“And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?” (Job 1:8)
Job was blameless. But since “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), how could he avoid bearing blame? His friend Bildad had the same question. He asked Job, “How then can man be justified with God?” (Job 25:4). Bildad assumed that Job based his self-proclaimed right standing with God on his own good works. It appears that blamelessness through God’s grace never entered Bildad’s mind.
According to God, however, Bildad and his two like-minded “miserable comforters” (Job 16:2) “have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath” (Job 42:7). The three men apparently thought that righteousness arises from behavior, not belief. But for God to see sinners as blameless, He must pardon them by grace alone.
Did Job believe blamelessness comes by faith and through a sacrifice? He did think his family’s sins required blood sacrifices, since he “rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all [10 children]” (Job 1:5). Good works don’t earn right standing before our holy God. Job must have trusted that God transfers sin and blame to an appropriate sacrifice, a promise that would be realized with the death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. After we believe, we find inspiration for right behavior from our newfound freedom in forgiveness.
God directed Job’s friends to “go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering” (Job 42:8). The Lord points out that belief in Him, not behavior, is our necessary source of blamelessness. Good behavior follows faith. BDT
Days of Praise Podcast is a podcast based on the Institute for Creation Research quarterly print devotional, Days of Praise. Start your day with devotional readings written by Dr. Henry Morris, Dr. Henry Morris III, Dr. John Morris, and others to strengthen and encourage you in your Christian faith.
