Thursday Devotional - All-Knowing God and Sarcastic Job (9/5/24)

After the rebuke of his third friend, Job had enough! He responded with sarcasm.

 Job 12:1-4 Then Job replied:

² “Doubtless you are the only people who matter,
    and wisdom will die with you!
³ But I have a mind as well as you;
    I am not inferior to you.
    Who does not know all these things?

⁴ “I have become a laughingstock to my friends,
    though I called on God and he answered—
    a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!

 Job sarcastically pointed out to his friends that they were not the only ones who knew anything. He then firmly (and without sarcasm) told them they weren’t superior. He acknowledged that God had answered his prayers. He knew God heard him and had responded, even if he didn’t get his desired outcome. He also went on to declare God’s sovereignty.

Job 12:13-17      “To God belong wisdom and power;
    counsel and understanding are his.
¹⁴ What he tears down cannot be rebuilt;
    those he imprisons cannot be released.
¹⁵ If he holds back the waters, there is drought;
    if he lets them loose, they devastate the land.
¹⁶ To him belong strength and insight;
    both deceived and deceiver are his.
¹⁷ He leads rulers away stripped
    and makes fools of judges.

Even the most humanly wise person can be foolish. Job’s friends were probably some of the most prominent people of his day, and yet they were grossly ignorant. Job knew only God was all-knowing. Thankfully, Job didn’t base his understanding of God on the “wise” or foolish people around him. Job knew God is in ultimate control of the rise and fall of anyone, any nation or anything.

As you and I interact with those around us, let’s remember that only God is all-knowing, sovereign and fully trustworthy. Even the smartest people around us can be ludicrous, like Job’s friends. The next time you and I are wrongly accused, we can cling to what is true about God.