Job 22

The book of Job teaches us to hold onto our faith during challenging times. Three questions weave in and out of the pages.

Can I trust God when life doesn’t make sense?

Can I trust God during my pain?  

Is God enough?

Job lost his family, wealth, and health, leaving him to grapple with questions about God. The foundation of his life has collapsed. He is in emotional pain from losing his family. He endures physical suffering due to his deteriorating health. It’s hard for him to breathe (9:18), and he has no appetite (3:24). He is covered in painful, ulcerous sores (2:7). Additionally, he faces spiritual turmoil. What is God doing? Can I trust him? Is he enough?

Three friends came to help Job in his dire situation. Eliphaz went first, directing his remarks at Job through three rounds of speeches. He essentially said, “Job, you are guilty. You are being punished for your sins. Turn from your wicked ways, and God will bless you.” So much for compassion and support. However, Eliphaz was gentler with Job than our next speaker.

Bildad delivers a harsh verdict. He didn’t start with Job; he began with God. He argued, “God is just. God punishes the guilty, and he is punishing you, Job, for your guilt. Turn away from your sins, and God will bless you.” In making this claim, Bildad is blunt and downright cruel.

Bildad began by asserting that Job was nothing but a blowhard (Job 8:2). Can you imagine saying that to a man covered in oozing sores? Then it gets worse. Bildad told Job that his children had sinned against God, which led to their deaths (Job 8:4). The Message translates the verse like this: “It’s plain that your children sinned against him—otherwise, why would God have punished them?” Most people would have punched Bildad in the face for that comment. I know I would have. Bildad reminds Job that his children are gone, and while it’s unfortunate for them, Job can still save himself.

Job 8:5-7
If you will seek God and plead with the Almighty for mercy, ⁶ if you are pure and upright, surely then he will rouse himself for you and restore your rightful habitation. ⁷ And though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very significant.

Two things to consider: First, Bildad is brutally direct. His lack of compassion is clear in his initial words: “Job, you are nothing but a big bag of hot air, and your children are dead because of their sin.” His reckless words pierce like a sword (Prov. 12:18). He is the type of person who has never been wrong and is convinced that he is always right. He consistently hurts others and seems indifferent. I can imagine that, in his home, words of encouragement are seldom heard. I picture Bildad rarely, if ever, smiling.

Second, Bildad was one of those people who has only one theological drum and bangs it loudly. He was all about justice, leaving no room for mercy and compassion. Do you know a few people like that? Yeah, I thought so. Let’s consider the dangers of Bildad’s theology.

The Justice of God
Justice is often equated with something that is earned or deserved. We say that justice has been served when we approve of an outcome. When an event occurs that we perceive as unfair, we claim that justice has been denied or that the scales of justice are unbalanced. The Greek philosopher Aristotle defined justice as “giving a person what is his or her due.” What is considered due is based on a prior agreement. If a person receives less or more punishment than we believe they deserve, we assert that an injustice has taken place.

Bildad is correct in saying that God is just. When Abraham argued that God should not treat the righteous and the wicked the same, he asked, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” (Gen. 18:25) Paul made the same point with a rhetorical question: “What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means!^” (Rom. 9:14) However, Bildad’s problem is that he focuses solely on one attribute of God, excluding the others.

Here’s what we must know about God: All of his attributes work together in perfect harmony. God is just and merciful. God is eternal and works in time. God is omnipresent and lives in each believer. The point is this: If you focus on one attribute of God to the exclusion of the others, your view of God is skewed and heretical. R. C. Sproul uses the characteristics of mercy and justice to make this point.

How then does mercy relate to justice. . . God tempers His justice with mercy. His grace is essentially a kind of mercy. God is gracious to us when He withholds punishment we deserve and when He rewards our obedience despite the fact that we owe obedience to Him, and so do not merit any reward. Mercy is always voluntary with God. He is never obligated to be merciful. He reserved the right to exercise His grace according to the good pleasure of his will.[1]

Bildad based his view of justice on historical theology. He said, “For inquire, please, of bygone ages, and consider what the fathers have searched out. For we are but of yesterday and know nothing, for our days on earth are a shadow. Will they not teach you and tell you and utter words out of their understanding?” (Job 8:8-10)

We can learn many lessons from observing the past, even though not everyone got it right. 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.”^[2] History serves as a great teacher, but it is not perfect. Only the inspired Word of God stands as our perfect instructor. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Isa. 40:8).

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Read Job 8
As you read Job 8, consider Bildad’s argument using this outline.

• Character of God: Look Up (Job 8:3-7)
• Wisdom of the Past: Look Back (Job 8:8-10)
• Evidence of Nature: Look Around (Job 8:11-19)

Talking to God
Are there any areas of your life where you are big on justice but ignore grace and mercy? Talk to God about that.

Have Questions?
Be sure to send your questions to our team. We are happy to assist you as you explore God’s Word. Submit your question below, and we’ll reply soon.

This week’s podcast is a must-listen for parents. I have a conversation with professional counselor Heidi Erickson, who explains the effects of pornography on children and what we can do to protect them. Visit The Journey with Ron Moore Podcast, Episode 68.

[1] R. C. Sproul, Essential Truths of the Christian Faith (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1992), 53).

^[2] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Patient, “Be” Commentary Series (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 37.