Daily Devotional | Bildad: Men Are Maggots

In a court trial, each lawyer is given the opportunity to make a closing argument before judge and jury. In the same way, in chapter 25 of Job, we hear a final speech from Bildad. He starts out strong, proclaiming: “Dominion and awe belong to God” (v. 2). In verses 3 and 4 he continues by asking profound questions. If he had ended after verse 4, we would feel compelled to join him, declaring: There is nobody like our God!

But unfortunately, Bildad kept talking. Verses 5 and 6 exposed his skewed view of humanity. Bildad compared men and women to maggots; a human being to a worm. These derogatory statements were directed at Job, who was in poor physical condition. Bildad was trying to put Job in his place.

In his commentary, Tremper Longman contrasts Bildad’s view with the psalms: “The psalmist is moved to reflect on the dignity of humanity by saying: ‘You have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas’ (Psalm 8:5–8 NRSV).”

Bildad had forgotten that God created humans in His own image. Scripture states, “So God created mankind in his own image” (Gen. 1:27). While it is true that God’s image in humanity has been marred by sin, we are not maggots. We are given worth and dignity by our Creator.

In verse 4, Bildad asked, “How then can a mortal be righteous before God?” The answer is we are made righteous by placing faith in the Person and work of Jesus Christ.