Job 8

The Explanation

Job sat in the ashes. Everything he owned was gone. His children had died. His skin hurt, his heart hurt, and he could not stop crying.

Three friends came and sat down beside him. At first they said nothing at all. But then they started talking. And one of them was named Bildad.

Bildad stood up. You could hear he was annoyed. "How long will you speak these things?" he said. Your words are like a big gust of wind, he told Job. Loud, but empty.

Then Bildad asked a question that sounds right. "Does God pervert justice?" That means: does God ever do something crooked? Does God make mistakes? No, said Bildad. God is always fair. God never gets it wrong.

But then Bildad said something terrible. Listen carefully. "If your children have sinned against him, he has delivered them into the hand of their disobedience." Do you hear what he is saying? He is saying: your children died because they were bad.

Job's children. Who were buried under a fallen house. And this friend just says it out loud, right to Job's face.

Bildad kept going. Ask the old people, he said. They have known this for years. A papyrus plant cannot grow without water. Cut off the water, and it dries up. That is how it goes with people who forget God, said Bildad. They dry up too.

And whatever they trust in is like a spider's web. Thin. Sticky. Torn by one finger. You lean on your house and it falls over. You grab it and it breaks.

Then Bildad finished with something that almost sounded kind. Just be good, Job. Pray to God. Then he will fill your mouth with laughter again.

What Does This Mean?

Bildad said some true things. God really is fair. God really never does anything crooked. But Bildad used those true things like a stone, and he threw it at his hurting friend.

Because Bildad had a rule in his head. It went like this: bad things happen to bad people. So if bad things happened to you, you must have been bad. Simple.

Only, it was not true. Job had not done anything wrong. God himself said so. Bildad was so sure of his rule that he stopped looking at Job. He looked at his rule instead. And that is why he hurt his friend so badly.

Would you have dared to say to Bildad, "Stop, you are wrong"? Job did dare. He kept talking to God, even while his friends told him to be quiet.

The Common Thread

Long after Job, Jesus walked past a man who was born blind. People asked Jesus the exact same question Bildad asked. Whose fault is this? Who sinned? Jesus said: nobody. And then he healed the man.

Jesus never sat down beside someone who was crying and said, "This is your own fault." He wept at a grave. He touched sick people that nobody else would touch. Bildad talked about God from far away. Jesus came close and sat down with us.

And here is the beautiful thing. God did answer Job in the end. God really spoke. Job did not get an explanation. He got God himself. And that was enough.

For You

Sometimes a friend at school is sad and you do not know what to say. You want to fix it fast. You want to say something clever.

Try this instead. Sit next to that person. Ask, "Do you want to tell me?" And then just listen, without saying it is their own fault.

You can also pray for someone who is sad tonight. Say their name out loud to God. That is small enough for you to do, and it is worth more than a hundred clever words.

Talk About It

Bildad said true things in a mean way. Can true words still hurt someone? How?

Who do you know that is sad right now? What could you do for that person this week?

Praying Together

God, thank you that you are always fair, even when we do not understand. Help me to sit beside people who are sad instead of blaming them. And when I am sad, help me keep talking to you. Amen.