Daily Devotional Tuesday 14th September 2021

by William Moody

Job 25–26

Bildad Speaks: Man Cannot Be Righteous

25:1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:

  “Dominion and fear are with God;1
    he makes peace in his high heaven.
  Is there any number to his armies?
    Upon whom does his light not arise?
  How then can man be in the right before God?
    How can he who is born of woman be pure?
  Behold, even the moon is not bright,
    and the stars are not pure in his eyes;
  how much less man, who is a maggot,
    and the son of man, who is a worm!”

Job Replies: God’s Majesty Is Unsearchable

26:1 Then Job answered and said:

  “How you have helped him who has no power!
    How you have saved the arm that has no strength!
  How you have counseled him who has no wisdom,
    and plentifully declared sound knowledge!
  With whose help have you uttered words,
    and whose breath has come out from you?
  The dead tremble
    under the waters and their inhabitants.
  Sheol is naked before God,2
    and Abaddon has no covering.
  He stretches out the north over the void
    and hangs the earth on nothing.
  He binds up the waters in his thick clouds,
    and the cloud is not split open under them.
  He covers the face of the full moon3
    and spreads over it his cloud.
10   He has inscribed a circle on the face of the waters
    at the boundary between light and darkness.
11   The pillars of heaven tremble
    and are astounded at his rebuke.
12   By his power he stilled the sea;
    by his understanding he shattered Rahab.
13   By his wind the heavens were made fair;
    his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.
14   Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways,
    and how small a whisper do we hear of him!
    But the thunder of his power who can understand?”

Footnotes

[1] 25:2 Hebrew him
[2] 26:6 Hebrew him
[3] 26:9 Or his throne

(ESV)

Bildad’s final contribution in this discussion is really a hymn of praise to God (25 v1-6). There is nothing he shares which you could say in wrong, indeed much of what he says is excellent truth about God. Bildad pictures the Lord who is to be feared (v2); who rules over mighty armies (v3) and whose purity far exceeds anything in creation (v4-5).

Bildad’s speech ends with the conclusion that compared to such an amazing God, man is like a maggot or a worm (v6). What Bildad says s true, but how does this help Job in his suffering and what hope is to be found in his statement? We need to faithfully accept what the bibles teach about how sin has corrupted us, but we must also focus on redemption in Jesus.

Job responds to Bildad’s tirade by sarcastically speaking of the help he received (v1-3) and questioning what the source of their words is (v4). There is probably an implication that their words are from the devil.

Job then shows his heart as he speaks of how God’s greatness is revealed in His knowledge of the place of the dead (v5-6) and His control over this world (v7-11). This is the God who stops storms (v12-13) and chases away the powerful sea creatures spoken of here as ‘Rahab’ and the ‘fleeing serpent’. In all that is done by God it is only a small part of what He can do (v14).

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®),
copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.