Job 18 Commentary

Job 18 Commentary

Bildad is a logical man. Suffering is the product of wickedness. Full stop. And since there is pain and suffering, Job must have sinned. He refers to Job’s skin disease and the loss of his children. His wealth is gone. It has been disaster after disaster for Job. Such is the fate of the man who doesn’t know God.

Bildad’s argument isn’t new. It’s the same argument except that it has come in bold letters this time. Let Job look at it again. Let him examine the circumstances around him. Isn’t his fate equivalent to the wicked man’s fate?

This is where the pain is for the suffering saint. What is the difference between the wicked man and me? Why should I have the same destiny as the wicked? Bildad’s argument is repeated here because these arguments keep on coming as the saint goes through the gears of pain and suffering.

They never come to an end. Logic stays with you. The questions will always stay with you. Bildad is always a friend by your side. The saint will always hear his voice.

The Book of Job may be considered as an internal conflict within the saint. Bildad may represent an argument that the suffering saint shouldn’t suffer at all because suffering is for the wicked man. The saint cannot “unfollow” Bildad. You cannot block his number or mark it as spam. He is an ever-present friend in times of suffering.

The fact on the ground is that Job is suffering. We cannot ignore it. Bildad calls. Be real, he says. Be sensible, he says. Let us talk, he says.

It sounds like an invitation to compromise. In today’s language, Bildad’s words would be interpreted as such. Should the world change for you? Come, let’s talk.

Hidden in Bildad’s very strong words is the question of the importance of Job’s faith. Of course, Bildad simply talks, but he uncovers sensitive areas of the saint’s faith. What is the saint’s response? Let’s see what Job says tomorrow.

But the saint is in a better position to see it all. At the end of the debate, Job is declared clean, while Bildad is declared dirty and condemned. According to his own formula, Bildad should be punished; instead, he is forgiven.

Bildad’s formula is only partly true, but the perfect God won’t accept partial perfection! God abhors a mostly “good person”. He rejects a lukewarm position. Half-truths aren’t welcome. It’s a lesson Job’s three friends will learn at the end of the debate.

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