The Second "friend"

Friends are those rare people who ask how you are and then wait for the answer. 

 

Gentle Reader,

We are going through the Book of Job in a mini series to get a handle on "Why Bad things happen to good people" You have the insight based on the first few verses of Chapter 1 that behind it all stands an enemy (Satan ) who has set his cap to destroy Jobs life and his witness (that is the stand he takes for the righteous of God and the Goodness of God. We saw the Larry (Eliphaz) bases all his wisdom on Experience. And Bildad (Curly the second stooge). He does not have the same air of courtesy that Eliphaz had. His first speech perhaps was based on Jobs refusal to acknowledge that he had done anything wrong to bet treated that way. Bildad is a forthright declaimer rather that a reflective reasoned. Unlike Eliphaz who rest his philosophy of life on his own observations and experience, Bildad rest on tradition (now gentle Reader there is nothing intrinsically wrong with tradition. But not at the expense of something that is true in fact. So then we have in Curly -Bildad we have the voice of tradition.

His speeches are simple to understand the first is an appeal, the second is a rebuke the third is an evasion. The first is an appeal and come in three parts an appeal to appearances, (haven’t you run into Curly who say "Well if you had not done this or that you wouldn’t have ended up where you are. "You wouldn’t be homeless if you would just get a job" Makes your eyes bleed doesn’t it Gentle Reader?

According to Bildad Job can not be "pure and upright" note the three "if’s in chapter 8 verses 4,5,6

JOB 8:4 If thy children have sinned against him, and he have cast them away for their transgression;

JOB 8:5 If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty;

JOB 8:6 If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous.

Bildad’s seconed speech contains nothing new found in Chapter 18 of Job and consists of no actual reasoning, but rather proverb -quoting. Verses 1-4 are a rebuke in the form of indignant personal questions

JOB 18:1 Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,

JOB 18:2 How long will it be ere ye make an end of words? mark, and afterwards we will speak.

JOB 18:3 Wherefore are we counted as beasts, and reputed vile in your sight?

JOB 18:4 He teareth himself in his anger: shall the earth be forsaken for thee? and shall the rock be removed out of his place?

Verse 5-21 are a rebuke in the form of traditional moral maxims. His third speech comes in Chapter 25 and only has 6 verses. There are a few sententious couplets and is really an evasion. It completely shirks Job’s preceding challenge. (Chapter 24) as to the fact that is the wicked that more often prosper and not the righteous. Bildad touches on 2 well worn topics again -the all-Holy majesty of God (verse 2,3) and the sinfulness of man (verse 4-6) It’s closing words - "Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight" are merely a truism as applied to Job.; for Job has never claimed to be without sin, but only that his sins has not been such as to account for his trouble.

Hidden in plain site however is a question that we will answer at some point in this mini series {Chapter 25 verse 4" How then can man be justified with God?}

Keep reading Gentle Reader and see if you can locate the key to this book Why bad things happen to good people.

Love, Denis

A Friend is one who you can count on to provide a soft place to land