Logic can deftly dissect the butterfly to prove decisively that it can fly—and then it can’t.
Bildad’s first speech falls into three parts. He examines Job’s horrible experiences (Job 8:1-7). Then he looks back at some historic evidence (vv 8-10), and concludes with habitat examples (vv 11-22). In the first section, there’s some serious finger-pointing. Ten times he uses “you” and “your.” Your words, Job? All wind and no substance (v 2). Your family? Obviously guilty (vv 3-4). Your heart condition? Clearly, “If you were pure and upright,” God would help you. Even now, “If you would earnestly seek God”—which Bildad doesn’t think Job is doing—“He would…prosper your rightful dwelling place” (vv 5-6). Notice the three “if ” arguments. Like a machine gun, Bildad doesn’t speak for long, but what damage he leaves in his path! Critic #2 then turns to what he thinks is the unassailable argument of history. Our lives are so short, it’s hard to connect the dots. But over the ages, the pattern is clear. Good guys win and bad guys lose. God helps those who help themselves. If you succeed, you can take the credit for getting Him on your side. The one who dies with the most toys wins. False! All false, but the world continues to believe these trite and tragic lies. God helps those who can’t help themselves! And “one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Lk 12:15). But Bildad’s a bulldozer. Don’t confuse me with the facts, he says. Even nature is on my side. “All who forget God” (Job 8:13) are like reeds in a dried-up swamp or trees trying to root in stone (vv 11-12, 16-18). Hypocrites trust in spiders’ webs and tottering buildings (vv 13-15). As many wives know when listening to their husbands, one can be logical, eloquent, factual—and wrong! We don’t just need smart; we also need heart.