Hello readers! Today’s Bible Study is on Job 12 – Job Answers His Critics. According to Bible scholars, the events of the book of Job took place approximately before 2100 B.C.
I encourage you to turn to Job 12 in your Bible. Kindly invite the Holy Spirit to guide you as you read and study Job 12 with me. I mention this in all the Bible Studies because it is through the Holy Spirit that we get fresh revelation and knowledge to understand the word of God better. I am using the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible, just in case you are curious. All the scriptures that you find highlighted in purple in this post are from the NKJV.
In the Bible Study on Job 11, we read about Zophar criticising and rebuking Job, thereby urging him to repent, so that, he could be delivered from his illness and trial. Well, in this Bible study on Job 12, we will read about Job answering his friends’ criticism of him.
Without any further delay, let us begin the Bible Study on Job 12, shall we?
Job Answers His Friends
1 Then Job answered and said:
2 “No doubt you are the people,
And wisdom will die with you!
3 But I have understanding as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Indeed, who does not know such things as these?
In Verses 1-3 of Job 12, Job answers his friends (mainly in response to Zophar, who in Job 11, rebuked Job) and told them that they speak as if they have more wisdom among the people of the earth about the things of God. He further tells that his understanding about God is not inferior than theirs (his friends) and that he is not inferior to them. And he said that all the things which his friends have spoken about God is common knowledge and every man knows those things about God. In short, it does not require special wisdom to know the things about God that Bildad, Eliphaz, and Zophar have told Job until now.
The Just And The Blameless Face Ridicule
4 “I am one mocked by his friends,
Who called on God, and He answered him,
The just and blameless who is ridiculed.
5 A lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease;
It is made ready for those whose feet slip.
6 The tents of robbers prosper,
And those who provoke God are secure—
In what God provides by His hand.
In Verse 4 of Job 12, Job talks about how his friends have mocked at him and his words regarding his trial and illness. They mocked at Job as one who called on God and got his answer. Although Job is just and without blame his friends ridiculed and mocked him for his suffering.
In Verse 5 of Job 12, Job continues to tell how a lamp (fire) is despised by somehow who does not have any problems. Here, the lamp represents trouble. A person who has no trouble hates trouble, however he does not care when others have trouble and does not empathize with them. Trouble seeks those who are already suffering and it does not seek the ones who live comfortably.
In Verse 6 of Job 12, Job tells how the tents of robbers prosper and how those who provoke God are secure and do not seem to have any problems. However, the fair and just always have some problem or the other and they endure trials and tests that the unfair don’t seem to have. And God does not give them tests and trials even though He has the power to do so.
Observation
It is not God who causes the just to face trials. It is satan who tests and tempts the just to lead them away from God. Yes, the wicked may seem to prosper and it might seem like God does not care about their wicked deeds because of His extreme patience. His patience far outweighs the patience of a human. However, God’s patience also has limits and He is just. Hence, sooner or later the wicked would have to endure judgment for their wicked deeds.
Since, it is satan bringing on the tests and trials, he has no need to test and tempt the wicked ones. The wicked ones are wicked because they have already given in to temptation, deception and follow the devil. There is no need to lead them away from God because they are not following God in the first place. That is why they have no opposition and seem to live comfortably even though those comforts are not long lasting.
The Wisdom Of All Creation
7 “But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
8Â Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;
And the fish of the sea will explain to you.
In Verses 7-8 of Job 12, Job tells his self-proclaimed, wise friends to ask the beasts, the birds, the fish, and the earth about the ways of God. For every creation and the earth have some measure of the knowledge/wisdom about God and they know to an extent how God works. They know that there is a season to prosper and a season to wither. The beasts know that one day they must go hungry or be killed. The birds know that they could not always find a place to rest their feet nor find food. The fish of the sea that swims know that one day they are free and the next day they are caught in a fisherman’s net. The earth has a season of dryness and a season of rain.
The animals, the creatures that live in the sea, the birds that fly in the air, the plants and trees know that God judges irrespective of their character and they rise and fall in their due seasons.
Job’s Trial
9Â Who among all these does not know
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
10 In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And the breath of all mankind?
In Verses 9-10 of Job 12, Job tells that all creation (who are lower in stature and wisdom) than human beings know that God had brought about this siutation on Job. Job explains that they know this because the life of every living being is in the hands of God and the breath of every living being is in God’s hands as He has total and supreme control over every life. Therefore, according to Job, anything that happens to any Creation of God is God’s doing. According to Job, God makes them prosperous one instant and brings them down and causes them to suffer another instant because He can do what He wants with His creation.
Job Talks About Discernment
11 Does not the ear test words
And the mouth taste its food?
12 Wisdom is with aged men,
And with length of days, understanding.
In Verses 11-12 of Job 12, Job further asks if the ear does not test words just as the mouth taste food and discerns the taste of each food. Job tells that he has ears to hear and test his friends’ words. Men say that wisdom and understanding comes with age. However, Job implies that he does not need to be old to have wisdom. He already knows these things as he is able to discern and test the words with his ears.
The Power Of God
13 “With Him are wisdom and strength,
He has counsel and understanding.
14 If He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt;
If He imprisons a man, there can be no release.
15 If He withholds the waters, they dry up;
If He sends them out, they overwhelm the earth.
16 With Him are strength and prudence.
The deceived and the deceiver are His.
In Verse 13 of Job 12, Job tells that widsom and strength come from God and not with old age. For God has counsel and understanding and He imparts a measure of wisdom to all His creation. In Verses 14-16, he tells that if God breaks a thing down no one can rebuild it. No man can release himself from the prison in which God imprisons him. If God withholds the waters of the earth, they dry up. They cannot function on their own and they do not have more power than the Creator. If He releases the waters they overwhelm the earth by flooding it. Strength and prudence belongs to God. Both the deceived and undeceived men belong to Him. There is no partiality in God’s eyes.
Observation
Nature is not mighty by itself. Nature’s might comes from the Creator and they obey Him. There is no mother nature. The earth is not our mother. We have just one Creator and He is Father God to all whom will accept His one and only Son Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. All life comes from the Creator not from nature! Don’t praise nature when you see its beauty or might, give praise duly to the Creator (God) who created it.
God Overthrows Mighty Men
17Â He leads counselors away plundered,
And makes fools of the judges.
18Â He loosens the bonds of kings,
And binds their waist with a belt.
19 He leads princes away plundered,
And overthrows the mighty.
20Â He deprives the trusted ones of speech,
And takes away the discernment of the elders.
21Â He pours contempt on princes,
And disarms the mighty.
In Verses 17-21 of Job 12, Job tells how God leads the counselors away. Ones who were once wealthy have their wealth plundered and have nothing left to their names. The judges who act like wisemen and the rulebook of the earth are made fools. The bonds which kings put in place to hold their powers are broken down. The wicked, wealthy princes are made poor, for God sends someone to steal their wealth on the earth. Those who thought they were mighty (counselors, kings, princes, judges and the like) are overthrown.
Men whom people trust and who have a platform to speak do not have a platform anymore. God can take it away from them anytime. The elders who claim to be wise with age have their discernment taken away from them in an instant and act like fools. He pours contempt on princes who were once loved by the masses and the mighty who seemed impossible to be overthrown. The mighty are now disarmed and remain without any might or power.
Observation
God protects the humble and hates the proud. When you exalt yourself more than God, you are partnering with satan. He also tried to exalt himself and wanted to be greater than God Himself. It cost him his position, power, authority and dwelling place and he is doomed for eternity. There is protection in being humble before God.
Most of these mighty men in Verses 17-21 of Job 12, and even those in powers and positions today think that they are so mighty and get drunk with power and hurt the less priveleged and the innocent. They think that they can do anything they want without repurcussions. So God takes their power away to teach them a lesson about their actual postion of power. They do not have even have the might to protect their own or their wealth. It takes an instant for God to raise anyone and lower anyone. It does not matter if you are a king or a pauper. For you and I are not God. We are humans and we cannot exalt ourselves above God.
God Raises And Lowers Nations
22 He uncovers deep things out of darkness,
And brings the shadow of death to light.
23Â He makes nations great, and destroys them;
He enlarges nations, and guides them.
24 He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth,
And makes them wander in a pathless wilderness.
25Â They grope in the dark without light,
And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.
In Verses 22-25 of Job 12, Job tells how God uncovers all the wicked, deep things hidden in the darkness and exposes it to the light. No one can lie nor steal and hide it forvever. For hidden things don’t always stay hidden! They must come to light some day or the other. Hallelujah! He makes small nations great and destroys them when they do evil. He enlarges nations and guides them in the path of righteousness.
The chiefs (kings, queens, governments) of the people of the earth, meaning those who govern the people (in the nations), and who think they know all and behave as God, lose their understanding (minds) in an instant and become mad. They wander in the wildnerness without any path nor direction. They grope in the dark without light like the blind and God makes them stagger like a drunken man and they make a total fool of themselves.
Observation
It is important for leaders in any position, especially in the church, the government or any position of authority over people to humble themselves and not abuse their power and position. Moreover, it is important for them to know that they are not God. It is key to remember that you are a mere mortal and not eternal and God can strip your power off of you at any moment if you exalt yourself and think and act as if you are more powerful than God. The power which we think we have lasts as long as we live, if we are fortunate.
We have dominion in the earth because God gave us dominion over it. However, we are not more powerful than God. He is the Supreme being.
Conclusion
This brings us to the end of the Bile Study on Job 12. It is a chapter where Job outlines the power of God. Job tells that God is supreme and has control over every creation’s life. Hence, according to Job, it is He who has brought about his calamity and no one can question God, no matter how righteous he thinks himself to be.
I hope you enjoyed this Bible Study on Job 12 as much as I have enjoyed writing it. If you have any comments or questions for me, kindly leave them in the comments below.
Until Next Time!