Job 19:1 says, Then Job answered and said,  After Bildad stopped speaking, Job answered him.  Job did not interrupt or get in a shouting match with Bildad, but listened to him before answering.  Verse two asks, How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words?  Job had already asked his friends to just be quiet if they could offer him no hope or understanding of why he was in this situation.  If we can offer no help or any solution to a person's current suffering we are better off simply sitting with them and praying for them.  Job's friends came to him with preconceived ideas about why he was suffering and would not listen to his reasoning, nor did they ask God for a better understanding so they could really comfort Job.  We cannot go into any situation and attempt to make it confirm our belief about that situation.  We must first seek God's guidance and then listen to what the person who is suffering has to say with compassion and not judgment.   Verse three says, These ten times have ye reproached me: ye are not ashamed that ye make yourselves strange to me.  We only know of five times that Job's friends spoke to him, but that does not mean that they hadn't spoken more often.  Matthew Henry says that this indicated that those five times they spoke were double in their condemnation of Job.  Either way, Job said that even though they weren't, they should be ashamed of their treatment of him.  Verse four states, And be it indeed that I have erred, mine error remaineth with myself.  Job said that if he had erred, or sinned, that was a matter between God and himself.  We cannot determine the relationship between God and any other person. We can only account for our own sins.  Verse five says, If indeed ye will magnify yourselves against me, and plead against me my reproach:  Job said that his friends were magnifying themselves and condemning him.  We must be careful to never view ourselves as above others.  If we are followers of Christ, we are still simply sinners saved by grace.  We should not magnify our relationship to God as being superior to anyone else's.  In verse six Job states,  Know now that God hath overthrown me, and hath compassed me with his net.  Though Job was mistaken in thinking that God was directly responsible for his current situation, he still saw it as being between God and himself.  We will each answer for our own sins and that alone should keep us from trying to judge others.  We all have enough to answer for.  Verse seven says, Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment.  Job still felt that God did not hear him.  If we feel isolated from God, we need to remember that He has not abandoned us.  Verse eight says, He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass, and he hath set darkness in my paths.  I believe that Job felt since he thought that God was the source of his suffering that there was no way out.  We need to remember that if God allows us to suffer, He will also provide a way out of that suffering if we remain true to Him.  In verse nine Job says,  He hath stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head.  I believe that Job thought that his success in life was a reward for his serving God faithfully, and that had been stripped away.  The truth is that we serve God for His glory and not our own.  That is one problem with a prosperity gospel.  If we suddenly face a material failure, then we have to blame God.  Verse ten states, He hath destroyed me on every side, and I am gone: and mine hope hath he removed like a tree.  Job saw no way to turn.  He felt that God had surrounded him with misery.  Verse eleven says, He hath also kindled his wrath against me, and he counteth me unto him as one of his enemies.  Though Job felt that God counted him as an enemy to be tormented and then destroyed, we know this was not the case.  As followers of Christ, God will never seek to destroy us, though our possessions may be destroyed.  God was still with Job, even if Job didn't feel God's presence.  We should never allow any situation to make us feel abandoned by God.  Verse twelve says, His troops come together, and raise up their way against me, and encamp round about my tabernacle.  Job thought the whole army of God was against him.  Verse thirteen states, He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are verily estranged from me.  Job felt God was against him and his friends no longer wanted to be around him.  In verse fourteen Job declares, My kinsfolk have failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me.  Job felt very alone in the world, abandoned by friends, family, and most importantly by God.  Even if our friends desert us, we would hope that our family would not.  If friends and family desert us, we need to know that God will not.  Just because we may not understand what is happening in life and may not feel the presence of God, as His followers we can be certain that He is always with us.

Job 18:11 says, Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, and shall drive him to his feet.  Bildad is still speaking of the fate of the wicked, but again he is applying this to what was happening with Job.  He said that the wicked would be so afraid that they could not rest.  I am not sure that the lost people in the world all have trouble resting in this world, but if they acknowledge the fact that the soul of man never dies, they should have trouble resting.  In this life they may have comfort, but this life is but temporary.  Verse twelve says, His strength shall be hungerbitten, and destruction shall be ready at his side.   We need to remember that Bildad was still attempting to prove to Job that sin had led Job to his current condition.  Bildad was saying that sin always brought pain and suffering to a person, but again we know this is not always true.  We cannot attempt to claim that if a person, especially a Christian, is suffering that it is a punishment from God.  Verse thirteen says, It shall devour the strength of his skin: even the firstborn of death shall devour his strength.  Since Job was suffering such a fate, Bildad was saying that Job should expect this due to the sin in his life and his refusal to acknowledge it.  When we see a person suffering today, we cannot attribute this to God's punishment of sin.  They may be like Job and be having their faith put to the test.  If God always materially rewarded those who follow Him, and materially punished those who do not, it would be much easier to get people to follow Him.  We cannot put our faith in God only for those material blessings, but must remain true to Him, no matter what, just as Job did.  Verse fourteen says, His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle, and it shall bring him to the king of terrors.  This is the ultimate fate of those who do not accept Christ as their Savior and Lord, but it does not equate to material blessings in this world.  When a person stands before God unforgiven, that person will indeed face the king of terrors.  Verse fifteen says, It shall dwell in his tabernacle, because it is none of his: brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation.  I believe that Bildad was saying that there was no place for the sinner to be safe from God's judgment.  Bildad was still thinking about material things being a sign of God's blessings, and saying that God would tear down all that sinners did.  Though it is true that ultimately, at the end of this world, no unsaved sinner, those not redeemed by personal faith in Christ, can find a place to be safe from God's judgment, that does not mean that they will always be punished materially or physically in life.  Verse sixteen says, His roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his branch be cut off.  Bildad was still attempting to apply the punishment of sinners to this world, and especially to Job.  Verse seventeen adds, His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name in the street.  Job had indeed been cut down and was already forgotten by all his friends for all practical purposes.  Verse eighteen states, He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world.  Job's world was indeed full of darkness and he was close to death.  Bildad was telling Job that these things were proof that Job was being punished by God.  We cannot apply eternal truths to temporary situations just to support our beliefs.  Had Bildad and his two friends been praying for the understanding of God's will in what was happening to Job, they would have seen the truth of the situation.  We can never just assume to know God's will, but must always ask His guidance in understanding it.  Verse nineteen says, He shall neither have son nor nephew among his people, nor any remaining in his dwellings.  Once more, I believe that Bildad was attempting to apply his beliefs to Job's situation.  We don't know about nephews, but Job's sons had died.  I believe that among other things that are wrong with Bidad's reasoning is the fact that he assumes that children and relatives will be punished for the sins of some else.  Each person is responsible for their own relationship with God.  Verse twenty states, They that come after him shall be astonied at his day, as they that went before were affrighted.  Those who saw Job were certainly astonished by his current state, even as before the had viewed him as a powerful man, whom they respected or even feared.  Verse twenty one concludes, Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him that knoweth not God.  I believe that Bildad was telling Job that Job knew that this was what he should have expected due to his sins and hypocrisy.  We can never claim that other people are deserving of suffering in this world due to their material or physical status in life.  Suffering and a lack of material wealth do not equate to punishment from God.

Job 18:1 says, Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,  Job had asked his friends to just be quiet if all they could do was condemn him, but Bildad, like Eliphaz felt that he had to continue to try to correct what he saw was Job's lack of understanding.  In verse two, Bildad says, How long will it be ere ye make an end of words? mark, and afterwards we will speak.  Bildad wondered how long Job was going to continue to speak what he saw as empty words.  As we saw with Eliphaz, Bildad now becomes even stronger in his condemnation of Job.  I don't believe that either one had really listened to Job.  They had their minds made up that Job was a sinner and a hypocrite, so they were basically just waiting for Job to quit talking so they could point out how wrong he was.  When we are confronted with someone expressing an opinion we do not agree with, we too often fail to hear what they are saying.  We may hear their words, but often have dismissed them even before they are spoken.  Verse three asks, Wherefore are we counted as beasts, and reputed vile in your sight?  Bildad was basically accusing Job of calling his friends beasts, but he never had.  Job may have said that he felt that their reasoning was faulty, but he never said that they were as incapable of rational thought as were beasts, or animals.  We should not be surprised if someone who believes that we are wrong distort our words when they respond to what we have said.  Verse four says, He teareth himself in his anger: shall the earth be forsaken for thee? and shall the rock be removed out of his place?  Bildad may have been referring to Job's statement about tearing his flesh, but he was not referring to it with any understanding of what Job was saying.  We may repeat what someone said and use it out of context to prove our point, but we should listen to really understand what someone else is saying, especially if we disagree with them and want to correct the errors in their understanding.  Verse five says, Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine.  Bildad now begins to try to show Job why he was wrong in what he had said.  There is a lot of truth in what Bildad tells Job, but it did not apply to Job.  We must be careful to never take general truths and claim that they apply in every situation, especially if we are using them to justify ourselves and condemn others.  Verse six says, The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him.  Bildad was not speaking of a building, but of a person.  He was still saying that the wicked would die from their iniquity.  Yet, we know many very evil people who live long and prosperous lives.  Both good and evil people will die physically, but their spirits will live on.  Verse seven states, The steps of his strength shall be straitened, and his own counsel shall cast him down.  Bildad said that the steps of the wicked would ultimately be made straight and that they would be cast down by their own beliefs.  It is true that all sin will ultimately be done away with and that those who believe in anything other than God will be cast away, it doesn't mean that it will happen in this life.  Verses eight through ten continue to state the fate of the wicked for relying on their own strength and wisdom instead of God.  Verse eight says, For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walketh upon a snare.  Then verse nine, The gin shall take him by the heel, and the robber shall prevail against him. Finally, verse ten, The snare is laid for him in the ground, and a trap for him in the way.  I believe that Bildad was saying that the sinner would be ensnared in his own trap.  We can be certain that sin does entrap people in its own net if they do not allow God to set them free by putting their faith in Him, but that does not mean that they will always be brought to destruction in this life.

Job 17:10 says, But as for you all, do ye return, and come now: for I cannot find one wise man among you.  Job asked why his friends were returning to him again, since he could find no wisdom in what they were saying.   He said that they should be listening to him instead of speaking foolishly against Him.  If we see someone suffering and can only speak to them in judgment, we are better off remaining quiet, or may need instead to listen to what they have to say.  Though the truth of God will never change, our understanding of God may, or we might say even should.  We are called on to grow in knowledge and truth about God.  If we approach our relationship to God feeling that we already know everything that there is to know, we are indeed fooling ourselves.  In verse eleven Job states, My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart.  Job felt no hope of restoration in this life.  He felt that his usefulness was past and had no more hope in his heart.  It is impossible to say how we would feel if we were in Job's place, but we should always acknowledge that all things are possible with God, and if we remain faithful, He will never leave us without hope.  Verse twelve says, They change the night into day: the light is short because of darkness.  Job said he could find no rest at night, and that his suffering would soon end in his death, where there would be no light.  Verse thirteen says, If I wait, the grave is mine house: I have made my bed in the darkness.  Job felt that his only hope for release from his physical suffering was to make the grave his home.  He would rest, or sleep, there in darkness.  The grave, or death, is the only thing that we can be certain of for this mortal body if Christ does not return in our lifetime.   Verse fourteen says, I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister.  I believe that Job was saying that he had accepted that suffering was all that was left for him in life.  Everyone else had abandoned or condemned him, so his suffering was all he had left in his life.  If we do find ourselves suffering in life, hopefully we will have better family and friends than Job did.  In verse fifteen Job asked, And where is now my hope? as for my hope, who shall see it?  In this life, Job had no hope, but I believe that he still had faith in God, as evidenced by the question who would see his faith.  We know that no one can see our faith, except by our actions.  So, if we were to find ourselves in perpetual torment, who could see even evidence of our faith.  Verse sixteen says, They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust.  I believe that Job was saying that his friends would come to his grave thinking that he suffered the ultimate punishment for his sins.  We must remember that his friends, and his wife, thought that material possessions and life itself was a reward for serving God faithfully, and that suffering, and even such a horrible death, were punishment from God.  They saw the grave as the end for Job, as they had no hope of his redemption due to his perceived lack of faith.

Job 17:1 says, My breath is corrupt, my days are extinct, the graves are ready for me.  Job felt that his life was in such torment that even his breathing was corrupted.  The days when he had a purpose in life seemed to be extinct, or a thing of the past.  I believe that Job really felt that he was beyond physical redemption, so he was ready to go to the grave and a spiritual restoration with God.  We may at times feel that death is our only hope, but we need to remember what happened with Job later on.  As long as we have life, we should have hope.  In verse two, Job asks, Are there not mockers with me? and doth not mine eye continue in their provocation?  Job was speaking of his friends and neighbors.  They were mocking his profession of innocence.  In their concept of God, the status of a person on this earth indicated their relationship with God.  Since Job had been very prosperous and was now reduced to torment, his friends ridiculed him for being a hypocrite.  I believe that Job was saying that the fact that he could still look them in the eye and proclaim his innocence provoked them to anger at him.  When we set ourselves up as moral judges and pronounce a person guilty of sin and they deny it, we tend to become angry at the person, and not the perceived sin.  We are not called to ridicule and provoke others, but to simply reach out to them with the love of God.  Verse three says, Lay down now, put me in a surety with thee; who is he that will strike hands with me?  Job put his surety in God.  Like Job, our friends may fail us, but as followers of Christ we can put our surety in God.  When we are resting securely in God's hands, no one can take us away from Him.  Those around us might want to ridicule or even fight with us, but God is our defender.  In verse four Job declares, For thou hast hid their heart from understanding: therefore shalt thou not exalt them.  Job said that God had caused his friends to be blinded to the truth.  Since I do not believe that God hides Himself or His truth from certain people and reveals it to others, a more accurate statement would be that Job's friends refused to see the truth of God.  They were so certain that they knew the reason for Job's suffering that they were not listening to God.  In our relationship to anyone, we need to first listen to what God has to say.  Verse five says, He that speaketh flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children shall fail.  I believe that Job was saying that those who only seek to flatter, or speak good things about only their successful friends, will ultimately fail even their families.  If they are basing God's will on material things, then they do not have a true understanding of God, and they will ultimately fail spiritually.  Verse six says, He hath made me also a byword of the people; and aforetime I was as a tabret. Job said that his friends were using him as an example of God's punishment of the wicked, whereas beforehand they had used him as an example of God's blessing on the righteous.  That is the problem with exalting people as great examples of faith based on material possessions.  Verse seven says, Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow, and all my members are as a shadow.  Job said that sorrow had dimmed his eyes and he was but a shadow of what he had been.  Still, he didn't believe that he had committed some great sin that was causing his suffering.  Verse seven says, Upright men shall be astonied at this, and the innocent shall stir up himself against the hypocrite.  Job declared that even the upright, those who were honestly trying to follow God, would be astonished by Job's words of innocence, and the hypocrites would be stirred to speak out against Him.  Sometimes, if God's truth seems to go against what we believe, we may be astonished that we are wrong.  If we have been and are being hypocritical, then we will naturally oppose this truth from God, because if we don't, then we have to acknowledge our own sinfulness.  Verse nine says, The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger.  Job said the righteous, those that God had made spiritually clean, should hang on to their faith, no matter what.  If we keep our faith in God, we will grow stronger and stronger spiritually, no matter what our physical condition might be.

Job 16:11 says, God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked.  Job was feeling that if God was not directly behind his suffering that God had at best turned him over to the ungodly and wicked.  I believe that we could say that this was true, but not for the reasons that Job may have understood.  I believe that Job was saying that God had done this because He felt that Job was guilty of some great sin and was punishing Job.  We need to understand that as followers of Christ that if we are suffering in life and we are living for God as faithfully as we can that God is not going to cause the suffering, but He may allow the suffering to come.  We can never look at our relationship with God from our physical or material standing in the world.  Verse twelve adds, I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark.  Job said that when he was at ease, his world was destroyed.  He had lost his wealth, his friends, his family and his health.  These were all blessings from God, and Job held God directly responsible for his lose of them.  When we, as followers of Christ become too at ease in the world, it is quite possible that our world can be shaken apart, but we need to make sure that we never become angry at God because of it.  Job felt that God was treating him unfairly, but we can be sure that God will never be unfair in His relationship with anyone, especially those His followers.  Verse thirteen continues, His archers compass me round about, he cleaveth my reins asunder, and doth not spare; he poureth out my gall upon the ground.  I believe that Job felt that God had in effect placed him in a place where everything and everyone seemed to be against him.  If we were to find ourselves in the same situation as Job, we might feel just as defeated as Job did.  Verse fourteen states, He breaketh me with breach upon breach, he runneth upon me like a giant.  Job felt that God was continually punishing him and that he was helpless before God.  Though we are certainly helpless before God, once we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord, we can be just as certain that God is never going to set out to destroy us.  If trouble comes into our lives, we need to remain even more faithful to God.  Verse fifteen adds, I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and defiled my horn in the dust.  I believe that Job was saying that he had repented and humbled himself before the world and God.  Even though Job knew he had done nothing to deserve what he saw as punishment from God, he did not stand in self-pride and defy God.  We should always be willing be the same way in our relationship to God.  In good times or bad, we need to humbly submit to God.  Verse sixteen continues, My face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death;  Job was truly heartbroken over his condition, because he felt separated from God.  I am sure the physical pain was great, but the spiritual pain was greater.  Verse seventeen says, Not for any injustice in mine hands: also my prayer is pure.  Job said that his repentance and tears were not because he had done any injustice, but because he still realized his position in relationship to God.  Verse eighteen adds, O earth, cover not thou my blood, and let my cry have no place.  I believe that Job was basically saying that nothing in the earth could point to injustice on his part.  He might never be seen as guiltless in this life, but that wasn't where his hope was.  Verse nineteen continues, Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high.  Job knew that his ultimate judgment was not in this world and the things of this world, but in heaven, where he knew he had a witness to the fact that he had been true to his faith in God.  We as followers of Christ know that He is our witness in heaven, and that the judgment of this world does not matter.  Verse twenty states, My friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God.  We, like Job, may be scorned by our friends, but our repentant hearts must always cry out to God.  Verse twenty-one adds, O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbour!  We know that we have an Advocate with God if we have accepted Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Job was looking ahead to the coming of that Advocate, but we know that He has already come, and we can put our faith in Him.  Verse twenty-two continues, When a few years are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not return.  Job knew that his time on this earth was limited and that when he died he would never return again.  We do not come back as something or someone else.  When the body dies, the spirit returns to God forever.  We just need to realize that it doesn't matter if we have accepted Christ or not, the soul lives on.  The souls of the saved and the sinner will go to be judged by God.

Job 16:1 says, Then Job answered and said, After listening, Job now responds.  He did not feel the need, or at least give in to the urge, to interrupt.  Verse two adds, I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all.  Job certainly had a point here.  His friends were indeed miserable comforters.  Basically, everything they said pointed to Job being a hypocrite and a sinner.  If we go to some who is suffering today, especially a Christian, we need to hope that we will be better at comforting them.  We really need to pray that we won't go to them condemning them as hypocrites or sinners.  Verse three continues, Shall vain words have an end? or what emboldeneth thee that thou answerest?  Job asked his friends if there would ever be an end to their vein, or empty and meaningless, words.  Job recognized that there was no truth to their words.  I believe that he knew this because he knew that his relationship with God was true.  If we are going to recognize when people are not speaking the truth about God, we must first have a relationship with God.  Job also asked why they felt emboldened to speak to him this way.  I believe that Job knew that what they were saying was not based on God's authority, so he wondered why they felt that they should so boldly condemn him.  If someone comes to us today condemning our actions as being sinful, especially if it is based on material things, we need to ask them by what authority they feel free to speak.  If we know that we are in a right relationship with God, then no one else has the authority, or right, to question it.  Verse four states, I also could speak as ye do: if your soul were in my soul’s stead, I could heap up words against you, and shake mine head at you.  Job said that if the roles were reversed, he could speak to them as they did to him.  He did not say that he would, but only that he could.  We need to recognize that we have the ability to judge people based on what we see going on in their lives, but we need to pray that we don't judge them based erroneous knowledge of their relationship with God.  Verse five adds, But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of my lips should asswage your grief.  Job told his friends that if he did speak to them if they were in his condition, that he would offer words of hope and encouragement to lessen their grief.  We need to feel the same way about those that we see in need.  As followers of Christ, we are not called to condemn, but to comfort and offer the hope of Christ to those we reach out to.  Verse six continues, Though I speak, my grief is not asswaged: and though I forbear, what am I eased?  Job said that talking about and even just enduring the pain brought him no relief.  Things are easier to endure if there is hope that they are going to get better, but Job had no such hope.  Verse seven declares, But now he hath made me weary: thou hast made desolate all my company.  Job still saw God as the direct cause of his problems, saying that He, or God, had made Job weary.  Job also said his friends had made him desolate, being condemned by them instead of being offered hope.  If someone today, especially a fellow believer, is feeling that somehow God has abandoned or is punishing them, we need to offer them encouragement and hope and not look for ways to question their faith.  Verse eight adds, And thou hast filled me with wrinkles, which is a witness against me: and my leanness rising up in me beareth witness to my face.  Job said that his physical condition might seemingly bear witness against him, but he maintained that it did not mean that he was spiritually impure.  Not only should our friends not judge us based on our physical condition, neither should we judge ourselves based on physical, or material, things.  Our relationship with God, or the spiritual, is all that matters.  Verse nine continues, He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me. I believe that Job felt that he was being torn apart by God's wrath on him.  He also felt that what his friends were doing was like gnashing at him in his misery.  Verse ten concludes, They have gaped upon me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together against me.  Job said that basically his friends were looking at him with reproach instead of empathy.  We need to be better friends to those around us who are suffering, looking to comfort and not to condemn.