father. God did create that man with free will, the ability to make choices, and it was wrong choices that resulted in that near – fatal accident. (Dad actually had an out of body experience in which he approached the gates of heaven, only to be sent back.)

Recently, there were earthquakes in Syria and Turkey that claimed more than 40,000 lives. Many of the buildings that collapsed were apartment buildings that were not built to withstand earthquakes. God did not force those architects to design weak buildings, nor did He force the contractors to do anything that might have contributed to the collapse of those buildings.

The mere fact that a statement is true does not necessarily mean that you should share it those who are mourning. Bildad has assumed that since he has sat with Job for seven days and nights, he has earned the right to say anything he wishes. Bildad is wrong for three reasons: truths can only be shared when someone is prepared to receive them; nobody gets over grieving in just a few days or weeks or even months; Bildad is speaking from wrong motives. Bildad doesn’t want to console Job; he wants to accuse and gloat, bringing Job down further.

There’s an old adage that says, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything!” Bildad never learned that truth. As long as Bildad was sitting with Job, he was consoling Job; Bildad’s mistake was opening his mouth. May God help us so that we do not copy Bildad!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, You are the Comforter and You are the only One who truly knows the human heart. Help us to be sensitive to those who are grieving so that we heal wounds, not inflict them. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.  

This entry was posted on March 15, 2023 at 12:01 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.