Job 18:13 | KingComments | STEP | Bildad continues his description of the fate which, in his opinion, afflicts the villain whose description clearly points to Job. The villain is surrounded by horror, which constantly frightens him ( ). He is skittish and lets himself be chased away by it. This consumes his strength, without having food to strengthen him ( ). Hunger torments him. Right next to him, “at his side”, “the calamity” is ready to charge him. The calamity is described as a person, as if it were a companion, someone who accompanies Job, but then as a kind of vulture, waiting for him to succumb in order to enjoy the meal. “The firstborn of death” means the most powerful of death ( ; cf. ; ). With this, Bildad says that Job has been beaten with the most terrible and devastating diseases that death has ever used to make a man his prey. These diseases tear the skin of Job to pieces and devour his limbs. In his painting of the fate of the wicked, we see a word artist in Bildad. However, his choice of words also shows a cruelty that is hard to surpass, to say all this as a satirical weapon against the intensely and innocently suffering Job. And he hasn’t finished speaking yet. The sins he assumes with Job are the cause that his confidence in a happy home life has been torn away ( ). It was a false trust, for there were hidden sins. That is why he is now on his way to death, called by Bildad, again with great rhetoric, “the king of terrors”. That may be so for Bildad, but for Job death does not mean terror, as we have seen before. For us, too, the fear of death has been taken away, because the Lord Jesus has rendered “powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil” ( ). Where Job dwelled, now something else dwells ( ). We can think of hunger, poverty and other things that did not belong to him when he lived there in prosperity and well-being. His dwelling will remain an uninhabitable place for people. Brimstone is scattered on his dwelling place. It is an eternal condemnation, just as it came upon Sodom and Gomorrah ( ; ).

‏ Job 18:13

Terror, Disease and Death

Bildad continues his description of the fate which, in his opinion, afflicts the villain whose description clearly points to Job. The villain is surrounded by horror, which constantly frightens him (Job 18:11). He is skittish and lets himself be chased away by it. This consumes his strength, without having food to strengthen him (Job 18:12). Hunger torments him. Right next to him, “at his side”, “the calamity” is ready to charge him. The calamity is described as a person, as if it were a companion, someone who accompanies Job, but then as a kind of vulture, waiting for him to succumb in order to enjoy the meal.

“The firstborn of death” means the most powerful of death (Job 18:13; cf. Psa 78:51; Gen 49:3). With this, Bildad says that Job has been beaten with the most terrible and devastating diseases that death has ever used to make a man his prey. These diseases tear the skin of Job to pieces and devour his limbs. In his painting of the fate of the wicked, we see a word artist in Bildad. However, his choice of words also shows a cruelty that is hard to surpass, to say all this as a satirical weapon against the intensely and innocently suffering Job.

And he hasn’t finished speaking yet. The sins he assumes with Job are the cause that his confidence in a happy home life has been torn away (Job 18:14). It was a false trust, for there were hidden sins. That is why he is now on his way to death, called by Bildad, again with great rhetoric, “the king of terrors”. That may be so for Bildad, but for Job death does not mean terror, as we have seen before. For us, too, the fear of death has been taken away, because the Lord Jesus has rendered “powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb 2:14).

Where Job dwelled, now something else dwells (Job 18:15). We can think of hunger, poverty and other things that did not belong to him when he lived there in prosperity and well-being. His dwelling will remain an uninhabitable place for people. Brimstone is scattered on his dwelling place. It is an eternal condemnation, just as it came upon Sodom and Gomorrah (Deu 29:23; Gen 19:24).