This is a very long post since it doesn’t really have a good breaking point. I would have to have a very short post with just Bildad’s speech or interrupt Job’s long speech. I am getting eager to finished with the book of Job. Every time I have gotten to this point in the book, I have rushed to the end. Still, there is some really important parts to the book at this point, and things change from this point on. Bildad’s speech is only six verse, but Job’s reply is five chapters. This is Job’s last speech to his friends, and it includes a section on wisdom and some reflections on his past prosperity. It is worth slowing down to study. Still, I put it all in one post, so here we go!
Job 25
1 Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,
2 Dominion and fear are with him, he maketh peace in his high places.
3 Is there any number of his armies? and upon whom doth not his light arise?
4 How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?
5 Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight.
6 How much less man, that is a worm? and the son of man, which is a worm?
Bildad’s speech is short and simple: we are born corrupt because we are human. Because we are not perfect, we are worthless. There is an aspect of truth to this, but it isn’t a complete truth as with all the speeches of Job’s friends. We live in an age in which everyone is in a rage to point out each other’s mistakes. To hide from this, we then flock to AI to create perfection. It turns out that AI makes more mistakes than most people do. Yet, with all this imperfection, God loves us and sees us as high worth. Bilbad misses this as does all of Job’s friends. We are not worms in God’s eyes. We are his children.
Job 26
1 But Job answered and said,
2 How hast thou helped him that is without power? how savest thou the arm that hath no strength?
3 How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom? and how hast thou plentifully declared the thing as it is?
4 To whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee?
Job is asking his friend how does he think this is going to help anyone? In what spirit is he giving all of these words? Is Job’s friends actually trying to help Job or are they just making themselves feel better at his expense? The friends have failed to be of any help or comfort to Job.
5 Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof.
6 Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.
7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.
8 He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them.
9 He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it.
10 He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end.
11 The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof.
12 He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud.
13 By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.
14 Lo, these are parts of his ways: but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand?
Job now goes into a hymn about how great and powerful God is. The cosmic imagery leaves no questions in the reader’s mind that Job sees God as the supreme God over all the realms of heaven, hell, and earth. He is no minor deity. There is also never a question in all of Job’s sufferings about whether God exists or if he is powerful enough to fix everything in Job’s life. These facts are known and never questioned. Even though Job has lost everything and is suffering, he still acknowledges the greatness of God.
Job 27
1 Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,
2 As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul;
3 All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;
4 My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.
5 God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.
6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.
In this final speech to his friends, Job gives a final assertion that he is innocent of doing anything to deserve the evil that has happened to him. After all the back and forth, Job conveys extra stubbornness in his innocence.
7 Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous.
8 For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?
9 Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him?
10 Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God?
11 I will teach you by the hand of God: that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal.
12 Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it; why then are ye thus altogether vain?
13 This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty.
14 If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.
15 Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and his widows shall not weep.
16 Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay;
17 He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver.
18 He buildeth his house as a moth, and as a booth that the keeper maketh.
19 The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he is not.
20 Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night.
21 The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth: and as a storm hurleth him out of his place.
22 For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand.
23 Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.
Job talks about God’s judgment on the wicked. This is different from Job’s friends telling him that he needs to repent because God is punishing him for being wicked. Job is directly accusing his three friends of treating him wickedly and that they should beware of God’s judgement. Then he teaches them how God acts. For us modern readers, this might come across as arrogant, but in this poetic form, Job is standing up to his friends and speaking the truth without personal attacks or rudeness. A weak person may just agree with their friends until they leave for the sake of getting along. An angry man may have been already so offended that he kicked his friends out and severed the relationship. Job is somehow able to have an intense debate with his friends, keep true to his own convictions, and yet maintain a relationship with them. That is incredible!
Job 28
1 Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it.
2 Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone.
3 He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death.
4 The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are dried up, they are gone away from men.
5 As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire.
6 The stones of it are the place of sapphires: and it hath dust of gold.
7 There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture’s eye hath not seen:
8 The lion’s whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it.
9 He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots.
10 He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing.
11 He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.
12 But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?
This chapter begins a section on wisdom. Experts are not sure if this is from Job or the narrator. I have it as being part of Job’s speech. Here he poetically describes a deep mine and the labors needed to obtain vast treasures, but he concludes by pointing out the animals who don’t do this because wisdom cannot be found in a mine.
13 Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.
14 The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me.
15 It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
16 It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
17 The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
I am a huge fan of wisdom literature, and this is some of the most beautiful passages I have read of it. It simply says that wisdom cannot be bought, but that little sentence does does not convey the value of wisdom the way this poetic passage does.
20 Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?
21 Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air.
22 Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.
23 God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof.
24 For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven;
25 To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure.
26 When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder:
27 Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out.
28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
Job finally gives us the answer to where to find wisdom. He tells us that God has ordered it in the very fabric of how nature works and to find it we must fear God and stay away from evil. The fear of God is a baffling concept to most modern because we think of being scared that God will zap us at any moment. In some ways, though, that isn’t far from the truth. The fear of God is not so much being afraid God is out to get me, but being aware of just how little in life and the universe I can control. I cannot control the weather. I cannot control plagues or accidents or the length of my life. I cannot control other people. I cannot control economics or wealth or power. Any control that man temporarily has is given to him by God and can disappear in a moment. I am not God. The one who does control all of that should be respected and, yes, even feared.
Job 29
1 Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,
2 Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me;
3 When his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness;
4 As I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle;
Now that Job has talked about where the source of wisdom comes from, which is the fear of God, he now starts to recall the blessings of his past. Tabernacle is the same word as tent or his house. The blessings of fearing God is both obvious and secret. It is obvious when someone is prospering and thriving, but it isn’t always obvious where the source of their good luck is coming from. This secret good luck or blessedness, Job is saying is from God.
5 When the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were about me;
6 When I washed my steps with butter, and the rock poured me out rivers of oil;
Job felt like he didn’t have to hardly try and everything came to home easily.
7 When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street!
8 The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and the aged arose, and stood up.
9 The princes refrained talking, and laid their hand on their mouth.
10 The nobles held their peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth
Job’s sign of success is not his money or clothes, but the respect those around him had for him. Even the rich and powerful were quite so that they could hear Job’s words and advice.
11 When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me:
12 Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him.
13 The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.
14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem.
15 I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame.
16 I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out.
17 And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.
Job points out that the respect that he had was from good deeds that he did. Again, he is not listing the money, cattle, lands, or other forms of wealth as being the source of his happiness or the respect he gained. He is specifically listing the good deeds he did to earn the reputation he had. Job tells his friends that he wasn’t just avoiding evil, but seeking out those to help and defend.
18 Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand.
19 My root was spread out by the waters, and the dew lay all night upon my branch.
20 My glory was fresh in me, and my bow was renewed in my hand.
21 Unto me men gave ear, and waited, and kept silence at my counsel.
22 After my words they spake not again; and my speech dropped upon them.
23 And they waited for me as for the rain; and they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain.
24 If I laughed on them, they believed it not; and the light of my countenance they cast not down.
25 I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth the mourners.
Job talks about how he was content in his old life and that he was looked up to like a king. They way people respected his words and his advice was the greatest sign of his achievements. I find this fascinating because it is so different from how we measure success today. He is not talking about changing the world, but being a stable pillar of support in a community. He isn’t counting his material goods, but his reputation.
Job 30
1 But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock.
2 Yea, whereto might the strength of their hands profit me, in whom old age was perished?
3 For want and famine they were solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste.
4 Who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper roots for their meat.
5 They were driven forth from among men, (they cried after them as after a thief;)
6 To dwell in the clifts of the valleys, in caves of the earth, and in the rocks.
7 Among the bushes they brayed; under the nettles they were gathered together.
8 They were children of fools, yea, children of base men: they were viler than the earth.
9 And now am I their song, yea, I am their byword.
10 They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not to spit in my face.
11 Because he hath loosed my cord, and afflicted me, they have also let loose the bridle before me.
12 Upon my right hand rise the youth; they push away my feet, and they raise up against me the ways of their destruction.
13 They mar my path, they set forward my calamity, they have no helper.
14 They came upon me as a wide breaking in of waters: in the desolation they rolled themselves upon me.
Now that Job is dealing with a prolonged hardship that has impoverished him and made him sick, worthless and wild young people have made Job the victim of their jokes and crimes. One thing that seems true about broader humanity is that they have short memories. People often forget what a person did in the past unless it was done to them and if they possess either a vengeful or loyal nature. There is a fictional legend about Belisarius who was a powerful and successful General for Emperor Justinian. The story says that at the end of Belisarius’s long a loyal career he angered Justinian, so Justinian had him blinded and thrown into the streets to beg for the rest of his life. Even though this story is not true, it lingers on because there is a way humanity can sometimes repay good with evil. This is not like God. It is the actions of fools, but it has been observed throughout time.
15 Terrors are turned upon me: they pursue my soul as the wind: and my welfare passeth away as a cloud.
16 And now my soul is poured out upon me; the days of affliction have taken hold upon me.
17 My bones are pierced in me in the night season: and my sinews take no rest.
18 By the great force of my disease is my garment changed: it bindeth me about as the collar of my coat.
19 He hath cast me into the mire, and I am become like dust and ashes.
20 I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me: I stand up, and thou regardest me not.
21 Thou art become cruel to me: with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me.
22 Thou liftest me up to the wind; thou causest me to ride upon it, and dissolvest my substance.
23 For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living.
24 Howbeit he will not stretch out his hand to the grave, though they cry in his destruction.
25 Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor?
26 When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkness.
27 My bowels boiled, and rested not: the days of affliction prevented me.
28 I went mourning without the sun: I stood up, and I cried in the congregation.
29 I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls.
30 My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned with heat.
31 My harp also is turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of them that weep.
Job describes the hardship he is going through, not as a list on bad events, but as his current state of existence. He talks of his failing health, his sleeplessness, his sorrow, his worn out condition, and his feelings of being forgotten by God. Job also changes to whom he talking to from his friends to God himself. Instead of continuing to teach his friends wisdom or even to confront them with the truth of his past, Job asks God what did he do to deserve this? Did he not do good when he had the ability to do so?
Job 31
1 I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?
2 For what portion of God is there from above? and what inheritance of the Almighty from on high?
3 Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity?
4 Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps?
5 If I have walked with vanity, or if my foot hath hasted to deceit;
6 Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity.
7 If my step hath turned out of the way, and mine heart walked after mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to mine hands;
8 Then let me sow, and let another eat; yea, let my offspring be rooted out.
9 If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbour’s door;
10 Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her.
11 For this is an heinous crime; yea, it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges.
12 For it is a fire that consumeth to destruction, and would root out all mine increase.
13 If I did despise the cause of my manservant or of my maidservant, when they contended with me;
14 What then shall I do when God riseth up? and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?
15 Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb?
16 If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;
17 Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof;
18 (For from my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother’s womb;)
19 If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering;
20 If his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
21 If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate:
22 Then let mine arm fall from my shoulder blade, and mine arm be broken from the bone.
23 For destruction from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure.
24 If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence;
25 If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because mine hand had gotten much;
26 If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness;
27 And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand:
28 This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above.
29 If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him:
30 Neither have I suffered my mouth to sin by wishing a curse to his soul.
31 If the men of my tabernacle said not, Oh that we had of his flesh! we cannot be satisfied.
32 The stranger did not lodge in the street: but I opened my doors to the traveller.
33 If I covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom:
34 Did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of families terrify me, that I kept silence, and went not out of the door?
35 Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adversary had written a book.
36 Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me.
37 I would declare unto him the number of my steps; as a prince would I go near unto him.
38 If my land cry against me, or that the furrows likewise thereof complain;
39 If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life:
40 Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.
Job ends his words like a lawyer presenting a case to a judge. He asks God what did he do to deserve this? Then Job goes on to list very specifically sins and crimes that he did not do followed by a curse upon himself if he had done these things. These “If…then” statements are meant to emphasize the Job’s intense conviction that he is innocent.
In Christian doctrine, we often talk about how all have sinned and so many people take the side of Job’s friends to say he must have done something wrong. The problem is that we are mixing up two different categories of things here. Paul and the church’s doctrine is talking about eternal life which can only be obtained by God’s grace. Job and his friends are talking about our present earthly reality. Throughout the ages, in many collections of wisdom literature, it has been observed that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. This is the nature of the world and the general grace of God on those still living. Job and his friends rightly see this as being from God and a form of judgment by God to lead people to him. God, like a loving father, teaches his people to do good things not just because it pleases him, but it is also good for them to flourish in the world that he made.
I am not saying that our good deeds alone can save our soul. I am just saying that all the characters in this book believed in the same God and seem to be following as much of the law as they had at this time, considering that this may have been written before Moses and the Old Testament law. Job already had faith in God to save his soul. He had no fear of death. He is not arguing his case before God about being perfect. He is presenting a case that according to all observations of nature and God’s way of working with people in this world, he should be doing well. As we will see in the later chapters, Job is right. He should be doing well. What we will also see, though, is that God has a reason for everything, and we are not always in a place where we can see it or understand it.
If you are Job reading this, hold on. The end of the book is coming, and the truth will come out. God has a plan for your life and nothing happens by accident. We just can’t see the whole picture just yet. We may not be able to see the whole picture even in this life, but God is good, loving, and fair. There is a reason. There is a purpose. There is a story that your life must tell the world. Above all, bring your case before God himself just as Job has and ask him why. That is the right thing to do.
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