[Bildad 1]
God never twists justice;
he never fails to do what is right.
Your children must have sinned against God,
and so he punished them as they deserved.
Bildad is going after Job’s children (Job 1:18-19) – just what a bereaved parent wants to hear… We always search for the why when bad things happen but the cause is often out of our reach (John 9:1-3).
But turn now and plead with Almighty God;
if you are so honest and pure,
then God will come and help you
and restore your household as your reward.
All the wealth you lost will be nothing
compared with what God will give you then.
This did turn out to be true (Job 42:12-17) but at the time, those words would have sounds like a noisy gong or a clanging bell (1 Corinthiens 13:1)
Look for a moment at ancient wisdom;
consider the truths our ancestors learned.
Our life is short, we know nothing at all;
we pass like shadows across the earth.
But let the ancient wise people teach you;
listen to what they had to say…
The notion that our ancestors were wiser and more knowledgeable than we are is ancient. Now it’s whatever is new that counts.
“Reeds can’t grow where there is no water;
they are never found outside a swamp.
If the water dries up, they are the first to wither,
while still too small to be cut and used.
Godless people are like those reeds;
their hope is gone, once God is forgotten.
Not necessarily (Job 21:7-9).
Evil people sprout like weeds in the sun,
like weeds that spread all through the garden.
Their roots wrap around the stones
and hold fast to every rock.
But then pull them up—
no one will ever know they were there.
May it be totally different with me, Father (Matthew 7:24-25).
But God will never abandon the faithful
or ever give help to evil people.
He will let you laugh and shout again…
Rejoice, my soul (Philippiens 4:4)!