Job chapter 12
Job’s friends are very impressed with their own intelligence. And Job has become a laughingstock. Nonetheless, he speaks of the greatness of God.
JOB SPEAKS OF THE GREATNESS OF GOD
VERSE 1. Then Job answered,
VERSE 2. “No doubt, but you are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.
wisdom shall die with you. Job’s “friends” are profoundly self-centered. They are deeply impressed with themselves.
In this verse, Job says they think they are so intelligent that when they die, all wisdom will be gone.
VERSE 3. But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Yes, who doesn’t know such things as these?
I am not inferior to you. Job stands up for himself.
VERSE 4. I am like one who is a joke to his neighbor, I, who called on God, and he answered. The just, the blameless man is a joke.
I am like one who is a joke. Job has become a laughingstock.
VERSE 5. In the thought of him who is at ease there is contempt for misfortune. It is ready for them whose foot slips.
VERSE 6. The tents of robbers prosper. Those who provoke God are secure, who carry their God in their hands.
Job’s friends say if you suffer, it is because you had sinned.
In this verse, Job provides two examples to demonstrate that they are wrong. Completely wrong.
Example 1: The tents of robbers prosper. If sin causes suffering, then why do robbers not suffer? Why do they become wealthy?
Example 2: Those who provoke God. If sin causes suffering, why do God’s enemies not suffer? Why do they prosper?
The evidence is on the side of what Job is saying. Empirically, Job’s “friends” are completely wrong.
VERSE 7. “But ask the animals, now, and they shall teach you; the birds of the sky, and they shall tell you.
VERSE 8. Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach you. The fish of the sea shall declare to you.
VERSE 9. Who doesn’t know that in all these, the LORD’s hand has done this,
the LORD’s hand has done this. That is, calamities come from God.
Calamities are not necessarily due to your own sin.
VERSE 10. in whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind?
in whose hand is the life of every living thing. In God’s hand is every life.
VERSE 11. Doesn’t the ear try words, even as the palate tastes its food?
VERSE 12. With aged men is wisdom, in length of days understanding.
VERSE 13. “With God is wisdom and might. He has counsel and understanding.
VERSE 14. Behold, he breaks down, and it can’t be built again. He imprisons a man, and there can be no release.
VERSE 15. Behold, he withholds the waters, and they dry up. Again, he sends them out, and they overturn the earth.
VERSE 16. With him is strength and wisdom. The deceived and the deceiver are his.
VERSE 17. He leads counselors away stripped. He makes judges fools.
He leads counselors away stripped. Job might be referring to his three “friends.” They are posing as counselors.
VERSE 18. He loosens the bond of kings. He binds their waist with a belt.
VERSE 19. He leads priests away stripped, and overthrows the mighty.
VERSE 20. He removes the speech of those who are trusted, and takes away the understanding of the elders.
VERSE 21. He pours contempt on princes, and loosens the belt of the strong.
VERSE 22. He uncovers deep things out of darkness, and brings out to light the shadow of death.
out of darkness. Many things are hidden from us humans. Effectively, they are veiled in darkness.
However, the LORD God can easily shine light on them and unveil them for us.
VERSE 23. He increases the nations, and he destroys them. He enlarges the nations, and he leads them captive.
VERSE 24. He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth, and causes them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.
VERSE 25. They grope in the dark without light. He makes them stagger like a drunken man.
JOB
CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42
RESOURCES: Summary, Outline, Memorize, Job’s Dark Night
Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.