Portion For Reading Job 8-10I. BILDAD SPEAKS AND JOB RESPONDS (8:1-10:22)
A. THE COUNSEL OF BILDAD (8:1-22)
1. Introductory remarks (1-7)
a. He rebukes Job for his words
b. He maintains that God deals justly
c. If Job's sons sinned, they were killed for their
transgression
d. Restoration would occur if Job would only seek God and
repent
2. Bildad appeals to the wisdom of the ancients (8-18)
a. Heed what others have already learned, for our time is
short
b. The wicked are like the papyrus with no support, for they
soon wither
c. God will not cast away the blameless, nor will He uphold
the evildoers (the implication is "Job, you are not
blameless")
d. God will yet restore Job (assuming he repents)
Job 8:8-13,21-22
"Ask the former generations
and find out what their fathers learned,
for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,
and our days on earth are but a shadow.
Will they not instruct you and tell you?
Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?
Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?
Can reeds thrive without water?
While still growing and uncut,
they wither more quickly than grass.
Such is the destiny of all who forget God;
so perishes the hope of the godless.
"Surely God does not reject a blameless man
or strengthen the hands of evildoers.
He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with shouts of joy.
Your enemies will be clothed in shame,
and the tents of the wicked will be no more."
B. JOB'S REPLY (9:1-10:22)
1. He agrees with Bildad, but who can truly be righteous before
God? (9:1-13)
a. No one can contend with God, He is too wise and strong
b. Job provides numerous examples of God's power
Job 9:9-13
He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.
He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,
miracles that cannot be counted.
When he passes me, I cannot see him;
when he goes by, I cannot perceive him.
If he snatches away, who can stop him?
Who can say to him, 'What are you doing?'
God does not restrain his anger;
even the cohorts of Rahab cowered at his feet
2. Feeling hopeless, Job bemoans the lack of a mediator (9:25-35)
a. His days go by, with no good to be seen
b. Why even try, if God has chosen to condemn him?
c. He knows there is no way to reason with God, and there is
no one to mediate between them
d. If God would only take His rod from him, but such is not
the case
Job 9:29-30,34-35
Since I am already found guilty,
why should I struggle in vain?
Even if I washed myself with soap
and my hands with washing soda,
someone to remove God's rod from me,
so that his terror would frighten me no more.
Then I would speak up without fear of him,
but as it now stands with me, I cannot.
3. In pain, Job gives free course to his complaint (10:1-22)
a. God, why do You condemn Me? Tell me why!
b. Does it seem good for You to despise the work of Your
hands?
c. Are You having to search for my iniquity, like a mortal
man?
d. Have You made me, just to destroy me?
e. Whether I am wicked or righteous, Your indignation
increases toward me!
f. Why then did You let me be born? How I wish I had died at
birth!
g. Can't You leave me alone so I can have a little comfort
before I die and enter the "land of darkness"?
Job 10:1-7,14,15,17,18,21-22
"I loathe my very life;
therefore I will give free rein to my complaint
and speak out in the bitterness of my soul.
I will say to God: Do not condemn me,
but tell me what charges you have against me.
Does it please you to oppress me,
to spurn the work of your hands,
while you smile on the schemes of the wicked?
Do you have eyes of flesh?
Do you see as a mortal sees?
Are your days like those of a mortal
or your years like those of a man,
that you must search out my faults
and probe after my sin-
though you know that I am not guilty
and that no one can rescue me from your hand?
If I sinned, you would be watching me
and would not let my offense go unpunished.
If I am guilty—woe to me!
Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head,
for I am full of shame
and drowned in [e] my affliction.
You bring new witnesses against me
and increase your anger toward me;
your forces come against me wave upon wave.
"Why then did you bring me out of the womb?
I wish I had died before any eye saw me.
Are not my few days almost over?
Turn away from me so I can have a moment's joy
before I go to the place of no return,
to the land of gloom and deep shadow, [f]
to the land of deepest night,
of deep shadow and disorder,
where even the light is like darkness."
Source:ccel.org
By SS