Am I Enough – Bildad Fosters Fear

Greetings Dear Reader,

Last evening I was privileged to witness my Son Maxim teaching his eldest about keeping your word.  He gently and lovingly explained to the three year old that when you tell people something they believe you.  If you tell them you are going to do something then they count on you. 

I was proud to see my Son use love and wisdom to guide my Grandson.  Bildad is trying to get Job to confess to sin he has not committed out of fear.  He warns Job of the calamities that always befall the wicked.  Both his approach and assumption are filled with errors.

Sometimes the wicked prosper. Some of their ventures are successful.  The rain falls on the just and the unjust.  The beauty of a sunrise can be appreciated by the most vile of men.  This is just the way it is.

When Bildad uses fear of what will happen to manipulate Job into a confession he is not representing God.  Are we to fear God?  Yes.  Is that what he wishes to move us toward him?  No!  Respectful fear for who God is leads to wisdom.  Fearing that God is a hammer waiting for the opportunity to crush you is absurd.

I should fear the things that are the consequences of my sin.  I should not move toward God out of fear.  I should fear that my failure to follow Christ may cause damage to others.  I should not follow out of fear.  Job’s attitude toward God before his suffering is one of love and respect.

I must follow Christ out of love.  I must fear the consequences of my sin but not fear God for that reason.  If I truly follow out of love then I need not fear anything.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store."

Job 18:1-21

Then Bildad from Shuah replied to Job,

"How long before your words will end? Think it through, and then we'll talk.  Why do you think of us as cattle? Why are we considered stupid in your eyes?  Why do you rip yourself apart in anger? Should the earth be abandoned for your sake or a boulder be dislodged? 

"Indeed, the light of the wicked is snuffed out. The flame of his fire stops glowing. The light in his tent becomes dark, and the lamp above him is snuffed out. 

"His healthy stride is shortened, and his own planning trips him up.  His own feet get him tangled in a net as he walks around on its webbing.  A trap catches his heel. A snare holds him.  A rope is hidden on the ground for him. A trap is on his path to catch him. 

"Terrors suddenly pounce on him from every side and chase him every step he takes.  Hunger undermines his strength. Disaster is waiting beside him.  His skin is eaten away by disease. Death's firstborn son eats away at the limbs of his body He is dragged from the safety of his tent and marched off to the king of terrors.  Fire lives in his tent. Sulfur is scattered over his home.  His roots dry up under him. His branches wither over him.  All memory about him will vanish from the earth, and his reputation will not be known on the street corner.  He will be driven from the light into the dark and chased out of the world.  He will not have any children or descendants among his people or any survivor where he used to live.  People in the west are shocked by what happens to him. People in the east are seized with horror.  This is what happens to the homes of wicked people and to those who do not know God."