Job 12
Psalm 12 can be divided into two main parts. First (verses 1–4), the psalmist laments human injustice, deceit, and the scarcity of the righteous. Second (verses 5–8) consists of God’s response and the promise of protection, along with the psalmist’s attitude of lamenting the difficulties of reality once again. Although this is a relatively short psalm of eight verses, it comparatively highlights the plight of the righteous and God’s faithfulness amid the social turmoil of the time.
1verseThen Job answered,
2verse“No doubt, but you are the people, and wisdom will die with you.
3verseBut I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Yes, who doesn’t know such things as these?
4verseI am like one who is a joke to his neighbor, I, who called on God, and he answered. The just, the blameless man is a joke.
5verseIn the thought of him who is at ease there is contempt for misfortune. It is ready for them whose foot slips.
6verseThe tents of robbers prosper. Those who provoke God are secure, who carry their god in their hands.
7verse“But ask the animals now, and they will teach you; the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.
8verseOr speak to the earth, and it will teach you. The fish of the sea will declare to you.
9verseWho doesn’t know that in all these, the LORD’s hand has done this,
10versein whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind?
11verseDoesn’t the ear try words, even as the palate tastes its food?
12verseWith aged men is wisdom, in length of days understanding.
13verse“With God is wisdom and might. He has counsel and understanding.
14verseBehold, he breaks down, and it can’t be built again. He imprisons a man, and there can be no release.
15verseBehold, he withholds the waters, and they dry up. Again, he sends them out, and they overturn the earth.
16verseWith him is strength and wisdom. The deceived and the deceiver are his.
17verseHe leads counselors away stripped. He makes judges fools.
18verseHe loosens the bond of kings. He binds their waist with a belt.
19verseHe leads priests away stripped, and overthrows the mighty.
20verseHe removes the speech of those who are trusted, and takes away the understanding of the elders.
21verseHe pours contempt on princes, and loosens the belt of the strong.
22verseHe uncovers deep things out of darkness, and brings out to light the shadow of death.
23verseHe increases the nations, and he destroys them. He enlarges the nations, and he leads them captive.
24verseHe takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth, and causes them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.
25verseThey grope in the dark without light. He makes them stagger like a drunken man.
The Scarcity of the Righteous and the Disorder of the World
In verses 1–4, the psalmist says, “The godly are perished out of the earth, and the faithful have vanished from among the children of men,” and laments the collapse of social trust and justice. He accuses people of speaking lies to one another, flattering with empty words, and boasting with their own strength and words. In this scene, the corruption of human society, the misuse of language, and the resulting loss of trust are depicted as key themes.
God’s Intervention and the Promise of Protection
In verses 5–6, God declares that as He hears “the oppression of the poor” and “the sighing of the needy,” He will keep them safe. Here, God’s word is emphasized as pure and unchanging, like silver refined in a furnace. God’s response is a clear answer to the psalmist’s lament, showing faithfulness in contrast to the world’s deceit.
Closing: Repeating Reality and the Choice to Trust
In verses 7–8, the psalmist confesses that he firmly believes God’s promise, and at the same time admits that wicked people still appear everywhere and corruption is widespread in every place. In this tension, the psalmist shows how he settles his heart with trust in God. Even in the darkness of reality, confidence in God’s protection is firmly in place.
Meditation Points
- How much can human words lose their trustworthiness—you can reflect on the importance of language again.
- The psalmist’s confession that God’s words are always pure and unchanging is an invitation for you to meditate deeply on it.
- When reality is full of disappointment and injustice, how you can trust God’s response and promise is something it would be good to ask yourself.
Try Applying It to Yourself
- Take a moment to reflect on the weight and responsibility of the words you use every day, and check whether you are living with an attitude of truth rather than flattery or deceit.
- Even amid the world’s injustice and instability, trust God’s word and promise, and gather the courage to come before Him and lift up your lament and prayers.
- Make today a time to find out how God protects me and my community, and to give thanks for it.
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