Job 25

This is the last we hear of Job’s three friends by way of speeches. Elihu will reference them in 32:3 and the LORD will finally speak in 42:7-8. Some try to attribute 26:5-14 or 27:13-23 to Bildad but there is no textual basis for this. The speeches of the friends have been shorter along the way. Bildad’s speech is unusually short, and it may indicate that they are running out of things to say.

25:1-3 The Glory of God

25:1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered,

25:2 Dominion and awe belong to Him- Bildad does not begin this speech insulting Job as in 8:2-3; 18:2-4 but starts to talk first of God. He says that God is the ultimate Ruler of the universe and awe, fear, or dread is the proper response to Him in His glory. This word for awe, pachad, has been used frequently in Job (3:25; 4:14; 13:11; 15:21; 21:9; 22:10). To God belongs all authority in heaven and earth.

Who establishes peace in His heights- God makes peace in the heavens. He establishes order from heaven over the earth (38:33). Does this imply some kind of conflict in heaven that God put down (Isa. 24:21; Dan. 10:13-21; Rev. 12:7-9)? This at least means that no forces of heaven are adequate to oppose Him.

The fact that He can establish peace in heaven seems to indicate that there is peace on earth. Is this opposing Job’s idea that there is chaos on earth (24:1-12)?

25:3 Is there any number to His troops? God is the LORD of hosts[2]. There is no number to the hosts of heaven that God commands (Deut. 33:2-3; II Kings 6:16; Psalm 68:17; Matt. 26:52-53; Heb. 12:22; Rev. 5:11) and there is no plan or battle strategy that can prevail against Him (Prov. 21:30-31).

And upon whom does His light not rise? His sun rises on the evil and the good (Matt. 5:45; Ps. 104:1-4). His reign is infinite in the sense that He rules over all (Ps. 19:1-6; 103:19). In contrast to the wicked loving the darkness (24:13-17), God is acquainted with the light. Light makes all things open and visible before Him. The LXX has His ambush instead of His light. This does make a parallel with His troops in the previous line.

Job also stressed God’s power in a dramatic way (9:5-13). Job stressed that power used for destructive ends while Bildad emphasizes the same truth to stress God’s justice.

25:4-6 Man’s uncleanness before God

He contemplates God’s perfection and holiness and man’s imperfection and unholiness.

25:4 How then can a man be just with God? 4:17; 9:2. Man cannot be just (9:15, 20; 10:15; 13:18;33:12; 34:5; 35:7) or pure (8:6; 11:4; 16:17; 33:9) before God. How can Job claim to be mistreated by God or claim any rights before Him? How can he hope to stand before God and be justified?

Or how can he be clean who is born of woman? Born of woman was used in 14:1; 15:14; and here in the Old Testament. In 14:4 the question is “who can bring the clean out of the unclean?”

I Kings 8:46; II Chronicles 6:36; Ecclesiastes 7:20; Psalm 130:3; 143:2 all affirm the sinfulness of man. In the Sumerian wisdom text, A Man and his God, a line says, “Never has a sinless child been born to its mother…” (ANET, 590).

25:5 If even the moon has no brightness- The sun and moon were the greater lights to govern the day and the night (Gen. 1:16). These heavenly bodies shine so brilliantly that they have often themselves become objects of worship (Deut. 4:19; 17:2-3; Jer. 8:2-3; Job 31:24-28). They are perpetual reminders of God’s greatness (Psalm 8:3-4; 136:8-9; 148:3).

And the stars are not pure in His sight,- Yet God is so exalted and glorious that even the heavens, which do not sin, are not bright before Him. Eliphaz used this kind of argument earlier, but He contrasted God’s utter holiness with even the angel’s uncleanness (4:17-19). God outshines the moon and even the sun (Rev. 21:23; 22:5).

25:6 How much less man, that maggot,- In light of God’s transcendent holiness, how can man ever be right before him? This word translated maggot is found in Ex. 16:24; Job 7:5; 17:14; 21:26; 24:20; 25:6; Isaiah 14:11. In five of the seven uses of the word, Maggots are often associated with death, especially in Job (Job 7:5; 17:14; 21:26; 24:20; Isaiah 14:11).

And the son of man, that worm!- The word for worm is much more common and is used in Deut. 28:39; Psalm 22:6; Isaiah 14:11; 41:14; 66:24; Jonah 4:7. Sometimes the word was used of the purple or scarlet that the creature made- The word is used 25 times in the section Ex. 25-31, 35-40 to talk of the purple of the tabernacle coverings.

What are we to make of Bildad’s speech? Bildad convicts all of sin and guilt, but where does he then take this doctrine? Is there any hope for salvation or redemption for man? Bildad does not specifically state it here if that is in his theology. He did offer an invitation of sorts to Job to come back to God in Job 8:20-22. Paul also convicts each of us of sin before God in Romans 1:18-3:20. He ties together passage after passage from the Old Testament to establish it. But after Paul convicts us of guilt, he emphasizes that God opened a door of hope. God in His great mercy gave Christ to die to save us from our sin (Romans 3:21-5:21).

How do we view the statement about man as a worm and maggot?

Certainly, God created man in His own image and likeness (Gen. 1:26-28; 5:1-3). God’s creation of mankind is the crown of His creation, even above the inanimate creation of sun, moon, and stars. By God’s mercy man was placed in an exalted position in creation (Psalm 8:4-6). Maggots and worms seem to be the lowest order of creation and if the statement does not realize that man is the crown of God’s creation, it does not express truth.

Man has marred that image of God in him by sin (Genesis 3). Sin has driven a wedge between God the Creator and man who is made in His image. Sin separates mankind from God and from each other. While man has been separated from God by sin, He is still spoken of as made in God’s image even after sin in Genesis 9:6.

However, I believe the idea that man is a maggot is legitimate. Man is totally unworthy before the infinitely Holy God (Isaiah 6:1-5). The gap between the infinite God and man is more than the gap between mankind and worms. The amazing thing is that in spite of how far we are below God and in spite of what a mess we have made of our lives, God still loves us and longs to save us. Interestingly, Bildad does not speak of infinite love that the LORD has for man but the Bible does. This love of God that longs to redeem is revealed both in the Old Testament and in the New. Isaiah 41:14 speaks of Israel being a worm and yet He promises to redeem Israel (Isaiah 41:14-16). However, the most remarkable demonstration of God’s willingness to save is seen in the cross of Christ. In redeeming us God Himself became a man in the person of Jesus (John 1:1-3, 14). Psalm 22 is quoted and alluded to frequently in the New Testament as fulfilled in Jesus. I do believe the words of Psalm 22 have a fulfillment in the experiences of David. But the innocent sufferer of Psalm 22 finds its greatest fulfillment in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The writer of Psalm 22 expressed how he was dehumanized by those who hated him by saying, “But I am a worm and not a man, a reproach of men and despised by the people.” In His humanity, man treated God as a worm (Ps. 22:6).” God still loved us though we treated Him as a worm. Isaac Watts wrote in the song At the Cross “Alas and did my Savior bleed and did My Sovereign die, did He devote that sacred head for such a worm as I.” Sing it loudly!!!

[2] The phrase LORD of hosts is used 285 times in the Old Testament Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, Harris. The word hosts, tsaba, can refer to the stars and heavenly bodies (Gen. 2:1; Deut. 4:19; 17:3) but also refers to armies (Gen. 21:22, 32; 26:26; Deut. 24:5).

Carefully Examining the Text

Episodes 20

Nothing on this page to show