Job 8:8-10

Ancient advice can be good. But it can sometimes be wrong. Job was not suffering for any evil deed. And Job’s problem was not that he failed to pray. (See Job 1:5 and Job 1:20.) Job was suffering because the devil opposed him.

People who do not obey God are hopeless

v11 Plants that grow near the river need plentiful water. Otherwise, they become dry quickly. v12 You do not need to cut those plants. Without water, they will die more quickly than grass. v13 If people do not obey God, they will die like those plants. Such people are hopeless.

v14 Such a person thinks that he trusts in good things. But he is wrong. He is like someone who leans on a spider’s web. (A spider is like an insect. A spider makes a net, called a web, from silk.) v15 If someone leans on a spider’s web, the web breaks. If someone grasps the web, the web breaks.

v16 The person who does not obey God, is like a plant. This plant has plentiful water. And the plant is in the sunshine. So, the plant grows well in the garden. v17 The plant’s roots descend to the rocks. v18 But if someone tears the plant out of the garden, the plant will die. Such a plant has no place in the garden. v19 That plant can only hope that other plants will grow there.