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Texts -- Job 12:1-25 (NET)

Context
Job’s Reply to Zophar
12:1 Then Job answered : 12:2 “Without a doubt you are the people , and wisdom will die with you. 12:3 I also have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these ? 12:4 I am a laughingstock to my friends , I, who called on God and whom he answered – a righteous and blameless man is a laughingstock ! 12:5 For calamity , there is derision (according to the ideas of the fortunate )– a fate for those whose feet slip ! 12:6 But the tents of robbers are peaceful , and those who provoke God are confident – who carry their god in their hands .
Knowledge of God’s Wisdom
12:7 “But now , ask the animals and they will teach you, or the birds of the sky and they will tell you. 12:8 Or speak to the earth and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea declare to you. 12:9 Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this , 12:10 in whose hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all the human race . 12:11 Does not the ear test words , as the tongue tastes food ? 12:12 Is not wisdom found among the aged ? Does not long life bring understanding ? 12:13 “With God are wisdom and power ; counsel and understanding are his. 12:14 If he tears down , it cannot be rebuilt ; if he imprisons a person , there is no escape . 12:15 If he holds back the waters , then they dry up ; if he releases them, they destroy the land . 12:16 With him are strength and prudence ; both the one who goes astray and the one who misleads are his. 12:17 He leads counselors away stripped and makes judges into fools . 12:18 He loosens the bonds of kings and binds a loincloth around their waist . 12:19 He leads priests away stripped and overthrows the potentates . 12:20 He deprives the trusted advisers of speech and takes away the discernment of elders . 12:21 He pours contempt on noblemen and disarms the powerful . 12:22 He reveals the deep things of darkness , and brings deep shadows into the light . 12:23 He makes nations great , and destroys them; he extends the boundaries of nations and disperses them. 12:24 He deprives the leaders of the earth of their understanding; he makes them wander in a trackless desert waste . 12:25 They grope about in darkness without light ; he makes them stagger like drunkards .

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • Wilderness

    [ebd] (1.) Heb. midhbar, denoting not a barren desert but a district or region suitable for pasturing sheep and cattle (Ps. 65:12; Isa. 42:11; Jer. 23:10; Joel 1:19; 2:22); an uncultivated place. This word is used of the wildernes...

  • Providence

    [ebd] literally means foresight, but is generally used to denote God's preserving and governing all things by means of second causes (Ps. 18:35; 63:8; Acts 17:28; Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3). God's providence extends to the natural world...

  • PROVIDENCE, 1

    [isbe] PROVIDENCE, 1 - prov'-i-dens: I. PROVIDENCE DEFINED II. DIFFERENT SPHERES OF PROVIDENTIAL ACTIVITY DISTINGUISHED III. BIBLICAL PRESENTATION OF THE DOCTRINE OF PROVIDENCE 1. Divine Providence in the Old Testament Scriptures (...

  • POETRY, HEBREW

    [isbe] POETRY, HEBREW - po'-et-ri: I. IS THERE POETRY IN THE OLD TESTAMENT? Poetry Defined: 1. In Matter, Concrete and Imaginative 2. In Form, Emotional and Rhythmical II. NEGLECT OF HEBREW POETRY: CAUSES III. CHARACTERISTICS OF HE...

  • LAUGHTER

    [isbe] LAUGHTER - laf'-ter (chaq, tsachaq, "to laugh," sechoq, "laughter"; gelao, katagelao): (1) Laughter as the expression of gladness, pleasurable surprise, is the translation of tsachaq (Gen 17:17; 18:12,13,15; 21:6), which, ho...

  • LAUGHING-STOCK

    [isbe] LAUGHING-STOCK - laf'-ing-stok: Something set up to be laughed at; thrice in the Revised Version (British and American) the translation of sechoq, "laughter," etc. (Job 12:4 twice; Jer 20:7; compare Jer 48:26,27,39; Lam 3:14...

  • LAMP; LAMPSTAND

    [isbe] LAMP; LAMPSTAND - lamp'-stand (nir, ner, lappidh, Phoenician lampadh, whence lampas; luchnos is also used): Ner or nir is properly "light" or "a light-giving thing," hence, "lamp," and is so rendered in the Revised Version (...

  • JOB, BOOK OF

    [isbe] JOB, BOOK OF - || I. INTRODUCTORY 1. Place in the Canon 2. Rank and Readers II. THE LITERARY FRAMEWORK 1. Setting of Time, Place and Scene 2. Characters and Personality 3. Form and Style III. THE COURSE OF THE STORY A) To Jo...

  • INCREASE

    [isbe] INCREASE - in'-kres, (noun), in-kres' (verb): Employed in the English Bible both as verb and as noun, and in both cases to represent a number of different words in the original. As a verb it is used in the ordinary sense of ...

  • Girdle

    [ebd] (1.) Heb. hagor, a girdle of any kind worn by soldiers (1 Sam. 18:4; 2 Sam. 20:8; 1 Kings 2:5; 2 Kings 3:21) or women (Isa. 3:24). (2.) Heb. 'ezor, something "bound," worn by prophets (2 Kings 1:8; Jer. 13:1), soldiers (Isa....

  • FISH

    [isbe] FISH - (dagh, daghah, da'gh; ichthus, ichthudion, opsarion): 1. Natural History: Fishes abound in the inland waters of Palestine as well as the Mediterranean. They are often mentioned or indirectly referred to both in the Ol...

  • DRUNKENNESS

    [isbe] DRUNKENNESS - drunk'-'-n-nes (raweh, shikkaron, shethi; methe): I. Its Prevalance. The Bible affords ample proof that excessive drinking of intoxicants was a common vice among the Hebrews, as among other ancient peoples. Thi...

  • DOUBT

    [isbe] DOUBT - dout: This word, found only a score of times in the Bible, translates nevertheless about half as many different Hebrew and Greek originals with a corresponding variety of meanings. In Gen 37:33 "without doubt" is to ...

  • DISCOVER

    [isbe] DISCOVER - dis-kuv'-er: In modern usage the word "discover" signifies "to get first sight or knowledge of," "to ascertain," or "to explore." Such usage appears in 1 Sam 22:6 of the discovery of David's hiding-place, where th...

  • CHANNEL

    [isbe] CHANNEL - chan'-el ('aphiq (root 'aphaq, "to hold or contain," "to be strong"; compare Arabic 'afaq "to overcome" and 'afiq, "preeminent"); shibboleth (shabhal, "to go," "to go up or grow," "to flow"; compare Arabic 'asbal, ...

  • BIRDS

    [isbe] BIRDS - burds (`ayiT; Greek variously ta peteina (Mt 13:4) ta ornea tou ouranou (Rev 19:17) ornis (Mt 23:37; Lk 13:34) Latin, avis; Old English "brid"): I. Meaning of the Word. All authorities agree that the exact origin of ...

  • BAREFOOT

    [isbe] BAREFOOT - bar'-foot. 1. Introductory: The word is found in the following passages: English Versions of the Bible, "He went barefoot" (2 Sam 15:30); "(Isaiah) did so, walking .... barefoot" (Isa 20:2); and like the Egyptians...

  • Age

    [ebd] used to denote the period of a man's life (Gen. 47:28), the maturity of life (John 9:21), the latter end of life (Job 11:17), a generation of the human race (Job 8:8), and an indefinite period (Eph. 2:7; 3:5, 21; Col. 1:26)....

  • ANCIENT

    [isbe] ANCIENT - an'-shent: This word renders several Hebrew words: (1) qedhem, which denotes "beforetime," "yore"; generally the remote past (compare Dt 33:15, "ancient mountains"; Jdg 5:21, Kishon, the "ancient river"; Isa 19:11 ...

  • AGE; OLD AGE

    [isbe] AGE; OLD AGE - In individual lives (cheledh; helikia): We have scarcely any word in the Old Testament or New Testament which denotes "age" in the familiar modern sense; the nearest in the Old Testament is perhaps heledh, "li...

Hymns

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  • [Job 12:10] He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands

Sermon Illustrations

Psalm 8:8

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • "Verse 2 describes the condition of the land before God prepared it for human beings."31"Deep"(tahom) describes the world. In the Old Testament tahomrefers to the ocean, which the ancient world regarded as symbolic of chaos a...
  • What this book is all about has been the subject of considerable debate. Many people think God gave it to us to provide His answer to the age-old problem of suffering. In particular, many believe it is in the Bible to help us...
  • I. Prologue chs. 1-2A. Job's character 1:1-5B. Job's calamities 1:6-2:101. The first test 1:6-222. The second test 2:1-10C. Job's comforters 2:11-13II. The dialogue concerning the basis of the divine-human relationship 3:1-42...
  • The writer composed the prologue and epilogue of this book in prose narrative and the main body (3:1-42:6) in poetry. The prologue and epilogue form a frame around the main emphasis of the revelation, the poetic section, and ...
  • The two soliloquies of Job (chs. 3 and 29-31) enclose three cycles of dialogue between Job and his three friends. Each cycle consists of speeches by Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar in that order interspersed with Job's reply to e...
  • In these chapters Job again rebutted his friends and their view of God. He also challenged God and brooded over death. Half of this section is dialogue with his friends (12:1-13:19) and half is prayer to God (13:20-14:22). Jo...
  • Verse 2 is irony; his companions were not as wise as they thought. Job pointed out that much of what they had said about God was common knowledge (cf. 5:9-10; 8:13-19; 11:7-9). Nonetheless their conclusion, that the basis of ...
  • In this melancholic lament Job bewailed the brevity of life (vv. 1-6), the finality of death (vv. 7-17), and the absence of hope (vv. 18-22)."Born of woman"(v. 1) reflects man's frailty since woman who bears him is frail. Ver...
  • Specifically Eliphaz accused Job of speaking irreverently (vv. 1-6) and of pretending to be wiser and purer than he was (vv. 7-16). For a second time one of his friends said Job was full of hot air (vv. 2-3; cf. 8:2). The eas...
  • Perhaps Eliphaz wanted to scare Job into repenting with these words. As before, Eliphaz's authority was his own observations (v. 17; cf. 4:8). To this he added the wisdom of their ancestors (vv. 18-19; cf. 8:8). Probably vers...
  • Because the speech in this chapter is more soliloquy than dialogue some scholars have concluded that someone other than Job spoke it: Zophar, Bildad, or God. One writer argued for its being a speech by none of the characters,...
  • Elihu began by voicing his respect for Job's three friends (vv. 6-10). They were older than he, and for this reason he said he had refrained from speaking until now. However he had become convinced that advancing age does not...
  • David realized God's good loyal love (Heb. hesed) would pursue him throughout his life. To follow here does not mean to bring up the rear but to pursue vigorously (cf. 83:15).67The phrase "goodness and lovingkindness"(NASB) o...
  • "This paragraph is crucial not only to the present argument (1:10-4:21) but to the entire letter as well. Indeed, it is one of the truly great moments in the apostle Paul. Here he argues, with OT support, that what God had al...
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