Job 8
Job is now spoken to by another friend - Bildad. He asks Job how long he is going to talk like this, arguing that God cannot be unjust - Job's children must have sinned, and if Job were to earnestly seek God and live uprightly God would bless him.
He justifies his argument that although the brevity of our lives limits our knowledge, that we can be taught by the knowledge of our forefathers. He likens the lives of those who forget God to various plants who cannot survive without the right conditions - their hope will be cut off and their house fall.
As one plant is destroyed and another grows in its place, so God does not reject the blameless and he will not help evildoers. The upright man will be full of happiness and rejoicing, his enemies humiliated and the place of the wicked come to nothing.
In verses 8-10 Bildad is advising Job to consider the words of their forefathers and be taught by what they had learnt, because their own lives were so short they could 'know nothing'. He said,
"For enquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to the search of their fathers: (For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon the earth are a shadow:) Shall not they teach thee, and utter words out of their heart?"
This seems wise counsel - and it demonstrates a humility, that we each today cannot know everything but should listen to lessons learnt from history, to our parents and elders who have lived and experienced more than us. It encourages us to study and refer to books and people of expertise in subjects/areas that we are faced with.
I think of the Bereans in Acts who when they heard Paul's teachings about Jesus 'received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so' (Acts 17:11). They weren't relying on their own opinion - they were looking to those writings passed down from their ancestors - the Word of God - to be instructed.
I think of King Rehoboam who in contrast to the Bereans forsook wise counsel from his elders. On ascending the throne after the death of his father he was asked by the nation to reduce the heavy load of servitude which his father had put on them. He consulted with 'the old men, that stood before Solomon his father', but he 'forsook the counsel of the old men' and took the counsel of 'the young men that were grown up with him'. As a consequence the nation rebelled against him (1 Kings 12).
The Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 5, counsels younger believers to 'submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble'.
In the verses preceding this Peter had been referring to the elders as a term for a bishop or pastor of a church, so I'm not sure here whether he is still referring to them or literally to those older than ourselves, but either way he is exhorting humility on how we are with others, and we can practice this by respecting the counsel of our Pastors and older believers.
We also see this ministerial counsel from the Apostle Paul when he wrote to Philemon and lovingly requested he forgave and took back his runaway converted servant, Onesimus (Philemon verses 8-19).
Where do we turn if we need understanding in a matter?
And yet there is another aspect to these verses - the very fact that Bildad was not taking his own advice. He knew from what he had learnt about God that he is just and punishes those who have sinned but helps and blesses those who live upright lives...but he was making a judgement on Job as if he firstly understood all God's ways of working, and secondly as if he were God and knew all about Job.
Both Bildad and Eliphaz don't seem to be considering that 'The LORD trieth the righteous' (Psalm 11:5). We are counselled by Peter about the trial of our faith (1 Peter 1:7), who also says, 'Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you..." (1 Peter 4:12).
Both Job's friends were assuming that he and his children had greatly sinned and were being rightfully punished. I wonder if this is this an example of their own lack of teaching or because of the times they were living in...
Job and his friends are believed to have been living around or before the time of Abraham, years before the Bible was written. I imagine that Job and his friends would have relied much more heavily on knowledge that was passed down verbally through the generations - as we read of God instructing the Israelites about his words of commandment and instruction:
'ye shall lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul...and ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up...' (Deuteronomy 11:18-19).
In contrast today we have the written word of God - the gospel - and so much teaching and counsel.
How does this really apply to our lives today?
Is it taking our experiences and circumstances to the scriptures and searching to see what instruction they give us? Is it asking our parents, older believers, our Pastors, more experienced work colleagues, and turning to reference sources?
Is it taking time to reflect on all these things to try and make sense of what we are going through and to examine ourselves - and to not jump in with both feet in judgement on those around us and why we think they must be going through what they are?
But ultimately is it going to our source of all wisdom, our Counsellor, our God?
How does this apply to you, and to me, right now?
Well, I hope these thoughts and questions have been helpful, may the Lord bless you as you think on them.
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