Thy Strong Word - Job 12: Job Replies: The Lord Has Done This

Hosted by Rev. John Lukomski, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Darmstadt & St. Paul Lutheran Church in New Athens, Illinois.

With guest Rev. Curtis Deterding from Zion Lutheran Church in Fort Myers, Florida.

Job 12

Job Replies: The Lord Has Done This

12 Then Job answered and said:

²“No doubt you are the people,
    and wisdom will die with you.
³But I have understanding as well as you;
    I am not inferior to you.
    Who does not know such things as these?
⁴I am a laughingstock to my friends;
    I, who called to God and he answered me,
    a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock.
⁵In the thought of one who is at ease there is contempt for misfortune;
    it is ready for those whose feet slip.
⁶The tents of robbers are at peace,
    and those who provoke God are secure,
    who bring their god in their hand.^[a]

⁷“But ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
    the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;
⁸or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you;^[b]
    and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
⁹Who among all these does not know
    that the hand of the Lord has done this?
¹⁰In his hand is the life of every living thing
    and the breath of all mankind.
¹¹Does not the ear test words
    as the palate tastes food?
¹²Wisdom is with the aged,
    and understanding in length of days.

¹³“With God^[c] are wisdom and might;
    he has counsel and understanding.
¹⁴If he tears down, none can rebuild;
    if he shuts a man in, none can open.
¹⁵If he withholds the waters, they dry up;
    if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land.
¹⁶With him are strength and sound wisdom;
    the deceived and the deceiver are his.
¹⁷He leads counselors away stripped,
    and judges he makes fools.
¹⁸He looses the bonds of kings
    and binds a waistcloth on their hips.
¹⁹He leads priests away stripped
    and overthrows the mighty.
²⁰He deprives of speech those who are trusted
    and takes away the discernment of the elders.
²¹He pours contempt on princes
    and loosens the belt of the strong.
²²He uncovers the deeps out of darkness
    and brings deep darkness to light.
²³He makes nations great, and he destroys them;
    he enlarges nations, and leads them away.
²⁴He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth
    and makes them wander in a trackless waste.
²⁵They grope in the dark without light,
    and he makes them stagger like a drunken man.

Footnotes:

Job 12:6 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
Job 12:8 Or or speak to the earth, and it will teach you
Job 12:13 Hebrew him

Lutheran Heritage Foundation - Underwriter of Thy Strong Word — Underwriter of Thy Strong Word

Rev. William Weedon

We have the distinct privilege of borrowing LCMS Director of Worship and International Center Chaplain Rev. William Chancellor Weedon for an hour a day to add Host of Thy Strong Word to his list of titles. Native to the central Maryland area just outside of Washington D.C., he enthusiastically enjoys his coffee, playing piano, and singing heartily, as well as spending time in the pool with his wife Cindi, three children and their spouses, and seven grandchildren. He’s one of those people that listens to Christmas music year-round, but we still let him in our studios. You may find him reading a good murder mystery or some writing by Johann Gerhard, Joseph Ratzinger, or Alexander Schmemann while eating a chocolate torte made by his wife Cindi. When he’s read all the books he can manage, he escapes outside to hike, bike, or even run in his Vivobarefoot shoes that Andy Bates, his favorite famous person, told him to buy.