March 24, 2009
Central Truth
In the midst of our darkest days there will be times the Lord gives us answers and times He does not. God’s Word tells us that He is at work in the deepest of pain. This can provide hope for those who suffer and perspective for those who comfort.
"Yes, the lamp of the wicked is extinguished; his flame of fire does not shine." (Job 18:5)
1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:
2
“How long will you hunt for words?
Consider, and then we will speak.
3
Why are we counted as cattle?
Why are we stupid in your sight?
4
You who tear yourself in your anger,
shall the earth be forsaken for you,
or the rock be removed out of its place?
5
Indeed, the light of the wicked is put out,
and the flame of his fire does not shine.
6
The light is dark in his tent,
and his lamp above him is put out.
7
His strong steps are shortened,
and his own schemes throw him down.
8
For he is cast into a net by his own feet,
and he walks on its mesh.
9
A trap seizes him by the heel;
a snare lays hold of him.
10
A rope is hidden for him in the ground,
a trap for him in the path.
11
Terrors frighten him on every side,
and chase him at his heels.
12
His strength is famished,
and calamity is ready for his stumbling.
13
It consumes the parts of his skin;
the firstborn of death consumes his limbs.
14
He is torn from the tent in which he trusted
and is brought to the king of terrors.
15
In his tent dwells that which is none of his;
sulfur is scattered over his habitation.
16
His roots dry up beneath,
and his branches wither above.
17
His memory perishes from the earth,
and he has no name in the street.
18
He is thrust from light into darkness,
and driven out of the world.
19
He has no posterity or progeny among his people,
and no survivor where he used to live.
20
They of the west are appalled at his day,
and horror seizes them of the east.
21
Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous,
such is the place of him who knows not God.”
By this point in the book of Job we’ve probably all figured out that the world-view of Job’s friends is summed in a simple argument:
The righteous do not suffer.
Job is suffering.
Therefore, Job is unrighteous.
In this passage we watch Bildad hammer this philosophy into Job’s brain. One major problem with Bildad’s perspective lies in its presumed exclusivity. That is, he assumed the only reason God allows suffering is as discipline for personal sin. Bildad was pretty sure he had God figured out, and in his finite wisdom he had no room for the idea that suffering might come to an innocent man. Bildad had placed God neatly into his own little Bildadian box, and Job’s suffering was crammed into this narrow philosophical space.
I don’t know about you, but I relate to Bildad. I want to wrap my arms around God’s ways. I want to explain the unexplainable, rationalize what seems irrational, and expose the mysterious. When a tough time comes, I find comfort in identifying a direct cause for it. If I can do that, then my need to trust the Lord is greatly diminished. It is a lame and wicked attempt to control my circumstances.
We get the privilege of pulling back the curtain to witness the supernatural interplay behind Job’s horrendous pain. (cf. 1:6-12, 2:1-6) This is so instructive for me because one clear lesson is that God is at work in the darkest of circumstances. My pathetic and faithless attempts to reduce God to something I can handle are shattered under the weight of Job’s divine-enabled misery.
Though Scripture provides us with lots of answers to life’s questions, it also informs us there are "[s]ecret things [that] belong to the Lord our God." (Deuteronomy 29:29a) This should help us as we journey through life. We should absolutely seek God’s Word for guidance and answers, but we also need to leave room for the reality that pain cannot always be explained away. And we need to learn to simply sit and weep with those who weep.
1. Job tells his friends that they have been "miserable comforters" with “windy words.” (16:2, 3) Have you tried to offer comfort to someone by beating them with "windy words?" Do you think the Lord would have you go back to them to seek forgiveness for not being a good friend?
2. In what areas of your life have you attempted to place God into a box? Why?
3. You get a call from a friend who has just experienced a tremendous personal loss—what do you say? What do you not say? How would you provide comfort?
4. If you had the opportunity to talk with Bildad, what would you say to him about his counsel to Job? How would you gently exhort him?