Job 8:14-19
¹⁴”His confidence is severed,
and his trust is a spider’s web.
¹⁵He leans against his house, but it does not stand;
he lays hold of it, but it does not endure.
¹⁶He is a lush plant before the sun,
and his shoots overspread his garden.
¹⁷His roots entwine the stone heap;
he looks upon a house of stones.
¹⁸If he is destroyed from his place,
then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have never seen you.’
¹⁹Behold, this is the joy of his way,
and out of the soil others will spring.”

The Story: Bildad intimates that Job has been trusting in all the wrong things. He’s moaning and complaining because all his “idols” have been taken away. He trusted in his possessions and prosperity, and now that it’s all gone, all he can do is whine, whine, whine. But the problem with Job, as Bildad sees it, is deeper. No matter what he tries to do in the way of reestablishing himself in security, wealth and safety “will deny him.” Why? Because he’s a sinner, and he needs to repent of whatever it is he’s trying to hide from the Lord.

The Structure: So this is as much “joy” as such a man can expect in life? He lives, he is troubled, he dies, and others arise to take his place. Bildad is not just mean; he’s cynical, discouraging, and dead wrong. Well, except in this one thing that he said: “For we are but of yesterday and know nothing” (v. 9). When you don’t know what to say, don’t say what you think you ought to say, or what everybody else is saying. Just be still and wait on the Lord.

But, again, there is a glimmer of truth in these words from Bildad. Can you discern it?

For a deeper look at the book of Job, order Carol A. Newsom’s The Book of Job: A Contest of Moral Imaginations from our online store.

The Worldview Bible examines the teaching of Scripture according to the Story and Structure of Truth – the Framework of Christian Worldview – using only other Scriptures for illumination. Information about The Framework of Truth is available on this site. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Job 8:11-13
¹¹“Can papyrus grow where there is no march?
Can reeds flourish where there is no water?
¹² While yet in flower and not cut down,
they wither before any other plant.
¹³ Such are the paths of all who forget God;
the hope of the godless shall perish.”

The Story: See, Job, there’s a reason for everything. No water, no papyrus. No water, only withering plants. No godliness, no blessing. See? Bildad is not saying that Job is “godless” – he’s too clever for that. But he’s implying it. Like a papyrus without water, Job is without memory of – attention and devotion to – God, and so, like the withering reed, he is withering and filled with woes. Someone needs to revoke this guy’s certification.

The Structure: We have to be careful about such “cause and effect” arguments. We can be wrong on either count: either we get the wrong cause in our minds, or we surmise the wrong consequences. Especially in human relationships, few things are as “if/then” as Bildad seems to think. But then, he’s more interested in bolstering his own view and ego than in helping his friend. And God will say as much before too long.

Can you think of some ways that “if/then” thinking can get us in trouble when we’re trying to counsel those who are going through a trial?

For a deeper look at the book of Job, order Carol A. Newsom’s The Book of Job: A Contest of Moral Imaginations from our online store.

The Worldview Bible examines the teaching of Scripture according to the Story and Structure of Truth – the Framework of Christian Worldview – using only other Scriptures for illumination. Information about The Framework of Truth is available on this site. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Job 8-10
⁸“For inquire, please, of bygone ages,
and consider what the fathers have searched out.
⁹For we are but of yesterday and know nothing,
for our days on earth are a shadow.
¹⁰Will they not teach you and tell you
and utter words out of their understanding?”

The Story: Bildad insists that his views are in line with the venerable teachings of Job’s fathers. He could look it up. What does Bildad know? He’s a nobody, so he says. But he thinks he can back up his views with the traditions of their people. “If you don’t believe me, look to the counsel of our fathers. You’ll see we’re right.” We can read tradition in many different ways, but if we start with the wrong premise, we’re only going to find “authorities” who support our views.

The Structure: The long and venerable theological heritage of the Church is very important in deciding matters of faith and practice. But it’s not absolute. Opposing parties can always find some authority or other to support their views. The Word of God is the last Word on all matters of belief and life. We need to work hard, listening to the Word and Spirit of God, to understand God’s will before we start appealing to other authorities to support our views. Bildad and his friends, however, could not be inconvenienced by such work.

Do you read from the theological heritage of the Church? Should you?

For a deeper look at the book of Job, order Carol A. Newsom’s The Book of Job: A Contest of Moral Imaginations from our online store.

The Worldview Bible examines the teaching of Scripture according to the Story and Structure of Truth – the Framework of Christian Worldview – using only other Scriptures for illumination. Information about The Framework of Truth is available on this site. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Job 8:5-10
⁵“If you will seek God
and plead with the Almighty for mercy,
⁶if you are pure and upright,
surely then he will rouse himself for you
and restore your rightful habitation.
⁷And though your beginning was small,
your latter days will be very great.”

The Story: Now this is pretty good advice. In fact, Job is already sort of seeking God by rejecting the counsel of his friends. He will begin to seek him even more earnestly before long, to the point of overstepping the bounds of decency with the Lord. But Bildad’s second bit of advice – that God necessarily causes to prosper those who seek Him – sounds more like something the devil might dangle in front of Job. God does not promise His people that whatever is “rightful” will be theirs. Nor does He guarantee material success and temporal happiness to all those who seek Him. He promises Himself, and for those who truly seek Him, this is enough.

The Structure: Bildad and his friends are thinking about “justice” in strictly temporal terms. But justice is an eternal virtue, and sometimes it takes an eternity for all that is just to be sorted out properly. We should not tell people that everything’s going to be OK and they’ll “get better” if they just seek the Lord. We should tell them the truth, and tell it in love: If you seek the Lord with all your heart, you will find Him. Then, whatever your circumstances or situation, He will be enough (Jer. 29:11-14).

For a deeper look at the book of Job, order Carol A. Newsom’s The Book of Job: A Contest of Moral Imaginations from our online store.

The Worldview Bible examines the teaching of Scripture according to the Story and Structure of Truth – the Framework of Christian Worldview – using only other Scriptures for illumination. Information about The Framework of Truth is available on this site. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Job 8:4
⁴“If your children have sinned against him,
he has delivered them into the hand of their transgression.”

The Story: What a piece of work this Bildad is! Notice how careful he is at this point. He doesn’t come right out and say that Job’s children got what they deserved. That conditional “if” is his hedge against being considered cruel and cold by making such a suggestion. “I didn’t say they got what they deserved! I said, ‘If’…” But even the suggestion of it is heartless. It may be true (we don’t know, but we don’t have any reason to suppose it is), but even so, these are not the words to say to a grieving parent in order to help him find his peace with God.

The Structure: Given what we hear from these “friends” of Job, it’s no wonder the Bible has so much to say about the tongue and how we should use it. We might even be speaking truth, but unless we speak it in love – to edify the other person – our truth may fall on deaf ears. Commentators in general recognize that there is truth in many of the words of Job’s counselors; it’s just that they spoke it wrong and applied it in ways God never intended. So did they really know the truth?

For a deeper look at the book of Job, order Carol A. Newsom’s The Book of Job: A Contest of Moral Imaginations from our online store.

The Worldview Bible examines the teaching of Scripture according to the Story and Structure of Truth – the Framework of Christian Worldview – using only other Scriptures for illumination. Information about The Framework of Truth is available on this site. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Job 87:1-3
¹Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:
²”How long will you say these things,
and the words of your mouth be a great wind?
³Does God pervert justice?
Or does the Almighty pervert the right?”

The Story: Job is doubtless thinking, “Did I say that? Did I accuse God of perverting justice?” Of course he didn’t. But Bildad is persuaded that his view, and that of his friends, is correct – the very Word of God! – so for Job to be resisting them is, naturally, tantamount to saying that God is unjust. It’s hard to know which of these three “friends” to dislike the most, but Bildad gets pretty close in my mind. It’s not hard to see who’s the real wind bag in this situation. At this point, Job is only raising questions, but because he doesn’t like the answers he’s getting from his “friends”, they take their argument to the realm of ad absurdum. This is always a danger when we’re trying to help someone. We can become so convinced that our insights are true and right, that we overstate the case for them, and, in the process, condemn the person we’re trying to help.

The Structure: We note here that Bildad is actually asking Job a question. But it’s merely rhetorical; he’s not looking for an answer. Good counselors don’t presume. Through honest questions and careful listening they pry and prod in order to learn, so that they can, together with their counselee, find a way to the peace of God again. If Job weren’t such a great book about the trustworthiness of God, it might be an excellent “How Not To” manual for Christian counselors..

For a deeper look at the book of Job, order Carol A. Newsom’s The Book of Job: A Contest of Moral Imaginations from our online store.

The Worldview Bible examines the teaching of Scripture according to the Story and Structure of Truth – the Framework of Christian Worldview – using only other Scriptures for illumination. Information about The Framework of Truth is available on this site. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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