現在比勒達開始對約伯進行第二回合的撻伐，依比勒達之見，惡人的光終要熄滅，他自陷於各種網羅，疾病吞沒他，親人也會見棄。比勒達的指控雖然天衣無縫，但他的理論卻是錯的──這個事實約伯很快就指出來了，約伯回答他這個毫無憐憫心懷的朋友說，他知道上帝的手掌理他遭遇的每一件事上，雖遭親友遺棄，妻子擯棄，憐憫似乎無處可尋，但約伯深陷絕望的深淵中時，他的信心被他肯定的宣布再度點燃，他說：「我必在肉體之外得見上帝」（19：26）。

        這個月裡，你讀到最好的一本書是什麼？今年呢？今生呢？
        你或許可以用一天的時間想一想書本對你一生的影響（當然每一天要用一段時間來讀書中之書，聖經！）書本給你智慧，給你鼓舞，給你知識，給你挑戰！透過書本，你會進入作者的心靈世界，對上帝廣大的創造，和人類精神的層次有新的體認。
        當使徒保羅身陷羅馬地牢時，他只有兩個要求：其一，一件禦寒的外衣；其二，他的精神糧食──書本！（提後4：13）如果你還沒有養成讀好書的習慣，今天就開始吧！何妨就到附近的基督教書房看看，它會啟開一個新鮮寬濶的知識、思想的領域，供你每日與上帝來往同行。也許你正好碰到一兩本書，對你大有助益也不一定。

        約伯的苦難──典型的受苦個案
        想到上帝與他隔離，約伯不禁崩潰的哭喊：「惟願我的言語，現在寫上，都記錄在書上，用鐵筆鐫刻，用鉛灌在盤石上！」（19：23，24）請翻開馬太福音五章十八節，你就會發現約伯的願望是合情合理的！

一個讀好書的人，不會勝過不能讀好書的人。

English

        Bildad now launches his second volley of barbs at Job. According to Bildad, the light of the wicked goes out, he is ensnared in various traps, disease consumes him, and his family forsakes him. Bildad's elocution is flawless, but his theology is faulty—a fact which Job quickly points out. Responding to his unsympathetic friend, Job acknowledges that God has had a hand in the things that have befallen him. His friends and family have failed him; even his wife has spurned him; mercy is seemingly nowhere to be found. But just when Job reaches the depths of despair, his faith is rekindled as he proclaims the certainty that "yet in my flesh shall I see God" (19:26).

        What is the best book you've read this month? This year? In your lifetime?
        You may never spend a day when your life is not affected by books. (And surely every day should include time with the Book of Books, the Bible!) Books can fortify you, stimulate you, inform you, and challenge you. Through them you can vicariously enter into the experience of the author, gaining a fresh, new perspective on the vastness of God's creation and the depths of the human spirit.
        When the Apostle Paul found himself in a Roman dun¬geon, he made two requests: (1) for a cloak to warm his body, and (2) for books to feed his mind and soul (2 Timothy 4:13). If you have not already cultivated the habit of reading good books, start today. A visit to your local Christian bookstore will open a new horizon of information and inspiration for your daily walk with God. Who knows? You might even find a "blest seller" or two!

        Job's Suffering—
        A Textbook Case Broken down by the thought of his alienation from God and man alike, Job cries out, "Oh that my words were now written! Oh that they were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!" (19:23-24). Turn to Matthew 5:18, and you'll see that Job's wish was granted!

The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them.