THE DEFINITION OF HOPELESSNESS

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

“How long will you say such things? Your words are a blustering wind. Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right? When your children sinned against Him, He gave them over to the penalty of their sin. But if you will seek God earnestly and plead with the Almighty, if you are pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself on your behalf and restore you to your prosperous state. Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be.”

“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? 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. 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 one who is 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.”

Job 8:1-22

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In Chapters 6 and 7, we read Job’s words in response to what his friend Oliphaz said. Those words were laced with bitterness and represented Job’s continued spiral down into despair and depression.

In Chapter 8, we read a response to Job’s words from another one of his friends, the Shuhite named Bilhad. Like Oliphaz, he responds harshly to Job’s attitude asking him how long he will continue to speak with his current attitude…with words described by Bilhad as being like a “blustering wind.”

Bilhad asks Job if God could “pervert justice” or “what is right”. It would be ridiculous to refer to God Almighty as unjust in His ways as all His ways are perfect. All are sinners and fall short of the glory of God without His mercy and grace. In our sinfulness, we are always prone to correction from our Father. Bilhad used Job’s children as an example saying that their sin had led to the penalty they received. We’re not given any indication that Bilhad was given any information from God to validate his words but then again, we can’t invalidate them either. We have to trust that God is just and give Him the honor He deserves, no matter how painful His judgment might be.

Bilhad didn’t want to see his friend Job find the same fate as his children. This is why he implored Job to “seek God earnestly and plead with the Almighty” because if Job would be “pure and upright” then God would “rouse Himself” on Job’s behalf and restore Him to a “prosperous state”…a state of prosperity far greater than where he was before his afflictions.

What would happen if Job turned from God, becoming godless?

His destiny would be one of hopelessness as hope would die and give way to despair. Indeed, Job was already on his way there as we have seen in his spoken words.

Bilhad uses several examples to make his point but essentially he says at the end of Chapter 8 that a loss of hope results in a person withering away into fragility with no strong foundation to lean on or stand upon. While those who know God flourish and grow, the godless person finds nowhere to take root as everywhere suitable for him or her to grow rejects them because of their lack of belief in the only One who can sustain and give life…the only One who can repair and restore.

Life is pretty simple when it comes to the choice we make spiritually. The world may offer many options but there are really only two.

Option 1: You believe and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, the One who told us that He and the Father are one (John 10:30)…and the One who told us that the only way to the Father is through Him (John 14:6).

or

Option 2: You choose to not believe and trust in Jesus, rejecting the Son and His Father who gave Him freely to offer us eternal life.

Option 1 will ever bring us hope.

Option 2 is the definition of hopelessness.

Which choice have you made?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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