Job 8

Job 8:20 Behold, God will not cast away the blameless, Nor will He uphold the evildoers.

We have an interesting chapter here. The general consensus seems to be that bad things are happening to Job because he did something wrong. His friend, Bildad, explains his case before Job. Unlike the other friends, Bildad offers a glimmer of hope for Job. He tells Job simply to stop being a hypocrite, to be blameless, to repent, and God will restore him. The problem with this advice can be seen very easily.

Bildad told Job to be blameless, and one day, he would be able to laugh again. The problem is, Bildad was not blameless himself. In fact, Bildad, not being blameless also made him a hypocrite. We can all walk up to someone and say, "Be blameless and God will bless you." The fact is, our blessing is found in the grace of God rather than the righteousness of God. Our relationship begins first with God's grace, and only then can we experience His righteousness. To try to experience God's righteousness without grace is surely to condemn yourself to death. Only through the blood of Jesus can one have relationship with the Almighty. The blood of Jesus is grace poured out upon us.

Sure, Job could probably repent about a thing or two, but so could Bildad. There was a far greater thing happening here and that thing was God's plan. Soon and very soon, God's grace would prevail.