A Question of Justice

Scripture Reading

Job 8 NIV84

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied: 2 “How long will you say such things? Your words are a blustering wind. 3 Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right? 4 When your children sinned against him, he gave them over to the penalty of their sin. 5 But if you will look to God and plead with the Almighty, 6 if you are pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself on your behalf and restore you to your rightful place. 7 Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be. 8 “Ask the former generations and find out what their fathers learned, 9 for we were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days on earth are but a shadow. 10 Will they not instruct you and tell you? Will they not bring forth words from their understanding? 11 Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds thrive without water? 12 While still growing and uncut, they wither more quickly than grass. 13 Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so perishes the hope of the godless. 14 What he trusts in is fragile; what he relies on is a spider’s web. 15 He leans on his web, but it gives way; he clings to it, but it does not hold. 16 He is like a well-watered plant in the sunshine, spreading its shoots over the garden; 17 it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks and looks for a place among the stones. 18 But when it is torn from its spot, that place disowns it and says, ‘I never saw you.’ 19 Surely its life withers away, and from the soil other plants grow. 20 “Surely God does not reject a blameless man or strengthen the hands of evildoers. 21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy. 22 Your enemies will be clothed in shame, and the tents of the wicked will be no more.”

Introduction

We continue our look at the book of Job. You will recall that I said there are essentially three rounds of address directed at Job, with his responses. We’re currently in the first round of addresses that are being directed at Job, and we come this evening to consider the words of the second friend, whose name is Bildad. So, it’s the first round of addresses, but the second friend now speaking to Job.

Before we delve into this, recall that I mentioned last time we were in this study that there is a particular principle that was prominent in the minds of both Job and his friends, and we called that the Retribution Principle. In essence, the understanding was that God would bless those who are righteous, and he would bring judgment and curses on those who were evil. Thus, a man could be judged by either his prosperity (in which case it was believed that the man was righteous in the sight of God), or by the calamities that came upon him (in which case it was believed that the man was evil, or under the judgment of God).

That was the very simplistic view that was prominent in their minds. And as I mentioned last time, there is at least some truth to that view, but it is not the full truth. Very importantly, we need to understand that God is all-wise and all-knowing, and there is more to the world and its operations than a simplistic Retribution Principle perspective.

This evening we are considering the words of Bildad that continue to bring out that perspective of the Retribution Principle. Bildad doesn’t disagree with the advice of Eliphaz. In fact, he seems to be very much in agreement with him. He begins his words to Job with a pretty strong rebuke. He then delves into what he believes is a place for obtaining wisdom - that is in the teachings of their forefathers. And then he gives and exhortation to Job, essentially saying to Job that he must seek the Lord, and that when he does this, God will bless him!

We will consider his words thus under those 3 different sections.

Firstly, then, notice…

1 A Stern Rebuke (vv.1-7)

We begin by consider this rebuke that comes in these 7 verses, and the very first words out of Bildad’s mouth are anything but encouraging to Job. Let’s look together at verses 1-3...

Job 8:1–3 NIV84

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied: 2 “How long will you say such things? Your words are a blustering wind. 3 Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right?

The first concern from Bildad is that Job’s words are all hot air!

Here was a suffering individual, who really had no part to play in the sufferings that he was enduring. He had come out and proclaimed his innocence before his friends, and was now being accused of being a man with words that are a blustering wind.

This was not a compliment at all, but rather a criticism that Job’s words were effectively a whirlwind of words, destructive and unhelpful in their content.

Having rebuked Job in that sense, Bildad turns his attention to this matter of the justice of God in verse 3. He simply begins with a question: Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is wrong?

The clear answer to that is, no He doesn’t!! Job himself would have agreed in principle with this position. We all would agree with that position!

Deuteronomy 32:4 NIV84

4 He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.

They all would have agreed with this perspective!!

What’s important to note over here is that Job professed his innocence. Bildad took this to mean that Job was accusing God of being unjust. With the Retributive Principle in mind, this was the only viable conclusion.

But keep in mind what we said about this. God acts in wisdom. And we often don’t understand the wisdom of God, and the purposes behind everything that unfolds in this world. Every facet of God’s character and nature works in perfect harmony with every other facet.

As we look further at the words of Bildad, notice that he takes a step further into very unwise counsel! Notice his words in verse 4…

Job 8:4 NIV84

4 When your children sinned against him, he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.

I think it’s safe to say that this counsel was cruel. It was unhelpful, and would certainly not have provided Job with any comfort or consolation. It would not have been an encouragement to Job in any way whatsoever. It was a simple conclusion - your children sinned, therefore God has punished them by having them put to death!

We must keep in mind that there’s absolutely no indication of sin in the children’s lives. It is true that Job had offered sacrifices on their behalf after they would gather together, but we should not assume through this that they were sinful in their conduct. The point of that statement is more to convey the fact of Job’s righteousness than it is to point out that the children themselves were sinful.

Two things to keep in mind here. Firstly, the fact that Job must have been distraught at what was being told him. Imagine how sickened he must have felt, hearing his “friends” pronounce condemnation on his children.

Secondly, ???

This leads Bildad to offer some advice to Job:

Job 8:5–7 NIV84

5 But if you will look to God and plead with the Almighty, 6 if you are pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself on your behalf and restore you to your rightful place. 7 Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be.

Again, Bildad is simply of the view that being right with God, being pure and upright in His sight, will lead to a prosperous life… at all times!! Bildad believes that the reason that Job is suffering is because of falling out of favour with God.

It is important to recognise that at the end of the book, it is Job who will be vindicated. In other words, the advice of the friends is what displeases God, and it is Job that prays, not for himself, but for his friends (Job 42:7-13).

Keep in mind that by the time the end of this account comes - after Job has prayed for his three friends - God certainly does restore his fortunes, and even blesses him with an abundance more! This was not because he turned himself to God and prayed for himself… he had prayed for his friends! But God graciously gave back to him.

Bildad didn’t perceive that his words would be prophetic, although in a completely different way to what he anticipated!

As we continue in the passage, we note secondly…

2 An Appeal to Forefathers (vv.8-19)

Bildad now seeks to convince Job of his position by turning his attention to former generations - to the wisdom of the generations gone by…

He introduces this in verses 8-10…

Job 8:8–10 NIV84

8 “Ask the former generations and find out what their fathers learned, 9 for we were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days on earth are but a shadow. 10 Will they not instruct you and tell you? Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?

The opening phrase that Bildad uses in verse 8 was a common one of the day that made an appeal to ancient wisdom.

Now, from the outset, we need to acknowledge that looking to days gone by, in particular the days gone by of godly generations is a good thing. Even in our day, we think of the reformers. we think of the puritans… these were godly generations that we look back to in order to learn important truths from!

A similar phrase is actually used in Deuteronomy 4:32...

Deuteronomy 4:32 NIV84

32 Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created man on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of?

Now, to a point this is helpful and good. However, just because something is traditional, or handed down by former generations, it doesn’t make it absolutely correct! There may yet be error. Furthermore

Be Patient Chapter Three: The Discussion Continues (Job 8–10)

“Tradition” and “traditionalism” are two different things. Historian Jeroslav Pelikan expresses this difference accurately when he says, “Tradition is the living faith of the dead; traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.” To Bildad, the past was a parking lot; but God wants the past to be a launching pad. We stand with the ancients so that we can walk with them and move toward the goals that they were seeking. This includes our knowledge of God as well as our knowledge of man and the world.

So, Bildad encourages a look to tradition from the ages gone by.

Probably flowing out from that, he turns the attention of Job to the natural world, particularly to various plants. As he looks at the natural world around him, he asks some rhetorical questions.

Job 8:11 NIV84

11 Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds thrive without water?

Papyrus and reeds are particular plants that need either a marshy condition or a swamp of sorts in order to thrive. Without this environment, those plants will simply die out. The questions, as mentioned, are rhetorical. The obvious answer is no. Without this marsh, swamp, or water flooded environment, these particular plants are unable to grow.

Bildad goes on in verse 12 to say…

Job 8:12 NIV84

12 While still growing and uncut, they wither more quickly than grass.

The argument by Bildad here is that such water plants, in their younger stages of life, will whither more quickly than grass in the event that they do not have the environment that they need. In other words, remove them from the water they need as an environment, and they will whither up and die.

He then links this picture of the flowers withering and dying to humanity apart from God. We see this in verse 13:

Job 8:13 NIV84

13 Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so perishes the hope of the godless.

Just like the papyrus plant without a marsh dies; and just as the reed without water withers and dies; so the person that does not have God, the one who forget’s God will perish. The hope of those who do not trust in God is fleeting!

Now, we must recognise once again the true testimony of Bildad, but also the fact that it is not universally true!

Psalm 9:17 NIV84

17 The wicked return to the grave, all the nations that forget God.

Proverbs 10:28 NIV84

28 The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.

Proverbs 24:20 NIV84

20 for the evil man has no future hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.

On the other side of the coin, we need to see and understand that those who do hope in God have a strong confidence. There is a genuine sense in the Scriptures that those who are in Christ have hope, and that this hope will not disappoint.

Job now expands that line of thought by drawing another comparison to the created world, and that includes this picture of a spiders web.

Job 8:14–15 NIV84

14 What he trusts in is fragile; what he relies on is a spider’s web. 15 He leans on his web, but it gives way; he clings to it, but it does not hold.

Those whose hope is in any place other than in God have a hope on those things that ought not to be hoped in.

Psalm 33:17 NIV84

17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.

Psalm 147:10 NIV84

10 His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man;

Proverbs 11:28 NIV84

28 Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.

Psalm 118:8 NIV84

8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.

In essence, Bildad is giving the advice of God in Scripture, even through the wisdom literature. There is a good measure of helpful truth involved in the word that he gives to Job.

If any person’s hope is anywhere apart from God, they must know that their hope is shaky and their confidence is resting in the wrong place.

We know by now that while this was a generally true position (even extensively true), it is not universally true.

Obviously the critical flaw in Bildad’s thinking is that when your life is not going well, the reason by default is that you’ve somehow disconnected yourself from God. This is precisely what Bildad goes on to imply in the next section.

He returns his attention to the image of plants, this time with a focus on Garden plants. What he tries to convey to Job now is this very fact that while those who are evil may potentially thrive at the outset, they ultimately end up dying without a root system. Again, there is this idea of being disconnected from God.

Job 8:16–19 NIV84

16 He is like a well-watered plant in the sunshine, spreading its shoots over the garden; 17 it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks and looks for a place among the stones. 18 But when it is torn from its spot, that place disowns it and says, ‘I never saw you.’ 19 Surely its life withers away, and from the soil other plants grow.

The plant appears to be growing, tying its roots around the rocks of the garden. It looks for a place among the stones, but it can be torn out, torn away from its root system.

The argument and implication from Bildad’s words to Job is that his root system had been damaged, disconnected.

And what is the reason that a root system becomes disconnected? In Bildad’s mind, because of sin. No one uproots a healthy plant, after all! Thus, believes Bildad, Job had been uprooted by God due to some sin, and because he was not properly rooted in God.

This now leads Bildad to issue a call to Job.

3. A Call To Righteousness (vv.20-22)

Bildad is now reaching the conclusion of his speech and he now presents Job with a basic stance - his understanding of God and the world. He is outlining to Job how he beleives God will always take care of good people, bu will refuse to care for those who rebel against him or act in wickedness.

We see this reiteration from Bildad in verse 20…

Job 8:20 NIV84

20 “Surely God does not reject a blameless man or strengthen the hands of evildoers.

Notice how this position ties in with the picture of the garden plants. Those who are properly connected to God in right relationship will not experience any times or seasons of drought or difficulty. That’s essentially the advice of Bildad.

“Surely God does not reject a blameless man...”

This principle that Bildad is arguing for is first stated in negative terms. In the next two verses, he will restate it in its positive form.

In this verse, he says that God does not reject a blameless man. By implication, he’s saying to Job that he is incurred guilt before God, and thus is being rejected by God. But look back to how Job 1:1 refers to Job.

Job 1:1 NIV84

1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.

A little further on Job 1, God actually uses the very same word in verse 8 to refer to Job...

Job 1:8 NIV84

8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

Bildad states also that God will not strengthen the hand, or lend a hand to evildoers. If you’re blameless, expect ease and comfort. If you’re evil, expect hardship! That’s the essence of the argument.

We look further at verse 21…

Job 8:21 NIV84

21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.

Bildad makes a parallel statement in this verse. He’s really urging Job to turn again to God in order that God may bless him. His argument is along the lines of, “if you are a man of repentance, then you can expect a joyful and a blissful future.

Again, we must be cautious to write off the elements of truth that are present in his words here. Psalm 32 immediately comes to mind…

Psalm 32:1–2 NIV84

1 Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 2 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.

Then the Psalmist writes of the negative effects of not turning away from sin…

Psalm 32:3–4 NIV84

3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Selah

Psalm 32:10–11 NIV84

10 Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him. 11 Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!

There’s at least some biblical principle and warrant for this position. But, it forgets Psalm 73 (which I won’t read now). But essentially, the man who is righteous, watching the prosperity of the wicked, struggling to understand why God was allowing the wicked to prosper, while he who was righteous was under such difficulty.

Bildad closes off his exhortation to Job with the words in verse 22...

Job 8:22 NIV84

22 Your enemies will be clothed in shame, and the tents of the wicked will be no more.”

The phrase that Bildad uses (your enemies) is the common expression in the Psalms for the enemies of the righteous, and this is matched in the next line by the wicked.

In Psalm 35:26 we find a plea along these lines…

Psalm 35:26 NIV84

26 May all who gloat over my distress be put to shame and confusion; may all who exalt themselves over me be clothed with shame and disgrace.

Shame is pictured in other verses as a garment that clothes the enemies of good people.

Psalm 109:29 NIV84

29 My accusers will be clothed with disgrace and wrapped in shame as in a cloak.

A similar thought is conveyed in the second line by the “tents of the wicked being no more.”

So, we continue to see the inappropriate and inaccurate help being given to Job by his friends.

What can we learn from this?

Conclusion

The God we serve is great and glorious in his wisdom.

Psalm 145:3 NIV84

3 Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.

Isaiah 40:28 NIV84

28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

This is the God that we serve. In contrast to this, we have only a portion of God’s wisdom given to us - that which He chooses

Deuteronomy 29:29 NIV84

29 The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.

We must give thanks to God for the general principles in this world that, for the most part, make our lives understandable and orderly.

The wisdom literature is filled with God-given principles in life. We’ve looked at that through our study in the Psalms. We must praise God and be thankful for this wisdom, and the general principles.

We must thank God for Christ, who gives us a far deeper appreciation of how to endure those circumstances that may not make sense.

We saw this morning something of the sufferings of Christ.

We see Christ crucified.

We can be grateful that as believers, whatever happens to us, whatever befalls us, can be filtered through the great love of God that He has for us!