He is a Christian. He lives an upright life, as far as we can see. All was well with him until last week, when his wife and son were killed in an accident. What do you say to him? What do you say if you believe there is a just God who is in control of the world?

Bildad gives us one answer. Listen carefully to it, because it looks as if it should be true. Bildad is speaking to an upright man (Job 1:1), to whom a series of terrible things has happened. Job says he doesn't deserve it, but Bildad says he does. In Job 8:2-4, Bildad asserts that God would never do anything unjust. It follows that when Job's children died, they deserved it (v. 4).

So, what is Job to do? In verses 5-7, Bildad appeals to him, in beautiful words, that if he seeks God and lives an ″upright″ life (v. 6), then all will go well with him again.

Bildad is sure that only good things happen to good people; if bad things happen, it proves that someone is bad. If Job doubts this, he should listen to verses 8-19. Here, Bildad insists that what he teaches has been known for a long time (vv. 8-10). In nature, there is a simple law: water leads to growth, and no water leads to no growth (vv. 11-12). In the same way, goodness leads to blessing, and badness to curse. This is why people who forget God have such a hard time (vv. 13-19). Even if things go well with them, they won't last.

In verses 20-22, Bildad ends his appeal with the conclusion: if Job is really blameless, then God will give him laughter, joy, and victory. His message is simple and clear: ″Job, you must have deserved these bad things that have happened to you. God is always fair. So you need to plead urgently with God and try to be good and upright (which you obviously haven't been), and then hope that things will get better again.

What should we make of Job's friends? Are they right or wrong, good or bad, or a mixture? Job 42:7 is a key verse that will help us work this out. God says they didn't speak correctly! Even if some of what they say may be right (and it is), the big message is badly wrong. So, we need to ask about Bildad (as about Eliphaz and Zophar): What was wrong with what he said?