Job 12:7 | KingComments | STEP | After an interlude ( ) Job returns to his main argument ( ), calling heaven and earth to witness that God is everywhere and does everything ( ). He points out to his friends the lower creation, that of beasts and birds ( ). They should be taught by those animals. Then they will be taught about God’s actions. Their ignorance will then disappear, for it will be revealed to them how God acts. If they go to the earth and the fish of the sea, they will receive the same teaching, for they will tell the same ( ). They will discover that everywhere in nature there is the same injustice that he also experiences. Nature makes it clear that the strong wins from the weak and that those who are cruel prevail. God does the same everywhere. What they see in nature confirms what is happening in the human world. There, too, it is the brutal and cruel who are dominating the meek. Isn’t it something everyone observes ( )? Is there anyone who doesn’t see it? Such a person is either very short-sighted or completely blind. Behind this is “the hand of the LORD”. This is the only time the name “LORD” appears in the conversations with the friends. Because of what Job says, someone might think that God would be the causer of evil. But we must remember that what Job describes is the consequence of the sin that has come into the world. God is not the causer of evil, but He has attached consequences to the evil that is there. One of those consequences is that evil rules over good, which can make it seem as if He is rewarding the doing of evil. God holds all that lives in His mighty hand ( ; cf. ). With this, Job emphasizes God’s sovereignty. Everything is under His control. This concerns the life of every living thing – men and animals – and above that also the breath or spirit that He has given of all living things only to all mankind ( ; ; ). He gives man life, health and happiness without being obliged to do so ( ), and has the right to take all that away without giving any account. With the expression “all mankind” Job indicates that man is subject to the same laws as the rest of creation. When words are spoken – here alternating by the friends and Job – the listener – here alternating the friends and Job – judges their content ( ). The question is whether they are true or false, right or wrong, whether they should be accepted or rejected, whether they are words of God or words of men. Judging words is like tasting food by the palate. The friends have tasted the words of Job, but rejected them as distasteful. Conversely, Job has tasted their words and spits them out. He rejects them, for they are untrue, wrong words. They are not words of God, but words of men. After his reference to animals and the earth, Job points to the aged men ( ). They have gained wisdom and insight in their long lives. Their perceptions and experiences have shaped them. Job does not doubt that they will agree with him. Let them examine his case, and see what is true of the accusations of his friends. Finally, Job points out to his friends a wisdom that far surpasses the wisdom of the aged men, and that is the complete wisdom that he knows to be present with God ( ). God has not only wisdom, but also might. In His wisdom He designed the world and by His might He created the world. “To Him belong counsel and understanding”, which means that He knows exactly what to do with what He has designed and created. That’s where the understanding of mankind stops. It is therefore not a testimony to the wisdom of friends when they think they are able to explain why God acts as He did with Job. Rather, it is a posturing, an interference in things that God has reserved for Himself.

‏ Job 12:7

Job Refers to Witnesses

After an interlude (Job 12:4-6) Job returns to his main argument (Job 12:2-3), calling heaven and earth to witness that God is everywhere and does everything (Job 12:7-13). He points out to his friends the lower creation, that of beasts and birds (Job 12:7). They should be taught by those animals. Then they will be taught about God’s actions. Their ignorance will then disappear, for it will be revealed to them how God acts. If they go to the earth and the fish of the sea, they will receive the same teaching, for they will tell the same (Job 12:8). They will discover that everywhere in nature there is the same injustice that he also experiences. Nature makes it clear that the strong wins from the weak and that those who are cruel prevail.

God does the same everywhere. What they see in nature confirms what is happening in the human world. There, too, it is the brutal and cruel who are dominating the meek. Isn’t it something everyone observes (Job 12:9)? Is there anyone who doesn’t see it? Such a person is either very short-sighted or completely blind. Behind this is “the hand of the LORD”. This is the only time the name “LORD” appears in the conversations with the friends.

Because of what Job says, someone might think that God would be the causer of evil. But we must remember that what Job describes is the consequence of the sin that has come into the world. God is not the causer of evil, but He has attached consequences to the evil that is there. One of those consequences is that evil rules over good, which can make it seem as if He is rewarding the doing of evil.

God holds all that lives in His mighty hand (Job 12:10; cf. Mt 10:29). With this, Job emphasizes God’s sovereignty. Everything is under His control. This concerns the life of every living thing – men and animals – and above that also the breath or spirit that He has given of all living things only to all mankind (Ecc 3:21; Gen 2:7; Dan 5:23). He gives man life, health and happiness without being obliged to do so (Acts 14:17), and has the right to take all that away without giving any account. With the expression “all mankind” Job indicates that man is subject to the same laws as the rest of creation.

When words are spoken – here alternating by the friends and Job – the listener – here alternating the friends and Job – judges their content (Job 12:11). The question is whether they are true or false, right or wrong, whether they should be accepted or rejected, whether they are words of God or words of men. Judging words is like tasting food by the palate. The friends have tasted the words of Job, but rejected them as distasteful. Conversely, Job has tasted their words and spits them out. He rejects them, for they are untrue, wrong words. They are not words of God, but words of men.

After his reference to animals and the earth, Job points to the aged men (Job 12:12). They have gained wisdom and insight in their long lives. Their perceptions and experiences have shaped them. Job does not doubt that they will agree with him. Let them examine his case, and see what is true of the accusations of his friends.

Finally, Job points out to his friends a wisdom that far surpasses the wisdom of the aged men, and that is the complete wisdom that he knows to be present with God (Job 12:13). God has not only wisdom, but also might. In His wisdom He designed the world and by His might He created the world. “To Him belong counsel and understanding”, which means that He knows exactly what to do with what He has designed and created. That’s where the understanding of mankind stops. It is therefore not a testimony to the wisdom of friends when they think they are able to explain why God acts as He did with Job. Rather, it is a posturing, an interference in things that God has reserved for Himself.