If the scourge slay suddenly, he will laugh at the trial of the innocent.
Job's reply to Bildad places the statement within his wrestling with overruling providence and with sin and suffering. That setting is God disciplining Job by bringing him through the fire of affliction while his three friends charge him with sin and declare his sufferings are because of sin. The exchange exposes how prone humanity is to misjudge fellow sufferers in the same way as the friends did.
It speaks of sudden calamity striking and killing, while the one who judges the innocent appears to treat their ordeal with indifference. Afflictions are therefore no proof of sin, for suffering is not a general rule proving God's displeasure, and a person may suffer while upright. In the book's wider discussion of human suffering, such suffering can ultimately serve God's purposes and become a comfort and hope to others.
Job's reply to Bildad places the statement within his wrestling with overruling providence and with sin and suffering. That setting is God disciplining Job by bringing him through the fire of affliction while his three friends charge him with sin and declare his sufferings are because of sin. The exchange exposes how prone humanity is to misjudge fellow sufferers in the same way as the friends did.
It speaks of sudden calamity striking and killing, while the one who judges the innocent appears to treat their ordeal with indifference. Afflictions are therefore no proof of sin, for suffering is not a general rule proving God's displeasure, and a person may suffer while upright. In the book's wider discussion of human suffering, such suffering can ultimately serve God's purposes and become a comfort and hope to others.