My Best Friend Bildad (Job 8)

When you have things figured out, you have them figured out! You can't be wrong, when it seems so right. Right? I have been there and so have you. We reason things out and arrive at an understanding and there is no way we could be wrong. We will defend our position all day long. That is human and that is what we all are. We need to understand this.


Job's best friend Bildad has the situation figured out and he wants Job to understand. Job's children sinned and God punished them. Simple as that. Job sinned and is reaping the rewards of his conduct. He needs to hit his knees and repent and God will fix everything back up. Who knows, God might even make it better than it was before... if Job will only repent of his wickedness.


No doubt, we all need to repent. We all have things in our lives that are out of kilter with God's will and we need to confess that to Him and ask for forgiveness and then work to live rightly. That much is true! But let us not forget the first two chapters of Job. The situation that Job finds himself in is not due to his sinfulness. (in fact it is just the opposite) Job's righteousness is what put him in this place. The question at hand isn't his sinfulness, rather the question at hand is his faithfulness. In the heat of battle, when life is raging  and things are going sideways, will Job remain faithful?


In fairness to Bildad, he didn't read the first two chapters of Job and he is seeing this through his human eye. His understanding is based on his life experience and what he has been taught. Job had been an example of faithfulness and God had given him great rewards. Undoubtedly, Bildad had also seen those that were unfaithful suffer the consequences of their actions. That is life. But sometimes, even the faithful suffer. And, sometimes even the sinful prosper... in human terms. God doesn't guarantee that His children will never suffer. In fact, He guarantees that His faithful follower will suffer.


So, you ask "Why follow a God that allows such as this?". He gives people free will. That is the kind of God we follow. He could have made us parrots to sit on his shoulder and repeat what He says. He could have built robots, but where is the glory in that? Instead, He placed us here with intellect and let's us decide whether we will follow him or seek our own interests. When we chose Him, that brings glory to Him. When we reject Him, He is disappointed, but He is not harmed. It is far greater for a Creator to make someone like Him (with reasoning abilities) and give them free will, than a creator that makes someone with no choice.


Some believe that God's authority is harmed by this. I believe that His power is on full display! A Creator that gives up some of His power to let His creation make the decision is all powerful. That in no way diminishes His authority! That is a Creator that I can serve, willfully and lovingly. Every person gets to choose and every person will answer for their choice. That is God's plan and He is in charge. Bildad had a wrong view of God and so can we. In the midst of our suffering, we can become discouraged and blame God. That is human too. Our friend or family member, who is faithful to God suffers physical or financially and we want an answer. Why God, why? That is Human too. The answer isn't simple, but knowing that there is a difference between God allowing and God causing is critical to our understanding of God.


God loves us and promises that living a faithful life here will bring a life eternal without suffering. Without loss. Without pain. Good news? Great news! Bildad got it wrong! May we grow in our knowledge of Him and His love for us. Repent... for sure. But repentance doesn't relieve us of all of our earthly suffering. Only God can do that... in the next life, the eternal one.