Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

The hostility of his detractors is primary in Job 17. Job views them as having closed minds. He again describes the problems caused by his health issues. His grief is intense. He still has dreams, but the hope is difficult to see.

Bildad does not understand why his friend views him as ignorant and refuses to listen to them. He answers his own question in chapter 18, by commenting that God would snuff out the life of the wicked. Job has not died. Jehovah must therefore not believe him to be evil. Bildad’s list of things that would happen to the wicked is long. He seems not to notice the number of items on this list that do not apply to Job.

Job replies to him in chapter 19 when he says that their words have crushed him. He does not need one more thing that adds to his discomfort. Once again, he voices that he has been wronged by God. That is not true. Yahweh has not been the one that caused his family and friends to desert him. In spite of his feeling that God is against him, he still declares that his redeemer lives and his life will be redeemed.

Zophar speaks again in chapter 20. Pride is a fault he attributes to the godless. According to his faith, this includes his friend who has had such misfortune. He speaks of the wealth and plenty of the wicked but does not remember that all of Job’s wealth is gone. If God destroys those he has rejected, why is Job still alive?

©Copyright 2019 by Charles Kensinger