Job 8:1

One of Job's friends, "the Shuhite," perhaps a descendant of Shuah the son of Abraham and Keturah. He in no way understood Job's case, and could only judge that God was punishing Job for wickedness, though God had called Job a righteous man. God became angry with Bildad. But Bildad and his two companions brought a sacrifice, and when Job prayed for them God accepted him.

Bildad the Shuhite now speaks to Job. He is less dogmatic than Eliphaz, and less courteous, but more outspoken. He must have lost his patience listening to Job's reply. Above all he resents what Job had said about God, the veiled accusations that had fallen from his lips. But as we will see, he too follows the logic of Eliphaz: God punishes Job for his sins. He starts at once to rebuke Job for what he had said.

Bildad now takes up what is fast becoming a controversy. He shows perhaps less of the courtesy and dignity that marked the speech of Eliphaz, and some harshness toward Job. This harshness seems to come from Job's bitter charge against God. For all his ignorance of divine principles, Bildad is jealous for the honor of God, and cannot let anyone accuse Him. In this he is surely right. But he fails to convince Job, because of the root error in the thinking of all of them: God must punish sin, and Job must be a sinner because God is punishing him.

Eliphaz had appealed to his own observation when he supposed that Job was guilty of some secret sin… Now Bildad appealed to tradition… In doing this, Bildad actually contradicted Eliphaz. If Eliphaz had only been born "yesterday", what was his observation worth? But Bildad's appeal to tradition was just as empty as Eliphaz's appeal to observation, because Bildad also reached the wrong conclusion.

Bildad assumes that Job's children had received the due reward of their wickedness, and had been cut off… This tears at the feelings of a parent who had found no evidence of such wickedness in his children, and who had watched carefully over their spiritual state. Bildad is driven to this by his wrong theory of God's ways.

There is nothing so dangerous as a truth falsely applied. One can do the greatest harm with a word of Scripture in a wrong place. This is one of the devil's methods, and only unbroken communion with God can keep us from it. How important, then, is the call to "be slow to speak," above all in spiritual matters. People often come to regret quick conclusions and hasty judgments. Job's friends were surely ashamed of their mistakes when it was too late.

Not one of the three friends understood Job. What is more, they did not know God's character, or His purpose in dealing with His dear servant… Instead of leading Job to judge himself, they only fed his desire to defend himself. They did not introduce God into the scene. They said some true things; but they had not the truth.