81 And Bildad the Shuhite answereth and saith:— 2 Till when dost thou speak these things? And a strong wind—sayings of thy mouth? 3 Doth God pervert judgment? And doth the Mighty One pervert justice? 4 If thy sons have sinned before Him, And He doth send them away, By the hand of their transgression, 5 If thou dost seek early unto God, And unto the Mighty makest supplication, 6 If pure and upright thou 'art', Surely now He waketh for thee, And hath completed The habitation of thy righteousness. 7 And thy beginning hath been small, And thy latter end is very great.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Job 8:1-7
Commentary on Job 8:1-7
(Read Job 8:1-7)
Job spake much to the purpose; but Bildad, like an eager, angry disputant, turns it all off with this, How long wilt thou speak these things? Men's meaning is not taken aright, and then they are rebuked, as if they were evil-doers. Even in disputes on religion, it is too common to treat others with sharpness, and their arguments with contempt. Bildad's discourse shows that he had not a favourable opinion of Job's character. Job owned that God did not pervert judgment; yet it did not therefore follow that his children were cast-aways, or that they did for some great transgression. Extraordinary afflictions are not always the punishment of extraordinary sins, sometimes they are the trials of extraordinary graces: in judging of another's case, we ought to take the favorable side. Bildad puts Job in hope, that if he were indeed upright, he should yet see a good end of his present troubles. This is God's way of enriching the souls of his people with graces and comforts. The beginning is small, but the progress is to perfection. Dawning light grows to noon-day.