Job 12 Job Presents His Case
“Then Job answered: “Truly then you are the people with whom wisdom itself will die! But I also have a mind; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these? I am a laughingstock to my friends, though I called on God, and He answered. The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock. The one at ease scorns misfortune as the fate of those whose feet are slipping. The tents of robbers are safe, and those who provoke God are secure—those who carry their god in their hands.”
When bad things happen to someone who has trusted in God, immediately those around him begin laughing and mocking. “Why did you ever believe God was caring for you? Look what’s happened. Where is your faith now? What good is it?” At the moment, Job doesn’t have any easy answers, for he too is wondering why God has chosen to allow him to suffer like this. Now Job poses the question that has troubled righteous people for centuries: why do righteous people suffer while unrighteous people prosper?
“But ask the animals, and they will instruct you; ask the birds of the air, and they will tell you. Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? The life of every living thing is in His hand, as well as the breath of all mankind.” Despite all the disasters that have befallen him, Job continues to trust that God is sovereign and rules over everything.
“Does not the ear test words as the tongue tastes its food? Wisdom is found with the elderly, and understanding comes with long life. Wisdom and strength belong to God; counsel and understanding are His. What He tears down cannot be rebuilt; the man He imprisons cannot be released. If He holds back the waters, they dry up, and if He releases them, they overwhelm the land. True wisdom and power belong to Him. The deceived and the deceiver are His. He leads counselors away barefoot and makes fools of judges. He loosens the bonds placed by kings and fastens a belt around their waists. He leads priests away barefoot and overthrows the established. He deprives the trusted of speech and takes away the discernment of elders.”
“He pours out contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty. He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into light. He makes nations great and destroys them; He enlarges nations, then disperses them. He deprives the earth’s leaders of reason and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland. They grope in the darkness without light; He makes them stagger like drunkards.”
Amazing! Here is this old man, sitting on an ash heap, scraping at running sores that pain him 24/7, enduring verbal assaults by acquaintances, and yet Job utters one of the most stirring paeans of praise to God ever conceived. Even as Job is suffering, he is still honoring God. How many of us can say that we have done the same?
Having spoken about God’s creation and control of nature, now Job describes God’s moving among the nations. One wonders how Job’s so-called friends can sit there and listen to these magnificent descriptions and yet criticize him. But these guys are on a roll. It’s “Beat up on Job Day,” and they’re not about to let go of the opportunity to tear Job down under the guise of helping him. One wonders why these men have chosen to behave like this, for with friends like these, Job doesn’t need any enemies!
Unfortunately, the world is full of self-styled critics. The advent of social media has given many of these people unlimited avenues of opportunity to criticize others who are suffering. On Facebook recently, some of those posting about the flooding in Texas have been forced to turn off people’s ability to comment on their posts because of vicious criticisms posted by those who have never endured such a disaster. Self-styled experts have criticized everyone involved in any fashion, no matter how remote their association to the flooding.
Going back 20 years, when Hurricane Katrina suddenly took a right-hand turn and went through Bourne Pass and into Lake Pontchartrain, nobody anticipated the devastation that would result in New Orleans. But that didn’t prevent critics from attacking all those involved at that time. (We had friends who had just sold their house on Bourne Pass a few months prior to Katrina; that house stood up on a hill but still took water up to the level of the second story. Other friends in Venetian Isles-basically at sea level-fared far worse, losing everything.)
Disasters happen! Floods, forest fires, earthquakes, tornadoes, and hurricanes-even when we do our best to build sensibly, avoiding flood plains and trying to manage the timber and underbrush around our houses, we can still lose everything. In such situations, we are blessed if we survive with our lives and health intact. In the wake of disasters, what is needed is help, not criticism. One of the most heartening things is the massive outpouring of practical help for the flood victims. Faced with the unsavory task of finding bodies or body parts, local law enforcement and fire service have found their efforts greatly enhanced by specialty units from other parts of America and even from other countries.
Once more, these passages from Job emphasize two points: the sovereignty and majesty of God and the inability of people to control Him. What can we learn from these verses? In this age of ChatGPT and AI, people are turning to computers as the sources of all knowledge. But AI is definitely artificial and only as intelligent as whoever programs it. (I struggle with AI on a daily basis, for the ideas about English grammar held by those who have programmed it directly conflict with the rules I learned long ago from my mother who taught English.) But God is far wiser than any computer and is an Innovator, something computers can only do if someone programs them in that direction.
If we begin worshiping computers and what they can do rather than the One True Living God, we fall into the trap described eloquently by Saint Paul in Romans 1:18-23 “But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.”
Job suffered but continued to worship God. Ultimately, God rewarded him for his faith. Who or what are we worshiping? Are we following Job’s example?
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, You are the Author and Creator of everything, and You are the One who deserves all our praise and worship. Help us to truly honor You in all that we say and do. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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