Bildad and Job, Round 1

Job 8-10

            Bildad doesn’t even bother with the compliments to start with; he gets right to it: Job is wrong to doubt the Lord’s justice. He bluntly states that Job’s children sinned against the Lord, implying that is why they died. The wisdom of the ages, he says, says that the problem is that somehow Job or his children have forgotten God. If only Job will seek the Lord, all will be well.

            Job doesn’t disagree; he knows full well that one should seek the Lord; he was introduced to us as upright and blameless and dedicated to Him. But how can one prove one’s innocence to a God so wise and powerful, a God whose passing one cannot even perceive? “Though I were innocent, I could not answer Him; I could only plead with my Judge for mercy (9:15). Turns out the omnipotence of God is as much a source of intimidation as a source of comfort.

            Job goes on to ponder the ways of the Lord. As things stand, Job is having a hard time thinking of the Lord as personal and compassionate. He describes Him in His power almost a bulldozer, running over anything in its path.

            9:32-35 demand some attention. Job longs for someone to mediate between him and God. Whether Job knows it or not, he is longing for a Messiah, 1 Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.” What Job is longing for is Jesus, who makes peace between God and men (Ephesians 2), who removes God’s rod from us by taking it on himself, who removes our terror of God and allows us to speak to Him, who pleads our cause for us.