October 9
Reading: Job 18
1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:
2 “How long will you hunt for words?
Consider, and then we will speak.
3 Why are we counted as cattle?
Why are we stupid in your sight?
4 You who tear yourself in your anger,
shall the earth be forsaken for you,
or the rock be removed out of its place?
5 “Indeed, the light of the wicked is put out,
and the flame of his fire does not shine.
6 The light is dark in his tent,
and his lamp above him is put out.
7 His strong steps are shortened,
and his own schemes throw him down.
8 For he is cast into a net by his own feet,
and he walks on its mesh.
9 A trap seizes him by the heel;
a snare lays hold of him.
10 A rope is hidden for him in the ground,
a trap for him in the path.
11 Terrors frighten him on every side,
and chase him at his heels.
12 His strength is famished,
and calamity is ready for his stumbling.
13 It consumes the parts of his skin;
the firstborn of death consumes his limbs.
14 He is torn from the tent in which he trusted
and is brought to the king of terrors.
15 In his tent dwells that which is none of his;
sulfur is scattered over his habitation.
16 His roots dry up beneath,
and his branches wither above.
17 His memory perishes from the earth,
and he has no name in the street.
18 He is thrust from light into darkness,
and driven out of the world.
19 He has no posterity or progeny among his people,
and no survivor where he used to live.
20 They of the west are appalled at his day,
and horror seizes them of the east.
21 Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous,
such is the place of him who knows not God.”
Bildad begins his second speech by rebuking Job for his lack of understanding and anger. It is important to point out that Job is not angry with God. With God he is asking for an audience, for the opportunity to present his case and get justice. He is becoming angry with his friends. Bildad is reacting defensively to Job’s unhappiness with the counsel of his friends. Now, Bildad, where he ought to be seeking to help Job, has made the discussion about himself. (vs. 2)
For the most part, in chapter 18, Bildad continues his theme from chapter 8 that God is righteous and judges the wicked. This is true, as far as it goes, but hardly helpful to Job in his present state.
Bildad begins by painting a picture of the wicked man as one who’s own schemes catch up to him and bring him down, all that he has is destroyed, and his legacy is nothing. This is the person “who knows not God.” Alright, Bildad. You may have accurately described one aspect of the righteousness of God and the ultimate end of the ungodly unrighteous person. But this is not Job.
Bildad’s problem is the problem of many people when they seek to help others, or advise others, or confront others about some falsehood or sin. He is not listening to Job. He is not seeking to understand Job. Bildad has what he wants to say and so he says it. He has not listened to Job’s lament and does not really know what Job’s struggle is.
Proverbs 10:19 says, “When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.” Again, in Proverbs 29:20, “Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.”
Job is not wondering about whether God punishes the wicked. He knows that God does that. He knows that God is real, and he fears God. His struggle is trying to figure out why God has been so cruel to him. Is God righteous and heartless?
C.S. Lewis writes in A Grief Observed, “Not that I am (I think) in much danger of ceasing to believe in God. The real danger is of coming to believe such dreadful things about Him. The conclusion I dread is not ‘So there’s no God after all,’ but ‘So this is what God’s really like. Deceive yourself no longer.”