John Gill Commentary Job 12

And Job answered and said .
] In reply to Zophar, and in defence of himself; what is recorded in this and the two following chapters.

No doubt but you [are] the people Which is said not seriously, meaning that they were but of the common people, that are generally ignorant, and have but little knowledge, at least of things sublime, especially in matters of religion; wherefore, though they took upon them to be his teachers and dictators to him, and censors of him, they were not above the rank, but in the class of people of low and mean understandings; see (John 7:49) ;

This sense indeed agrees with what is after said, "who knoweth not such things as these?" but since Job compares himself with them, and asserts he is not inferior to them, it supposes them to have a degree of knowledge and understanding of things somewhat above the common people; wherefore these words are to be taken ironically, exposing their vanity and self-conceit: "you are the people"; the only, and all the people in the world of importance and consequence for good sense and wisdom; the only wise and knowing folk, the men of reason and understanding; all the rest are but fools and asses, or like the wild ass's colt, as Zophar had said, and which Job took as pointing to him; so the word in the Arabic language ^F3 signifies the more excellent and better sort of people; or, you are the only people of God, his covenant people, his servants; that are made acquainted with the secrets of wisdom, as none else are:

and wisdom shall die with you ; you have all the wisdom of the world, and when you die it will be all gone; there will be none left in the world: thus he represents them as monopolizers and engrossers of wisdom and knowledge, full of it in their conceit, allowing none to have any share with them:

And by all this he not only upbraids them with their vanity and self-conceit, but puts them in mind, that, as wise as they were, they must die; and that, though their wisdom with respect to them, or any use they could make of it in the grave, where there is none, would die too; or that their wisdom was but the wisdom of the world, which comes to nought; yet there would be wisdom still in the world, and that which is true, which God makes known to men, even the wisdom of God in a mystery, the wisdom hid in himself; and who has the residue of the Spirit and his gifts to instruct men in it, and qualify them to be teachers of others; by which means, though men, even the best of men, die, yet the word of God, the means of true wisdom and knowledge, will always abide.

FOOTNOTES:

• F3: Golii Lex. Ar. Col. 1743. Vid. Lud. Capell. in loc.

But I have understanding as well as you
A natural understanding, or an understanding of natural things, which distinguishes a man from a brute; and a spiritual understanding, an understanding enlightened by the spirit of God, which is naturally dark as to divine things; but he had an understanding given him, to know himself, his state and condition by nature; to know God, his love and grace to men, and, as his covenant God, to know Christ his living Redeemer, who should stand on the earth in the latter day, both to be his Redeemer and his Judge; to know his interest in him, and in the blessings of grace and glory by him:

Or, "I have an heart as well as you" ^F4 ; a wise and an understanding one; a new heart, and a right spirit; an heart to fear and serve the Lord, a sincere and upright one, and devoid of hypocrisy and deceit; and as good an one as theirs:

I [am] not inferior unto you :
He was indeed as to estate and substance, being now reduced; though he had been, in that sense, the greatest man in all the east; but in wisdom and knowledge, in gifts and grace: thus a modest man, when oppressed and insulted by the speeches of overbearing men, may be obliged and see it necessary to say some things of himself, in his own vindication, which he otherwise would not; see (2 Corinthians 11:15) (12:11) ;

Or, "I am not falling before you"; or "by you" ^F5 ; as one intimidated, conquered, and yielding; I stand my ground, and will not give way or submit to you, or allow you to have the superiority of me: or, "I am falling [no more] than you"; they took him for an apostate from God, and the fear of him, and the true religion he had professed, which Job denies; he held fast his integrity; and though he was fallen into calamities and afflictions, he was not fallen from God; from his fear of him, faith in him, and love and obedience to him; he was a holy, good man, a persevering saint; and though he had slips and falls in common with good men, yet fell not finally and totally, or was an apostate from the faith:

yea, who knoweth not such things as these ?
Or, "with whom are not as these" ^F6 ? the things you have been discoursing about, which you would like to pass for the secrets of wisdom, deep and mysterious things, hid from vulgar eyes, which none have and know but yourselves, are common things, what everyone possesses, and understands as well as you; that there is a God that has made the world, and governs it; that he himself is unsearchable, infinite and incomprehensible; a sovereign Being that does according to his will and pleasure, and sees and knows all things, and does all things well and wisely, and according to the counsel of his will:

Though some think Job has reference not to what Zophar had been discoursing concerning the infinity and wisdom of God, but to the thing or things in dispute between them, or to the assertions of his friends; that it is always well with good men, and ill with bad men, or that wicked men only are punished and afflicted, and particularly what Zophar concluded his speech with, (Job 11:20) . Now these were vulgar notions, which the common people had adopted, and were vulgar errors, as he proves in the following verses, by giving instances of good men, being afflicted, and of bad men being in prosperity.

FOOTNOTES:

• F4: (Mkwmk bbl yl Mg) "etiam mihi cor sicut vobis", Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus, Schmidt, Michaelis, Schultens; so Broughton.
• F5: (Mkm ykna lpn al) "non cadens ego a vobis", Montanus, Vatablus, Bolducius, Beza, Mercerus, Michaelis; "prae vobis", Schmidt.
• F6: (hla wmk Nya ym taw) "et cum quo non sicut haec?" Pagninus, Montanus, Bolducius, Mercerus; and to the same sense Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Schultens.

I am [as] one mocked of his neighbour
That is, according to Sephorno, if I knew not, or denied those things you have been speaking of concerning God, his immensity, sovereignty, and wisdom, I should be derided by all my friends and acquaintance; but rather the sense is, Job instances in himself as a proof that good men are afflicted by God in this life; he was once in a very prosperous condition, when he was caressed by all, but now was fallen into such low and miserable circumstances as to be the scorn and contempt of his friends and neighbours; and even his being mocked was no small part of his afflictions; to endure cruel mockings has been the common lot of good men in all ages, and is reckoned one part of their distresses and sufferings for righteousness sake, (Hebrews 11:36) ;

and to be mocked by a neighbour, or a "friend" ^F7 , as it may be rendered, greatly aggravates the affliction, see (Psalms 55:12Psalms 55:13) ; which was Job's case; his friends that came to comfort him mocked at him, at least so he understood them, and interpreted what they said unto him, see (Job 16:20) ; and what made it still the heavier to bear, he was mocked by such a neighbour or friend,

who calleth upon God, and he answereth him ;
he was mocked at not by profane men only, but by a professor of religion, one that made it his constant business to pray to God, and by the prosperity he was in, and the good things he enjoyed, he seems to be answered; or rather Job means himself who was mocked, and so this is introduced to aggravate the sin of his friends, as well as to prove his point, and also to throw off a charge that had been brought against him. It was an aggravation of their sin in mocking him, that he was a praying man; one that made a conscience of daily calling upon God for the constant supplies of life, for his gracious presence, for help in time of need, for discoveries of pardoning grace and mercy, and for deliverance out of his troubles; and who had in many instances received answers of prayer from God; and this being his character, and this the constant work and business of his life, and being heard and answered of God in times past, showed him to be a good man, and yet an afflicted one;

and this also served to wipe off the reproach, and remove the charge which they tacitly insinuated, and sometimes spoke out, that he restrained prayer before God; but he was so far from it, that the scornful usage of his friends made him ply the throne of grace the more frequently, see (Job 18:20) ; and from this single instance of himself he passes on to consider it as a general case, as what usually befalls good and gracious men:

the just upright [man is] laughed to scorn ;
or "the just perfect man" {h}; that is, perfectly just; no man is so of himself; none of Adam's posterity, are righteous, no, not one; nor is any man truly just, perfectly righteous in himself, but in Christ; and even such a man does not do good without sinning; only the man Christ Jesus is righteous in such sense; but then all that are made righteous, by the imputation of his righteousness to them, are perfectly justified from all things, and are become the spirits of just men made perfect and complete in him: the character here designs such who are really righteous, truly gracious, are upright in heart, sincere souls, who have the truth of grace in them, and walk uprightly; these become a prey, a laughing stock to wicked men, as Noah, Lot, and others, before the times of Job, had been, which he may have respect unto.

FOOTNOTES:

• F7: (wherl) "amico suo", Pagninus, Mercerus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; so Broughton.
• F8: (Mymt qydu) "justus perfectus", Pagninus, Montanus; "justus absolutus", Mercerus; so Broughton.

He that is ready to slip with [his] feet
Not into sin, though this is often the case of good men, but into calamities and afflictions; and Job means himself, and every just upright man in the like circumstances: or he that is "prepared" or "destined" to be among them, that "totter" and stagger in their "feet" ^F9 ; that cannot stand upon their feet, but fall to the ground; which may describe man in declining and distressing circumstances; or that is appointed to be the laughing stock of such as are unstable in the word and ways of God; double minded men, hypocrites, and formal professors, that totter and stagger at everything they meet with disagreeable to the flesh: with such, a poor afflicted saint is laughed to scorn; he

[is as] a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease ;
who are in affluent circumstances, enjoy great prosperity, live in plenty, and are not in trouble as others; their hearts are at ease: now with such, poor good men are had in great contempt; they are despised at heart, in the thoughts of such persons, if they do not in words express it; they are like a lamp just going out, which is neglected, and looked upon as useless; or like a torch burnt to the end, when it is thrown away; and thus it is with men, while the lamp of prosperity burns clear and bright, they are valued and had in esteem, but when their lamp becomes dim, and is almost, or quite extinguished, they are despised, see (Psalms 123:3Psalms 123:4) ; some apply this to Christ, who was a lamp or light, a great one, but despised of men, and even as a light; they loved darkness rather than light; and especially by the Pharisees, who were at ease, settled on their lees, that trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others; and this is true of Gospel ministers, though bright and burning lights, and even of every good man, in whom the true light of grace, and of the Gospel, shines, and especially when under afflictive circumstances. Some, instead of a "lamp despised", read, "for" or "because of calamity despised" ^F11 ; so Aben Ezra, which conveys the same sense, that an afflicted man is despised for his affliction; and this being the case of good men confutes the notion of Job's friends, that it always goes well with such; and their other notion of its going ill with bad men is refuted in (Job 12:6) .

FOOTNOTES:

• F9: (lgr ydewml Nwkn) "destinatus vacillantibus pede", Schmidt; so Michaelis.
• F11: (zwb dypl) "ad calamitatem contumelia", Cocceius; "ad infortunium vilis habetur", Gussetius, p. 674.