Job’s friends present to the mind of Job a distorted image of God. God is a god who is torturing Job for crimes he doesn’t realised he has committed. Job’s three friends are letting fly their poison arrows. Eliphaz is the oldest and most intellectual of Job’s friends. Now we meet Bildad the Shuhite. He is generally considered the least comforting of Job’s friends. He is a cold, intellectual thinker and a hard-nosed debater. He sees every issue in life as black or white. He prides himself in his straightforward, no nonsense approach to everything. He is the sort of person whose mind is already made up on every important issue and every unimportant one as well!

1 – Bildad’s investigation of Job

• His assault on Job (vs. 1-7)

1. He insulted Job’s character (vs. 2) – He was calling Job a “windbag”. He repeats this expression later in Job. Bildad has no compassion. That is bad enough but it gets worse!
2. He indicted Job’s children (vs. 3-4) – Job loved his family and there is no indication that they were rebellious or great sinners at all. Bildad maybe thought it might encourage Job to know that it might be the fault of his children!
3. He insisted on Job’s confession (vs. 5-7) – Job is in the deep throes of depression and is venting his feeling to God. Bilbad believes Job has done wrong and needs to confess his sins to God before things will get better

• His assumptions about the past (vs. 8-10) – Bilbad was a traditionalist who looked for wisdom in the past. The past is to be a rudder to guide us and not an anchor to hold us down. Tradition is the living faith of the dead. Traditionalism is the death faith of the living. Tradition is good if it is the launching pad for your dreams. Bilbad wants Job to live in the past.
• His appeal to nature (vs. 11-18) – Bilbad is giving Job a sermon from nature. Bilbad thinks there has to be some reason why Job is suffering. The examples from nature are to show cause and effect. Bilbad wants Job to realise he must have sinned or else he would not be in this situation.
• His assurance to Job – After kicking Job when he is down, Bilbad seeks to say something positive before he heads out of the room.

1. God will deliver you (vs. 19-20) – Hang in there son. God will deliver you.
2. God will delight in you (vs. 21)
3. God will defend you (vs. 22) – Are these comments sincere or Bilbad trying to ease his own conscience? He betrays in the previous verses that he is a mean-spirited person.

2 – Job’s interrogation of God

Job is going to respond to God more than Bilbad.

• Job agrees with Bilbad (Job 9:1-3) – Job feels that the only hope of finding any answers is to go to the court of Heaven. There are legal terms throughout the text. How does a person get vindicated before God? Job’s friends are saying he is guilty of something. Job somehow wants an audience with God.

1. Job’s respect for God – Job extols the attributes of God. God is incomprehensible (Job 9:3-4). God is invincible (Job 9:4). God is invulnerable (Job 9:4). God is incredible (Job 9:5-10). God is invisible (Job 9:11). God is irresistible (Job 9:12). Job has an awesome concept of the God of Heaven. How does someone so small connect with a God so great? It is a problem!
2. Job’s reservation about God – He could not dispute with God (Job 9:14-15). He could not deal with God (Job 9:16-17). He could not direct God (Job 9:18-19). Who can set up an appointment for Job with God? He could not depend with God (Job 9:20-24). Job is not sure that he can depend on God. Job is not sure he can get God to take his case. He could not delay God (Job 9:25-26). By the time he gets this appointment he will be gone! He could not deceive God (Job 9:27-28). Job could not pretend to be happy when he was not. He could not detain God (Job 9:29-31). Job could not get to God in his own strength.
3. Job’s resolution about God – See Job 9:32-33. Job is caught in his own dilemma. He is a man and he can’t deal with God. He needs a mediator to stand between God and himself to allow contact. See 1 Timothy 2:3-5. God heard Job and provided a mediator between man and God. It was always part of his plan. The “God-man” Jesus Christ. God has made a way for us to come to him.

Categories: Job