Job 12:23–25

God could and did make nations great, and then as He saw fit, destroy them. He could enlarge the nations and guide them too. But then He could take away the understanding of the chiefs of the people. That leaves the nation on a wandering wilderness path, groping in the dark without light, made to stagger like a drunkard (vv. 23-25). So the nations are an object lesson for all mankind. God blesses them and they become proud of themselves, and so they need the humbling dealings of God.

There are all kinds of change. There is nothing, then, that shows the settled judgment of God. Everything among men is in a state of flux — a constant flow and change. So nothing could be more foolish than the basis of the three friends' attack on Job… And that is what happens where people trust in men.

From verse 13 to the end of this chapter Job reviewed the ways of God in His dealings with men. He acknowledged that "wisdom and strength" are His, and so are "counsel and understanding." Yet he felt that the way God uses these wonderful qualities was full of mystery… He lived in days when, after the flood, nations had come into being. He had seen such increased and then destroyed. Now why was this?

The apostle asserts one true God and one common race. Their fears, their independence from God, and their self-centred confidence in man… brought on dispersion through the different languages, in their lands, after their tongues, their families, and their nations. Up to the flood mankind was only one community… God had not yet set up government as a human institution holding authority from Him. When He did, it was left neither to fate nor to chance, but He determined the seasons, and the limits of their dwelling. Job 12:23 and what follows shows, from early days, how clearly those who feared God knew this.

It is worth comparing how Job handles the same truth in general (Job 12:23-25). He dwells more on the side of God's sovereignty. The nations may be proud and indifferent towards Him, yet to Him they are "like a drop from a bucket," and are accounted "as the dust on the scales" (Isa. 40:15). But the inspired preacher, with glowing heat, presses the moral aim of God's generous arrangements on the grandest scale: that they might seek Him, and perhaps feel after Him and find Him.

He says of God, "He uncovers deep things out of darkness, and brings the shadow of death to light" (v. 22). Job was living through the pangs of darkness himself. He could not uncover deep things from the darkness, nor bring light from the shadow of death. But he realised God can do this. Could He not do it in Job's case? Yes indeed, and He did so before long.

There are all kinds of change. There is nothing, then, that shows the settled judgment of God. Everything among men is in flux — a constant flow and change. So nothing could be more foolish than the foundation the three friends stood on in their attack on Job.

God could and did make nations great, and then, as He saw fit, destroy them. He could enlarge the nations and guide them too. But then He could take away the understanding of the chiefs of the people. That reduces the nation to a wandering wilderness path: groping in the dark without light, made to stagger like a drunkard (vv.23-25). So the nations are an object lesson for all mankind. God blesses them and they become proud of themselves, and therefore they need the humbling dealings of God.

"He leads counsellors away plundered, and makes fools of the judges." That is, He strips counsellors of the value of their counsel. So man's wisdom comes to nothing, and the judges become foolish. Man's authority becomes as useless as his wisdom.

To whom can we go but to Him? "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes." No matter how well meaning and honest they may be, they are not equal to untangling the universal tangle. And this is because God is not the beginning of their schemes, nor His glory the end of their measures.

If Job had taken time to consider what these things mean, he might not have sunk so low in his miserable state. He sees the facts, but fails to apply their lessons to his own case. He says of God, "He uncovers deep things out of darkness, and brings the shadow of death to light" (v.22). In fact, Job was feeling the pangs of darkness himself. He could not uncover deep things out of the darkness, nor bring light out of the shadow of death. But he realised God can do this. Could He not do it in Job's case? Yes indeed, and He did so before long.

It is a dreadful picture Job has drawn of God by this one-sided description of His greatness. Not a word of His love and mercy. It is in full keeping with his despairing heart.

He acknowledged that "wisdom and strength" are His, as well as "counsel and understanding." Yet he felt that God's use of these wonderful qualities was full of mystery. Men who had been wise enough to become chief among the people suddenly lose their understanding. They grope in the dark without a light, or stagger like a drunken man. Now why was this?

"Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God." That is just what he was doing. But how? He did not know. There was not the New Testament yet. There was not One to stand between God and man, like Christ. So he did not know how to get at Him.

God could and did make nations great, and then as He saw fit, destroy them. He could enlarge the nations and guide them too. But He could also take away the understanding of the chiefs of the people. That reduced the nation to a wandering wilderness path, to grope in the dark without light, made to stagger like a drunkard (vv. 23-25). So the nations are an object lesson for all mankind. God blesses them and they become proud of themselves. So they need the humbling dealings of God.

He acknowledged that wisdom and strength are God's, as well as counsel and understanding. Yet he felt that God's use of these wonderful qualities was full of mystery. Again and again those who are great and wise — counsellors, judges, kings, princes — are spoiled and overthrown. He lived in days when, after the flood, nations had come into being. He had seen them increased and then destroyed. Men who had been wise enough to become chief among the people suddenly lose their understanding. They grope in the dark without a light, or stagger like a drunken man. Now why was this?

There are all kinds of change. So there is nothing that shows the settled judgment of God. Everything among men is in flux — a constant flow and change. So nothing could be more foolish than the groundwork of the three friends in their attack on Job. "They grope in the dark without light, and he makes them stagger like a drunken man." And that is the way it goes where people trust in men.

It is a dreadful picture Job has drawn of God by the one-sided description of His greatness. Not a word of His love and mercy. It is in full keeping with his despairing heart.

It is indeed a great but very sombre picture of omnipotence. We can only shudder at the awful sight. Job's misery has cast a grim light upon all God's greatness. How different is the language of faith: "God is our refuge and strength… therefore we will not fear… Be still, and know that I am God" (Ps. 46). This closes the reply to the second part of Zophar's speech on the greatness of God (vv. 22-25).

Men might be very religious and highly educated, with all the culture of this world's philosophy. Yet without the knowledge of God that is found in Jesus, they walk in darkness and do not know where they are going. They walk in darkness, in ignorance of God, and have no knowledge of what awaits them in time or in eternity. The Christian walks in the light of the revelation of God. He knows that God watches over every step. He has the light of God's word to guide him in every step. And he knows that his path leads into the presence of God, into the eternal light of the Father's house.