Job 8: Group Study Handout

Overview

In Job chapter 8, Bildad the Shuhite speaks for the first time, responding to Job's complaints about his suffering. Bildad is unwavering in his conviction that suffering is a result of sin and that Job's children must have sinned to warrant their deaths. He urges Job to repent and seek God's favor, assuring him that God will restore his fortunes if he turns back to righteousness.

Key verse

“Behold, God will not cast away a blameless man, neither will he uphold the evildoers.”

Job 8:20 (WEB)

Outline

1. Job 8:1–2 Bildad's Response Begins
2. Job 8:3–4 Justice and Sin
3. Job 8:5–7 Call for Repentance
4. Job 8:8–10 Wisdom from Ancestors
5. Job 8:11–12 Metaphor of Growth
6. Job 8:13–15 The Fate of the Godless
7. Job 8:16–22 Hope for the Blameless

Discussion questions

1. In v2, what does Bildad compare Job's words to?
2. What does Bildad imply about Job's children in v4?
3. Bildad's assertion about God's justice in v20: how does this connect to his advice for Job?
4. The imagery of the godless man's hope in vv. 13-14: what does it suggest about Bildad's view of faith?
5. When have you felt your trust was misplaced, as Bildad describes in v14?

Go deeper

Passages that echo Job 8: Job 42, Zechariah 4, Matthew 13.

Before next time: read Job 9.