Job 25 & 26 - Cycle #3 with Bildad

LINK: Job 25 & 26

BACKGROUND

This is Bildad's last turn at convincing Job that he needs to give up on his effort to try to appear before God in "court." Again, he does speak some truth about God. Dominion and awe belong to Him, He rules over the angels, His light goes everywhere, etc. It is also true that man cannot be righteous before a holy God, but Bildad was seeking to humiliate Job into admitting sin he did not commit. He is speaking in generalizations again, and he offers no comfort to Job in his specific situation.

Job's rebuke to Bildad is straightforward, "You are no help to me!" Then he speaks of the greatness of God in nature.

REFLECTION

To whom have you uttered words? 

And whose spirit was expressed through you? 

(Job 26:4)

It has been firmly established that Job's friends were terrible comforters. They were not helping Job in his powerless situation and feeble condition. Instead, they were trying to get off their "theological points" about God and the wickedness of man. In Job 26:4, he speaks to the fact that they were not paying attention to him in their monologues and were certainly not listening to God's voice so that His words could be expressed through them. That is a challenging thought for all of us! We need to hear God's voice because He knows what the recipient needs to hear. We need to speak by the Spirit and not by the flesh!

Behold, these are the fringes of His ways;

And how faint a word we hear of Him!

But His mighty thunder, who can understand? 

(Job 26:14)

Malaysia has AMAZING thunder and lightning storms. I have never seen anything like them here in the States. I used to sit upstairs in the darkness of our master bedroom and watch the show on many sultry Malaysian nights. I could not help but marvel at the flashes of light followed by high-decibel claps of thunder. I would praise God and realize that this amazing thunderstorm was only the "fringe of His ways" and a "faint word" of Him! He is so much bigger than anything we have ever even experienced in all of nature. What a marvelous thing to ponder!

APPLICATION

Cultivate a listening heart to God and give counsel and advice that is led by Him rather than driven by your own 'puffed-up' knowledge. He knows the needs of the hurting people around you, and you can trust Him to speak through you if you let go and move yourself out of the way. Also, comforting is about dialogue rather than monologue. I honestly believe it is more listening than speaking. Listen to people before you speak.

Realize God's power today. Open your eyes and look at amazing things in nature and realize that it is just a "fringe of His ways." Amazing!

PRAYER

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. Now, therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name. Amen (1 Chronicles 29:11).