Job 12:1-25
12:1-3 Exasperated with his friends arrogant and unhelpful advice, Job tried once again to explain that he already knew everything they were telling him. It wasn't that Job was not receptive to constructive criticism, it's that his friends' criticism was off-point and not constructive at all to his situation. Indeed Job's life had deconstructed; they did not work to construct it but to dance on the ashes and tell their friend how much he deserved it.
12:4-6 It frustrated Job that as a righteous man, he seemed to suffer more persecution than the unrighteous. It was not the only person to ever feel that way:
Psalm 73:1-3; 16-17
Truly God is good to Israel,To such as are pure in heart.But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;My steps had nearly slipped.For I was envious of the boastful,When I saw the prosperity of the wicked.When I thought how to understand this,It was too painful for me—Until I went into the sanctuary of God;Then I understood their end.
The psalmist and millions of others throughout generations, also experienced consternation at was seemed like a broken, illogical formula. But the balm for such frustrations is to re-enter the sanctuary of God, to allow Him to remind you of His ultimate plan.
12:7-12 To drive the point home that his friends words made no beneficial impact, Job explained that the whole natural world easily understood God's power. Job knew that his plight was not random; he knew that in some way, God was involved and in all ways aware. Job was not an existentialist, he knew the world had a creator and he know God was the creator. He just did not know the reason behind the events that transpired in his life.
Awareness and acknowledgement of God gives a person the opportunity to consult Him. It allows us to understand that life is not random or chaotic or pointless. It has order and intention. We might not always understand what it is, but we know it is there. And that is a saving grace.
12:13-25 Job spoke of God's unchallenged omnipotence and full arsenal of wisdom and authority. Job knew God well and loved God for all that He is. He agreed with and submitted to God's will. He spoke ten verses full of God's almighty power. He knew God well.
His friends were trying to explain God to him but he already knew. Much of the book of Job serves as an opportunity for us to learn how to give helpful advice and how to resist unhelpful advice. From them we learn that anyone who relentlessly insists that God is punishing us, is someone who's advice is not worth taking. That viewpoint was completely off base for Job and it is for you too.
