Job 25: Bildad in Brief

Job 25:4 "How then can a man be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure?"

Bildad takes another crack in this, the shortest chapter I've read so far. 

He asks no one in particular (Job) who can be righteous before God? Well, there are people who have been righteous before God (Noah, Abraham, Elijah, David...and Job, but Bildad doesn't know that). Perfect, sinless...no. Of course not. But these are not synonymous terms. 

God decides according to His own criteria who is righteous. So in a sense, Bildad is right that no one can claim to be "righteous." But in this case, he is off target.

Job 18: Bildad Rides Again

Job 18:5 "The lamp of the wicked is snuffed out; the flame of his fire stops burning."

Bildad steps back up to the plate and takes another whack at it. He, like Eliphaz takes offense at the idea that, "Hey, you might be stupid." And who wouldn't. Bildad follows Job's blustery example and goes off, explaining all these horrible things that happen to wicked men. Fear, desolation, isolation, loss, accusation, pain, want, hunger. So...can all these things happen in spite of a life of notable devotion to God? What does that say about God? What does it say about man's deeds?

Job 8: Bildad Points the Finger

Job 8:6 "if you are pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself on your behalf and restore you to your rightful place."

Bildad takes a different approach than Eliphaz. He comes out just short of accusing Job of sinning to deserve what God did to him. 

What probably hurt the most, and what made me say "oh, snap" was when Bildad blamed Job's children for what happened to them. Their death was a direct result of their sin. Which we know was untrue, but more importantly, we know Job sacrificed daily on their behalf. How that must have stung him! Tough love?

Bildad advises Job to confess this sin, whatever it may be, and then things will get better. Talk about the wrong thing to say at the wrong time. No one going through what Job is going through wants to hear anything about confessing a sin he didn't commit. Did Job wrack his brain during his week of mourning attempting to remember a sin he may have committed? Something that threw his relationship with God out of whack? Wrongful accusation is not fun.

But then Bildad goes into making promises for God, as Eliphaz did. What Bildad says about God isn't exactly wrong, as much as I know about God at this point, but it wasn't really pointed to Job's current situation.

Try again, Bildad.