18 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.”
Section Overview
The traditionalist Shuhite offers his second speech to Job. Bildad believes that the world works like a computer programmed to the retribution formula. There are precise patterns and absolutes. There is moral order to the universe. Job’s radical rebuttals deny that this is the way the world works, but Bildad, the theoretical ethicist, will have none of it. After he verbally abuses Job for his folly (Job 18:2) and defends his and his friends’ wisdom (vv. 3–4), Bildad seeks to disabuse Job of his crazy claims (vv. 5–21). His argument is simple and straightforward. Job has heard it all before (cf. 4:7–11; 5:2–7; 8:3–4, 11–19; 11:11; 15:20–35), and Bildad obviously thinks he needs to hear it again. There are no exceptions to the rule that the wicked suffer God’s punishment. Sin leads to suffering; and suffering is a sure sign that will lead the observant to a sinner—like Job!
Section Outline
Response
Speaking of the Bible’s literary excellence, Jerome writes: “What is more polished than [the book of] Job?”94 Bildad’s words are indeed polished, as polished and sharpened as Ehud’s dagger (Judg. 3:21). His poetry is beautiful, some of the best in the whole literary masterpiece. Whether in his simple analogies (“Can reeds flourish where there is no water?” Job 8:11; “he lays hold of [his house], but it does not endure,” 8:15) or clever word pictures (“his roots entwine the stone heap,” 8:17; “he is cast into a net by his own feet,” 18:8), the poet philosopher impresses with his poetry but not his philosophy. Or his theology! It handcuffs God, puts him in a box, and closes the lid. It makes Yahweh not Yahweh but some deistic and robotic ruler who is as predictable as the master clock by which we set our watches.
But the God of the Bible does not think or act that way. God does not bow the knee to some fixed formula. His master is not the unchangeable law of tradition. The prologue and epilogue of Job tells us as much. The sovereign providence of God cannot be chained, or explained! The whole Bible, notably the gospel (God’s becoming man and dying for our sins!), makes sure that we do not follow Bildad’s philosophical and theological thought.
Bildad and his brothers in crime (against Job and God) have received their assessment from Job (they are “worthless physicians”; 13:4), and soon they will receive their verdict from God (“My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has”; 42:7). We must offer our appraisal as well. We can be sympathetic with their mistake, but we should not be lenient. They are wrong! They do not speak rightly of God. They do not treat Job rightly. Like the Pharisees (Matt. 15:1–9), their tradition blinds their eyes to the truth. Like many atheists today, their system of thought is only a straightjacket against further exploration of the possibilities.
For Christians, especially Christian teachers, we must heed a warning to the wise—to become wise by not playing the fool. One qualification for being an elder in Christ’s church is aptness to teach (2 Tim. 2:24). The rest of the qualifications, however, revolve around character, not skill or gifting. In fact, what surrounds that important teaching proviso in Timothy are all the qualities that Bildad does not demonstrate. Can we say that he is “not . . . quarrelsome but kind to everyone” (2 Tim. 2:24)? Can we say that he corrects his opponent “with gentleness,” hoping that “God may perhaps grant [him] repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim. 2:25)? And, even though we know that the friends—not Job—need to “come to their senses” and “escape from the snare of the devil” (Satan), as they are seemingly “captured by him to do his will” (2 Tim. 2:26), can we even say that they, at any point, turn to God in prayer (calling upon “the Lord from a pure heart”; 2 Tim. 2:22)—asking for his view on the matter? Sadly, the answer to all these questions is no. They breed this quarrel (contra Paul’s admonition; cf. 2 Tim. 2:23)!
Moreover, these qualities, read in light of 2 Timothy and of the book of Job, remind us of James’s warning: “Not many of you should become teachers . . . for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (James 3:1). Thankfully (we breathe a sigh of relief), this warning is followed by the somewhat soothing words: “And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man” (James 3:2). We are not perfect. But that does not stop James from continuing to prod our consciences. His short but provocative taming-of-the-tongue sermon follows (James 3:3–12). This sermon contains lines that both Bildad and every believer need to hear. Bildad has set ablaze a great forest with his tongue (cf. James 3:5). He has both blessed God and cursed Job in the same sentence (cf. James 3:9). The outcome is not good.
We cannot underestimate the high calling of Christian leadership. We must, by God’s gracious and powerful Holy Spirit, tame our tongues. For wisdom, as James goes on to say, is shown in “meekness,” not false truths (James 3:13–14). We all need the “wisdom that comes down from above,” a wisdom that is not “earthly, unspiritual, demonic” but “pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason” (James 3:15–17). Such wisdom will produce “a harvest of righteousness” (James 3:18).