How then can mankind be righteous with God?
Or how can anyone who is born of woman be pure? (Job 25:4)

Bildad and Job rebuke each other in these chapters. Bildad asserts that no one is righteous before God. Job acknowledges God’s greatness but argues that there is no point in doing good.

Behold, these are the fringes of His ways;
And how faint a word we hear of Him!
But His mighty thunder, who can understand? (Job 26:14)

Job understands that God is mighty, but he seeks an answer. From his point of view, God does not speak—and even if He does, no one can understand Him. Job seems frustrated that he cannot comprehend God. When it comes to righteousness, he did everything he believed God required. Yet everything has been taken away. Job is mocked and ridiculed. His closest friends accuse him of wrongdoing. His wife and his servants despise him.

When the law was given, the Israelites tried to follow it outwardly, but their hearts were far from God. The law opposed everything that humans are naturally inclined to do—such as making and serving idols, theft, murder, and sexual immorality. Keeping the law goes against our human nature. Most people serve idols, believing they will bring prosperity on earth. When disasters strike, they quickly abandon one idol and turn to another. We often assume that people in the modern world make rational decisions based on reason and science, but in reality, they are no different from the Israelites in the wilderness.

The law does not make us righteous before God. The law was given so that we would understand that we cannot live by keeping the law. Even if there is someone who keeps the law perfectly, he is not righteous because righteousness requires the knowledge of God. Therefore, it is absurd to say that Adam and Eve were righteous. They were blameless like Job was. But they did not understand God like Job didn’t. Righteousness that we have in Christ is true righteousness because we understand why God has sent Christ to die and resurrect for us.

People go to churches but are not satisfied because they are confused. The Book of Job explains why people feel void even when they do all the right things that their church leaders have taught them. Interestingly, church leaders mention the Book of Job when others go through difficult times in their lives. The Book of Job is not about regaining prosperity after trials. People only mention Job’s happy ending in the last chapter. Likewise, the books of Ruth and Job are sometimes used to give people false hope that their suffering will be followed by earthly rewards. But neither Ruth nor Job received blessings as a direct result of their good deeds. It is misleading to use these books to assure people that everything will turn out well. In fact, no one will be “alright” when Christ returns if their hope is in the works/law. Both books are wisdom books, giving us insight into why God has made the world and what His plan is.

No one has seen God at any time; God the only Son, who is in the arms of the Father, He has explained Him. (John 1:18)