Job 31

Job 31:1

Call to Repentance

Zophar encourages Job to pray to God (Job 11:13). To this end the other two friends have also called (Job 5:8; Job 8:5). The fact that Zophar addresses this call to Job makes his arrogance clear. For him it is certain that Job has sinned, that is his starting point. He also believes that you recover if you confess your sins. From the beginning of this book we know that Job’s suffering was not caused by sin.

What Zophar says is true in itself. First Job has to direct his heart right, that means that he acknowledges God in His government over him. One can only draw near to God if one’s heart is in the right mind. Then one can come to Him with ‘hands spread out’, that is in prayer, as a supplicant. This means that there must first be a confession of iniquity and that he must break with it. Job first has to get rid of the evil things he is doing – “in your hand” – and put them far away from him (Job 11:14). Nor should he allow any wickedness in his dwellings.

Zophar’s call expresses his legal view. He tells Job what he must do to come to terms with God. His call is good if it is made to someone who lives in sin. His call is wrong here because it is made to someone of whom God has testified that he serves Him.

Job 31:2

The Peaceful Result

In this section Zophar tells Job what he will get if he listens to him. However, after his previous wrongful, harsh accusations, the portrayal of bliss that he paints is completely misplaced. What he says here sounds like singing songs to a troubled heart (Proverbs 25:20). He thereby increases the pain of Job.

If Job listens to Zophar, he will lift up his face and look God in the face, and misery will depart from him (Job 11:15). After all, Job first complained that he cannot lift up his head as long as God pushes him down, didn’t he (Job 10:15-16)? Then he will stand firm as a house and no longer need to have any fear of God. He will forget all the trouble and will not think back to it (Job 11:16). In beautiful imagery Zophar compares this to “waters that have passed by”. Just as water that has passed by never flows back, so the trials will never return in Job’s life.

The life of Job will be in a light brighter than the noonday sun, as it is for the righteous (Job 11:17; Proverbs 4:18). Everything will be radiantly glorious. Nothing of the darkness in which he now finds himself will be present again. All darkness is gone. It is the opposite of the last words of Job in the previous chapter, where he says that light is like darkness (Job 10:22). Here is the darkness as the light of the morning (Isaiah 58:10; Zechariah 14:7), of the new day that will have dawned in Job’s life.

Instead of fear of disasters, he will have faith or trust in God (Job 11:18). His confidence is based on the firm hope that God, in His goodness, will ensure that His prosperity is lasting. He will also be able to convince himself of this when he starts to look around. This means that in the evening he inspects everything around and in the house. He will discover nothing disturbing and will be able to sleep peacefully.

He will be able to lie down in complete peace (Job 11:19). He need not fear that someone, now that he is under the blessing of God, will be able to disturb him. Instead of expecting threats, he may expect that many will come to him to entreat his favor (cf. Zechariah 8:23). Zophar does not suspect that he himself is one of those who will compete for Job’s favor (Job 42:9).

Zophar concludes his answer to Job with a veiled warning to his address (Job 11:20). Again the assumption is made that Job is a wicked man. The eyes of a wicked man will succumb as he looks for good, for it will never come. Nor will he ever have the opportunity to escape his misery. Any hope of that is lost. The only hope left to him is to breathe his last. Then he will be rid of all misery, that is to say, of his earthly circumstances.

But Job is not a wicked man who looks forward to the end of his life as his only hope. On the contrary, he clings more and more to God. In spite of all his doubts and despair about God’s dealings with him, he cannot do without God. He continues to look to God, and therefore his eyes will not succumb, but he will see God (Job 42:5). This will happen in a different way than he imagines and also very different from the way his friends present him to that end.

Thus Zophar’s argument ends, which is as clear as glass, and at the same time as cold as ice. It is clear: the sinner and the wicked shall perish, you’ll always get what you deserve. It is also bitterly cold: there is a total lack of tact and compassion. The other friends have shown some sympathy, but Zophar is rock-hard. He says to Job: Job, you are a wicked man, you have deserved the suffering; just acknowledge that and repent!

Job 31:3

The Peaceful Result

In this section Zophar tells Job what he will get if he listens to him. However, after his previous wrongful, harsh accusations, the portrayal of bliss that he paints is completely misplaced. What he says here sounds like singing songs to a troubled heart (Proverbs 25:20). He thereby increases the pain of Job.

If Job listens to Zophar, he will lift up his face and look God in the face, and misery will depart from him (Job 11:15). After all, Job first complained that he cannot lift up his head as long as God pushes him down, didn’t he (Job 10:15-16)? Then he will stand firm as a house and no longer need to have any fear of God. He will forget all the trouble and will not think back to it (Job 11:16). In beautiful imagery Zophar compares this to “waters that have passed by”. Just as water that has passed by never flows back, so the trials will never return in Job’s life.

The life of Job will be in a light brighter than the noonday sun, as it is for the righteous (Job 11:17; Proverbs 4:18). Everything will be radiantly glorious. Nothing of the darkness in which he now finds himself will be present again. All darkness is gone. It is the opposite of the last words of Job in the previous chapter, where he says that light is like darkness (Job 10:22). Here is the darkness as the light of the morning (Isaiah 58:10; Zechariah 14:7), of the new day that will have dawned in Job’s life.

Instead of fear of disasters, he will have faith or trust in God (Job 11:18). His confidence is based on the firm hope that God, in His goodness, will ensure that His prosperity is lasting. He will also be able to convince himself of this when he starts to look around. This means that in the evening he inspects everything around and in the house. He will discover nothing disturbing and will be able to sleep peacefully.

He will be able to lie down in complete peace (Job 11:19). He need not fear that someone, now that he is under the blessing of God, will be able to disturb him. Instead of expecting threats, he may expect that many will come to him to entreat his favor (cf. Zechariah 8:23). Zophar does not suspect that he himself is one of those who will compete for Job’s favor (Job 42:9).

Zophar concludes his answer to Job with a veiled warning to his address (Job 11:20). Again the assumption is made that Job is a wicked man. The eyes of a wicked man will succumb as he looks for good, for it will never come. Nor will he ever have the opportunity to escape his misery. Any hope of that is lost. The only hope left to him is to breathe his last. Then he will be rid of all misery, that is to say, of his earthly circumstances.

But Job is not a wicked man who looks forward to the end of his life as his only hope. On the contrary, he clings more and more to God. In spite of all his doubts and despair about God’s dealings with him, he cannot do without God. He continues to look to God, and therefore his eyes will not succumb, but he will see God (Job 42:5). This will happen in a different way than he imagines and also very different from the way his friends present him to that end.

Thus Zophar’s argument ends, which is as clear as glass, and at the same time as cold as ice. It is clear: the sinner and the wicked shall perish, you’ll always get what you deserve. It is also bitterly cold: there is a total lack of tact and compassion. The other friends have shown some sympathy, but Zophar is rock-hard. He says to Job: Job, you are a wicked man, you have deserved the suffering; just acknowledge that and repent!

Job 31:4

The Peaceful Result

In this section Zophar tells Job what he will get if he listens to him. However, after his previous wrongful, harsh accusations, the portrayal of bliss that he paints is completely misplaced. What he says here sounds like singing songs to a troubled heart (Proverbs 25:20). He thereby increases the pain of Job.

If Job listens to Zophar, he will lift up his face and look God in the face, and misery will depart from him (Job 11:15). After all, Job first complained that he cannot lift up his head as long as God pushes him down, didn’t he (Job 10:15-16)? Then he will stand firm as a house and no longer need to have any fear of God. He will forget all the trouble and will not think back to it (Job 11:16). In beautiful imagery Zophar compares this to “waters that have passed by”. Just as water that has passed by never flows back, so the trials will never return in Job’s life.

The life of Job will be in a light brighter than the noonday sun, as it is for the righteous (Job 11:17; Proverbs 4:18). Everything will be radiantly glorious. Nothing of the darkness in which he now finds himself will be present again. All darkness is gone. It is the opposite of the last words of Job in the previous chapter, where he says that light is like darkness (Job 10:22). Here is the darkness as the light of the morning (Isaiah 58:10; Zechariah 14:7), of the new day that will have dawned in Job’s life.

Instead of fear of disasters, he will have faith or trust in God (Job 11:18). His confidence is based on the firm hope that God, in His goodness, will ensure that His prosperity is lasting. He will also be able to convince himself of this when he starts to look around. This means that in the evening he inspects everything around and in the house. He will discover nothing disturbing and will be able to sleep peacefully.

He will be able to lie down in complete peace (Job 11:19). He need not fear that someone, now that he is under the blessing of God, will be able to disturb him. Instead of expecting threats, he may expect that many will come to him to entreat his favor (cf. Zechariah 8:23). Zophar does not suspect that he himself is one of those who will compete for Job’s favor (Job 42:9).

Zophar concludes his answer to Job with a veiled warning to his address (Job 11:20). Again the assumption is made that Job is a wicked man. The eyes of a wicked man will succumb as he looks for good, for it will never come. Nor will he ever have the opportunity to escape his misery. Any hope of that is lost. The only hope left to him is to breathe his last. Then he will be rid of all misery, that is to say, of his earthly circumstances.

But Job is not a wicked man who looks forward to the end of his life as his only hope. On the contrary, he clings more and more to God. In spite of all his doubts and despair about God’s dealings with him, he cannot do without God. He continues to look to God, and therefore his eyes will not succumb, but he will see God (Job 42:5). This will happen in a different way than he imagines and also very different from the way his friends present him to that end.

Thus Zophar’s argument ends, which is as clear as glass, and at the same time as cold as ice. It is clear: the sinner and the wicked shall perish, you’ll always get what you deserve. It is also bitterly cold: there is a total lack of tact and compassion. The other friends have shown some sympathy, but Zophar is rock-hard. He says to Job: Job, you are a wicked man, you have deserved the suffering; just acknowledge that and repent!

Job 31:5

The Peaceful Result

In this section Zophar tells Job what he will get if he listens to him. However, after his previous wrongful, harsh accusations, the portrayal of bliss that he paints is completely misplaced. What he says here sounds like singing songs to a troubled heart (Proverbs 25:20). He thereby increases the pain of Job.

If Job listens to Zophar, he will lift up his face and look God in the face, and misery will depart from him (Job 11:15). After all, Job first complained that he cannot lift up his head as long as God pushes him down, didn’t he (Job 10:15-16)? Then he will stand firm as a house and no longer need to have any fear of God. He will forget all the trouble and will not think back to it (Job 11:16). In beautiful imagery Zophar compares this to “waters that have passed by”. Just as water that has passed by never flows back, so the trials will never return in Job’s life.

The life of Job will be in a light brighter than the noonday sun, as it is for the righteous (Job 11:17; Proverbs 4:18). Everything will be radiantly glorious. Nothing of the darkness in which he now finds himself will be present again. All darkness is gone. It is the opposite of the last words of Job in the previous chapter, where he says that light is like darkness (Job 10:22). Here is the darkness as the light of the morning (Isaiah 58:10; Zechariah 14:7), of the new day that will have dawned in Job’s life.

Instead of fear of disasters, he will have faith or trust in God (Job 11:18). His confidence is based on the firm hope that God, in His goodness, will ensure that His prosperity is lasting. He will also be able to convince himself of this when he starts to look around. This means that in the evening he inspects everything around and in the house. He will discover nothing disturbing and will be able to sleep peacefully.

He will be able to lie down in complete peace (Job 11:19). He need not fear that someone, now that he is under the blessing of God, will be able to disturb him. Instead of expecting threats, he may expect that many will come to him to entreat his favor (cf. Zechariah 8:23). Zophar does not suspect that he himself is one of those who will compete for Job’s favor (Job 42:9).

Zophar concludes his answer to Job with a veiled warning to his address (Job 11:20). Again the assumption is made that Job is a wicked man. The eyes of a wicked man will succumb as he looks for good, for it will never come. Nor will he ever have the opportunity to escape his misery. Any hope of that is lost. The only hope left to him is to breathe his last. Then he will be rid of all misery, that is to say, of his earthly circumstances.

But Job is not a wicked man who looks forward to the end of his life as his only hope. On the contrary, he clings more and more to God. In spite of all his doubts and despair about God’s dealings with him, he cannot do without God. He continues to look to God, and therefore his eyes will not succumb, but he will see God (Job 42:5). This will happen in a different way than he imagines and also very different from the way his friends present him to that end.

Thus Zophar’s argument ends, which is as clear as glass, and at the same time as cold as ice. It is clear: the sinner and the wicked shall perish, you’ll always get what you deserve. It is also bitterly cold: there is a total lack of tact and compassion. The other friends have shown some sympathy, but Zophar is rock-hard. He says to Job: Job, you are a wicked man, you have deserved the suffering; just acknowledge that and repent!

Job 31:6

The Peaceful Result

In this section Zophar tells Job what he will get if he listens to him. However, after his previous wrongful, harsh accusations, the portrayal of bliss that he paints is completely misplaced. What he says here sounds like singing songs to a troubled heart (Proverbs 25:20). He thereby increases the pain of Job.

If Job listens to Zophar, he will lift up his face and look God in the face, and misery will depart from him (Job 11:15). After all, Job first complained that he cannot lift up his head as long as God pushes him down, didn’t he (Job 10:15-16)? Then he will stand firm as a house and no longer need to have any fear of God. He will forget all the trouble and will not think back to it (Job 11:16). In beautiful imagery Zophar compares this to “waters that have passed by”. Just as water that has passed by never flows back, so the trials will never return in Job’s life.

The life of Job will be in a light brighter than the noonday sun, as it is for the righteous (Job 11:17; Proverbs 4:18). Everything will be radiantly glorious. Nothing of the darkness in which he now finds himself will be present again. All darkness is gone. It is the opposite of the last words of Job in the previous chapter, where he says that light is like darkness (Job 10:22). Here is the darkness as the light of the morning (Isaiah 58:10; Zechariah 14:7), of the new day that will have dawned in Job’s life.

Instead of fear of disasters, he will have faith or trust in God (Job 11:18). His confidence is based on the firm hope that God, in His goodness, will ensure that His prosperity is lasting. He will also be able to convince himself of this when he starts to look around. This means that in the evening he inspects everything around and in the house. He will discover nothing disturbing and will be able to sleep peacefully.

He will be able to lie down in complete peace (Job 11:19). He need not fear that someone, now that he is under the blessing of God, will be able to disturb him. Instead of expecting threats, he may expect that many will come to him to entreat his favor (cf. Zechariah 8:23). Zophar does not suspect that he himself is one of those who will compete for Job’s favor (Job 42:9).

Zophar concludes his answer to Job with a veiled warning to his address (Job 11:20). Again the assumption is made that Job is a wicked man. The eyes of a wicked man will succumb as he looks for good, for it will never come. Nor will he ever have the opportunity to escape his misery. Any hope of that is lost. The only hope left to him is to breathe his last. Then he will be rid of all misery, that is to say, of his earthly circumstances.

But Job is not a wicked man who looks forward to the end of his life as his only hope. On the contrary, he clings more and more to God. In spite of all his doubts and despair about God’s dealings with him, he cannot do without God. He continues to look to God, and therefore his eyes will not succumb, but he will see God (Job 42:5). This will happen in a different way than he imagines and also very different from the way his friends present him to that end.

Thus Zophar’s argument ends, which is as clear as glass, and at the same time as cold as ice. It is clear: the sinner and the wicked shall perish, you’ll always get what you deserve. It is also bitterly cold: there is a total lack of tact and compassion. The other friends have shown some sympathy, but Zophar is rock-hard. He says to Job: Job, you are a wicked man, you have deserved the suffering; just acknowledge that and repent!

Job 31:7

The Peaceful Result

In this section Zophar tells Job what he will get if he listens to him. However, after his previous wrongful, harsh accusations, the portrayal of bliss that he paints is completely misplaced. What he says here sounds like singing songs to a troubled heart (Proverbs 25:20). He thereby increases the pain of Job.

If Job listens to Zophar, he will lift up his face and look God in the face, and misery will depart from him (Job 11:15). After all, Job first complained that he cannot lift up his head as long as God pushes him down, didn’t he (Job 10:15-16)? Then he will stand firm as a house and no longer need to have any fear of God. He will forget all the trouble and will not think back to it (Job 11:16). In beautiful imagery Zophar compares this to “waters that have passed by”. Just as water that has passed by never flows back, so the trials will never return in Job’s life.

The life of Job will be in a light brighter than the noonday sun, as it is for the righteous (Job 11:17; Proverbs 4:18). Everything will be radiantly glorious. Nothing of the darkness in which he now finds himself will be present again. All darkness is gone. It is the opposite of the last words of Job in the previous chapter, where he says that light is like darkness (Job 10:22). Here is the darkness as the light of the morning (Isaiah 58:10; Zechariah 14:7), of the new day that will have dawned in Job’s life.

Instead of fear of disasters, he will have faith or trust in God (Job 11:18). His confidence is based on the firm hope that God, in His goodness, will ensure that His prosperity is lasting. He will also be able to convince himself of this when he starts to look around. This means that in the evening he inspects everything around and in the house. He will discover nothing disturbing and will be able to sleep peacefully.

He will be able to lie down in complete peace (Job 11:19). He need not fear that someone, now that he is under the blessing of God, will be able to disturb him. Instead of expecting threats, he may expect that many will come to him to entreat his favor (cf. Zechariah 8:23). Zophar does not suspect that he himself is one of those who will compete for Job’s favor (Job 42:9).

Zophar concludes his answer to Job with a veiled warning to his address (Job 11:20). Again the assumption is made that Job is a wicked man. The eyes of a wicked man will succumb as he looks for good, for it will never come. Nor will he ever have the opportunity to escape his misery. Any hope of that is lost. The only hope left to him is to breathe his last. Then he will be rid of all misery, that is to say, of his earthly circumstances.

But Job is not a wicked man who looks forward to the end of his life as his only hope. On the contrary, he clings more and more to God. In spite of all his doubts and despair about God’s dealings with him, he cannot do without God. He continues to look to God, and therefore his eyes will not succumb, but he will see God (Job 42:5). This will happen in a different way than he imagines and also very different from the way his friends present him to that end.

Thus Zophar’s argument ends, which is as clear as glass, and at the same time as cold as ice. It is clear: the sinner and the wicked shall perish, you’ll always get what you deserve. It is also bitterly cold: there is a total lack of tact and compassion. The other friends have shown some sympathy, but Zophar is rock-hard. He says to Job: Job, you are a wicked man, you have deserved the suffering; just acknowledge that and repent!

Job 31:9

Introduction

All three friends have spoken. They all gave their views from different angles. Job sees a pattern in this. The three friends all agree that Job’s suffering is the result of sins committed by him. They are also determined to convince him of his sins, despite the fact that they have no other proof than what they see as proof: his suffering. Job is very indignant about this.

Earlier, Job reacted especially to the way the friends approached him, to their lack of understanding and empathy (Job 6:14-27). But his words did not come across. Zophar has just added a bit more, and spoken to Job in an even louder and more insensitive way. In his reaction to this, Job does not so much deal with his style, but rather with the content. He refutes his so-called wisdom.

Job’s answer to Zophar in Job 12-14 can be divided into two parts: 1. His answer to his friends (Job 12:1-25; Job 13:1-19). 2. His questions to God (Job 13:20-28; Job 14:1-22).

Job Feels Accused by His Friends

When Zophar is finished, Job responds (Job 12:1). His answer is not an agreement with what Zophar has said, but a refutation of it. His response is addressed not only to Zophar, but to “you”, that is, to the other two friends as well (Job 12:2). This is also the case in Job 6, where Job makes it clear that he is very disappointed in his three friends. Sarcastically he says to them: ‘What wisdom have you expressed, unbelievable. Really, you are grossing up in wise words. If you die, that’s the end of wisdom.’

‘But’, Job goes on to say, ‘in no way I am inferior in wisdom to you’ (Job 12:3). He points out that like them, he also has a heart. By this he means that he also has intellect and thinks about things and has feelings. He is “not inferior” to them. They tell him nothing new. What they use as arguments against him in order to convince him of their correct ‘vision of God’, are the arguments known to everyone. He doesn’t feel that he is taken seriously by them. As if he lacked knowledge about God. Job was known for his wisdom and assisted many (Job 4:3-4). He does know how people talk about God and His actions by people who think they know Him. With what they tell him about God, they don’t get him down.

He accuses them of joking with him (Job 12:4; Job 17:2; Job 21:3; Job 30:1). In doing so, they act very differently from God, to Whom Job resorts. God does listen to him, he is convinced of that, even though he does not understand why God acts with him in this way. To God, Job states, he is a just and blameless man. That is why it is so unjust that his friends ridicule him and treat him so disrespectfully. They talk easily. They can ridicule him because they do not know the distress he is in. They prosper and grow and they put God at their will. More than anyone else, Christ has experienced this mockery.

Job compares them to someone “who is at ease”, the man without worries, who has no problems (Job 12:5). The man without worries looks at an oppressed man and despises him in his thoughts. He believes that he who is oppressed is to blame. What happens to him, he deserves, he has brought it upon himself through his behavior. You can see he’s on the verge of slipping. That’s because he’s not standing right before God.

That’s how Job feels judged by his friends. It’s like he’s being kicked while he is down, instead of getting comforting pity. People who don’t have problems often have a quick judgment about those who do. Parents whose children are doing well are in danger of making quick judgments about parents whose children are not doing well. In doing so, they sometimes also moderate themselves to know the causes. In general, public opinion is mercilessly cruel to those who are already having such a hard time.

In Job 12:6 Job points out the injustice he observes on earth. This is also what Asaph observes (Psalms 73:2-3). Jeremiah also struggled with this (Jeremiah 12:1-2). With this, Job contradicts the vision of his friends that God always rewards good and punishes evil. Zophar has accused Job of wickedness in his tent (Job 11:14) and thus, according to him, has demonstrated the cause of Job’s misery. Job now replies that the tents of the destroyers have rest and that those who provoke God are perfectly secure. God’s hand protects them from evil and He is good to them. This is how God often treats people in goodness while they defy Him. This means that God does not always immediately punish evil and reward good. That Job is suffering so much misery is not proof that he has sinned.

Job 31:10

Introduction

All three friends have spoken. They all gave their views from different angles. Job sees a pattern in this. The three friends all agree that Job’s suffering is the result of sins committed by him. They are also determined to convince him of his sins, despite the fact that they have no other proof than what they see as proof: his suffering. Job is very indignant about this.

Earlier, Job reacted especially to the way the friends approached him, to their lack of understanding and empathy (Job 6:14-27). But his words did not come across. Zophar has just added a bit more, and spoken to Job in an even louder and more insensitive way. In his reaction to this, Job does not so much deal with his style, but rather with the content. He refutes his so-called wisdom.

Job’s answer to Zophar in Job 12-14 can be divided into two parts: 1. His answer to his friends (Job 12:1-25; Job 13:1-19). 2. His questions to God (Job 13:20-28; Job 14:1-22).

Job Feels Accused by His Friends

When Zophar is finished, Job responds (Job 12:1). His answer is not an agreement with what Zophar has said, but a refutation of it. His response is addressed not only to Zophar, but to “you”, that is, to the other two friends as well (Job 12:2). This is also the case in Job 6, where Job makes it clear that he is very disappointed in his three friends. Sarcastically he says to them: ‘What wisdom have you expressed, unbelievable. Really, you are grossing up in wise words. If you die, that’s the end of wisdom.’

‘But’, Job goes on to say, ‘in no way I am inferior in wisdom to you’ (Job 12:3). He points out that like them, he also has a heart. By this he means that he also has intellect and thinks about things and has feelings. He is “not inferior” to them. They tell him nothing new. What they use as arguments against him in order to convince him of their correct ‘vision of God’, are the arguments known to everyone. He doesn’t feel that he is taken seriously by them. As if he lacked knowledge about God. Job was known for his wisdom and assisted many (Job 4:3-4). He does know how people talk about God and His actions by people who think they know Him. With what they tell him about God, they don’t get him down.

He accuses them of joking with him (Job 12:4; Job 17:2; Job 21:3; Job 30:1). In doing so, they act very differently from God, to Whom Job resorts. God does listen to him, he is convinced of that, even though he does not understand why God acts with him in this way. To God, Job states, he is a just and blameless man. That is why it is so unjust that his friends ridicule him and treat him so disrespectfully. They talk easily. They can ridicule him because they do not know the distress he is in. They prosper and grow and they put God at their will. More than anyone else, Christ has experienced this mockery.

Job compares them to someone “who is at ease”, the man without worries, who has no problems (Job 12:5). The man without worries looks at an oppressed man and despises him in his thoughts. He believes that he who is oppressed is to blame. What happens to him, he deserves, he has brought it upon himself through his behavior. You can see he’s on the verge of slipping. That’s because he’s not standing right before God.

That’s how Job feels judged by his friends. It’s like he’s being kicked while he is down, instead of getting comforting pity. People who don’t have problems often have a quick judgment about those who do. Parents whose children are doing well are in danger of making quick judgments about parents whose children are not doing well. In doing so, they sometimes also moderate themselves to know the causes. In general, public opinion is mercilessly cruel to those who are already having such a hard time.

In Job 12:6 Job points out the injustice he observes on earth. This is also what Asaph observes (Psalms 73:2-3). Jeremiah also struggled with this (Jeremiah 12:1-2). With this, Job contradicts the vision of his friends that God always rewards good and punishes evil. Zophar has accused Job of wickedness in his tent (Job 11:14) and thus, according to him, has demonstrated the cause of Job’s misery. Job now replies that the tents of the destroyers have rest and that those who provoke God are perfectly secure. God’s hand protects them from evil and He is good to them. This is how God often treats people in goodness while they defy Him. This means that God does not always immediately punish evil and reward good. That Job is suffering so much misery is not proof that he has sinned.

Job 31:11

Introduction

All three friends have spoken. They all gave their views from different angles. Job sees a pattern in this. The three friends all agree that Job’s suffering is the result of sins committed by him. They are also determined to convince him of his sins, despite the fact that they have no other proof than what they see as proof: his suffering. Job is very indignant about this.

Earlier, Job reacted especially to the way the friends approached him, to their lack of understanding and empathy (Job 6:14-27). But his words did not come across. Zophar has just added a bit more, and spoken to Job in an even louder and more insensitive way. In his reaction to this, Job does not so much deal with his style, but rather with the content. He refutes his so-called wisdom.

Job’s answer to Zophar in Job 12-14 can be divided into two parts: 1. His answer to his friends (Job 12:1-25; Job 13:1-19). 2. His questions to God (Job 13:20-28; Job 14:1-22).

Job Feels Accused by His Friends

When Zophar is finished, Job responds (Job 12:1). His answer is not an agreement with what Zophar has said, but a refutation of it. His response is addressed not only to Zophar, but to “you”, that is, to the other two friends as well (Job 12:2). This is also the case in Job 6, where Job makes it clear that he is very disappointed in his three friends. Sarcastically he says to them: ‘What wisdom have you expressed, unbelievable. Really, you are grossing up in wise words. If you die, that’s the end of wisdom.’

‘But’, Job goes on to say, ‘in no way I am inferior in wisdom to you’ (Job 12:3). He points out that like them, he also has a heart. By this he means that he also has intellect and thinks about things and has feelings. He is “not inferior” to them. They tell him nothing new. What they use as arguments against him in order to convince him of their correct ‘vision of God’, are the arguments known to everyone. He doesn’t feel that he is taken seriously by them. As if he lacked knowledge about God. Job was known for his wisdom and assisted many (Job 4:3-4). He does know how people talk about God and His actions by people who think they know Him. With what they tell him about God, they don’t get him down.

He accuses them of joking with him (Job 12:4; Job 17:2; Job 21:3; Job 30:1). In doing so, they act very differently from God, to Whom Job resorts. God does listen to him, he is convinced of that, even though he does not understand why God acts with him in this way. To God, Job states, he is a just and blameless man. That is why it is so unjust that his friends ridicule him and treat him so disrespectfully. They talk easily. They can ridicule him because they do not know the distress he is in. They prosper and grow and they put God at their will. More than anyone else, Christ has experienced this mockery.

Job compares them to someone “who is at ease”, the man without worries, who has no problems (Job 12:5). The man without worries looks at an oppressed man and despises him in his thoughts. He believes that he who is oppressed is to blame. What happens to him, he deserves, he has brought it upon himself through his behavior. You can see he’s on the verge of slipping. That’s because he’s not standing right before God.

That’s how Job feels judged by his friends. It’s like he’s being kicked while he is down, instead of getting comforting pity. People who don’t have problems often have a quick judgment about those who do. Parents whose children are doing well are in danger of making quick judgments about parents whose children are not doing well. In doing so, they sometimes also moderate themselves to know the causes. In general, public opinion is mercilessly cruel to those who are already having such a hard time.

In Job 12:6 Job points out the injustice he observes on earth. This is also what Asaph observes (Psalms 73:2-3). Jeremiah also struggled with this (Jeremiah 12:1-2). With this, Job contradicts the vision of his friends that God always rewards good and punishes evil. Zophar has accused Job of wickedness in his tent (Job 11:14) and thus, according to him, has demonstrated the cause of Job’s misery. Job now replies that the tents of the destroyers have rest and that those who provoke God are perfectly secure. God’s hand protects them from evil and He is good to them. This is how God often treats people in goodness while they defy Him. This means that God does not always immediately punish evil and reward good. That Job is suffering so much misery is not proof that he has sinned.

Job 31:12

Introduction

All three friends have spoken. They all gave their views from different angles. Job sees a pattern in this. The three friends all agree that Job’s suffering is the result of sins committed by him. They are also determined to convince him of his sins, despite the fact that they have no other proof than what they see as proof: his suffering. Job is very indignant about this.

Earlier, Job reacted especially to the way the friends approached him, to their lack of understanding and empathy (Job 6:14-27). But his words did not come across. Zophar has just added a bit more, and spoken to Job in an even louder and more insensitive way. In his reaction to this, Job does not so much deal with his style, but rather with the content. He refutes his so-called wisdom.

Job’s answer to Zophar in Job 12-14 can be divided into two parts: 1. His answer to his friends (Job 12:1-25; Job 13:1-19). 2. His questions to God (Job 13:20-28; Job 14:1-22).

Job Feels Accused by His Friends

When Zophar is finished, Job responds (Job 12:1). His answer is not an agreement with what Zophar has said, but a refutation of it. His response is addressed not only to Zophar, but to “you”, that is, to the other two friends as well (Job 12:2). This is also the case in Job 6, where Job makes it clear that he is very disappointed in his three friends. Sarcastically he says to them: ‘What wisdom have you expressed, unbelievable. Really, you are grossing up in wise words. If you die, that’s the end of wisdom.’

‘But’, Job goes on to say, ‘in no way I am inferior in wisdom to you’ (Job 12:3). He points out that like them, he also has a heart. By this he means that he also has intellect and thinks about things and has feelings. He is “not inferior” to them. They tell him nothing new. What they use as arguments against him in order to convince him of their correct ‘vision of God’, are the arguments known to everyone. He doesn’t feel that he is taken seriously by them. As if he lacked knowledge about God. Job was known for his wisdom and assisted many (Job 4:3-4). He does know how people talk about God and His actions by people who think they know Him. With what they tell him about God, they don’t get him down.

He accuses them of joking with him (Job 12:4; Job 17:2; Job 21:3; Job 30:1). In doing so, they act very differently from God, to Whom Job resorts. God does listen to him, he is convinced of that, even though he does not understand why God acts with him in this way. To God, Job states, he is a just and blameless man. That is why it is so unjust that his friends ridicule him and treat him so disrespectfully. They talk easily. They can ridicule him because they do not know the distress he is in. They prosper and grow and they put God at their will. More than anyone else, Christ has experienced this mockery.

Job compares them to someone “who is at ease”, the man without worries, who has no problems (Job 12:5). The man without worries looks at an oppressed man and despises him in his thoughts. He believes that he who is oppressed is to blame. What happens to him, he deserves, he has brought it upon himself through his behavior. You can see he’s on the verge of slipping. That’s because he’s not standing right before God.

That’s how Job feels judged by his friends. It’s like he’s being kicked while he is down, instead of getting comforting pity. People who don’t have problems often have a quick judgment about those who do. Parents whose children are doing well are in danger of making quick judgments about parents whose children are not doing well. In doing so, they sometimes also moderate themselves to know the causes. In general, public opinion is mercilessly cruel to those who are already having such a hard time.

In Job 12:6 Job points out the injustice he observes on earth. This is also what Asaph observes (Psalms 73:2-3). Jeremiah also struggled with this (Jeremiah 12:1-2). With this, Job contradicts the vision of his friends that God always rewards good and punishes evil. Zophar has accused Job of wickedness in his tent (Job 11:14) and thus, according to him, has demonstrated the cause of Job’s misery. Job now replies that the tents of the destroyers have rest and that those who provoke God are perfectly secure. God’s hand protects them from evil and He is good to them. This is how God often treats people in goodness while they defy Him. This means that God does not always immediately punish evil and reward good. That Job is suffering so much misery is not proof that he has sinned.

Job 31:13

Introduction

All three friends have spoken. They all gave their views from different angles. Job sees a pattern in this. The three friends all agree that Job’s suffering is the result of sins committed by him. They are also determined to convince him of his sins, despite the fact that they have no other proof than what they see as proof: his suffering. Job is very indignant about this.

Earlier, Job reacted especially to the way the friends approached him, to their lack of understanding and empathy (Job 6:14-27). But his words did not come across. Zophar has just added a bit more, and spoken to Job in an even louder and more insensitive way. In his reaction to this, Job does not so much deal with his style, but rather with the content. He refutes his so-called wisdom.

Job’s answer to Zophar in Job 12-14 can be divided into two parts: 1. His answer to his friends (Job 12:1-25; Job 13:1-19). 2. His questions to God (Job 13:20-28; Job 14:1-22).

Job Feels Accused by His Friends

When Zophar is finished, Job responds (Job 12:1). His answer is not an agreement with what Zophar has said, but a refutation of it. His response is addressed not only to Zophar, but to “you”, that is, to the other two friends as well (Job 12:2). This is also the case in Job 6, where Job makes it clear that he is very disappointed in his three friends. Sarcastically he says to them: ‘What wisdom have you expressed, unbelievable. Really, you are grossing up in wise words. If you die, that’s the end of wisdom.’

‘But’, Job goes on to say, ‘in no way I am inferior in wisdom to you’ (Job 12:3). He points out that like them, he also has a heart. By this he means that he also has intellect and thinks about things and has feelings. He is “not inferior” to them. They tell him nothing new. What they use as arguments against him in order to convince him of their correct ‘vision of God’, are the arguments known to everyone. He doesn’t feel that he is taken seriously by them. As if he lacked knowledge about God. Job was known for his wisdom and assisted many (Job 4:3-4). He does know how people talk about God and His actions by people who think they know Him. With what they tell him about God, they don’t get him down.

He accuses them of joking with him (Job 12:4; Job 17:2; Job 21:3; Job 30:1). In doing so, they act very differently from God, to Whom Job resorts. God does listen to him, he is convinced of that, even though he does not understand why God acts with him in this way. To God, Job states, he is a just and blameless man. That is why it is so unjust that his friends ridicule him and treat him so disrespectfully. They talk easily. They can ridicule him because they do not know the distress he is in. They prosper and grow and they put God at their will. More than anyone else, Christ has experienced this mockery.

Job compares them to someone “who is at ease”, the man without worries, who has no problems (Job 12:5). The man without worries looks at an oppressed man and despises him in his thoughts. He believes that he who is oppressed is to blame. What happens to him, he deserves, he has brought it upon himself through his behavior. You can see he’s on the verge of slipping. That’s because he’s not standing right before God.

That’s how Job feels judged by his friends. It’s like he’s being kicked while he is down, instead of getting comforting pity. People who don’t have problems often have a quick judgment about those who do. Parents whose children are doing well are in danger of making quick judgments about parents whose children are not doing well. In doing so, they sometimes also moderate themselves to know the causes. In general, public opinion is mercilessly cruel to those who are already having such a hard time.

In Job 12:6 Job points out the injustice he observes on earth. This is also what Asaph observes (Psalms 73:2-3). Jeremiah also struggled with this (Jeremiah 12:1-2). With this, Job contradicts the vision of his friends that God always rewards good and punishes evil. Zophar has accused Job of wickedness in his tent (Job 11:14) and thus, according to him, has demonstrated the cause of Job’s misery. Job now replies that the tents of the destroyers have rest and that those who provoke God are perfectly secure. God’s hand protects them from evil and He is good to them. This is how God often treats people in goodness while they defy Him. This means that God does not always immediately punish evil and reward good. That Job is suffering so much misery is not proof that he has sinned.

Job 31:14

Introduction

All three friends have spoken. They all gave their views from different angles. Job sees a pattern in this. The three friends all agree that Job’s suffering is the result of sins committed by him. They are also determined to convince him of his sins, despite the fact that they have no other proof than what they see as proof: his suffering. Job is very indignant about this.

Earlier, Job reacted especially to the way the friends approached him, to their lack of understanding and empathy (Job 6:14-27). But his words did not come across. Zophar has just added a bit more, and spoken to Job in an even louder and more insensitive way. In his reaction to this, Job does not so much deal with his style, but rather with the content. He refutes his so-called wisdom.

Job’s answer to Zophar in Job 12-14 can be divided into two parts: 1. His answer to his friends (Job 12:1-25; Job 13:1-19). 2. His questions to God (Job 13:20-28; Job 14:1-22).

Job Feels Accused by His Friends

When Zophar is finished, Job responds (Job 12:1). His answer is not an agreement with what Zophar has said, but a refutation of it. His response is addressed not only to Zophar, but to “you”, that is, to the other two friends as well (Job 12:2). This is also the case in Job 6, where Job makes it clear that he is very disappointed in his three friends. Sarcastically he says to them: ‘What wisdom have you expressed, unbelievable. Really, you are grossing up in wise words. If you die, that’s the end of wisdom.’

‘But’, Job goes on to say, ‘in no way I am inferior in wisdom to you’ (Job 12:3). He points out that like them, he also has a heart. By this he means that he also has intellect and thinks about things and has feelings. He is “not inferior” to them. They tell him nothing new. What they use as arguments against him in order to convince him of their correct ‘vision of God’, are the arguments known to everyone. He doesn’t feel that he is taken seriously by them. As if he lacked knowledge about God. Job was known for his wisdom and assisted many (Job 4:3-4). He does know how people talk about God and His actions by people who think they know Him. With what they tell him about God, they don’t get him down.

He accuses them of joking with him (Job 12:4; Job 17:2; Job 21:3; Job 30:1). In doing so, they act very differently from God, to Whom Job resorts. God does listen to him, he is convinced of that, even though he does not understand why God acts with him in this way. To God, Job states, he is a just and blameless man. That is why it is so unjust that his friends ridicule him and treat him so disrespectfully. They talk easily. They can ridicule him because they do not know the distress he is in. They prosper and grow and they put God at their will. More than anyone else, Christ has experienced this mockery.

Job compares them to someone “who is at ease”, the man without worries, who has no problems (Job 12:5). The man without worries looks at an oppressed man and despises him in his thoughts. He believes that he who is oppressed is to blame. What happens to him, he deserves, he has brought it upon himself through his behavior. You can see he’s on the verge of slipping. That’s because he’s not standing right before God.

That’s how Job feels judged by his friends. It’s like he’s being kicked while he is down, instead of getting comforting pity. People who don’t have problems often have a quick judgment about those who do. Parents whose children are doing well are in danger of making quick judgments about parents whose children are not doing well. In doing so, they sometimes also moderate themselves to know the causes. In general, public opinion is mercilessly cruel to those who are already having such a hard time.

In Job 12:6 Job points out the injustice he observes on earth. This is also what Asaph observes (Psalms 73:2-3). Jeremiah also struggled with this (Jeremiah 12:1-2). With this, Job contradicts the vision of his friends that God always rewards good and punishes evil. Zophar has accused Job of wickedness in his tent (Job 11:14) and thus, according to him, has demonstrated the cause of Job’s misery. Job now replies that the tents of the destroyers have rest and that those who provoke God are perfectly secure. God’s hand protects them from evil and He is good to them. This is how God often treats people in goodness while they defy Him. This means that God does not always immediately punish evil and reward good. That Job is suffering so much misery is not proof that he has sinned.

Job 31:15

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. Matthew 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 (Ecclesiastes 3:21; Genesis 2:7; Daniel 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.

Job 31:16

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. Matthew 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 (Ecclesiastes 3:21; Genesis 2:7; Daniel 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.

Job 31:17

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. Matthew 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 (Ecclesiastes 3:21; Genesis 2:7; Daniel 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.

Job 31:18

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. Matthew 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 (Ecclesiastes 3:21; Genesis 2:7; Daniel 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.

Job 31:19

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. Matthew 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 (Ecclesiastes 3:21; Genesis 2:7; Daniel 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.

Job 31:20

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. Matthew 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 (Ecclesiastes 3:21; Genesis 2:7; Daniel 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.

Job 31:21

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. Matthew 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 (Ecclesiastes 3:21; Genesis 2:7; Daniel 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.

Job 31:22

Job Describes the Power of God

Job’s a remark about God’s wisdom and might in Job 12:13 is reason to give examples of how God uses His wisdom and omnipotence in practice. Job does this to show his friends that he knows Who God is. They don’t have to tell him that. In his misery Job sheds a one-sided light on God’s omnipotence and wisdom. He presents it in such a way that God overthrows everything man might rely on when it comes to justice, protection and consolation.

There may also be an undertone of an accusation against God. It has been said that in these verses he accuses God, as it were, of ‘mismanagement’, of abuse of His might. Remarkable in this respect is that Job mainly describes the might of God to exterminate. This fits in with everything we have heard about God from Job’s mouth so far. He does not understand God. How can God act like this with someone like him, who has served Him so faithfully? God has broken off his life and there is no prospect of rebuilding it (Job 12:14). He feels locked up, imprisoned in his misery, without an opening to escape it.

What he experiences of God, he sees all around him. God acts as He wills, without anyone being able to stop Him in it, and without giving an account of His deeds. That behind all God’s deeds there is a wise purpose, Job is still blind to. He measures God’s actions by the circumstances in which he finds himself. He cannot rise above his own judgment of them. He is not yet ready for that. The struggles in his thoughts about God are still too intense for that.

What God can do with a man like Job, He can also do with the waters (Job 12:15). He can stop them and He can let them go. If He stops them, drought is the result. If He lets them go, floods will come and turn the earth upside down. Job only describes here the negative effect of what God does. He does not have an eye for the blessings that God also has in mind. For God speaks to men through natural disasters so that they may convert to Him.

To Job God is now Someone with Whom strength takes precedence over wisdom (Job 12:16; cf. Job 12:13). He is first and foremost concerned with God’s strength, which he experiences, but in its devastating form. Surely he knows that God also possesses wisdom. Only it is a mystery to him from which that wisdom is evident, for he does not understand why God treats him this way. He who is misled and misleader are both in the power of God. That is how powerful He is. But why He allows them both to coexist, Job does not understand.

Then Job speaks of counselors who are carried away destitute by God (Job 12:17). With all their wise counsel – see for example Ahithophel (2 Samuel 16:20-23; 2 Samuel 17:1-5; 14) – these people have not been able to prevent God from giving them into the hands of enemies who have made them walk barefoot (cf. Isaiah 20:4). The judges who are supposed to have insight into the right and to judge in disputes are made fools by God, deprived of their understanding. God is sovereign and also controls the minds of the wisest people on earth.

Kings are also subject to His dominion (Job 12:18). They may say something and decide, but God undoes it in His omnipotence. He even “binds their loins with a girdle” which means that He takes their royal girdle (dignity) away from them, binds an ordinary girdle around them, and takes them away as captives. What applies to the kings as political leaders also applies to the priests, the religious leaders (Job 12:19). He can also make them walk barefoot. The secure ones are also under His authority. They may think that they can exercise their power undisturbed, but He is throwing them into ruin. How He deals with them makes it clear that He has the circumstances of life in His hand and can change them as He sees fit.

He has the last word, not they. Counselors, judges, kings, priests, all of them are under His authority and He deals with them as He pleases. Job is right in this if they deserve it, but he leaves that side aside. He only sees how God deals with him. He is one of the “trusted ones” (Job 12:20). He knows this of himself. But God seems to think otherwise, for He gags him. All discernment of old people fails to explain this.

“Nobles” do not count with Him (Job 12:21). He pours “contempt” on them. The principle is general (Psalms 107:40), but here too Job may mean himself. “Loosen the belt of the strong” means that God makes their walking impossible or severely restricts their freedom of movement. The belt serves to keep the clothing up so that it does not hinder someone when he is walking. Job experiences that God makes it impossible for him to walk.

God is so omniscient that He reveals what is most hidden from man (Job 12:22; cf. 1 Corinthians 4:5a). What is “deep darkness” for man, what is completely hidden from his perception and what he also shudders from, is not hidden from God either. “All things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13). God has control over the most hidden things.

What applies to persons also applies to nations (Job 12:23-25). He also has total control over the nations (Job 12:23). All the sources from which they draw and through which they grow great come from Him. He can also take away those sources, making them disappear from the earthly stage. Their habitat over which they are scattered is determined by Him. The nations do not determine their own course, He does.

This seems to contradict what Paul says: “In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways” (Acts 14:16). But that contradiction is only appearance. Both statements are true. The nations are responsible for their own choice. They have chosen to go their way apart from God. God has allowed them to do so. But that does not mean that God has given up control. If the nations go their own way, God directs them in such a way that they will suffer the consequences of their choice.

Here we see what we find again and again in Scripture, on the one hand the responsibility of man and on the other hand God’s plan. God fulfills His purposes and in so doing includes man’s actions without reducing man’s responsibility. We cannot bring these two sides together, but God can. That’s because He is God.

In order to achieve His purpose with the nations, He causes disorientation among the leaders of the nations (Job 12:24). They wander around the world “in a pathless waste”. They do not see any passable way. All their planning is futile. They grope around “in darkness with no light” (Job 12:25). If a man goes his way without God, it means that he is in darkness, where there is no light. Such a man staggers like a drunkard. He looks for something to hold on to, but does not find it.

In summary, Job has explained to the three friends the power and wisdom of God. Between the lines we feel his struggle with the goodness and righteousness of God. This struggle is further explained in Job 13.

Job 31:23

Job Describes the Power of God

Job’s a remark about God’s wisdom and might in Job 12:13 is reason to give examples of how God uses His wisdom and omnipotence in practice. Job does this to show his friends that he knows Who God is. They don’t have to tell him that. In his misery Job sheds a one-sided light on God’s omnipotence and wisdom. He presents it in such a way that God overthrows everything man might rely on when it comes to justice, protection and consolation.

There may also be an undertone of an accusation against God. It has been said that in these verses he accuses God, as it were, of ‘mismanagement’, of abuse of His might. Remarkable in this respect is that Job mainly describes the might of God to exterminate. This fits in with everything we have heard about God from Job’s mouth so far. He does not understand God. How can God act like this with someone like him, who has served Him so faithfully? God has broken off his life and there is no prospect of rebuilding it (Job 12:14). He feels locked up, imprisoned in his misery, without an opening to escape it.

What he experiences of God, he sees all around him. God acts as He wills, without anyone being able to stop Him in it, and without giving an account of His deeds. That behind all God’s deeds there is a wise purpose, Job is still blind to. He measures God’s actions by the circumstances in which he finds himself. He cannot rise above his own judgment of them. He is not yet ready for that. The struggles in his thoughts about God are still too intense for that.

What God can do with a man like Job, He can also do with the waters (Job 12:15). He can stop them and He can let them go. If He stops them, drought is the result. If He lets them go, floods will come and turn the earth upside down. Job only describes here the negative effect of what God does. He does not have an eye for the blessings that God also has in mind. For God speaks to men through natural disasters so that they may convert to Him.

To Job God is now Someone with Whom strength takes precedence over wisdom (Job 12:16; cf. Job 12:13). He is first and foremost concerned with God’s strength, which he experiences, but in its devastating form. Surely he knows that God also possesses wisdom. Only it is a mystery to him from which that wisdom is evident, for he does not understand why God treats him this way. He who is misled and misleader are both in the power of God. That is how powerful He is. But why He allows them both to coexist, Job does not understand.

Then Job speaks of counselors who are carried away destitute by God (Job 12:17). With all their wise counsel – see for example Ahithophel (2 Samuel 16:20-23; 2 Samuel 17:1-5; 14) – these people have not been able to prevent God from giving them into the hands of enemies who have made them walk barefoot (cf. Isaiah 20:4). The judges who are supposed to have insight into the right and to judge in disputes are made fools by God, deprived of their understanding. God is sovereign and also controls the minds of the wisest people on earth.

Kings are also subject to His dominion (Job 12:18). They may say something and decide, but God undoes it in His omnipotence. He even “binds their loins with a girdle” which means that He takes their royal girdle (dignity) away from them, binds an ordinary girdle around them, and takes them away as captives. What applies to the kings as political leaders also applies to the priests, the religious leaders (Job 12:19). He can also make them walk barefoot. The secure ones are also under His authority. They may think that they can exercise their power undisturbed, but He is throwing them into ruin. How He deals with them makes it clear that He has the circumstances of life in His hand and can change them as He sees fit.

He has the last word, not they. Counselors, judges, kings, priests, all of them are under His authority and He deals with them as He pleases. Job is right in this if they deserve it, but he leaves that side aside. He only sees how God deals with him. He is one of the “trusted ones” (Job 12:20). He knows this of himself. But God seems to think otherwise, for He gags him. All discernment of old people fails to explain this.

“Nobles” do not count with Him (Job 12:21). He pours “contempt” on them. The principle is general (Psalms 107:40), but here too Job may mean himself. “Loosen the belt of the strong” means that God makes their walking impossible or severely restricts their freedom of movement. The belt serves to keep the clothing up so that it does not hinder someone when he is walking. Job experiences that God makes it impossible for him to walk.

God is so omniscient that He reveals what is most hidden from man (Job 12:22; cf. 1 Corinthians 4:5a). What is “deep darkness” for man, what is completely hidden from his perception and what he also shudders from, is not hidden from God either. “All things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13). God has control over the most hidden things.

What applies to persons also applies to nations (Job 12:23-25). He also has total control over the nations (Job 12:23). All the sources from which they draw and through which they grow great come from Him. He can also take away those sources, making them disappear from the earthly stage. Their habitat over which they are scattered is determined by Him. The nations do not determine their own course, He does.

This seems to contradict what Paul says: “In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways” (Acts 14:16). But that contradiction is only appearance. Both statements are true. The nations are responsible for their own choice. They have chosen to go their way apart from God. God has allowed them to do so. But that does not mean that God has given up control. If the nations go their own way, God directs them in such a way that they will suffer the consequences of their choice.

Here we see what we find again and again in Scripture, on the one hand the responsibility of man and on the other hand God’s plan. God fulfills His purposes and in so doing includes man’s actions without reducing man’s responsibility. We cannot bring these two sides together, but God can. That’s because He is God.

In order to achieve His purpose with the nations, He causes disorientation among the leaders of the nations (Job 12:24). They wander around the world “in a pathless waste”. They do not see any passable way. All their planning is futile. They grope around “in darkness with no light” (Job 12:25). If a man goes his way without God, it means that he is in darkness, where there is no light. Such a man staggers like a drunkard. He looks for something to hold on to, but does not find it.

In summary, Job has explained to the three friends the power and wisdom of God. Between the lines we feel his struggle with the goodness and righteousness of God. This struggle is further explained in Job 13.

Job 31:24

Job Describes the Power of God

Job’s a remark about God’s wisdom and might in Job 12:13 is reason to give examples of how God uses His wisdom and omnipotence in practice. Job does this to show his friends that he knows Who God is. They don’t have to tell him that. In his misery Job sheds a one-sided light on God’s omnipotence and wisdom. He presents it in such a way that God overthrows everything man might rely on when it comes to justice, protection and consolation.

There may also be an undertone of an accusation against God. It has been said that in these verses he accuses God, as it were, of ‘mismanagement’, of abuse of His might. Remarkable in this respect is that Job mainly describes the might of God to exterminate. This fits in with everything we have heard about God from Job’s mouth so far. He does not understand God. How can God act like this with someone like him, who has served Him so faithfully? God has broken off his life and there is no prospect of rebuilding it (Job 12:14). He feels locked up, imprisoned in his misery, without an opening to escape it.

What he experiences of God, he sees all around him. God acts as He wills, without anyone being able to stop Him in it, and without giving an account of His deeds. That behind all God’s deeds there is a wise purpose, Job is still blind to. He measures God’s actions by the circumstances in which he finds himself. He cannot rise above his own judgment of them. He is not yet ready for that. The struggles in his thoughts about God are still too intense for that.

What God can do with a man like Job, He can also do with the waters (Job 12:15). He can stop them and He can let them go. If He stops them, drought is the result. If He lets them go, floods will come and turn the earth upside down. Job only describes here the negative effect of what God does. He does not have an eye for the blessings that God also has in mind. For God speaks to men through natural disasters so that they may convert to Him.

To Job God is now Someone with Whom strength takes precedence over wisdom (Job 12:16; cf. Job 12:13). He is first and foremost concerned with God’s strength, which he experiences, but in its devastating form. Surely he knows that God also possesses wisdom. Only it is a mystery to him from which that wisdom is evident, for he does not understand why God treats him this way. He who is misled and misleader are both in the power of God. That is how powerful He is. But why He allows them both to coexist, Job does not understand.

Then Job speaks of counselors who are carried away destitute by God (Job 12:17). With all their wise counsel – see for example Ahithophel (2 Samuel 16:20-23; 2 Samuel 17:1-5; 14) – these people have not been able to prevent God from giving them into the hands of enemies who have made them walk barefoot (cf. Isaiah 20:4). The judges who are supposed to have insight into the right and to judge in disputes are made fools by God, deprived of their understanding. God is sovereign and also controls the minds of the wisest people on earth.

Kings are also subject to His dominion (Job 12:18). They may say something and decide, but God undoes it in His omnipotence. He even “binds their loins with a girdle” which means that He takes their royal girdle (dignity) away from them, binds an ordinary girdle around them, and takes them away as captives. What applies to the kings as political leaders also applies to the priests, the religious leaders (Job 12:19). He can also make them walk barefoot. The secure ones are also under His authority. They may think that they can exercise their power undisturbed, but He is throwing them into ruin. How He deals with them makes it clear that He has the circumstances of life in His hand and can change them as He sees fit.

He has the last word, not they. Counselors, judges, kings, priests, all of them are under His authority and He deals with them as He pleases. Job is right in this if they deserve it, but he leaves that side aside. He only sees how God deals with him. He is one of the “trusted ones” (Job 12:20). He knows this of himself. But God seems to think otherwise, for He gags him. All discernment of old people fails to explain this.

“Nobles” do not count with Him (Job 12:21). He pours “contempt” on them. The principle is general (Psalms 107:40), but here too Job may mean himself. “Loosen the belt of the strong” means that God makes their walking impossible or severely restricts their freedom of movement. The belt serves to keep the clothing up so that it does not hinder someone when he is walking. Job experiences that God makes it impossible for him to walk.

God is so omniscient that He reveals what is most hidden from man (Job 12:22; cf. 1 Corinthians 4:5a). What is “deep darkness” for man, what is completely hidden from his perception and what he also shudders from, is not hidden from God either. “All things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13). God has control over the most hidden things.

What applies to persons also applies to nations (Job 12:23-25). He also has total control over the nations (Job 12:23). All the sources from which they draw and through which they grow great come from Him. He can also take away those sources, making them disappear from the earthly stage. Their habitat over which they are scattered is determined by Him. The nations do not determine their own course, He does.

This seems to contradict what Paul says: “In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways” (Acts 14:16). But that contradiction is only appearance. Both statements are true. The nations are responsible for their own choice. They have chosen to go their way apart from God. God has allowed them to do so. But that does not mean that God has given up control. If the nations go their own way, God directs them in such a way that they will suffer the consequences of their choice.

Here we see what we find again and again in Scripture, on the one hand the responsibility of man and on the other hand God’s plan. God fulfills His purposes and in so doing includes man’s actions without reducing man’s responsibility. We cannot bring these two sides together, but God can. That’s because He is God.

In order to achieve His purpose with the nations, He causes disorientation among the leaders of the nations (Job 12:24). They wander around the world “in a pathless waste”. They do not see any passable way. All their planning is futile. They grope around “in darkness with no light” (Job 12:25). If a man goes his way without God, it means that he is in darkness, where there is no light. Such a man staggers like a drunkard. He looks for something to hold on to, but does not find it.

In summary, Job has explained to the three friends the power and wisdom of God. Between the lines we feel his struggle with the goodness and righteousness of God. This struggle is further explained in Job 13.

Job 31:25

Job Describes the Power of God

Job’s a remark about God’s wisdom and might in Job 12:13 is reason to give examples of how God uses His wisdom and omnipotence in practice. Job does this to show his friends that he knows Who God is. They don’t have to tell him that. In his misery Job sheds a one-sided light on God’s omnipotence and wisdom. He presents it in such a way that God overthrows everything man might rely on when it comes to justice, protection and consolation.

There may also be an undertone of an accusation against God. It has been said that in these verses he accuses God, as it were, of ‘mismanagement’, of abuse of His might. Remarkable in this respect is that Job mainly describes the might of God to exterminate. This fits in with everything we have heard about God from Job’s mouth so far. He does not understand God. How can God act like this with someone like him, who has served Him so faithfully? God has broken off his life and there is no prospect of rebuilding it (Job 12:14). He feels locked up, imprisoned in his misery, without an opening to escape it.

What he experiences of God, he sees all around him. God acts as He wills, without anyone being able to stop Him in it, and without giving an account of His deeds. That behind all God’s deeds there is a wise purpose, Job is still blind to. He measures God’s actions by the circumstances in which he finds himself. He cannot rise above his own judgment of them. He is not yet ready for that. The struggles in his thoughts about God are still too intense for that.

What God can do with a man like Job, He can also do with the waters (Job 12:15). He can stop them and He can let them go. If He stops them, drought is the result. If He lets them go, floods will come and turn the earth upside down. Job only describes here the negative effect of what God does. He does not have an eye for the blessings that God also has in mind. For God speaks to men through natural disasters so that they may convert to Him.

To Job God is now Someone with Whom strength takes precedence over wisdom (Job 12:16; cf. Job 12:13). He is first and foremost concerned with God’s strength, which he experiences, but in its devastating form. Surely he knows that God also possesses wisdom. Only it is a mystery to him from which that wisdom is evident, for he does not understand why God treats him this way. He who is misled and misleader are both in the power of God. That is how powerful He is. But why He allows them both to coexist, Job does not understand.

Then Job speaks of counselors who are carried away destitute by God (Job 12:17). With all their wise counsel – see for example Ahithophel (2 Samuel 16:20-23; 2 Samuel 17:1-5; 14) – these people have not been able to prevent God from giving them into the hands of enemies who have made them walk barefoot (cf. Isaiah 20:4). The judges who are supposed to have insight into the right and to judge in disputes are made fools by God, deprived of their understanding. God is sovereign and also controls the minds of the wisest people on earth.

Kings are also subject to His dominion (Job 12:18). They may say something and decide, but God undoes it in His omnipotence. He even “binds their loins with a girdle” which means that He takes their royal girdle (dignity) away from them, binds an ordinary girdle around them, and takes them away as captives. What applies to the kings as political leaders also applies to the priests, the religious leaders (Job 12:19). He can also make them walk barefoot. The secure ones are also under His authority. They may think that they can exercise their power undisturbed, but He is throwing them into ruin. How He deals with them makes it clear that He has the circumstances of life in His hand and can change them as He sees fit.

He has the last word, not they. Counselors, judges, kings, priests, all of them are under His authority and He deals with them as He pleases. Job is right in this if they deserve it, but he leaves that side aside. He only sees how God deals with him. He is one of the “trusted ones” (Job 12:20). He knows this of himself. But God seems to think otherwise, for He gags him. All discernment of old people fails to explain this.

“Nobles” do not count with Him (Job 12:21). He pours “contempt” on them. The principle is general (Psalms 107:40), but here too Job may mean himself. “Loosen the belt of the strong” means that God makes their walking impossible or severely restricts their freedom of movement. The belt serves to keep the clothing up so that it does not hinder someone when he is walking. Job experiences that God makes it impossible for him to walk.

God is so omniscient that He reveals what is most hidden from man (Job 12:22; cf. 1 Corinthians 4:5a). What is “deep darkness” for man, what is completely hidden from his perception and what he also shudders from, is not hidden from God either. “All things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13). God has control over the most hidden things.

What applies to persons also applies to nations (Job 12:23-25). He also has total control over the nations (Job 12:23). All the sources from which they draw and through which they grow great come from Him. He can also take away those sources, making them disappear from the earthly stage. Their habitat over which they are scattered is determined by Him. The nations do not determine their own course, He does.

This seems to contradict what Paul says: “In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways” (Acts 14:16). But that contradiction is only appearance. Both statements are true. The nations are responsible for their own choice. They have chosen to go their way apart from God. God has allowed them to do so. But that does not mean that God has given up control. If the nations go their own way, God directs them in such a way that they will suffer the consequences of their choice.

Here we see what we find again and again in Scripture, on the one hand the responsibility of man and on the other hand God’s plan. God fulfills His purposes and in so doing includes man’s actions without reducing man’s responsibility. We cannot bring these two sides together, but God can. That’s because He is God.

In order to achieve His purpose with the nations, He causes disorientation among the leaders of the nations (Job 12:24). They wander around the world “in a pathless waste”. They do not see any passable way. All their planning is futile. They grope around “in darkness with no light” (Job 12:25). If a man goes his way without God, it means that he is in darkness, where there is no light. Such a man staggers like a drunkard. He looks for something to hold on to, but does not find it.

In summary, Job has explained to the three friends the power and wisdom of God. Between the lines we feel his struggle with the goodness and righteousness of God. This struggle is further explained in Job 13.

Job 31:26

Job Describes the Power of God

Job’s a remark about God’s wisdom and might in Job 12:13 is reason to give examples of how God uses His wisdom and omnipotence in practice. Job does this to show his friends that he knows Who God is. They don’t have to tell him that. In his misery Job sheds a one-sided light on God’s omnipotence and wisdom. He presents it in such a way that God overthrows everything man might rely on when it comes to justice, protection and consolation.

There may also be an undertone of an accusation against God. It has been said that in these verses he accuses God, as it were, of ‘mismanagement’, of abuse of His might. Remarkable in this respect is that Job mainly describes the might of God to exterminate. This fits in with everything we have heard about God from Job’s mouth so far. He does not understand God. How can God act like this with someone like him, who has served Him so faithfully? God has broken off his life and there is no prospect of rebuilding it (Job 12:14). He feels locked up, imprisoned in his misery, without an opening to escape it.

What he experiences of God, he sees all around him. God acts as He wills, without anyone being able to stop Him in it, and without giving an account of His deeds. That behind all God’s deeds there is a wise purpose, Job is still blind to. He measures God’s actions by the circumstances in which he finds himself. He cannot rise above his own judgment of them. He is not yet ready for that. The struggles in his thoughts about God are still too intense for that.

What God can do with a man like Job, He can also do with the waters (Job 12:15). He can stop them and He can let them go. If He stops them, drought is the result. If He lets them go, floods will come and turn the earth upside down. Job only describes here the negative effect of what God does. He does not have an eye for the blessings that God also has in mind. For God speaks to men through natural disasters so that they may convert to Him.

To Job God is now Someone with Whom strength takes precedence over wisdom (Job 12:16; cf. Job 12:13). He is first and foremost concerned with God’s strength, which he experiences, but in its devastating form. Surely he knows that God also possesses wisdom. Only it is a mystery to him from which that wisdom is evident, for he does not understand why God treats him this way. He who is misled and misleader are both in the power of God. That is how powerful He is. But why He allows them both to coexist, Job does not understand.

Then Job speaks of counselors who are carried away destitute by God (Job 12:17). With all their wise counsel – see for example Ahithophel (2 Samuel 16:20-23; 2 Samuel 17:1-5; 14) – these people have not been able to prevent God from giving them into the hands of enemies who have made them walk barefoot (cf. Isaiah 20:4). The judges who are supposed to have insight into the right and to judge in disputes are made fools by God, deprived of their understanding. God is sovereign and also controls the minds of the wisest people on earth.

Kings are also subject to His dominion (Job 12:18). They may say something and decide, but God undoes it in His omnipotence. He even “binds their loins with a girdle” which means that He takes their royal girdle (dignity) away from them, binds an ordinary girdle around them, and takes them away as captives. What applies to the kings as political leaders also applies to the priests, the religious leaders (Job 12:19). He can also make them walk barefoot. The secure ones are also under His authority. They may think that they can exercise their power undisturbed, but He is throwing them into ruin. How He deals with them makes it clear that He has the circumstances of life in His hand and can change them as He sees fit.

He has the last word, not they. Counselors, judges, kings, priests, all of them are under His authority and He deals with them as He pleases. Job is right in this if they deserve it, but he leaves that side aside. He only sees how God deals with him. He is one of the “trusted ones” (Job 12:20). He knows this of himself. But God seems to think otherwise, for He gags him. All discernment of old people fails to explain this.

“Nobles” do not count with Him (Job 12:21). He pours “contempt” on them. The principle is general (Psalms 107:40), but here too Job may mean himself. “Loosen the belt of the strong” means that God makes their walking impossible or severely restricts their freedom of movement. The belt serves to keep the clothing up so that it does not hinder someone when he is walking. Job experiences that God makes it impossible for him to walk.

God is so omniscient that He reveals what is most hidden from man (Job 12:22; cf. 1 Corinthians 4:5a). What is “deep darkness” for man, what is completely hidden from his perception and what he also shudders from, is not hidden from God either. “All things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13). God has control over the most hidden things.

What applies to persons also applies to nations (Job 12:23-25). He also has total control over the nations (Job 12:23). All the sources from which they draw and through which they grow great come from Him. He can also take away those sources, making them disappear from the earthly stage. Their habitat over which they are scattered is determined by Him. The nations do not determine their own course, He does.

This seems to contradict what Paul says: “In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways” (Acts 14:16). But that contradiction is only appearance. Both statements are true. The nations are responsible for their own choice. They have chosen to go their way apart from God. God has allowed them to do so. But that does not mean that God has given up control. If the nations go their own way, God directs them in such a way that they will suffer the consequences of their choice.

Here we see what we find again and again in Scripture, on the one hand the responsibility of man and on the other hand God’s plan. God fulfills His purposes and in so doing includes man’s actions without reducing man’s responsibility. We cannot bring these two sides together, but God can. That’s because He is God.

In order to achieve His purpose with the nations, He causes disorientation among the leaders of the nations (Job 12:24). They wander around the world “in a pathless waste”. They do not see any passable way. All their planning is futile. They grope around “in darkness with no light” (Job 12:25). If a man goes his way without God, it means that he is in darkness, where there is no light. Such a man staggers like a drunkard. He looks for something to hold on to, but does not find it.

In summary, Job has explained to the three friends the power and wisdom of God. Between the lines we feel his struggle with the goodness and righteousness of God. This struggle is further explained in Job 13.

Job 31:27

Job Describes the Power of God

Job’s a remark about God’s wisdom and might in Job 12:13 is reason to give examples of how God uses His wisdom and omnipotence in practice. Job does this to show his friends that he knows Who God is. They don’t have to tell him that. In his misery Job sheds a one-sided light on God’s omnipotence and wisdom. He presents it in such a way that God overthrows everything man might rely on when it comes to justice, protection and consolation.

There may also be an undertone of an accusation against God. It has been said that in these verses he accuses God, as it were, of ‘mismanagement’, of abuse of His might. Remarkable in this respect is that Job mainly describes the might of God to exterminate. This fits in with everything we have heard about God from Job’s mouth so far. He does not understand God. How can God act like this with someone like him, who has served Him so faithfully? God has broken off his life and there is no prospect of rebuilding it (Job 12:14). He feels locked up, imprisoned in his misery, without an opening to escape it.

What he experiences of God, he sees all around him. God acts as He wills, without anyone being able to stop Him in it, and without giving an account of His deeds. That behind all God’s deeds there is a wise purpose, Job is still blind to. He measures God’s actions by the circumstances in which he finds himself. He cannot rise above his own judgment of them. He is not yet ready for that. The struggles in his thoughts about God are still too intense for that.

What God can do with a man like Job, He can also do with the waters (Job 12:15). He can stop them and He can let them go. If He stops them, drought is the result. If He lets them go, floods will come and turn the earth upside down. Job only describes here the negative effect of what God does. He does not have an eye for the blessings that God also has in mind. For God speaks to men through natural disasters so that they may convert to Him.

To Job God is now Someone with Whom strength takes precedence over wisdom (Job 12:16; cf. Job 12:13). He is first and foremost concerned with God’s strength, which he experiences, but in its devastating form. Surely he knows that God also possesses wisdom. Only it is a mystery to him from which that wisdom is evident, for he does not understand why God treats him this way. He who is misled and misleader are both in the power of God. That is how powerful He is. But why He allows them both to coexist, Job does not understand.

Then Job speaks of counselors who are carried away destitute by God (Job 12:17). With all their wise counsel – see for example Ahithophel (2 Samuel 16:20-23; 2 Samuel 17:1-5; 14) – these people have not been able to prevent God from giving them into the hands of enemies who have made them walk barefoot (cf. Isaiah 20:4). The judges who are supposed to have insight into the right and to judge in disputes are made fools by God, deprived of their understanding. God is sovereign and also controls the minds of the wisest people on earth.

Kings are also subject to His dominion (Job 12:18). They may say something and decide, but God undoes it in His omnipotence. He even “binds their loins with a girdle” which means that He takes their royal girdle (dignity) away from them, binds an ordinary girdle around them, and takes them away as captives. What applies to the kings as political leaders also applies to the priests, the religious leaders (Job 12:19). He can also make them walk barefoot. The secure ones are also under His authority. They may think that they can exercise their power undisturbed, but He is throwing them into ruin. How He deals with them makes it clear that He has the circumstances of life in His hand and can change them as He sees fit.

He has the last word, not they. Counselors, judges, kings, priests, all of them are under His authority and He deals with them as He pleases. Job is right in this if they deserve it, but he leaves that side aside. He only sees how God deals with him. He is one of the “trusted ones” (Job 12:20). He knows this of himself. But God seems to think otherwise, for He gags him. All discernment of old people fails to explain this.

“Nobles” do not count with Him (Job 12:21). He pours “contempt” on them. The principle is general (Psalms 107:40), but here too Job may mean himself. “Loosen the belt of the strong” means that God makes their walking impossible or severely restricts their freedom of movement. The belt serves to keep the clothing up so that it does not hinder someone when he is walking. Job experiences that God makes it impossible for him to walk.

God is so omniscient that He reveals what is most hidden from man (Job 12:22; cf. 1 Corinthians 4:5a). What is “deep darkness” for man, what is completely hidden from his perception and what he also shudders from, is not hidden from God either. “All things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13). God has control over the most hidden things.

What applies to persons also applies to nations (Job 12:23-25). He also has total control over the nations (Job 12:23). All the sources from which they draw and through which they grow great come from Him. He can also take away those sources, making them disappear from the earthly stage. Their habitat over which they are scattered is determined by Him. The nations do not determine their own course, He does.

This seems to contradict what Paul says: “In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways” (Acts 14:16). But that contradiction is only appearance. Both statements are true. The nations are responsible for their own choice. They have chosen to go their way apart from God. God has allowed them to do so. But that does not mean that God has given up control. If the nations go their own way, God directs them in such a way that they will suffer the consequences of their choice.

Here we see what we find again and again in Scripture, on the one hand the responsibility of man and on the other hand God’s plan. God fulfills His purposes and in so doing includes man’s actions without reducing man’s responsibility. We cannot bring these two sides together, but God can. That’s because He is God.

In order to achieve His purpose with the nations, He causes disorientation among the leaders of the nations (Job 12:24). They wander around the world “in a pathless waste”. They do not see any passable way. All their planning is futile. They grope around “in darkness with no light” (Job 12:25). If a man goes his way without God, it means that he is in darkness, where there is no light. Such a man staggers like a drunkard. He looks for something to hold on to, but does not find it.

In summary, Job has explained to the three friends the power and wisdom of God. Between the lines we feel his struggle with the goodness and righteousness of God. This struggle is further explained in Job 13.

Job 31:28

Job Describes the Power of God

Job’s a remark about God’s wisdom and might in Job 12:13 is reason to give examples of how God uses His wisdom and omnipotence in practice. Job does this to show his friends that he knows Who God is. They don’t have to tell him that. In his misery Job sheds a one-sided light on God’s omnipotence and wisdom. He presents it in such a way that God overthrows everything man might rely on when it comes to justice, protection and consolation.

There may also be an undertone of an accusation against God. It has been said that in these verses he accuses God, as it were, of ‘mismanagement’, of abuse of His might. Remarkable in this respect is that Job mainly describes the might of God to exterminate. This fits in with everything we have heard about God from Job’s mouth so far. He does not understand God. How can God act like this with someone like him, who has served Him so faithfully? God has broken off his life and there is no prospect of rebuilding it (Job 12:14). He feels locked up, imprisoned in his misery, without an opening to escape it.

What he experiences of God, he sees all around him. God acts as He wills, without anyone being able to stop Him in it, and without giving an account of His deeds. That behind all God’s deeds there is a wise purpose, Job is still blind to. He measures God’s actions by the circumstances in which he finds himself. He cannot rise above his own judgment of them. He is not yet ready for that. The struggles in his thoughts about God are still too intense for that.

What God can do with a man like Job, He can also do with the waters (Job 12:15). He can stop them and He can let them go. If He stops them, drought is the result. If He lets them go, floods will come and turn the earth upside down. Job only describes here the negative effect of what God does. He does not have an eye for the blessings that God also has in mind. For God speaks to men through natural disasters so that they may convert to Him.

To Job God is now Someone with Whom strength takes precedence over wisdom (Job 12:16; cf. Job 12:13). He is first and foremost concerned with God’s strength, which he experiences, but in its devastating form. Surely he knows that God also possesses wisdom. Only it is a mystery to him from which that wisdom is evident, for he does not understand why God treats him this way. He who is misled and misleader are both in the power of God. That is how powerful He is. But why He allows them both to coexist, Job does not understand.

Then Job speaks of counselors who are carried away destitute by God (Job 12:17). With all their wise counsel – see for example Ahithophel (2 Samuel 16:20-23; 2 Samuel 17:1-5; 14) – these people have not been able to prevent God from giving them into the hands of enemies who have made them walk barefoot (cf. Isaiah 20:4). The judges who are supposed to have insight into the right and to judge in disputes are made fools by God, deprived of their understanding. God is sovereign and also controls the minds of the wisest people on earth.

Kings are also subject to His dominion (Job 12:18). They may say something and decide, but God undoes it in His omnipotence. He even “binds their loins with a girdle” which means that He takes their royal girdle (dignity) away from them, binds an ordinary girdle around them, and takes them away as captives. What applies to the kings as political leaders also applies to the priests, the religious leaders (Job 12:19). He can also make them walk barefoot. The secure ones are also under His authority. They may think that they can exercise their power undisturbed, but He is throwing them into ruin. How He deals with them makes it clear that He has the circumstances of life in His hand and can change them as He sees fit.

He has the last word, not they. Counselors, judges, kings, priests, all of them are under His authority and He deals with them as He pleases. Job is right in this if they deserve it, but he leaves that side aside. He only sees how God deals with him. He is one of the “trusted ones” (Job 12:20). He knows this of himself. But God seems to think otherwise, for He gags him. All discernment of old people fails to explain this.

“Nobles” do not count with Him (Job 12:21). He pours “contempt” on them. The principle is general (Psalms 107:40), but here too Job may mean himself. “Loosen the belt of the strong” means that God makes their walking impossible or severely restricts their freedom of movement. The belt serves to keep the clothing up so that it does not hinder someone when he is walking. Job experiences that God makes it impossible for him to walk.

God is so omniscient that He reveals what is most hidden from man (Job 12:22; cf. 1 Corinthians 4:5a). What is “deep darkness” for man, what is completely hidden from his perception and what he also shudders from, is not hidden from God either. “All things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13). God has control over the most hidden things.

What applies to persons also applies to nations (Job 12:23-25). He also has total control over the nations (Job 12:23). All the sources from which they draw and through which they grow great come from Him. He can also take away those sources, making them disappear from the earthly stage. Their habitat over which they are scattered is determined by Him. The nations do not determine their own course, He does.

This seems to contradict what Paul says: “In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways” (Acts 14:16). But that contradiction is only appearance. Both statements are true. The nations are responsible for their own choice. They have chosen to go their way apart from God. God has allowed them to do so. But that does not mean that God has given up control. If the nations go their own way, God directs them in such a way that they will suffer the consequences of their choice.

Here we see what we find again and again in Scripture, on the one hand the responsibility of man and on the other hand God’s plan. God fulfills His purposes and in so doing includes man’s actions without reducing man’s responsibility. We cannot bring these two sides together, but God can. That’s because He is God.

In order to achieve His purpose with the nations, He causes disorientation among the leaders of the nations (Job 12:24). They wander around the world “in a pathless waste”. They do not see any passable way. All their planning is futile. They grope around “in darkness with no light” (Job 12:25). If a man goes his way without God, it means that he is in darkness, where there is no light. Such a man staggers like a drunkard. He looks for something to hold on to, but does not find it.

In summary, Job has explained to the three friends the power and wisdom of God. Between the lines we feel his struggle with the goodness and righteousness of God. This struggle is further explained in Job 13.

Job 31:29

Job Describes the Power of God

Job’s a remark about God’s wisdom and might in Job 12:13 is reason to give examples of how God uses His wisdom and omnipotence in practice. Job does this to show his friends that he knows Who God is. They don’t have to tell him that. In his misery Job sheds a one-sided light on God’s omnipotence and wisdom. He presents it in such a way that God overthrows everything man might rely on when it comes to justice, protection and consolation.

There may also be an undertone of an accusation against God. It has been said that in these verses he accuses God, as it were, of ‘mismanagement’, of abuse of His might. Remarkable in this respect is that Job mainly describes the might of God to exterminate. This fits in with everything we have heard about God from Job’s mouth so far. He does not understand God. How can God act like this with someone like him, who has served Him so faithfully? God has broken off his life and there is no prospect of rebuilding it (Job 12:14). He feels locked up, imprisoned in his misery, without an opening to escape it.

What he experiences of God, he sees all around him. God acts as He wills, without anyone being able to stop Him in it, and without giving an account of His deeds. That behind all God’s deeds there is a wise purpose, Job is still blind to. He measures God’s actions by the circumstances in which he finds himself. He cannot rise above his own judgment of them. He is not yet ready for that. The struggles in his thoughts about God are still too intense for that.

What God can do with a man like Job, He can also do with the waters (Job 12:15). He can stop them and He can let them go. If He stops them, drought is the result. If He lets them go, floods will come and turn the earth upside down. Job only describes here the negative effect of what God does. He does not have an eye for the blessings that God also has in mind. For God speaks to men through natural disasters so that they may convert to Him.

To Job God is now Someone with Whom strength takes precedence over wisdom (Job 12:16; cf. Job 12:13). He is first and foremost concerned with God’s strength, which he experiences, but in its devastating form. Surely he knows that God also possesses wisdom. Only it is a mystery to him from which that wisdom is evident, for he does not understand why God treats him this way. He who is misled and misleader are both in the power of God. That is how powerful He is. But why He allows them both to coexist, Job does not understand.

Then Job speaks of counselors who are carried away destitute by God (Job 12:17). With all their wise counsel – see for example Ahithophel (2 Samuel 16:20-23; 2 Samuel 17:1-5; 14) – these people have not been able to prevent God from giving them into the hands of enemies who have made them walk barefoot (cf. Isaiah 20:4). The judges who are supposed to have insight into the right and to judge in disputes are made fools by God, deprived of their understanding. God is sovereign and also controls the minds of the wisest people on earth.

Kings are also subject to His dominion (Job 12:18). They may say something and decide, but God undoes it in His omnipotence. He even “binds their loins with a girdle” which means that He takes their royal girdle (dignity) away from them, binds an ordinary girdle around them, and takes them away as captives. What applies to the kings as political leaders also applies to the priests, the religious leaders (Job 12:19). He can also make them walk barefoot. The secure ones are also under His authority. They may think that they can exercise their power undisturbed, but He is throwing them into ruin. How He deals with them makes it clear that He has the circumstances of life in His hand and can change them as He sees fit.

He has the last word, not they. Counselors, judges, kings, priests, all of them are under His authority and He deals with them as He pleases. Job is right in this if they deserve it, but he leaves that side aside. He only sees how God deals with him. He is one of the “trusted ones” (Job 12:20). He knows this of himself. But God seems to think otherwise, for He gags him. All discernment of old people fails to explain this.

“Nobles” do not count with Him (Job 12:21). He pours “contempt” on them. The principle is general (Psalms 107:40), but here too Job may mean himself. “Loosen the belt of the strong” means that God makes their walking impossible or severely restricts their freedom of movement. The belt serves to keep the clothing up so that it does not hinder someone when he is walking. Job experiences that God makes it impossible for him to walk.

God is so omniscient that He reveals what is most hidden from man (Job 12:22; cf. 1 Corinthians 4:5a). What is “deep darkness” for man, what is completely hidden from his perception and what he also shudders from, is not hidden from God either. “All things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13). God has control over the most hidden things.

What applies to persons also applies to nations (Job 12:23-25). He also has total control over the nations (Job 12:23). All the sources from which they draw and through which they grow great come from Him. He can also take away those sources, making them disappear from the earthly stage. Their habitat over which they are scattered is determined by Him. The nations do not determine their own course, He does.

This seems to contradict what Paul says: “In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways” (Acts 14:16). But that contradiction is only appearance. Both statements are true. The nations are responsible for their own choice. They have chosen to go their way apart from God. God has allowed them to do so. But that does not mean that God has given up control. If the nations go their own way, God directs them in such a way that they will suffer the consequences of their choice.

Here we see what we find again and again in Scripture, on the one hand the responsibility of man and on the other hand God’s plan. God fulfills His purposes and in so doing includes man’s actions without reducing man’s responsibility. We cannot bring these two sides together, but God can. That’s because He is God.

In order to achieve His purpose with the nations, He causes disorientation among the leaders of the nations (Job 12:24). They wander around the world “in a pathless waste”. They do not see any passable way. All their planning is futile. They grope around “in darkness with no light” (Job 12:25). If a man goes his way without God, it means that he is in darkness, where there is no light. Such a man staggers like a drunkard. He looks for something to hold on to, but does not find it.

In summary, Job has explained to the three friends the power and wisdom of God. Between the lines we feel his struggle with the goodness and righteousness of God. This struggle is further explained in Job 13.

Job 31:30

Job Describes the Power of God

Job’s a remark about God’s wisdom and might in Job 12:13 is reason to give examples of how God uses His wisdom and omnipotence in practice. Job does this to show his friends that he knows Who God is. They don’t have to tell him that. In his misery Job sheds a one-sided light on God’s omnipotence and wisdom. He presents it in such a way that God overthrows everything man might rely on when it comes to justice, protection and consolation.

There may also be an undertone of an accusation against God. It has been said that in these verses he accuses God, as it were, of ‘mismanagement’, of abuse of His might. Remarkable in this respect is that Job mainly describes the might of God to exterminate. This fits in with everything we have heard about God from Job’s mouth so far. He does not understand God. How can God act like this with someone like him, who has served Him so faithfully? God has broken off his life and there is no prospect of rebuilding it (Job 12:14). He feels locked up, imprisoned in his misery, without an opening to escape it.

What he experiences of God, he sees all around him. God acts as He wills, without anyone being able to stop Him in it, and without giving an account of His deeds. That behind all God’s deeds there is a wise purpose, Job is still blind to. He measures God’s actions by the circumstances in which he finds himself. He cannot rise above his own judgment of them. He is not yet ready for that. The struggles in his thoughts about God are still too intense for that.

What God can do with a man like Job, He can also do with the waters (Job 12:15). He can stop them and He can let them go. If He stops them, drought is the result. If He lets them go, floods will come and turn the earth upside down. Job only describes here the negative effect of what God does. He does not have an eye for the blessings that God also has in mind. For God speaks to men through natural disasters so that they may convert to Him.

To Job God is now Someone with Whom strength takes precedence over wisdom (Job 12:16; cf. Job 12:13). He is first and foremost concerned with God’s strength, which he experiences, but in its devastating form. Surely he knows that God also possesses wisdom. Only it is a mystery to him from which that wisdom is evident, for he does not understand why God treats him this way. He who is misled and misleader are both in the power of God. That is how powerful He is. But why He allows them both to coexist, Job does not understand.

Then Job speaks of counselors who are carried away destitute by God (Job 12:17). With all their wise counsel – see for example Ahithophel (2 Samuel 16:20-23; 2 Samuel 17:1-5; 14) – these people have not been able to prevent God from giving them into the hands of enemies who have made them walk barefoot (cf. Isaiah 20:4). The judges who are supposed to have insight into the right and to judge in disputes are made fools by God, deprived of their understanding. God is sovereign and also controls the minds of the wisest people on earth.

Kings are also subject to His dominion (Job 12:18). They may say something and decide, but God undoes it in His omnipotence. He even “binds their loins with a girdle” which means that He takes their royal girdle (dignity) away from them, binds an ordinary girdle around them, and takes them away as captives. What applies to the kings as political leaders also applies to the priests, the religious leaders (Job 12:19). He can also make them walk barefoot. The secure ones are also under His authority. They may think that they can exercise their power undisturbed, but He is throwing them into ruin. How He deals with them makes it clear that He has the circumstances of life in His hand and can change them as He sees fit.

He has the last word, not they. Counselors, judges, kings, priests, all of them are under His authority and He deals with them as He pleases. Job is right in this if they deserve it, but he leaves that side aside. He only sees how God deals with him. He is one of the “trusted ones” (Job 12:20). He knows this of himself. But God seems to think otherwise, for He gags him. All discernment of old people fails to explain this.

“Nobles” do not count with Him (Job 12:21). He pours “contempt” on them. The principle is general (Psalms 107:40), but here too Job may mean himself. “Loosen the belt of the strong” means that God makes their walking impossible or severely restricts their freedom of movement. The belt serves to keep the clothing up so that it does not hinder someone when he is walking. Job experiences that God makes it impossible for him to walk.

God is so omniscient that He reveals what is most hidden from man (Job 12:22; cf. 1 Corinthians 4:5a). What is “deep darkness” for man, what is completely hidden from his perception and what he also shudders from, is not hidden from God either. “All things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13). God has control over the most hidden things.

What applies to persons also applies to nations (Job 12:23-25). He also has total control over the nations (Job 12:23). All the sources from which they draw and through which they grow great come from Him. He can also take away those sources, making them disappear from the earthly stage. Their habitat over which they are scattered is determined by Him. The nations do not determine their own course, He does.

This seems to contradict what Paul says: “In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways” (Acts 14:16). But that contradiction is only appearance. Both statements are true. The nations are responsible for their own choice. They have chosen to go their way apart from God. God has allowed them to do so. But that does not mean that God has given up control. If the nations go their own way, God directs them in such a way that they will suffer the consequences of their choice.

Here we see what we find again and again in Scripture, on the one hand the responsibility of man and on the other hand God’s plan. God fulfills His purposes and in so doing includes man’s actions without reducing man’s responsibility. We cannot bring these two sides together, but God can. That’s because He is God.

In order to achieve His purpose with the nations, He causes disorientation among the leaders of the nations (Job 12:24). They wander around the world “in a pathless waste”. They do not see any passable way. All their planning is futile. They grope around “in darkness with no light” (Job 12:25). If a man goes his way without God, it means that he is in darkness, where there is no light. Such a man staggers like a drunkard. He looks for something to hold on to, but does not find it.

In summary, Job has explained to the three friends the power and wisdom of God. Between the lines we feel his struggle with the goodness and righteousness of God. This struggle is further explained in Job 13.

Job 31:31

Job Describes the Power of God

Job’s a remark about God’s wisdom and might in Job 12:13 is reason to give examples of how God uses His wisdom and omnipotence in practice. Job does this to show his friends that he knows Who God is. They don’t have to tell him that. In his misery Job sheds a one-sided light on God’s omnipotence and wisdom. He presents it in such a way that God overthrows everything man might rely on when it comes to justice, protection and consolation.

There may also be an undertone of an accusation against God. It has been said that in these verses he accuses God, as it were, of ‘mismanagement’, of abuse of His might. Remarkable in this respect is that Job mainly describes the might of God to exterminate. This fits in with everything we have heard about God from Job’s mouth so far. He does not understand God. How can God act like this with someone like him, who has served Him so faithfully? God has broken off his life and there is no prospect of rebuilding it (Job 12:14). He feels locked up, imprisoned in his misery, without an opening to escape it.

What he experiences of God, he sees all around him. God acts as He wills, without anyone being able to stop Him in it, and without giving an account of His deeds. That behind all God’s deeds there is a wise purpose, Job is still blind to. He measures God’s actions by the circumstances in which he finds himself. He cannot rise above his own judgment of them. He is not yet ready for that. The struggles in his thoughts about God are still too intense for that.

What God can do with a man like Job, He can also do with the waters (Job 12:15). He can stop them and He can let them go. If He stops them, drought is the result. If He lets them go, floods will come and turn the earth upside down. Job only describes here the negative effect of what God does. He does not have an eye for the blessings that God also has in mind. For God speaks to men through natural disasters so that they may convert to Him.

To Job God is now Someone with Whom strength takes precedence over wisdom (Job 12:16; cf. Job 12:13). He is first and foremost concerned with God’s strength, which he experiences, but in its devastating form. Surely he knows that God also possesses wisdom. Only it is a mystery to him from which that wisdom is evident, for he does not understand why God treats him this way. He who is misled and misleader are both in the power of God. That is how powerful He is. But why He allows them both to coexist, Job does not understand.

Then Job speaks of counselors who are carried away destitute by God (Job 12:17). With all their wise counsel – see for example Ahithophel (2 Samuel 16:20-23; 2 Samuel 17:1-5; 14) – these people have not been able to prevent God from giving them into the hands of enemies who have made them walk barefoot (cf. Isaiah 20:4). The judges who are supposed to have insight into the right and to judge in disputes are made fools by God, deprived of their understanding. God is sovereign and also controls the minds of the wisest people on earth.

Kings are also subject to His dominion (Job 12:18). They may say something and decide, but God undoes it in His omnipotence. He even “binds their loins with a girdle” which means that He takes their royal girdle (dignity) away from them, binds an ordinary girdle around them, and takes them away as captives. What applies to the kings as political leaders also applies to the priests, the religious leaders (Job 12:19). He can also make them walk barefoot. The secure ones are also under His authority. They may think that they can exercise their power undisturbed, but He is throwing them into ruin. How He deals with them makes it clear that He has the circumstances of life in His hand and can change them as He sees fit.

He has the last word, not they. Counselors, judges, kings, priests, all of them are under His authority and He deals with them as He pleases. Job is right in this if they deserve it, but he leaves that side aside. He only sees how God deals with him. He is one of the “trusted ones” (Job 12:20). He knows this of himself. But God seems to think otherwise, for He gags him. All discernment of old people fails to explain this.

“Nobles” do not count with Him (Job 12:21). He pours “contempt” on them. The principle is general (Psalms 107:40), but here too Job may mean himself. “Loosen the belt of the strong” means that God makes their walking impossible or severely restricts their freedom of movement. The belt serves to keep the clothing up so that it does not hinder someone when he is walking. Job experiences that God makes it impossible for him to walk.

God is so omniscient that He reveals what is most hidden from man (Job 12:22; cf. 1 Corinthians 4:5a). What is “deep darkness” for man, what is completely hidden from his perception and what he also shudders from, is not hidden from God either. “All things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13). God has control over the most hidden things.

What applies to persons also applies to nations (Job 12:23-25). He also has total control over the nations (Job 12:23). All the sources from which they draw and through which they grow great come from Him. He can also take away those sources, making them disappear from the earthly stage. Their habitat over which they are scattered is determined by Him. The nations do not determine their own course, He does.

This seems to contradict what Paul says: “In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways” (Acts 14:16). But that contradiction is only appearance. Both statements are true. The nations are responsible for their own choice. They have chosen to go their way apart from God. God has allowed them to do so. But that does not mean that God has given up control. If the nations go their own way, God directs them in such a way that they will suffer the consequences of their choice.

Here we see what we find again and again in Scripture, on the one hand the responsibility of man and on the other hand God’s plan. God fulfills His purposes and in so doing includes man’s actions without reducing man’s responsibility. We cannot bring these two sides together, but God can. That’s because He is God.

In order to achieve His purpose with the nations, He causes disorientation among the leaders of the nations (Job 12:24). They wander around the world “in a pathless waste”. They do not see any passable way. All their planning is futile. They grope around “in darkness with no light” (Job 12:25). If a man goes his way without God, it means that he is in darkness, where there is no light. Such a man staggers like a drunkard. He looks for something to hold on to, but does not find it.

In summary, Job has explained to the three friends the power and wisdom of God. Between the lines we feel his struggle with the goodness and righteousness of God. This struggle is further explained in Job 13.

Job 31:32

Job Describes the Power of God

Job’s a remark about God’s wisdom and might in Job 12:13 is reason to give examples of how God uses His wisdom and omnipotence in practice. Job does this to show his friends that he knows Who God is. They don’t have to tell him that. In his misery Job sheds a one-sided light on God’s omnipotence and wisdom. He presents it in such a way that God overthrows everything man might rely on when it comes to justice, protection and consolation.

There may also be an undertone of an accusation against God. It has been said that in these verses he accuses God, as it were, of ‘mismanagement’, of abuse of His might. Remarkable in this respect is that Job mainly describes the might of God to exterminate. This fits in with everything we have heard about God from Job’s mouth so far. He does not understand God. How can God act like this with someone like him, who has served Him so faithfully? God has broken off his life and there is no prospect of rebuilding it (Job 12:14). He feels locked up, imprisoned in his misery, without an opening to escape it.

What he experiences of God, he sees all around him. God acts as He wills, without anyone being able to stop Him in it, and without giving an account of His deeds. That behind all God’s deeds there is a wise purpose, Job is still blind to. He measures God’s actions by the circumstances in which he finds himself. He cannot rise above his own judgment of them. He is not yet ready for that. The struggles in his thoughts about God are still too intense for that.

What God can do with a man like Job, He can also do with the waters (Job 12:15). He can stop them and He can let them go. If He stops them, drought is the result. If He lets them go, floods will come and turn the earth upside down. Job only describes here the negative effect of what God does. He does not have an eye for the blessings that God also has in mind. For God speaks to men through natural disasters so that they may convert to Him.

To Job God is now Someone with Whom strength takes precedence over wisdom (Job 12:16; cf. Job 12:13). He is first and foremost concerned with God’s strength, which he experiences, but in its devastating form. Surely he knows that God also possesses wisdom. Only it is a mystery to him from which that wisdom is evident, for he does not understand why God treats him this way. He who is misled and misleader are both in the power of God. That is how powerful He is. But why He allows them both to coexist, Job does not understand.

Then Job speaks of counselors who are carried away destitute by God (Job 12:17). With all their wise counsel – see for example Ahithophel (2 Samuel 16:20-23; 2 Samuel 17:1-5; 14) – these people have not been able to prevent God from giving them into the hands of enemies who have made them walk barefoot (cf. Isaiah 20:4). The judges who are supposed to have insight into the right and to judge in disputes are made fools by God, deprived of their understanding. God is sovereign and also controls the minds of the wisest people on earth.

Kings are also subject to His dominion (Job 12:18). They may say something and decide, but God undoes it in His omnipotence. He even “binds their loins with a girdle” which means that He takes their royal girdle (dignity) away from them, binds an ordinary girdle around them, and takes them away as captives. What applies to the kings as political leaders also applies to the priests, the religious leaders (Job 12:19). He can also make them walk barefoot. The secure ones are also under His authority. They may think that they can exercise their power undisturbed, but He is throwing them into ruin. How He deals with them makes it clear that He has the circumstances of life in His hand and can change them as He sees fit.

He has the last word, not they. Counselors, judges, kings, priests, all of them are under His authority and He deals with them as He pleases. Job is right in this if they deserve it, but he leaves that side aside. He only sees how God deals with him. He is one of the “trusted ones” (Job 12:20). He knows this of himself. But God seems to think otherwise, for He gags him. All discernment of old people fails to explain this.

“Nobles” do not count with Him (Job 12:21). He pours “contempt” on them. The principle is general (Psalms 107:40), but here too Job may mean himself. “Loosen the belt of the strong” means that God makes their walking impossible or severely restricts their freedom of movement. The belt serves to keep the clothing up so that it does not hinder someone when he is walking. Job experiences that God makes it impossible for him to walk.

God is so omniscient that He reveals what is most hidden from man (Job 12:22; cf. 1 Corinthians 4:5a). What is “deep darkness” for man, what is completely hidden from his perception and what he also shudders from, is not hidden from God either. “All things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13). God has control over the most hidden things.

What applies to persons also applies to nations (Job 12:23-25). He also has total control over the nations (Job 12:23). All the sources from which they draw and through which they grow great come from Him. He can also take away those sources, making them disappear from the earthly stage. Their habitat over which they are scattered is determined by Him. The nations do not determine their own course, He does.

This seems to contradict what Paul says: “In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways” (Acts 14:16). But that contradiction is only appearance. Both statements are true. The nations are responsible for their own choice. They have chosen to go their way apart from God. God has allowed them to do so. But that does not mean that God has given up control. If the nations go their own way, God directs them in such a way that they will suffer the consequences of their choice.

Here we see what we find again and again in Scripture, on the one hand the responsibility of man and on the other hand God’s plan. God fulfills His purposes and in so doing includes man’s actions without reducing man’s responsibility. We cannot bring these two sides together, but God can. That’s because He is God.

In order to achieve His purpose with the nations, He causes disorientation among the leaders of the nations (Job 12:24). They wander around the world “in a pathless waste”. They do not see any passable way. All their planning is futile. They grope around “in darkness with no light” (Job 12:25). If a man goes his way without God, it means that he is in darkness, where there is no light. Such a man staggers like a drunkard. He looks for something to hold on to, but does not find it.

In summary, Job has explained to the three friends the power and wisdom of God. Between the lines we feel his struggle with the goodness and righteousness of God. This struggle is further explained in Job 13.

Job 31:33

Job Describes the Power of God

Job’s a remark about God’s wisdom and might in Job 12:13 is reason to give examples of how God uses His wisdom and omnipotence in practice. Job does this to show his friends that he knows Who God is. They don’t have to tell him that. In his misery Job sheds a one-sided light on God’s omnipotence and wisdom. He presents it in such a way that God overthrows everything man might rely on when it comes to justice, protection and consolation.

There may also be an undertone of an accusation against God. It has been said that in these verses he accuses God, as it were, of ‘mismanagement’, of abuse of His might. Remarkable in this respect is that Job mainly describes the might of God to exterminate. This fits in with everything we have heard about God from Job’s mouth so far. He does not understand God. How can God act like this with someone like him, who has served Him so faithfully? God has broken off his life and there is no prospect of rebuilding it (Job 12:14). He feels locked up, imprisoned in his misery, without an opening to escape it.

What he experiences of God, he sees all around him. God acts as He wills, without anyone being able to stop Him in it, and without giving an account of His deeds. That behind all God’s deeds there is a wise purpose, Job is still blind to. He measures God’s actions by the circumstances in which he finds himself. He cannot rise above his own judgment of them. He is not yet ready for that. The struggles in his thoughts about God are still too intense for that.

What God can do with a man like Job, He can also do with the waters (Job 12:15). He can stop them and He can let them go. If He stops them, drought is the result. If He lets them go, floods will come and turn the earth upside down. Job only describes here the negative effect of what God does. He does not have an eye for the blessings that God also has in mind. For God speaks to men through natural disasters so that they may convert to Him.

To Job God is now Someone with Whom strength takes precedence over wisdom (Job 12:16; cf. Job 12:13). He is first and foremost concerned with God’s strength, which he experiences, but in its devastating form. Surely he knows that God also possesses wisdom. Only it is a mystery to him from which that wisdom is evident, for he does not understand why God treats him this way. He who is misled and misleader are both in the power of God. That is how powerful He is. But why He allows them both to coexist, Job does not understand.

Then Job speaks of counselors who are carried away destitute by God (Job 12:17). With all their wise counsel – see for example Ahithophel (2 Samuel 16:20-23; 2 Samuel 17:1-5; 14) – these people have not been able to prevent God from giving them into the hands of enemies who have made them walk barefoot (cf. Isaiah 20:4). The judges who are supposed to have insight into the right and to judge in disputes are made fools by God, deprived of their understanding. God is sovereign and also controls the minds of the wisest people on earth.

Kings are also subject to His dominion (Job 12:18). They may say something and decide, but God undoes it in His omnipotence. He even “binds their loins with a girdle” which means that He takes their royal girdle (dignity) away from them, binds an ordinary girdle around them, and takes them away as captives. What applies to the kings as political leaders also applies to the priests, the religious leaders (Job 12:19). He can also make them walk barefoot. The secure ones are also under His authority. They may think that they can exercise their power undisturbed, but He is throwing them into ruin. How He deals with them makes it clear that He has the circumstances of life in His hand and can change them as He sees fit.

He has the last word, not they. Counselors, judges, kings, priests, all of them are under His authority and He deals with them as He pleases. Job is right in this if they deserve it, but he leaves that side aside. He only sees how God deals with him. He is one of the “trusted ones” (Job 12:20). He knows this of himself. But God seems to think otherwise, for He gags him. All discernment of old people fails to explain this.

“Nobles” do not count with Him (Job 12:21). He pours “contempt” on them. The principle is general (Psalms 107:40), but here too Job may mean himself. “Loosen the belt of the strong” means that God makes their walking impossible or severely restricts their freedom of movement. The belt serves to keep the clothing up so that it does not hinder someone when he is walking. Job experiences that God makes it impossible for him to walk.

God is so omniscient that He reveals what is most hidden from man (Job 12:22; cf. 1 Corinthians 4:5a). What is “deep darkness” for man, what is completely hidden from his perception and what he also shudders from, is not hidden from God either. “All things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13). God has control over the most hidden things.

What applies to persons also applies to nations (Job 12:23-25). He also has total control over the nations (Job 12:23). All the sources from which they draw and through which they grow great come from Him. He can also take away those sources, making them disappear from the earthly stage. Their habitat over which they are scattered is determined by Him. The nations do not determine their own course, He does.

This seems to contradict what Paul says: “In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways” (Acts 14:16). But that contradiction is only appearance. Both statements are true. The nations are responsible for their own choice. They have chosen to go their way apart from God. God has allowed them to do so. But that does not mean that God has given up control. If the nations go their own way, God directs them in such a way that they will suffer the consequences of their choice.

Here we see what we find again and again in Scripture, on the one hand the responsibility of man and on the other hand God’s plan. God fulfills His purposes and in so doing includes man’s actions without reducing man’s responsibility. We cannot bring these two sides together, but God can. That’s because He is God.

In order to achieve His purpose with the nations, He causes disorientation among the leaders of the nations (Job 12:24). They wander around the world “in a pathless waste”. They do not see any passable way. All their planning is futile. They grope around “in darkness with no light” (Job 12:25). If a man goes his way without God, it means that he is in darkness, where there is no light. Such a man staggers like a drunkard. He looks for something to hold on to, but does not find it.

In summary, Job has explained to the three friends the power and wisdom of God. Between the lines we feel his struggle with the goodness and righteousness of God. This struggle is further explained in Job 13.

Job 31:35

The Friends Are False Witnesses of God

The answer of Job to Zophar continues. In the Job 13:1-2 Job responds to his friends. His eye sees as that of Eliphaz (Job 4:8), his ear hears as that of Bildad (Job 8:8), he knows or has a heart as Zophar (Job 12:3). He makes it clear that he is not inferior to them in the knowledge of God (Job 12:14-25). And surely he will not give in to them, that is to say, be convinced by them of their rightness in their judgment of him. The friends have spoken of things which they have observed, and which have been observed by wise men. Well, Job can speak in the same way. His wisdom and observations are as good as theirs.

Here’s a lesson for us. If we want to convince people on a religious level on the basis of wisdom, experience and perception, they have the right to respond with their own wisdom, experience and perception. Even if we teach the truth, they may reject it if we give the impression that we are just a little bit smarter than they are. But when we quote God’s Word, the weight of Divine proof stands behind our words. People can still reject it, but when they do, they reject God and not us.

We can deduce from Job’s reply that his friends say what he too would have said before he was in this misery. He saw his life in prosperity as a reward from God for his faithfulness, because according to him it was also that God rewards faithfulness and punishes evil. But now that evil has come upon him, that view on God is broken. The friends stick to their theology, without a relationship with God. Job has lost his ‘theology’ and struggles from his relationship with God with the question why God is acting so with him. How should he see God then?

That is why Job turns to God, about Whom he speaks as “the Almighty” (Job 13:3). His friends assumed sins on him. From them he does not have to expect understanding. They wrong him greatly with their unfounded accusations. They know neither his feelings nor his motives, yet they judge him harshly and treat him as a hypocrite. This is because of their limited view of God. They also do wrong to God by presenting Him in this way to Job.

All that remains for Job is to speak to the Almighty and present his case to Him, as he did in Job 9-10. In Job 9 he sees no benefit in a trial with God, because he always loses it. But now he wants a trial anyway, because he still expects a righteous judgment by God.

The friends are instruments in God’s hand to teach Job and to draw him to Himself. God wants to use everything that happens to us to cause us to go to Him. For this He also uses the incomprehension that we meet with people. Not that Job is already where God wants him to be. But what we hear here from Job is his deep longing for contact with God. God will interrogate Job in a special way when He has finished His work on him. At this moment Job is still too convinced that he is in his right.

Job flatly accuses his friends of being false witnesses of God (Job 13:4). What kind of helpers are they that they treat a case like his this way? This does not mean that they deliberately tell lies, but they do not speak the truth and have no eye for Job’s struggle. What they express as ‘theological truth’ is not truth because it is applied to the wrong person at the wrong time.

They are “all worthless physicians”. They are quacks. The reason for this is that they think wrongly and at the same time assume they have all the wisdom, while they reason away the trouble of Job. They say that Job has sinned and that he will be healthy again if he confesses his sins. Job says that he has not sinned, and that they are therefore worthless physicians. They do not make him healthy; on the contrary, they make him sicker. What they say in no way alleviates his misery. On the contrary, it aggravates his suffering.

He prefers them to remain silent (Job 13:5). This is what they did for the first seven days, when they sat tacitly with him. If only they had never broken their silence, for nothing came out of their mouth, which gave him some consolation. It only pushed him deeper into misery. If they would take that attitude again, it would be to their wisdom. “Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is considered prudent” (Proverbs 17:28).

Job 31:36

The Friends Are False Witnesses of God

The answer of Job to Zophar continues. In the Job 13:1-2 Job responds to his friends. His eye sees as that of Eliphaz (Job 4:8), his ear hears as that of Bildad (Job 8:8), he knows or has a heart as Zophar (Job 12:3). He makes it clear that he is not inferior to them in the knowledge of God (Job 12:14-25). And surely he will not give in to them, that is to say, be convinced by them of their rightness in their judgment of him. The friends have spoken of things which they have observed, and which have been observed by wise men. Well, Job can speak in the same way. His wisdom and observations are as good as theirs.

Here’s a lesson for us. If we want to convince people on a religious level on the basis of wisdom, experience and perception, they have the right to respond with their own wisdom, experience and perception. Even if we teach the truth, they may reject it if we give the impression that we are just a little bit smarter than they are. But when we quote God’s Word, the weight of Divine proof stands behind our words. People can still reject it, but when they do, they reject God and not us.

We can deduce from Job’s reply that his friends say what he too would have said before he was in this misery. He saw his life in prosperity as a reward from God for his faithfulness, because according to him it was also that God rewards faithfulness and punishes evil. But now that evil has come upon him, that view on God is broken. The friends stick to their theology, without a relationship with God. Job has lost his ‘theology’ and struggles from his relationship with God with the question why God is acting so with him. How should he see God then?

That is why Job turns to God, about Whom he speaks as “the Almighty” (Job 13:3). His friends assumed sins on him. From them he does not have to expect understanding. They wrong him greatly with their unfounded accusations. They know neither his feelings nor his motives, yet they judge him harshly and treat him as a hypocrite. This is because of their limited view of God. They also do wrong to God by presenting Him in this way to Job.

All that remains for Job is to speak to the Almighty and present his case to Him, as he did in Job 9-10. In Job 9 he sees no benefit in a trial with God, because he always loses it. But now he wants a trial anyway, because he still expects a righteous judgment by God.

The friends are instruments in God’s hand to teach Job and to draw him to Himself. God wants to use everything that happens to us to cause us to go to Him. For this He also uses the incomprehension that we meet with people. Not that Job is already where God wants him to be. But what we hear here from Job is his deep longing for contact with God. God will interrogate Job in a special way when He has finished His work on him. At this moment Job is still too convinced that he is in his right.

Job flatly accuses his friends of being false witnesses of God (Job 13:4). What kind of helpers are they that they treat a case like his this way? This does not mean that they deliberately tell lies, but they do not speak the truth and have no eye for Job’s struggle. What they express as ‘theological truth’ is not truth because it is applied to the wrong person at the wrong time.

They are “all worthless physicians”. They are quacks. The reason for this is that they think wrongly and at the same time assume they have all the wisdom, while they reason away the trouble of Job. They say that Job has sinned and that he will be healthy again if he confesses his sins. Job says that he has not sinned, and that they are therefore worthless physicians. They do not make him healthy; on the contrary, they make him sicker. What they say in no way alleviates his misery. On the contrary, it aggravates his suffering.

He prefers them to remain silent (Job 13:5). This is what they did for the first seven days, when they sat tacitly with him. If only they had never broken their silence, for nothing came out of their mouth, which gave him some consolation. It only pushed him deeper into misery. If they would take that attitude again, it would be to their wisdom. “Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is considered prudent” (Proverbs 17:28).

Job 31:37

The Friends Are False Witnesses of God

The answer of Job to Zophar continues. In the Job 13:1-2 Job responds to his friends. His eye sees as that of Eliphaz (Job 4:8), his ear hears as that of Bildad (Job 8:8), he knows or has a heart as Zophar (Job 12:3). He makes it clear that he is not inferior to them in the knowledge of God (Job 12:14-25). And surely he will not give in to them, that is to say, be convinced by them of their rightness in their judgment of him. The friends have spoken of things which they have observed, and which have been observed by wise men. Well, Job can speak in the same way. His wisdom and observations are as good as theirs.

Here’s a lesson for us. If we want to convince people on a religious level on the basis of wisdom, experience and perception, they have the right to respond with their own wisdom, experience and perception. Even if we teach the truth, they may reject it if we give the impression that we are just a little bit smarter than they are. But when we quote God’s Word, the weight of Divine proof stands behind our words. People can still reject it, but when they do, they reject God and not us.

We can deduce from Job’s reply that his friends say what he too would have said before he was in this misery. He saw his life in prosperity as a reward from God for his faithfulness, because according to him it was also that God rewards faithfulness and punishes evil. But now that evil has come upon him, that view on God is broken. The friends stick to their theology, without a relationship with God. Job has lost his ‘theology’ and struggles from his relationship with God with the question why God is acting so with him. How should he see God then?

That is why Job turns to God, about Whom he speaks as “the Almighty” (Job 13:3). His friends assumed sins on him. From them he does not have to expect understanding. They wrong him greatly with their unfounded accusations. They know neither his feelings nor his motives, yet they judge him harshly and treat him as a hypocrite. This is because of their limited view of God. They also do wrong to God by presenting Him in this way to Job.

All that remains for Job is to speak to the Almighty and present his case to Him, as he did in Job 9-10. In Job 9 he sees no benefit in a trial with God, because he always loses it. But now he wants a trial anyway, because he still expects a righteous judgment by God.

The friends are instruments in God’s hand to teach Job and to draw him to Himself. God wants to use everything that happens to us to cause us to go to Him. For this He also uses the incomprehension that we meet with people. Not that Job is already where God wants him to be. But what we hear here from Job is his deep longing for contact with God. God will interrogate Job in a special way when He has finished His work on him. At this moment Job is still too convinced that he is in his right.

Job flatly accuses his friends of being false witnesses of God (Job 13:4). What kind of helpers are they that they treat a case like his this way? This does not mean that they deliberately tell lies, but they do not speak the truth and have no eye for Job’s struggle. What they express as ‘theological truth’ is not truth because it is applied to the wrong person at the wrong time.

They are “all worthless physicians”. They are quacks. The reason for this is that they think wrongly and at the same time assume they have all the wisdom, while they reason away the trouble of Job. They say that Job has sinned and that he will be healthy again if he confesses his sins. Job says that he has not sinned, and that they are therefore worthless physicians. They do not make him healthy; on the contrary, they make him sicker. What they say in no way alleviates his misery. On the contrary, it aggravates his suffering.

He prefers them to remain silent (Job 13:5). This is what they did for the first seven days, when they sat tacitly with him. If only they had never broken their silence, for nothing came out of their mouth, which gave him some consolation. It only pushed him deeper into misery. If they would take that attitude again, it would be to their wisdom. “Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is considered prudent” (Proverbs 17:28).

Job 31:38

The Friends Are False Witnesses of God

The answer of Job to Zophar continues. In the Job 13:1-2 Job responds to his friends. His eye sees as that of Eliphaz (Job 4:8), his ear hears as that of Bildad (Job 8:8), he knows or has a heart as Zophar (Job 12:3). He makes it clear that he is not inferior to them in the knowledge of God (Job 12:14-25). And surely he will not give in to them, that is to say, be convinced by them of their rightness in their judgment of him. The friends have spoken of things which they have observed, and which have been observed by wise men. Well, Job can speak in the same way. His wisdom and observations are as good as theirs.

Here’s a lesson for us. If we want to convince people on a religious level on the basis of wisdom, experience and perception, they have the right to respond with their own wisdom, experience and perception. Even if we teach the truth, they may reject it if we give the impression that we are just a little bit smarter than they are. But when we quote God’s Word, the weight of Divine proof stands behind our words. People can still reject it, but when they do, they reject God and not us.

We can deduce from Job’s reply that his friends say what he too would have said before he was in this misery. He saw his life in prosperity as a reward from God for his faithfulness, because according to him it was also that God rewards faithfulness and punishes evil. But now that evil has come upon him, that view on God is broken. The friends stick to their theology, without a relationship with God. Job has lost his ‘theology’ and struggles from his relationship with God with the question why God is acting so with him. How should he see God then?

That is why Job turns to God, about Whom he speaks as “the Almighty” (Job 13:3). His friends assumed sins on him. From them he does not have to expect understanding. They wrong him greatly with their unfounded accusations. They know neither his feelings nor his motives, yet they judge him harshly and treat him as a hypocrite. This is because of their limited view of God. They also do wrong to God by presenting Him in this way to Job.

All that remains for Job is to speak to the Almighty and present his case to Him, as he did in Job 9-10. In Job 9 he sees no benefit in a trial with God, because he always loses it. But now he wants a trial anyway, because he still expects a righteous judgment by God.

The friends are instruments in God’s hand to teach Job and to draw him to Himself. God wants to use everything that happens to us to cause us to go to Him. For this He also uses the incomprehension that we meet with people. Not that Job is already where God wants him to be. But what we hear here from Job is his deep longing for contact with God. God will interrogate Job in a special way when He has finished His work on him. At this moment Job is still too convinced that he is in his right.

Job flatly accuses his friends of being false witnesses of God (Job 13:4). What kind of helpers are they that they treat a case like his this way? This does not mean that they deliberately tell lies, but they do not speak the truth and have no eye for Job’s struggle. What they express as ‘theological truth’ is not truth because it is applied to the wrong person at the wrong time.

They are “all worthless physicians”. They are quacks. The reason for this is that they think wrongly and at the same time assume they have all the wisdom, while they reason away the trouble of Job. They say that Job has sinned and that he will be healthy again if he confesses his sins. Job says that he has not sinned, and that they are therefore worthless physicians. They do not make him healthy; on the contrary, they make him sicker. What they say in no way alleviates his misery. On the contrary, it aggravates his suffering.

He prefers them to remain silent (Job 13:5). This is what they did for the first seven days, when they sat tacitly with him. If only they had never broken their silence, for nothing came out of their mouth, which gave him some consolation. It only pushed him deeper into misery. If they would take that attitude again, it would be to their wisdom. “Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is considered prudent” (Proverbs 17:28).

Job 31:39

The Friends Are False Witnesses of God

The answer of Job to Zophar continues. In the Job 13:1-2 Job responds to his friends. His eye sees as that of Eliphaz (Job 4:8), his ear hears as that of Bildad (Job 8:8), he knows or has a heart as Zophar (Job 12:3). He makes it clear that he is not inferior to them in the knowledge of God (Job 12:14-25). And surely he will not give in to them, that is to say, be convinced by them of their rightness in their judgment of him. The friends have spoken of things which they have observed, and which have been observed by wise men. Well, Job can speak in the same way. His wisdom and observations are as good as theirs.

Here’s a lesson for us. If we want to convince people on a religious level on the basis of wisdom, experience and perception, they have the right to respond with their own wisdom, experience and perception. Even if we teach the truth, they may reject it if we give the impression that we are just a little bit smarter than they are. But when we quote God’s Word, the weight of Divine proof stands behind our words. People can still reject it, but when they do, they reject God and not us.

We can deduce from Job’s reply that his friends say what he too would have said before he was in this misery. He saw his life in prosperity as a reward from God for his faithfulness, because according to him it was also that God rewards faithfulness and punishes evil. But now that evil has come upon him, that view on God is broken. The friends stick to their theology, without a relationship with God. Job has lost his ‘theology’ and struggles from his relationship with God with the question why God is acting so with him. How should he see God then?

That is why Job turns to God, about Whom he speaks as “the Almighty” (Job 13:3). His friends assumed sins on him. From them he does not have to expect understanding. They wrong him greatly with their unfounded accusations. They know neither his feelings nor his motives, yet they judge him harshly and treat him as a hypocrite. This is because of their limited view of God. They also do wrong to God by presenting Him in this way to Job.

All that remains for Job is to speak to the Almighty and present his case to Him, as he did in Job 9-10. In Job 9 he sees no benefit in a trial with God, because he always loses it. But now he wants a trial anyway, because he still expects a righteous judgment by God.

The friends are instruments in God’s hand to teach Job and to draw him to Himself. God wants to use everything that happens to us to cause us to go to Him. For this He also uses the incomprehension that we meet with people. Not that Job is already where God wants him to be. But what we hear here from Job is his deep longing for contact with God. God will interrogate Job in a special way when He has finished His work on him. At this moment Job is still too convinced that he is in his right.

Job flatly accuses his friends of being false witnesses of God (Job 13:4). What kind of helpers are they that they treat a case like his this way? This does not mean that they deliberately tell lies, but they do not speak the truth and have no eye for Job’s struggle. What they express as ‘theological truth’ is not truth because it is applied to the wrong person at the wrong time.

They are “all worthless physicians”. They are quacks. The reason for this is that they think wrongly and at the same time assume they have all the wisdom, while they reason away the trouble of Job. They say that Job has sinned and that he will be healthy again if he confesses his sins. Job says that he has not sinned, and that they are therefore worthless physicians. They do not make him healthy; on the contrary, they make him sicker. What they say in no way alleviates his misery. On the contrary, it aggravates his suffering.

He prefers them to remain silent (Job 13:5). This is what they did for the first seven days, when they sat tacitly with him. If only they had never broken their silence, for nothing came out of their mouth, which gave him some consolation. It only pushed him deeper into misery. If they would take that attitude again, it would be to their wisdom. “Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is considered prudent” (Proverbs 17:28).

Job 31:40

The Friends Are Not Impartial

Job calls on his friends to stop speaking and to listen to his defense (Job 13:6). He asks them to pay sincere attention to his defense. He is in great suffering, but has not lost his mind. He knows what he is saying and can defend himself with reasonable arguments against their accusations. Listening to someone requires a great deal of self-denial if you really think you have the answer already. Really listening and trying to understand the other is a task and an assignment. It prevents a hasty assessment and gives the other the feeling of acceptance. Job feels rejected by his friends and not taken seriously.

Job warns them of the injustice of their actions (Job 13:7). They act as if they are speaking right about God, or they are repeating after God in the right way. But in reality they speak injustice of God. They present Him as One Who punishes only evil men. Job is punished, so God sees Job as an evil man. They also speak what is deceitful for God by treating Job in His light as a hypocrite, a sneaky sinner. But Job is not.

He sees his friends as ‘accomplices of God’, because they take sides with God (Job 13:8). God is against him and so are his friends. God punishes him too heavily, he thinks. The misery in which God immerses him is disproportionate to his transgressions, he believes. His friends, he experiences, put themselves on God’s side and are deaf to his defense. They assume that he is wrong and that God is right to punish him. Their view of God is that God makes man suffer exactly to the measure of what he deserves. Whatever Job brings against that, it is as they see it. The pain they add to Job’s suffering is proof that they are not ‘defending’ God in the right way.

Speaking with respect, God is not waiting for anyone to take sides with Him and pursue His trial. In His Word, God forbids partiality (Deuteronomy 10:17). He doesn’t need or want anyone for His trial. Whoever thinks he should help God, has a high opinion of himself. To witness to Him is not the same as to bring Him in to prove us right. In the latter way the friends talk to Job about God. They believe that they know exactly how God looks at Job. If he agrees with them now, God can start blessing him again, they think. What they don’t realize is that they present God to Job in a completely wrong way. God’s judgment of their speaking is that they have not spoken correctly about Him (Job 42:8).

How important it is that we speak about God in the right way! Our knowledge of God should not prove itself in making theologically correct statements, but in a living relationship with Him. We may and must involve Him in all things of life. This can only happen in a sound, balanced way if we take Scripture as the norm and not our own opinion. We will therefore be correctable if it turns out that we have misunderstood something. The awareness that God really is God will keep us from forming an idea of God from theological knowledge and from that idea presenting God. That will help us to speak about God in the right way.

Job points out to his friends that God not only knows him, but also them (Job 13:9). He points out to them their own failures, for which they apparently have no eye. They surely do not think that God, if He examines them, will find in them nothing to condemn, do they? They cannot deceive Him, as they deceive human beings, their mortal fellows. We can hide our thoughts and motives from humans, but not from God. The friends have come to Job to place him in God’s light. In doing so, they have forgotten that they themselves come into that light as well. They measure broadly what is lacking in Job, but ignore the “looking to yourself” (Galatians 6:1).

According to Job, the friends can count on God to punish them for secretly showing partiality (Job 13:10). They do not say it in so many words, but their words show that they are taking sides with God. Partiality is always wrong, whatever party it may be. Partiality is always done for one’s own sake. God is not a party you can prefer. Whoever takes sides for Him thinking it will benefit them in any way, does not have to count on His support, but can count on His punishment (cf. Job 42:7). God also sees it when it happens in secret or with hidden intentions. He always acts without regard for persons.

Job confronts his friends with the “majesty” or glory of God (Job 13:11). God is above all partiality, above everything and everyone. If the friends think of God in this way, doesn’t it frighten them and make them fear Him? This thought of Him should make them reluctant to say false things about Him.

By the way, this is something every preacher of God’s Word should think of. It is a great responsibility to pass on God’s thoughts. Whoever passes something on, orally or in writing, as in this commentary, as God’s thoughts or purpose, must pray that he is preserved from giving his own interpretation of it. We also do not appreciate it when someone misuses or misquotes our words or misinterprets them. But when it comes to God’s words, we sometimes handle them with great ‘flexibility’. That should not be the case. We may not understand something (cf. 2 Peter 3:16). Then let’s be honest about it.

The friends have given their opinions. They haven’t said anything new. For Job they are memories of what he already knew (Job 13:12). It does not appeal to him at all. All their sayings are proverbs with as much basis or grip and value as “ashes”, so none at all. Such words have no effect, they work nothing. Their response to what he himself has said is also of no value. It is just as easy to overthrow as something made of “clay”. Nor does it offer any firmness when struck, but it breaks to pieces.