Job 12

The Christian lives with tension. Do you believe that? Here are some examples:

• The penalty for our sin has been canceled. The propensity to sin remains. Therein lies the spiritual battle.
• We have been forgiven. We are to forgive others. Does anyone besides me struggle with that?
• Circumstances come into our lives that are painful, raising doubts and questions. We ask, “God, what are you doing?” Yet, we understand that God is sovereign. He knows precisely what he is doing.

I believe that’s where Job’s mind is in the next section of our study. Job has plenty of questions, and the answers have been lacking so far. His friends took turns repeating the same worn-out formula: God always judges sin. Job, you have sinned. God is judging you. Repent. Meanwhile, Job maintained his innocence. But then, where was God in his suffering?

We have followed Job’s disappointment with his friends and with God. Yet, a tension remains: pain persists, and God is sovereign. Job endures immense physical and emotional distress. He has questions and still longs to meet God in court. However, for now, Job shifts his focus from his loathsome situation to contemplating God’s greatness.

Job declared that God “is wise in heart and mighty in strength.” Then he asked this rhetorical question, “Who has hardened himself against him, and succeeded?” (9:4). The answer, of course, is “No one!”

Job 9:5-11
He who removes mountains, and they know it not, when he overturns them in his anger, ⁶ who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble; ⁷ who commands the sun, and it does not rise; who seals up the stars; ⁸ who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the sea; ⁹ who made the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the chambers of the south; ¹⁰ who does great things beyond searching out, and marvelous things beyond number.

Job proclaims God as the Maker of heaven and earth. He is the one who “alone stretched out the heavens” and created all the stars. The Bear describes the stars in the northern sky, while Orion depicts the stars in the southern sky. Pleiades refers to the constellations in the east. God is the great Creator! “Who will say to him, ‘What are you doing?”’ (9:12)

Job speaks of God’s majesty, and he’s just getting started. The man is on a roll.

Job 12:13-23
With God are wisdom and might; he has counsel and understanding. ¹⁴ If he tears down, none can rebuild; if he shuts a man in, none can open. ¹⁵ If he withholds the waters, they dry up; if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land. ¹⁶ With him are strength and sound wisdom; the deceived and the deceiver are his. ¹⁷ He leads counselors away stripped, and judges he makes fools. ¹⁸ He looses the bonds of kings and binds a waistcloth on their hips. ¹⁹ He leads priests away stripped and overthrows the mighty. ²⁰ He deprives of speech those who are trusted and takes away the discernment of the elders. ²¹ He pours contempt on princes and loosens the belt of the strong. ²² He uncovers the deeps out of darkness and brings deep darkness to light. ²³ He makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations, and leads them away.

Imagine the scene and sense the tension. Job sits shattered, curled up in a heap of refuse with festering sores, surrounded by friends who have weighed him down with accusations and insinuations. Yet, amidst his suffering and doubts, he reaffirms the power and might of God!

Is that the point of pain?

American poet Annie Dillard wrote, “You do not have to sit outside in the dark. If, however, you want to look at the stars, you will find that darkness is required.”[1] Often, it is in the dark night of our soul when we see God the clearest.

So, if you are going through a challenging time, look up! And proclaim God’s greatness.

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Read Job 12. Proclaim with Job the greatness of God.

Talking to God
Ask God to help you see him clearly in the darkness.

Have Questions?
Be sure to send your questions to our team. We are happy to assist you as you explore God’s Word. Submit your question below, and we’ll reply soon.

Recently, Craig Wolfley went to be with the Lord. Craig was a former Steeler, the color analyst for the Pittsburgh Steelers Broadcast Network, and a friend. In tribute to Craig, we re-released a podcast from a few months ago. Find it on your favorite podcast platform: The Journey with Ron Moore Podcast Episode 69

[1] Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (Harper’s Magazine Press, 1974), 51.