Job 12:17 Commentary and Bible Study

Those who from a human perspective are the least likely to be taken advantage of, who are renowned for their sharpness and quick-wittedness, are so wrong-footed that they are ashamed. Counsellors, who are sought out for their prudent advice and who are highly esteemed for their superior knowledge, are unable to deliver themselves by their own wisdom when God takes them by surprise. All their wisdom fails to anticipate what has surrounded them and they can find no way of escape. Judges who exercise great discernment in seeing through human deception and apportioning justice to all, are made to appear no better than fools. All these things come about by the will of God when he works against ambition and self-satisfaction. How out of place is human confidence! Satan himself is trapped in a snare of his own making and is unable to avoid playing a hand in his own downfall. In his zeal to destroy Christ, he brought about the salvation of all men in such a way that he could not see what he was doing until it was too late. The deceiver is then deceived by his own deception. He cannot see the end that God has in view because it is too deep for him, and by the time it becomes visible it cannot be avoided. God works all these things together for a demonstration of his justice and wisdom. In this way he catches the wise in their craftiness to punish them for their overconfidence and to show mankind at large the foolishness of trusting in the great ones of this world.Job has seen such things taking place, and although many of God’s purposes remain hidden, he knows for sure that God has at times acted in this way. Perhaps these remarkable providences are connected with remarkable display of arrogance and pride. Their downfall comes contrary to all man’s expectation and certainly God, who governs the world, has been at work.