In this episode, we delve into Chapter 18 of the Book of Job, where Bildad the Shuhite speaks about the fate of the wicked. Through this passage, we examine the implications of Bildad’s words and reflect on the historical exchanges between Job and his friends. The discussion draws parallels with the personal experiences of our host, Alan J. Huth, highlighting the ways scripture guides our understanding of life’s trials and our interactions with friends.
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. Alan J. Huth shares a Bible passage with comments from over 35 years of his personal Bible reading journals and applies the Word of God to our daily lives.
Today in Chapter 18 of the Book of Job, Bildad speaks, reminding Job that God punishes the wicked. Let’s listen and the faith comes by hearing his recording of Job 18.
Job 18 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said, How long will you hunt for words? Consider, and then we will speak. Why are we counted as cattle? Why are we stupid in your sight? You who tear yourself in your anger, shall the earth be forsaken for you, or the rock be removed out of its place? Indeed, the light of the wicked is put out, and the flame of his fire does not shine. The light is dark in his tent, and his lamp above him is put out. His strong steps are shortened, and his own schemes throw him down. For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walks on its mesh. A trap seizes him by the heel. A snare lays hold of him. A rope is hidden for him in the ground. A trap for him in the path. Terrors frighten him on every side and chase him at his heels. His strength is famished and calamity is ready for his stumbling. It consumes the parts of his skin. The firstborn of death consumes his limbs. He is torn from the tent in which he trusted and is brought to the king of terrors. In his tent dwells that which is none of his. Sulfur is scattered over his habitation. His roots dry up beneath and his branches wither above. His memory perishes from the earth and he has no name in the street. He is thrust from light into darkness and driven out of the world. He has no posterity or progeny among his people and no survivor where he used to live. They of the West are appalled at his day and horror seizes them of the East. Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous. Such is the place of him who knows not God.
From the journals I’ve selected to help us through the book of Job, in 1984 and 1997, I have nothing recorded on this chapter, but I do in 2015. In 2015, I made reference to being in Las Vegas. We were there as a family as Terry and I celebrated our 40th anniversary and our 60th birthdays around that time. One of our sons and his family lives in Phoenix, and the others live in Colorado, so Las Vegas was kind of a middle ground meeting place. we had everybody there our children their spouses and our grandchildren it was a fun family time together during that family vacation i was continuing my reading in the book of job on this day i read job eighteen and nineteen together and concerning chapter eighteen i wrote i think what bildad is saying is job it’s your fault and as for the wicked if job is wicked there is no escape which is true without jesus Let’s take a look at Job 18. It’s kind of funny the exchanges that Job has with these guys, isn’t it? For example, verse 3. Why are we stupid in your sight? Back in chapter 8, when Bildad spoke the first time, he said in verse 2, How long will you say these things and the words of your mouth be a great wind? Remember the sarcasm that Job even had in chapter 12, verse 2. No doubt you are the people and wisdom will die with you. so maybe like a bunch of friends hanging out together they chide each other with these kind of remarks we often do too don’t we you may have heard this before but truth is often spoken in jest in other words in humor so like a bunch of guys hanging out together they’re using these kind of words Next, Bildad says to Job in verse 4, And then Bildad begins to speak about the wicked. Every time he uses the word his throughout the rest of the chapter, it’s about the wicked. In verse 5 he says, And then he describes the wicked through the rest of the chapter. The light is dark in his tent. His steps are shortened. His own schemes throw him down. A snare lays hold of him. Terrors frighten him on every side. His roots dry up beneath and his branches wither above. His memory perishes from the earth and he has no name in the street. So no one remembers one who is wicked. He is thrust from light into darkness and driven out of the world. Then Bildad concludes with verse 21. Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous, such is the place of him who knows not God. Wow, those are some tough descriptions for those who are wicked. But do you think he’s accusing Job of those things? Remember, these friends are sitting around with Job trying to figure out why he’s in the condition he’s in. Certainly, if Job is wicked, these things would be true. But as Job knows… He’s not, and he’s completely innocent. These statements most likely are very hurtful to Job. So how do you counsel a friend? What kind of words do you use to speak to somebody that’s in pain or that is suffering? Do you seek first to understand and then be understood? One of the habits of highly effective people from Stephen Covey’s book? Or do you begin your counsel from your perspective? Though this is a dialogue between Job and these friends, they don’t appear to be listening to him. Would your friends accuse you of that as they plead their case before you? Do you truly listen or is your mind made up? Surely Job wanted counsel from his friends, but he also wanted some sympathy. He wanted some understanding, not all these accusations. So our application from Job chapter 18 may be, how do you counsel your friends? Maybe we’re all learning in this book to be careful. Maybe we should watch about our own assumptions of what conditions people are in or what circumstances they’re facing. We certainly don’t have all the information, do we? These friends didn’t have much information about why Job was in the condition he was in. Yet they had no trouble flapping their gums about his circumstances, did they? God forgive us when we do the same thing. When we fail to understand the situation as best as we can before we open our mouths, Father, help us when we help our friends. May we help them with you in mind. You are gracious. You are forgiving. You are loving. May we be the same even in difficult circumstances. Holy Spirit, put in our hearts the advice that we should give to those around us. And Lord, forgive us when we have failed you. when we have acted like some of Job’s friends, when we’ve been condemning and not concerning. From these lessons, Lord, help us all be better counselors, better friends to our friends. In Jesus’ name, amen. Thanks for listening to AdBible today. You know, sometimes life does not go the way we plan. We all face trials and tribulations. The question is, how do we handle those trials and tribulations? In Philippians 3, 12-14, Paul instructs us to go forward, to press on. The verse says, Not that I have already attained or am already perfected, but I press on, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. What does it mean to press? Well, our dictionary definitions include to push with steady force, to push ahead with eagerness. So my own thoughts on pressing are to fight, to keep going. Press means it won’t come easy. So how do we press on? Let’s consider a powerful example from Scripture. You know, I love the Bible, and I love the stories that build my faith so I can press on in various aspects of my life. This story is found in the book of Exodus. After the Jews had witnessed the ten plagues in Egypt, experienced that first Passover, and been led by God Himself as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, they find themselves camping in the desert. They hear the rumble of Egyptian chariots in the distance and they say, well, let’s pick up the story here instead of me talking about it. Exodus chapter 14 verse 10 says, And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. Then they said to Moses, Because there was no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness. So no, pressing on isn’t easy. It never is. It always appears easier to go back to Egypt, that’s the way it used to be, than to fight or to press on, to push with steady force and to push ahead with eagerness. Verses 13 and 14 say, And Moses said to the people, Do not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace. Yes, friends, the Lord will fight for you too. As you press on, the Lord himself will fight for you. The story goes on in verses 19 through 20. And the angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them. And the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that one did not come near the other all that night. The angel of God came between them. To one it was darkness. To the other it was light. So what do you see in the battle? Do you see God move between you and the enemy? Do you see darkness? Or do you see light as God fights for you as you press on? Exodus 14, 15 then says, And the Lord said to Moses, Why do you cry to me? Why do we cry out to God? Why do we sometimes keep praying when God has already shown himself glorious many times in our lives? Yet we freeze, we stand still, and we look back to Egypt. The story goes on in the scriptures. It says, tell the children of Israel to go forward. Well, where is forward? It’s Canaan, the promised land. God has a plan. We’re in that plan. So go forward. Reach for your Canaan. Where is your forward? Philippians 1.6 says, being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. What have you started? Are you trying to do something for the Lord but feel stalled? He has begun a good work in you. Go forward. Go forward in the Word. Press on. Push with steady force and push ahead with eagerness. He told you He will fight for you. Go forward. Where were the Jews when all the plagues were badgering Egypt? They were in Goshen. And in Goshen, the Word of God says in Exodus 8, 22 and 23, And in that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the land. I will make a difference between my people and your people. Exodus 9.26 says, Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail. Exodus 11.6-7 remind us, But against none of the children of Israel shall a dog move its tongue against a man or a beast, that you may know that the Lord does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. We must forget what lies behind, Egypt, and reach forward to what lies ahead, Canaan. But we must live in Goshen. As God’s people, we can be set apart from the plagues of the world. We must trust God to make a difference between my people and your people. We must pray it so. We must walk by faith and not what we see around us. We must be light, bright lights, as the world darkens around us. Forget what lies behind, but never, never, never forget your Bible. Read every day those great stories of old to build your faith so you can press on. Reach forward to what lies ahead. Go forward. Press on. Knowing in the midst of plagues, turmoil, crisis, there is a Goshen where God protects his own people. Go forward. He fights for you.
