“How long will you say such things? Your words are a blustering wind.”
~ Job 8:2
Hi James and Ellen,
Has a kid – or a guy or gal, ever accused you of having done or said something that he or she believes was wrong for you to do or say? How do you think that it will feel or how did it feel to be accused by a kid – or by a guy or gal, of having done or said something that you know in your heart is not true? How would you like to have been Job when he had three guys spending hours and hours trying to convince him that it was his fault that his body was completely covered with sores, that his kids were killed and that God was punishing him? When Bildad the Shuhite got his opportunity to lambaste Job, Bildad tells Job in Job 8 that he believes that he knows exactly what Job’s problem is. Bildad had just listened to Eliphaz trying to tell Job what he thought that Job’s problem was. Bildad heard how Job responded to what Eliphaz had insinuated in his diatribe in his attempt to correct Job’s perceived incorrect thinking. Bildad was younger than Eliphaz. Bildad was not a patient guy. Bildad really believed that he was saying something really discerning at the get-go to Job when he said in verse 2, “‘How long will you say such things? Your words are a blustering wind.” Bildad was absolutely convinced that Job was hiding sin in his life and that was the reason why Job’s body was completely covered with sores, why Job’s kids were killed and why God was punishing him. Do you think that it helps to accuse another kid of something that you think that the kid has done or said that you believe that he or she should not have done or said or do you think that it would be better and more helpful to just spend time with the kid listening to him or her – as the kid may be going through some tough times?
Your grandmaa and grandpaa are in the process of buying a condominium in Colorado Springs. After your grandmaa and grandpaa spent a lot of time looking for furniture to buy to use to furnish their condominium, your grandmaa and grandpaa decided to buy what to them was a really nice bedroom set, a couch and two recliners at a large, respected department store in Colorado Springs. Because Foley’s – which was the department store where your grandmaa and grandpaa decided to buy furniture to furnish their condominium, was going to have a sale in a couple of days, Tom – who was the salesman at Foley’s who was helping your grandmaa and grandpaa with their furniture purchase, suggested that he wait to ring up everything until the sale started in order to save your grandmaa and grandpaa some money on the cost of the furniture that they were wanting to buy. When Tom rang up all the items that your grandmaa and grandmaa were buying, Tom discovered that when he rang in the costs of the bedroom furniture that your grandmaa and grandpaa wanted to buy, that somehow . . . who knows what happened. Tom ended up having to cancel everything that he had done when he rang up what your grandmaa and grandpaa had decided to buy to use as their bedroom and living room furniture when they move into the new condominium that they are buying here in Colorado Springs. Because your grandmaa and grandpaa had the money in their checking account from the stuff that they had sold when they left Guatemala, they were having Tom debit their checking account. Tom tried all over again with trying to debit the cost of the furniture that your grandmaa and grandpaa had decided to buy. When Tom this time tried to put through the order as a debit, Tom found out that the dresser and mirror that your grandmaa and grandpaa wanted to buy was out of stock. Because the bedroom furniture came as a set, Tom supposedly could only run the debit on just the cost of the couch and the two recliners. The register that Tom uses at Foley’s for some reason showed denying the debit. Tom tried literally nineteen times to . . . each time Tom’s register showed denying the debit. Because there are funds in the checking account that your grandmaa and grandpaa have, your grandpaa decided to go to the bank where your grandmaa and grandpaa have their checking account to find out what the problem was. Your grandpaa found out that the bank where he and your grandmaa have their checking account was accepting the debit each time from Foley’s which . . . who knows why the bank let that happen. When your grandmaa and grandpaa found this out yesterday, a quiet nagging internal voice began telling your grandmaa and grandpaa that just maybe God did not want them to buy the bedroom set and living room furniture that they like at Foley’s because . . . this same quiet nagging internal voice also began telling your grandmaa and grandpaa that they have every right in the world to accuse Tom or Foley’s or the bank where they have their checking account for being incompetent or malfeasant or . . . what happened just did not make any sense to your grandmaa and grandpaa.
Your grandmaa and grandpaa know that God is not punishing them for something that they did or said just as Job knew that God was not punishing him for something that he did or said. Your grandpaa knows that it is a whole lot easier to accuse another guy or gal for something that your grandpaa thinks that he or she has done or said that he believes that the guy or gal should not have done or said than it is to receive an accusation from another guy or gal who thinks that your grandpaa has done or said something that he really should not have done or said. Why do you think that God allows bad things to happen to good guys and gals? How will you learn how to trust in God if God does not allow misguided kids – or guys or gals, who call themselves friends, to come into your lives to accuse you of one thing or another or how will you learn to trust in God if God did not allow unaccountable glitches to happen that could imply that God is punishing you for something? Your grandpaa knows that God is always doing what pleases Him to do which means that your grandpaa should always be thanking God for whatever it is that happens.
Job 8 (399)