3. Bildad's second speech ch. 18

In his second speech Bildad emphasized the fate of the wicked. There is little that is unique in Bildad's second speech, but it was more harsh than his first speech.

"Bildad's second speech is straightforward. It is no more than a long diatribe on the fate of the wicked (5-21), preceded by a few reproaches addressed to Job (2-4)."⁸²

 Bildad's criticism of Job 18:1-4

Obviously Bildad was impatient because Job refused to change his mind or admit great guilt (vv. 1-2). Job had claimed that God was tearing him as a beast tears its prey (16:9), but Bildad said Job was tearing himself (v. 4a). We can see his disgust with what he regarded as Job's pride in his statement that Job should not expect God to do anything particularly great on Job's account (v. 4b-c).

"A speaker who has run out of ideas can always resort to satire. No pastor mocks a sufferer by throwing his own words back at him."⁸³

 Bildad's warning concerning the wicked 18:5-21

Note some of the things both Eliphaz and Bildad pointed out concerning the wicked.

Eliphaz The Wicked Bildad

15:22-23, 30 experience darkness 18:5-6, 18

15:30b, 32-33 are like unhealthy plants 18:16

15:30, 34 are destroyed by fire 18:15

15:27-31 lose their influence 18:7, 15-16

15:21, 24 are terrified by anguish 18:11, 14

15:34 lose their homes 18:6, 14-15

15:4, 13, 25-26 oppose or do not know God 18:21

15:13 are ensnared 18:8-10

Another noteworthy feature of this section is the frequent recurrence of the idea that the wicked will end up in a trap, especially in verses 8-10. Bildad promised not only their capture but that they would experience terror, as animals hunted down by a predator (v. 11). As in Eliphaz's second speech, much of what Bildad said here concerning the wicked was true of Job (e.g., 18:13a, 15). "The first-born of death"may refer to "death in its most terrible form."⁸⁴Another possibility is that this is a reference to Namtar, the Mesopotamian god of pestilence and vizier of the underworld.⁸⁵Both Job and Bildad had a lot to say about death.

"Bildad felt Job did not really understand the doctrine of retribution. He probably considered Job weak on this subject because Job kept harping on how the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper. In these speeches Job and his friends had nothing to say about future retribution at the day of final judgment or the balancing of the scales of justice after death. This is a truth that unveils gradually (progressive revelation) in the OT."⁸⁶

Often when we counsel suffering people it is more important to help them think about God and talk to Him than it is to get them to adopt all our theology. Job's companions seem to have given up on Job because he would not agree with their theological presupposition. They failed to give him credit for being sincere in his desire to come to terms with God.