Job 8:8-22

Am looking at Job 8:8-22 this evening.

Bildad continues his monologue ...

Ask the former generation
and find out what their ancestors learned,
for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,
and our days on earth are but a shadow.
Will they not instruct you and tell you?
Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?

Bildad appealed to human experience. Though our own life might be finite, there is the collective wisdom of the ages. What does Bildad think those years of knowledge tell?

Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?
Can reeds thrive without water?
While still growing and uncut,
they wither more quickly than grass.
Such is the destiny of all who forget God;
so perishes the hope of the godless.

He used a botanical metaphor: plants die without water. Likewise, people who forget God are in trouble.

Bildad goes on to say why those who forget God are in trouble...

What they trust in is fragile;
what they rely on is a spider's web.
They lean on the web, but it gives way;
they cling to it, but it does not hold.
They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
spreading its shoots over the garden;
it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks
and looks for a place among the stones.
But when it is torn from its spot,
that place disowns it and says, 'I never saw you.'
Surely its life withers away,
and from the soil other plants grow.
Surely God does not reject the blameless
or strengthen the hands of evildoers.
He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with shouts of joy.
Your enemies will be clothed in shame,
and the tents of the wicked will be no more.

All true Bildad.

But all irrelevant to Job's situation.

The reasoning he is using is: if A (plants without water) then B (they die). If A (you forget God) then B (you are in big trouble). So Job since you are in B then A must be true!

As a matter of logic that isn't necessarily true. Using a lousy example, if (A) Romeo and Juliet are in love then (B) they died. Does it logically follow that those who died were in love? Nonsense. I never took a logic class but I'm sure they must have a name for this kind of logical fallacy.

Nonetheless, it isn't a good idea to forget God.

Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?
Can reeds thrive without water?
While still growing and uncut,
they wither more quickly than grass.
Such is the destiny of all who forget God;
so perishes the hope of the godless.

Psalm 1:1-3 tells us:

Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

John 14:1-4 says:

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me."

Lord, we all jump to conclusions. Bildad did. Help me to keep a clear head about me when I deal with people who are in tough spots. It is very easy to assume they did something wrong. In some cases that is so. But in all cases, I want to respond with love and grace. Clearly, I don't want to forget you in my day-to-day life. Alas, I know I often do run off in my own direction without even a second thought about your ways. Help me to be alert to what your wisdom is in my life. And when I'm not sure, help me to slow down and bring the situation to you for your guidance. Amen.