Job 18:17-21: a reflection

17His memory will perish from the earth. He will have no name in the street. 18He will be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world. 19He will have neither son nor grandson among his people, nor any remaining where he lived. 20Those who come after will be astonished at his day, as those who went before were frightened. 21Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous. This is the place of him who doesn’t know God.”

In this speech, Bildad, one of Job's friends, describes in harsh terms the fate of the wicked, how their memory perishes and they are driven from light into darkness, and clearly means it as a description of Job in his suffering. Such are the dwellings of the unrighteous, he concludes; this is the place of him who does not know God. Bildad assumes that Job's suffering proves him wicked, and pronounces a harsh condemnation over his suffering friend. But we know from the book that Job was not being punished for wickedness; Bildad's confident condemnation was wrong. This is a warning against being quick to pronounce condemnation over those who suffer, assuming their suffering proves their guilt. Bildad wrongly condemned his suffering friend. Do not assume suffering proves guilt, as Bildad did. Quick condemnation of the suffering can be badly wrong. Bildad's confident judgment over Job was mistaken.

Notice the error in Bildad's confident condemnation. He describes the terrible fate of the wicked, their memory perishing, their being driven into darkness, and applies it pointedly to Job, assuming that Job's suffering must be proof of his wickedness. But Bildad was wrong. The book of Job makes clear that Job was not suffering because he was wicked; Bildad's confident judgment over his suffering friend was mistaken and unkind. This is a real warning for us. We can be quick to assume that those who suffer must have brought it on themselves, that suffering is proof of guilt or of God's punishment, and pronounce our judgments over them as Bildad did. But this assumption is often wrong, and such condemnation adds cruelty to suffering. We do better to come alongside the suffering with compassion than to pronounce confident judgments about why they suffer. Suffering is not always proof of guilt, and we should be slow to condemn. Do not assume the suffering are being punished; do not add condemnation to their pain. Come alongside the suffering with compassion, not confident judgment. Be slow to pronounce judgment over why others suffer.

That is worth taking to heart, for suffering is not always proof of guilt, and we should be slow to pronounce condemnation over those who suffer, as Bildad wrongly condemned Job. We can assume that those who suffer must have brought it on themselves, that their suffering proves their guilt, and pronounce our judgments over them; but Bildad, assuming Job's suffering proved him wicked, was mistaken, for Job was not being punished for wickedness. Such confident condemnation adds cruelty to suffering. When you meet someone who suffers, do not assume their guilt or pronounce judgment; come alongside them with compassion. Be slow to pronounce condemnation over those who suffer, not assuming their suffering proves their guilt, as Bildad harshly described the fate of the wicked and applied it to his suffering friend Job, concluding that such was the place of him who does not know God, though Job was not being punished for wickedness and Bildad's confident judgment was wrong; for we can be quick to assume that those who suffer have brought it on themselves, that suffering is proof of guilt or of God's punishment, and pronounce our judgments over them as Bildad did, but this assumption is often mistaken and adds cruelty to pain, so that we do better to come alongside the suffering with compassion than to pronounce confident judgments over why they suffer.

Lord, in this speech, Bildad, one of Job's friends, describes in harsh terms the fate of the wicked, how their memory perishes and they are driven from light into darkness, and clearly means it as a description of Job in his suffering. Such are the dwellings of the unrighteous, he concludes; this is the place of him who does not know God. Bildad assumes that Job's suffering proves him wicked, and pronounces a harsh condemnation over his suffering friend. But we know from the book that Job was not being punished for wickedness; Bildad's confident condemnation was wrong. This is a warning against being quick to pronounce condemnation over those who suffer, assuming their suffering proves their guilt. Show me the error in Bildad's confident condemnation. He describes the terrible fate of the wicked and applies it pointedly to Job, assuming that Job's suffering must be proof of his wickedness. But Bildad was wrong. Job was not suffering because he was wicked; Bildad's confident judgment over his suffering friend was mistaken and unkind. This is a real warning for me. I can be quick to assume that those who suffer must have brought it on themselves, that suffering is proof of guilt, and pronounce my judgments over them as Bildad did. But this assumption is often wrong, and such condemnation adds cruelty to suffering. I do better to come alongside the suffering with compassion than to pronounce confident judgments about why they suffer. Take that to my heart, for suffering is not always proof of guilt, and I should be slow to condemn. When I meet someone who suffers, keep me from assuming their guilt or pronouncing judgment; help me come alongside them with compassion, Lord, being slow to pronounce condemnation over why others suffer, as I remember how wrongly Bildad condemned his suffering friend Job.