Sunday Sermonette: The Comfort Hits Absolute Zero

MacLeish in J.B. casts Bildad as a priest, which seems about right. He tells Job, whose 10 children have just been murdered by God on a bet with Satan, that they must have done something to deserve it; and that Job himself must deserve his own fate. He insists that God is just. (BTW he is not called Yahweh in the Book of Job, but the Almighty, as reflected in the translation.) If you ' ve been reading the Bible so far, you know that isn ' t true. What a thing to say to someone whose children have all just been killed. 8 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:2 “How long will you say such things?    Your words are a blustering wind.3 Does God pervert justice?    Does the Almighty pervert what is right?4 When your children sinned against him,    he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.5 But if you will seek God earnestly    and plead with the Almighty,6 if you are pure and upright,    even now he will rouse himself on your behalf    and restore you to your prosperous state.7 Your beginnings will seem humble,    so prosperous will your future be.8 “Ask the former generation    and find out what their ancestors learned,9 for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,    and our days on earth are but a shadow.10 Will they not instruct you ...
Source: Stayin' Alive - Category: American Health Source Type: blogs