They grope in the dark without light, and he makes them stagger like a drunken man.
Job 12 is Job's answer to Zophar, and most of it describes what God does to the great and the wise — counsellors, judges, kings, princes, whole nations. The chapter ends in the dark, which raises two questions: is this a true picture of God, and what does it say about human strength?
Nations Raised And Ruined
Job starts at the largest scale he knows: whole nations. He traces their rise and their ruin to the same hand.
Leslie M. GrantGod 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.
The Sudden Loss Of Understanding
The men described here are not fools. They rose to the top because they were able. The verse records the loss of that ability. One commentator ends on the question itself.
F. B. HoleHe 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?
Nothing Among Men Stays Fixed
The three friends built their attack on Job on a settled rule. Job answers with reversal after reversal. Nothing among men stays fixed, so their groundwork collapses — and so does any confidence in able men.
William KellyThere 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.
What Job Leaves Out
Everything Job says about God's power is true. The trouble is what he never says.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinIt 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.
How Faith Speaks Instead
Read on its own, the passage leaves you shuddering at raw power. Faith speaks of the same God in a different tone.
Samuel RidoutIt 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).
Groping, And The Light
The picture of people feeling their way forward without light is not limited to ancient rulers. The same darkness covers anyone with ability and education but no knowledge of God.
An Outline of Sound WordsMen 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.
Summary
- Sovereign — God makes nations great and God ends them. Their rise and fall is a lesson for everyone. Blessing breeds pride, and pride needs humbling.
- Stripped — the men who lose their understanding here are the ablest men. God gave that understanding, and God can take it back.
- Unsettled — everything among men is in flux. So no one can read God's settled judgment off a man's circumstances. That was the friends' mistake, and it is why trusting in men fails.
- One-sided — every word Job says about God's power is true. Yet there is not a word of His love and mercy. Grief can draw an accurate picture and still a distorted one.
- Lit — the answer to groping is not more ability but light. Faith says, "God is our refuge and strength," and walks with God's word lighting every step. That path ends in the presence of God.