By Job 8:1–4 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied: “How long will you say such things? Your words are a blustering wind. Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right? When your children sinned against him, he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.
If you don’t recall; all of Job’s children were killed by Satan because of the incitement that happened in heaven. Job has been afflicted now by Satan and is surrounded by his friends that have come to comfort him. He is hardly recognizable, covered in festering sores, and is scraping himself with broken pieces of pottery. His friends have begun to tell Job that he is being afflicted because of some sin in Job’s life. Job admits that he could not stand in the judgement court of God completely innocent, but does not know what sin is causing this current suffering.
Is it true that Job’s children were killed because God gave them over to the penalty of their sin? Is it true that Job’s children were sinful? Regardless of your answer to those two question, is it right of a friend to say such a thing? If a mother looses her 10 year old girl in an automobile accident, is it right of you to tell her that her daughter is gone because God gave her over to the penalty of her sin? Could it be true that the girl has sinned? Yes–Is it true that all people on earth sin and deserve God’s sentence of death and judgement? Yes–But is it our duty to say all things that might be true just because they are true? Or are there times to just restrain your mouth and give the dear woman a hug?
These are hard things in the book of Job.
Leading Family Devotions 