Day 1,119: Job 18- Hell Is Real

 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:
2 “How long will you hunt for words?
    Consider, and then we will speak.

3 Why are we counted as cattle?
    Why are we stupid in your sight?

4 You who tear yourself in your anger,
    shall the earth be forsaken for you,
    or the rock be removed out of its place?
 
5 “Indeed, the light of the wicked is put out,
    and the flame of his fire does not shine.

6 The light is dark in his tent,
    and his lamp above him is put out.

7 His strong steps are shortened,
    and his own schemes throw him down.

8 For he is cast into a net by his own feet,
    and he walks on its mesh.

9 A trap seizes him by the heel;
    a snare lays hold of him.

10 A rope is hidden for him in the ground,
    a trap for him in the path.

11 Terrors frighten him on every side,
    and chase him at his heels.

12 His strength is famished,
    and calamity is ready for his stumbling.

13 It consumes the parts of his skin;
    the firstborn of death consumes his limbs.

14 He is torn from the tent in which he trusted
    and is brought to the king of terrors.

15 In his tent dwells that which is none of his;
    sulfur is scattered over his habitation.

16 His roots dry up beneath,
    and his branches wither above.

17 His memory perishes from the earth,
    and he has no name in the street.

18 He is thrust from light into darkness,
    and driven out of the world.

19 He has no posterity or progeny among his people,
    and no survivor where he used to live.

20 They of the west are appalled at his day,
    and horror seizes them of the east.

21 Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous,
    such is the place of him who knows not God.”
 
Meditation
Jesus talked about hell more than any other person in the Bible, even described as “the greatest theologian of hell.” Hell is real, the default destination for everyone who does not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Jesus can rescue believers from hell because He endured hell in His death to lovingly offer the abundant life of heaven.
 
Bildad’s second speech is an exceptional exposition on hell with horrible application, displaying the danger of misunderstanding the gospel. Bildad pontificates about “the place of him who knows not God” (21), a place of total darkness (5-6), inexorable punishment (7-10), and total terror (11-14), desolation (15-16), and separation from the world of light and life (17-20).  Hell is a horrible reality awaiting people who do not know God.
 
Bildad is convinced Job’s suffering is evidence he is on path to Hell. Bildad’s angry and defensive reply (1-4) is reacting to Job’s claim of innocence in suffering. Bildad’s moralism can only equate suffering with people who deserve it. There is no category in Bildad’s theology of a blameless and upright person (1:1, 8; 2:3) enduring the pains of suffering. Self-righteous people cannot understand gospel suffering.
 
Job points to Jesus as the truly blameless and upright person who endured hell in our place so we, by faith alone, can experience the abundant life of Heaven. Jesus took “the place of him who knows not God” (2 Corinthians 5:21) so that by His grace believers can know God personally and enjoy Him forever.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What do you think of Bildad’s descriptions of hell?
 
-Why is his application so dangerous, going to the conclusion of his moralistic framework?
 
-How does this amplify the power of the gospel, highlighting what Christ endured for us so that we can know the abundant life of Heaven through Him? Look at Bildad’s descriptions of hell. Yes, Jesus endured all of that for you SO THAT you can be restored in relationship with God!
 
Key Verses
21 Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous, such is the place of him who knows not God.”