In his tent dwells that which is none of his; sulfur is scattered over his habitation.
Bildad is deep into a long picture of the wicked man's ruin, and this line brings the disaster inside the man's own home. The hard question is not whether the words are true, but whether they were true of Job — the man Bildad was aiming at.
The Picture Drawn
Two things happen here: strangers move into the tent, and burning sulfur falls on the home. Ridout reads that sulfur as more than fire.
Samuel RidoutStrangers inhabit his tent, and brimstone — the final judgment of God — is showered upon his home. Some have thought that this last point refers to "the fire of God" that fell on Job's property and destroyed his family. Either way, the general sense of fierce judgment is clear.
Ruin That Outlives the Man
Bildad does not stop the disaster at the man's death. Kelly traces how far the ruin travels.
William KellyThe blast of God does not stop with the evildoer. It reaches far beyond him and long after him, hanging over his memory and pursuing his descendants. So there dwells in his tent what is not his own, and sulfur is scattered over his home. Above ground everything withers, and everything underneath dries away.
The Thrust at Job
Bildad never names Job. He does not have to.
Leslie M. GrantBildad's words are really a description of what Job was suffering at the time, but he adds extra frightening afflictions meant to scare the poor sufferer. Others who are not of his family will take over his home. They scatter brimstone on it and leave it unfit for him. Not everything Bildad said was literally true of Job. But it was close enough that Job knew Bildad was aiming at him.
True Words, Wrong Man
The words about the wicked are sound. The finger pointed at Job is not.
Charles StanleyHe means well, but his words are poisoned arrows. Yes, every word is perfectly true of the wicked; but how crushing to Job! Circumstances seemed to favour the charge.
Kelly draws the same line between the teaching and its target:
William KellyThe application, in his mind, is as obvious as it is mistaken; the abstract truth stands, and has its own just place.
Sincere but Wrong
Bildad was not lying. He believed what he said about his friend. That is what makes his speech a warning.
William KellyIs it not humbling and solemn that we may be as sincere as possible in what we believe, and still be completely wrong? We are just as responsible for what our convictions are as for what we do or say. Only One can give us the right thought or feeling — the One who alone gives the wisdom and strength to carry it out. It is God Himself.
The End of the Story
Bildad spoke as though the outcome were already fixed. It was not. The book's last chapter takes each of his predictions and reverses it.
Leslie M. GrantAt the time of course Job had no children to carry on his name; but later on he did have as many children as he had before! (Ch. 42:13). Bildad also hinted that Job would have no name among the famous. Yet Job's name has been famous for centuries since. Job also received twice the possessions he had before the dreadful trial he had to bear (Ch. 42:10). Bildad did not allow for the whole picture changing completely. It did change, before too long.
Far from strangers keeping his tent, Job filled it with children again.
Summary
- True. Every word Bildad says about the wicked man's home is accurate. Commentators grant him that much.
- Total. The judgment outlasts the man. It hangs over his memory and reaches his children, and everything above ground and below dries up.
- Aimed. Bildad shaped the picture to fit Job. Ridout notes the brimstone may even echo the fire of God that fell on Job's property and killed his family.
- Wrong. The abstract truth stands; the application collapses. A man can hold true doctrine and still be wrong about the person he aims it at. We answer for what we believe, not only for what we say.
- Reversed. Job's tent filled again, his name became renowned, his wealth doubled. Bildad never imagined the picture could turn — and it turned.