And though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great.
Bildad ends his speech with a picture of a future so large that Job's old wealth would look like a small start. The words sound like a promise, yet they close a chain of "ifs" set by a friend who has already judged why Job suffers.
The Promise Rests on "Ifs"
Verse 7 does not stand alone. It closes a sentence that starts two verses earlier. Everything in it hangs on what Bildad tells Job to do first.
Leslie M. GrantBildad condemned Job's dead sons, then went on to attack Job himself. He told Job this: if he would earnestly seek God in prayer, and if he were pure and upright, then God would surely wake up for him at once and turn his misery into prosperity (vv.5-6). Of course, in saying this he implied that Job had not been pure and upright and had not earnestly sought God before. But now, if Job did as Bildad advised, his end would increase greatly, though his beginning was small (v.7).
The offer of a bright future carries an accusation inside it.
The Rule Behind Bildad's Offer
Bildad works from one principle: God prospers the good and strikes the guilty. One commentator tests that principle against the greatest sufferer of all.
William KellyIt was all the same principle, and the same false principle. What shows the falsity of the principle is the universal test. Bring Christ in. Was it any lack of God's delight in Christ that allowed Christ to be the greatest sufferer, far beyond Job? So the estimate was completely false, and so was the principle underneath it. It was wrong to imagine that there must be evil in the person who came to this depth of suffering.
What Happened in the End
Job's later years did outshine his early ones. But the route there was not the one Bildad mapped out.
Samuel RidoutNext, he proves the justice of those ways by telling Job there is restoring mercy for him, if he will only turn in prayer to God. He adds, "If you are pure and upright." There is a strong suggestion of suspicion here. Then God will restore everything and bless Job's latter end. This did come true, but in a very different way from what Bildad expected. Job is blessed not for his purity, nor because he confessed some suspected evil.
Blessing Came by Grace, Not by Merit
If the increase did not come from Job proving himself pure, what did open the door? One writer traces the whole debate to a missing idea.
William KellyThey were all arguing on the ground of righteousness. Not one of them had taken in, up to this point and for long after, any thought of grace. And Job only arrived at it at last by God stepping in. There he was dust and ashes. There he took the place of nothingness and worse than nothingness. Then God blessed him. Then God vindicated him — and not till then.
A Warning for Comforters
Much of what Bildad says is true in itself. That is what makes his speech dangerous. His story is a warning for anyone sitting beside a suffering friend.
H. L. RossierThe story of Job's friends should be a solemn warning to us. There is nothing so dangerous as a truth wrongly applied. You can do the greatest harm with a word of Scripture in the 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," especially in spiritual matters. People often bitterly regret quick conclusions and hasty judgments. Job's friends were surely ashamed of their mistakes when it was too late.
Claiming This Verse Today
Because these words appear in the Bible, many treat them as a personal promise. One writer explains why that reading goes wrong.
Samuel RidoutBut people often mistake inspiration for revelation, that is, for the infallible statement of divine truth. We have the inspired record of what Satan said to Eve, and to our Lord. We also have the words of wicked men like Pharaoh and Rabshakeh. Yet no one thinks of these words as the truth of God. In the same way, we have here an inspired record of what Job and his three friends said. Most of it was true, but it was out of place and misapplied.
Summary
- The claim — Bildad promises Job a great future. It comes with two conditions: earnest prayer, and a pure, upright life.
- The sting — those conditions imply Job had failed at both, so the promise doubles as an accusation.
- The flaw — Bildad's rule says deep suffering proves hidden evil. Christ suffered more than Job, so the rule breaks down.
- The reversal — Job's end did outshine his beginning. But God blessed him as dust and ashes, not as a man who had proved himself pure.
- The caution — a true word in the wrong place does great harm. This verse records what a friend said. It is not a promise from God.