Latest / Faith by annm2705 / 902. Bible Study: Job 8 (The ignorant friend's "comfort"/harmful words)

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902. Bible Study: Job 8 (The ignorant friend's "comfort"/harmful words) · Faith by annm2705

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  Job chapter 8 first, let's pray dear heavenly Father, please
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  open our ears to let us hear what you have to say in the name
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  of Jesus, Amen. So this is Job's Job just spoke
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  in Chapter 7. And now the second one of his
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  friends, the shoe height replies Bildad.
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  And he is, you know, one of three friends who came.
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  We were introduced to them in Chapter 2.
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  And their purpose was to come and sit with Job and empathize
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  with him and support him and encourage him.
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  That was their original goal. We know that Eliphaz, his first
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  thing was he had some dream with some like Dark shadowy thing
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  that whispered to him, and then he started speaking accusational
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  things to Job. Now let's see what the next
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  friend says. Then build it.
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  The shoe height replied. How long will you say such
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  things? Your words are a blustering
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  wind. Well, he didn't get too far, and
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  then he's telling Job that his words are a blustering wind.
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  Doesn't sound very positive towards Job.
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  Then it goes on. Does God pervert justice?
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  Does the Almighty pervert what is right?
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  When your children sinned against him, he gave them over
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  to the penalty of their sin. Do you think Job needed to hear
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  that he. In the earlier chapters we
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  learned that a huge like a a strong ruah, which also means
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  spirit. It doesn't necessarily mean a
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  Tempest wind, but it refers to ruah, which is the same word for
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  the Holy Spirit too. But this strong spirit destroyed
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  the House of Job's children. And we know that Job from
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  chapter one that God allowed Satan and maybe had some helpers
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  to do things to Job. So anyway, his friend quote
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  friend is saying, hey, when your children sin against them, he
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  gave them over to the penalty of their sin.
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  That's verse four. Well, he has no idea that the
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  children sinned or anything. How does he know?
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  He's assuming here and he's accusing them of sinning and
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  saying they all got killed. Now Job is suffering.
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  Do you think he wants to be suffering and then also hear
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  that, well, your kids just got wiped out because they were
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  sinning? And I don't, I don't think he
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  really wants to hear that right now or that he needs to hear
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  that. And that's not really a support
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  thing. It's probably, again, the enemy
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  influencing his mind. Or maybe, you know, it's just
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  his own thoughts. But in this whole context of the
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  book of Job, we know that God allowed evil to influence people
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  here and to come against him and his friends initially sent to be
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  supportive, and this is not supportive.
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  So what is happening here? So then he says, but if you, I
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  mean, it's probably his ignorance, like he just doesn't
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  know. But still, even though he
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  doesn't know, why remind job when he is in intense suffering.
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  I mean, you could kind of maybe just keep silent on that for a
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  moment and not say anything about his children while he's
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  going through what he is. Does he need one more thing on
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  top of everything else? So it goes back to verse 5, but
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  it But if you will seek God earnestly and plead with the
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  Almighty, if you are pure and upright even now, he will rouse
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  himself on your behalf and restore you to your prosperous
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  state. Well, he kind of said what was
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  true because God does just does restore Job's life.
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  He doesn't know that. I mean, God does have a history
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  of restoration when people turn to him.
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  But here's the other part of the ignorance of Bildad.
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  He doesn't, He doesn't know that God was telling Satan Job is a
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  righteous man. Have you paid attention to Job?
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  Job's a righteous man. So when Bildad saying if you are
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  pure and upright, that's not applicable to Job.
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  So he he kind of tells half truth.
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  He speaks in ignorance and he does say like God would restore
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  you to your prosperous state. That part's true.
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  And then he says you verse 7, your beginnings will seem
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  humble. So prosperous will your future
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  be well, we know later that ends up being true and that's just
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  the way God is. Verse 8, Ask the former
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  generation and find out what their ancestors learned.
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  For we were we were born only yesterday and know nothing.
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  So he's he is kind of, you know, reflecting that, you know, maybe
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  we are ignorant, but he's saying based on history.
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  So he's trying to do his best. Maybe it wasn't intentional, but
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  this is just what's coming to his mind.
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  He's just not not thinking about what he's speaking.
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  So for we were born only yesterday and know nothing.
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  And our days on earth are but a shadow.
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  So life is life is short, like a shadow comes and it goes.
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  Life is short or we're in darkness.
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  We don't quite understand everything.
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  Will they not instruct you and tell you?
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  Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?
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  So I guess just about history. Look at history.
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  Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?
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  Can reeds thrive without water? While still growing and uncut,
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  they wither more quickly than grass.
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  Such is the destiny of all who forget God.
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  So perishes the hope of the godless.
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  What they trust in is fragile. What they rely on is a spider's
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  web. They lean on the web, but it
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  gives way. They cling to it, but it does
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  not hold. So those who forget God perish.
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  I mean, that is true, but Job hasn't forgotten God.
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  So he's, he's not speaking accurately.
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  He's, he's just like, I guess he's trying to figure out what's
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  going on with Job, but he doesn't know.
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  He doesn't know the details. And I guess that's something we
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  can all learn is we don't always know the details, the spiritual
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  details of what's happening in a person's life.
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  We can see the the physical and character indications of what's
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  going on, but we don't really know what's going on in
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  someone's thoughts, in their minds.
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  The only one who knows that is God.
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  So and then it looks like he's giving, He's implying that Job
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  is trusting on something like a spider's web that gives away.
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  He's not trusting in God. But this is, again, it's a lot
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  of this seems like it's just his ignorance.
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  He thinks he's a lot smarter than he is.
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  They are like a well watered plant in the sunshine, spreading
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  its shoots over the garden. It entwines its roots around a
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  pile of rocks and looks for a place among the stones.
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  But when it is torn from its spot, that place disowns it and
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  says, I never saw you. Surely its life Withers away and
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  from the soil other plants grow. That's kind of an interesting
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  statement there and I don't want to, you know, read into it, but
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  let's see. There is something it says like
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  a quote, I never saw you and that let's see, or surely all
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  the joy. I don't know.
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  I needed to look that one up and I really didn't look that up
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  before, but it just reminded me of what Jesus was saying.
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  Like I never knew you and but I don't think that's necessarily
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  relevant. It's talking about something
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  being rooted. I mean, this is kind of like the
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  parable, the seed and the sower and the plant that falls on
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  rocky soil, but then it's uprooted.
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  Like that is truth, but it's not applicable in this circumstance.
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  So I'm not going to get into that analogy because that
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  analogy is probably true, but it's just not applicable.
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  So he's, he's throwing out things that he knows from
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  history, but it's not applicable to Job.
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  And that's where he's getting it wrong.
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  Surely God, God does not reject one who is blameless.
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  That is true, but it's faulty because God said in chapter one
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  that Job is righteous, that he is.
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  He's pretty much blameless, so surely God does not reject one
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  who is blameless or strengthen the hands of evil doers.
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  Now that's kind of false because while God doesn't necessarily
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  strengthen the hands of evil doers, he allows them to do evil
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  in order to accomplish His will. Just like he let the Babylonians
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  conquer his people and take them into slavery because of their
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  idolatry. So he turned them over to what
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  they were seeking, but they didn't.
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  And they, he knew they wouldn't like it, but they didn't like
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  it. But the whole point was to have
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  them turn back to him to say, hey, I don't like this, I don't
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  want this anymore. And then they come back to God.
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  I mean, ultimately he's trying, God is trying to restore
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  relationships with people. So verse 21, he he will yet fill
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  your mouth with laughter and your lips with shout of joy.
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  Your enemies will be clothed in shame and the tense of the
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  wicked will be no more. Now that's all true.
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  So it's hard when I get looking the verses in the book of Job.
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  It's hard to say like what words you can rely on and what you
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  can't, but you have to definitely read all of this in
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  context and know who is saying this and because what they're
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  saying is true, it's just the application of it is not correct
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  in this. So I'll read what the study
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  Bible says about it, and then we'll wrap this up.
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  OK. Why ask questions with obvious
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  answers? Use correctly.
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  A rhetorical question can be an effective communication tool.
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  Bildad, however, use these questions to viciously undercut
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  what little remaining hope Job might have had that he would
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  receive encouragement from his quote friends.
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  Far from sympathizing with Job, Bildad attacked him for daring
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  to express his complaints to God.
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  Since God did restore Job eventually, were Bildad's ideas
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  correct? Bildad referred to a pleasant
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  future as motivation for Job to repent of the secret evils that
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  Bildad Bildad believed must have been present in Job's life.
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  Although he was correct about God blessing Job eventually, he
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  was wrong about the core reason for Job's suffering.
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  Neither Bildad nor any of the other friends understood that
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  God can be glorified by the faithful suffering of innocent
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  believers. So that's that's an interesting
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  statement in the study Bible. God can be glorified by that.
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  I don't think God wants anyone to suffer, but there's there is
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  often a purpose behind it that we don't quite understand.
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  I think is a more accurate way of saying that when God restores
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  glory and praise is brought to them.
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  Just like the blind man who was blind from birth and his parents
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  did not sin. And then Jesus healed him and
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  the disciples were saying, well, the disciples were almost like
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  this Bildad guy. And they're saying to Jesus,
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  like what happened here? Was it his parents that sinned?
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  And he and God and Jesus was like, no, it's, it was, it was
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  this way so that God would be glorified so that the power of
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  God, the healing, the restoration would be seen by
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  others and would have a positive impact on many people.
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  So God can use can use that suffering.
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  This that's how he would use the suffering as the glory of God in
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  the restoration, not in, you know, looking at somebody, I
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  mean, who, you know, how would somebody like glorify, see God
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  as glorious if they see every single person that is a child of
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  God suffering? I mean, that doesn't make sense.
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  No one would want to be close to God if they see that every
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  single person of Gods is suffering.
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  And some people do, Many people do.
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  And God does have promises of restoration for those who
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  suffer. I guess we all suffer to various
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  degrees, but even evil people suffer because of evil.
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  So none of us on this earth get away without suffering.
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  Some suffering is more intense for some people than others, and
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  we don't know why. But just like in John chapter 3,
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  Jesus is having a conversation with Nicodemus, and Nicodemus is
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  called, I mean, Jesus calls him Israel's teacher.
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  So he's talking about Jesus and Nicodemus are talking about
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  being born of the Spirit, receiving the Holy Spirit.
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  And Nicodemus is confused by this.
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  He doesn't understand the spiritual aspect and he's like,
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  how can this be? This is John chapter 3, verse 9.
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  How can this be? Nicodemus asked.
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  And then verse 10, you are Israel's teacher, said Jesus,
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  and do you not understand these things?
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  So somebody who's teaching Israel did not understand the
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  Spirit, the Holy Spirit. So then Jesus says very truly, I
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  tell you, we speak of what we know and we testify to what we
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  have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.
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  I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe.
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  How then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?
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  So how can Jesus talk to Nicodemus, Israel's teacher, a
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  smart man, but he's not understanding the earthly
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  things. He's not accepting the testimony
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  of Jesus and his disciples, I presume.
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  And then he's saying Jesus is saying to Nicodemus, you don't
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  even accept that. How are you going to accept if I
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  speak of heavenly things? Well, the heavenly things are
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  the spiritual things because he does he doesn't understand about
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  the Holy Spirit and receiving the Holy Spirit and being born
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  of the Spirit. He doesn't get it.
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  So that that's kind of true today, like a lot of people,
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  they don't understand and none of us do.
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  None of us have the whole understanding of the spiritual
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  realm other than, you know, we can see from the Bible that it
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  truly exists and interacts very greatly with the earth here,
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  with people on the earth. And God's adversaries are
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  spiritual. So anyway, we see that, you
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  know, Israel's great teacher didn't quite get it, didn't
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  understand the spiritual aspect, just like Bildad didn't quite
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  get it, just like his apostles didn't.
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  Disciples didn't quite get it when the blind man was healed.
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  They thought the blind man sinned and that's why he was
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  blind. But Jesus said no, it was for
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  the glory of God. So here again, we don't see the
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  outcome yet because we're early on in the chapters about this
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  interaction, but we're seeing that Job's friends are their.
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  Their intention was one thing, but as soon as they get there,
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  they're not giving him any help. They're not giving him any
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  encouragement. They're just accusing him.
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  One of them was influenced by spiritual that Eliphez because
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  he talked about this dream and this form that visit him and
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  spoke to him. So that was definitely something
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  spiritual. Bildad, I think is just speaking
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  out of ignorance. So 1 spoke out of a spiritual
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  deception. The next one spoke out of
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  ignorance. And I guess that's something
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  that we can learn from. This is when we, when someone is
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  going through suffering, we may not know the reason behind it
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  and it could be spiritual and we could be ignorant of what God is
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  doing. But the Bible does, you know,
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  like, I guess that anybody who is suffering should first look
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  to see like, is there anything in my life that I need to change
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  that's not right with God that God would not be pleased with?
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  I mean, that would be the first thing that the Bible tells us to
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  do. Because I think a lot of this
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  advice that his friends are giving is accurate is true, but
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  it's just not applicable. So they're assuming that Job is
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  sinful and has the secrets that he's hiding from everybody.
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  But he's it's not secrets that he's hiding from anybody.
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  He's not doing anything wrong. And he's probably even more
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  frustrated with his friends knowing that he hasn't done
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  anything wrong and his own friends not even believing him.
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  And they're accusing him of doing something wrong and him
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  being the cause of his suffering, which he is not.
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  And so I think we could all learn from that that we've, you
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  know, maybe more questions than you know, assuming things of
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  people is appropriate when we go to help someone.
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  So let's see, let's see what what do the godless trust in
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  that is fragile. The word for godless here means
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  something like hypocrite, one who hopes in false pretensions
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  are superficial appearances depends on what is unreliable
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  and temporary like a spider's web.
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  Well, that's what the study Bible says.
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  I'm thinking like anything other than God.
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  If you're putting your trust in anything, another person, power,
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  a group of people, a government, whatever, you're putting your
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  trust in, anything that is other than God is something that can
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  easily fall. If you're putting your trust in
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  your financial security, that can easily be taken away
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  depending on a lot of different things could happen, a lot of
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  unexpected things could happen. And so the one place where we
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  need to put our trust and our hope and know that God will
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  provide is God. Because that is one person who
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  does not fail, who keeps his promises.
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  It's he's the only person that we can trust.
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  Well, the Godhead, I would say Father, Son and Holy Spirit
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  only. That's it, that's it, that's all
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  we can trust. Everybody else has moments of
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  weakness. Not to say that everybody is
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  untrustworthy, but we're all human and humans are subject to
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  sin and can and will and do fail people.
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  So don't put your trust in humans.
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  We wish people were perfect, but we're not perfect, so how can we
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  expect others to be perfect? But God is perfect, so we can.
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  That's the one person that we can trust in.
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  So did Bildad really believe that the blameless never suffer
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  and evil doers never succeed? Bildad articulated the
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  conventional wisdom of the day. His rather simplistic view must
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  have added to Job's already intense pain.
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  Job and his friends did not know what we know from chapters 1 and
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  2. Bad things do happen to good
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  people. In fact, it is Job's experience,
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  recounted through the inspiration of the Spirit, that
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  helps us to see things from this different perspective.
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  And that concludes chapter 8. So if you are not subscribed,
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  please do so. If you found this beneficial,
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  please share this with other people and next time we will
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  cover Job Chapter 9. Thank you.