Job 26:1 - Meaning and Application

One would not have expected Job, in so much pain and misery, to talk back to his friend as he does here and make a kind of joke out of his weak speech. Bildad thought he had given a strong, impressive speech, so weighty and polished that he had earned the reputation of both a wise man and a fine speaker. But Job, sharply enough, shows that it was not as valuable as Bildad imagined, and he mocks it.

First, Job says there was nothing great in what Bildad said (Job 26:3). “How have you helped one who has no power?” he asks, and the question is meant with irony. Bildad thought he had spoken very clearly and had “explained the matter well.” He was very pleased with his own ideas, as people often are, and assumed only his view was right and clear. Yet when we speak about the glory of God, we cannot explain things fully as they are. We see only partly, like looking through a dim glass, and we will not see him as he is until we reach heaven. Here we cannot fully arrange our words about him (Job 37:19).

Bildad also thought he had spoken at great length, even though he used few words, as if he had covered the matter fully. But in truth, his words were thin and small compared with the greatness and richness of the subject. Job’s point is plain: much sound does not mean much substance.

Second, Job says there was little use in what Bildad said. What good did all that speaking do? How did it help the weak, or instruct the one without wisdom? (Job 26:2-3). Job means that Bildad had done no service to God, no service to his own cause, and no service to Job. We do have a duty to speak for God, and it is an honor to do so. But we must not think God needs our help, or owes us anything for it. He does not accept speech that comes from a quarrelsome spirit instead of a sincere desire for his glory.

Bildad also did his own cause no real favor. He may have thought his friends owed him a great debt for helping them argue against Job when they were at a loss and felt weak and foolish. But even weak debaters, when stirred up, often think truth depends more on them than it really does. Job also says Bildad had done him no good. He had claimed to instruct, correct, and comfort him, but his words were not suited to the situation. They would not fix Job’s errors, help him bear his suffering, or lead him to gain anything good from it.

“So to whom did you speak?” Job asks (Job 26:4). Was it really to me? Do you think I am a child who needs that kind of lesson? Or do you think those words fit a man in my condition? Not everything that is true and good is also timely or fitting. A person crushed by grief and sorrow, as Job was, needed to hear of God’s grace and mercy more than of his greatness and majesty. He needed comfort more than threats from the Almighty.

Christ knows how to speak the right word to the weary (Isaiah 50:4), and his ministers should learn to handle God’s word rightly, giving each person what fits. They must not make sad the ones whom God does not mean to grieve, as Bildad did. So Job asks, “Whose spirit came from you?” In other words, what troubled soul would ever be refreshed, helped, and brought back to strength by such speech? We are often disappointed by friends who should comfort us, but the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, never misses his purpose or gets his work wrong.