Job 18 Part 2

 What is the truth and error of Bildad’s words?

Bildad says several things about the fate of the wicked that are elsewhere said in the Old Testament about the end of the wicked.

18:5 The light of the wicked goes out. This is stated in Proverbs 13:9; 20:20; 24:20. 

18:7 The schemes of the wicked bring him down. This is stated frequently in Scripture in Psalm 7:15-16 and Prov. 26:27.

18:11, 14 Terrors frighten the wicked man. Ps. 73:19 tells us that the wicked are swept away by sudden terrors. 

18:13 pictures the skin of the wicked devoured by disease. In Zech. 14:12 the LORD will strike those who go to war against Jerusalem and their flesh will rot as they stand on their feet. 

18:15 tells us that brimstone will be scattered on the habitation of the wicked. Ps. 11:6 says the same basic thing.

18:16 The picture of the wicked is of a plant totally consumed, both its root below and its branches above. This is a picture of judgment upon the wicked in Isa. 5:24; Hos. 9:16.

18:17 says that the memory of the wicked perishes. This is also stated as a judgment upon the wicked in Ps. 9:6; 34:16; Prov. 10:7. 

18:19 The statement that the wicked would have no posterity nor offspring is the same thing said of the king of Babylon in Isa. 14:22. 

 Bildad speaks truth about the ultimate fate of the wicked. 

 Is anything wrong with his words? To focus on one example, in 18:5 what is the problem with Bildad’s statement that the lamp of the wicked goes out?  

The problem is also not in the statement itself but in how it is used. The statement affirms that the way of the wicked will end in disaster though it does not say when nor how it will end in disaster. These statements are not given to help us to determine who is wicked and who is righteous. 

 There are plenty of passages in Proverbs that contrast the fate of the righteous with the fate of the wicked (Prov. 10:24; 11:5; 12:13...).

Is this always revealed in this lifetime? What the friends say about the fate of the wicked is correct. But is the wicked man fully repaid for his wickedness in this life? The whole Bible reveals that the final balancing the scales of justice will come in final judgment. Often it will not be evident until eternity as to who was wicked and who was righteous. In this light, the statement about the wicked leading to disaster is always like Bildad pictures it but the full truth is not revealed in this life. 

 It may be that the picture of the wicked particularly at 18:14 may represent in a seed form the doctrine of eternal judgment. The language of 18:15 may invoke the language of judgment on Sodom. The judgment on Sodom is given as a picture of warning for God’s judgment upon the wicked for all time in II Peter 2:6-9 and Jude 6-7. 

 Jesus and Job 18

18:5-6, 18 Jesus is the light of the world. The gospel of John portrays Jesus as the light (John 1:4, 5, 7, 8, 9; 3:19, 20, 21; 5:35; 8:12; 9:5; 11:9, 10; 12:35, 36, 46). 

 18:13-14 Jesus gives victory over the terrors of death- I Cor. 15; Heb. 2:10-18. 

 18:19 The wicked has no offspring or posterity. This is contrasted to Jesus- Isa. 53:10. This is contrasted with Jesus as He will see His offspring. As many as received Him to them He gave the right to be the sons of God (John 1:12). 

 18:20 The word appalled is used in Isaiah 52:14 of the suffering servant.