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Job has lost patience, and is reeling into bitterness. He begins by sneering at his friends, “No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you” (12:2). ‘I know all that you are saying’, Job declares (12:3). As the vehemence of his friends mounts, Job seems to be getting more focused and direct. Job also bitterly complains, ‘I am mocked and despised, while the robber prospers’ (12:4-6). Zophar has just finished a rude joke at Job's expense. Zophar is a man that Job loves and respects, to be mocked by him cuts deeply. Where Job might normally retort with wit, the jest of his friend is salt to his wounds. Job, not in a mood for idle banter, answers with a sober voice. In a reference meant for his friends, he complains, “they that provoke God are secure” (12:6).
“He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease” (12:5). Verses 4 and 5 are difficult in the King James; they are worth looking at in the NASB: “I am a joke to my friends. The one who called upon God, and He answered him; The just and blameless man is a joke” (12:4, NASB). In verse four, Job clearly alludes to himself as one who is mocked or made a joke of, yet had a close relationship with God.
There are countless righteous figures in the Bible who are mocked or despised. Elisha, traveling from Jericho to Bethel, is accosted by children who mock him, “Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head” (2 Kings 2:23). Elisha calls down a curse, “And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them” (2 Kings 2:24). In a contrasting example, Jesus is also mocked and tormented, but his response is quite different: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Neither does the resurrected Jesus appear to the chief priests proving them wrong, and gaining his vindication, he appears to his disciples. Job's response here is closer to that of Elisha.
Job follows with a proverb which echoes with condemnation: “He who is at ease holds calamity in contempt, As prepared for those whose feet slip” (12:5, NASB). He who stands in a slippery place is sneered at by those who sit in comfort. The reference to a slippery place is interesting as the Bible often refers to place of danger into which we have placed ourselves as a slippery place. “Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint” (Prov. 25:19). “But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked” (Ps. 73:2-3). David says his feet nearly slipped because of envy and judgmentalism. I don't believe that Job is knowingly admitting that he is close to slipping because of some fault of his own, but rather he is trying to point out the unsympathetic response of his friends.
Job speaks with eloquence of the existence and power of God. Paul's ‘proof of God’ from Romans 1:20, “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse”, has clear roots here in Job: “But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this,” (12:7-9)? Job is not really trying to create a proof of God, but rather a proof that all things are under the hand of God. He continues “the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind” is in the palm of God's hand (12:10).
Penn-Lewis sees this section as continued sarcasm, (Penn-Lewis, 63-64). Job is suggesting that any fool can see the breadth and power of God. She suggests an alternate translation of verse 12: “With aged men, ye say, is wisdom”, which would imply that the next verse is a counter: wisdom is with God. As wisdom and understanding is gained through time, find council and understanding in God, (12:12-13). This is all meant to reflect back on the first section, because everything is under God's hand, those who provoke God are under His hand.
Barnes takes a middle position, Job's comments are not sarcasm, but a direct assault on Zophar's exalted view of his wisdom (11:7-11). “Job says that the views which Zophar had expressed, were the most commonplace imaginable. He need not pretend to be acquainted with the more exalted works of God, or appeal to them as if his knowledge corresponded with them. Even the lower creation–the brutes–the earth–the fishes–could teach him knowledge which he had not now” (Barnes, note on 12:5). I agree with Barnes here. This is the first counter-punch in a running dialog on the subject of wisdom.
Verse thirteen emphasizes “wisdom and strength” as well as “counsel and understanding”. The Hebrew for wisdom in verse thirteen is ‘chokmâw’, wisdom in a good sense as in wise, and for force ‘gebûrâh’ indicating valor or victory (Strong, H2451 & H1369). Some commentators see verse 12 and 13 as a contrast, as if verse 12 is a sarcastic sneer, implying that the aged are not always wise. “Job here sharply contradicts the idea that wisdom is with the aged. It is with God alone” (Vicchio 2020, loc. 3352; quoting Rowley). This view is perhaps reinforced by verse two of the next chapter, where Job disparages the wisdom of his three friends.
Job may understand God's wisdom intellectually, but understanding has not penetrated to a deeper level. As the narrative continues, we will see God's counsel attempting to speak to Job, through the revelations of the Holy Spirit. Job is full of his concern. Although he speaks of God's council, he does not wait for it. He quickly passes on to, from his present perspective, the darker aspect of God's strength and wisdom.
It would seem that 12:16 is a repeat of 12:13 with ‘strength’ and ‘wisdom’ reversed: “With him is strength and wisdom:” (12:16). The change in the word order follows a significant change in meaning. The two words used in the second instance are entirely different words in Hebrew, which emphasize the application of power: “the deceived and the deceiver are his” (12:16). The Hebrew ‘ôz’ indicates strength in terms of boldness or loudness (Strong, H5797). ‘Wisdom’ in verse sixteen is an archaic term ‘tûshîyâh’ according to Strong's, “probably meaning to substantiate; support or (by implication) ability” (Strong, H8454). Like it or not, we are under God's power, and the road we walk on is there by God's grace alone. This aspect is outlined forcefully in the famous sermon “Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God”, preached by Jonathan Edwards in 1741: “It is nothing but His hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment” (Edwards 1741, 6).
Job goes on to describe the devastation that God can bring to the proud, the wise and the mighty (12:14-25). God sees to the deepest and darkest place, even to the shadow of death, so nothing is hidden from Him (12:22). Job is aware of this, so he is not hiding anything from God. Job's openness before God is not in question. His pride, his last fortress, is hurt. He wants his friends to know that he does not need instructions concerning the things of God. He proceeds to emphasize this further in chapter 13. Unfortunately, as Job continues to lean on his pride, he will remain stuck.
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