Job 25:6: “How much less man, who is a maggot, / And a son of man, who is a worm?”

December 20th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

The more Job lamented, the more his counselors pointed their fingers at him, accusing him of hiding secret sins. Nevertheless, in the face of all their condemnation, Job continued to claim his innocence. Bildad once again spoke about the sinfulness of humanity, saying that man is unholy and insignificant before the God who created the cosmos. In one sense Bildad is correct, as confirmed by the New Testament: “There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God” (Rom. 3:10–11). God is pure and humanity is not. Bildad was correct in thinking that man could not make himself righteous. All attempts at personal righteousness are rejected by God because man has no righteousness within himself, and his every motive is tainted by selfishness. But what Bildad didn’t understand was the father-heart of God toward humanity.

It makes perfect human sense that God wouldn’t care about puny little, fallen man, but God is not human. Although He could, God does not look at mankind as worms, but as people with potential, who have been made in His image (Gen. 1:27). What happens to people, to you and to me, does matter to God, because He cares deeply about each one of us. Bildad missed this simple but weighty concept: people matter to God. In fact, we matter so much to God that He provided for us, through the perfect God-man Jesus, what we could not provide for ourselves: the great exchange of Jesus’ righteousness for our filthy rags, which He accomplished on the cross.

This is a characteristic of God’s nature that is worthy of our musing and consideration. More than we matter to our friends, our family, or anyone else, we matter to God, who loves us more than we will ever be able to comprehend. God knows what we’re capable of, and He offers us the strength and support to accomplish every good thing He’s planned for us to do this day. We need to bask in that.

“We thank You in advance, LORD, for Your lovingkindness today.”

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Job 25 KJV

¹ Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, ² Dominion and fear are with him, he maketh peace in his high places. ³ Is there any number of his armies? and upon whom doth not his light arise? ⁴ How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman? ⁵ Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight. ⁶ How much less man, that is a worm? and the son of man, which is a worm?