 Beginning at verse 1 chapter 12 reading to verse 3 then Job answered and said no doubt you are the people and wisdom will die with you but I have understanding as well as you I am not inferior to you indeed who does not know such things as these and so let me remind you of a few things as we are about to enter into this study of chapter 12 Job's friend a man by the name of Zophar has been rebuking Job because as you've been reading with me you've seen that Job has been complaining very openly complaining he'd been complaining and had gone so far as to even address his complaints to God himself in chapter 10 chapter 10 is a complaint that is personally directed to the Lord well when Job does that that's simply too much for Zophar and so his friend Zophar began to rebuke Job for what he would refer to as his presumption when we look at chapter 11 verses 2 and 3 in those verses he basically said your empty foolish speech deserves a rebuttal the actual fact is you're getting less than you deserve if you were to read the second portion of verse 6 this is what he said he said no therefore that God exacts from you less than your iniquity deserves you're not getting as much as you deserve you get you should be hurting more than you are right now now as we've been going through Zophar's statements and all he speaks much truth but his approach is one that I would say is filled with insensitivity you see when someone is in need of correction gentleness and humility are very important if you're going to bring a correction to anybody Proverbs 15 verse 1 says it like this a soft answer turns away wrath but a harsh word stirs up anger if you're going to bring a word of correction a rebuke an admonishment to somebody but you do it with an attitude you do it with the arrogance you do it by pointing your finger and all of that you're not going to see much fruit from that and Zophar is speaking things that are in fact many of the things he says in terms of what he's declaring to him those things are true he just doesn't know the heart of Job and he doesn't know really what the situation actually is so let us learn something when bringing an exhortation if you're going to be having this exhortation received one of the things that we if we're going to exhort in and rebuke sometimes incorrect and and all of us will find ourselves in a position of having to do that so when we bring an exhortation when we have to be one who rebukes we need to be known as people who practice what we preach we need to be known for our integrity now there are a few things that are as irritating as being rebuked by someone who doesn't practice what they say you see when it's necessary to confront and encourage someone one of the things that is really important is for us simply to be aware of our own sinfulness we're no better than anybody else when paul was writing concerning this if you take notes you might want to note romans chapter 15 verse 14 when paul was writing concerning this he said now i myself am confident concerning you my brethren that you also are full of goodness filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another you are full of goodness filled with all knowledge able also to admonish one another so when he says i know that you are i'm confident that you are full of goodness paul is speaking of of something beyond a natural goodness he he's speaking of of something beyond that because the bible says there's none good no not one ecclesiastity 720 says it like this there is not a just man on earth who does good and doesn't sin so he's not speaking about a natural goodness because when you look around there are some sinners who are better than other sinners there are some people who are better than other people and all of that he's not speaking about natural goodness he's speaking of something else when he's speaking of goodness he's speaking of the fruit of the holy spirit that you're full of goodness goodness is one of the of the expressions of the love of god that is known as the fruit of the spirit if you take notes collations five 22 and 23 says it like this the fruit of the spirit is love joy peace long suffering kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self control against such there is no law the fruit of the spirit he says includes goodness goodness is a spiritual fruit is produced by a life strengthened by the holy spirit it's a result of abiding in jesus christ who refers to himself in john 15 as the true vine so goodness speaks of moral and spiritual excellence goodness is known for it's or by its service and graciousness it's not simply moral or legal correctness it's a manifestation a fruit of the spirit and it's something that really sets you apart from those who don't know the lord and so one who is good is somebody who practices caring for other people in Galatians six verse 10 paul said it like this he says as we have opportunity let us do good to all people especially those who belong to the family of believers so goodness is kindness and action if you will it it's a moral quality fruit of the holy spirit and so if i'm going to bring a correction to anybody i need to have goodness people need to look at me and say this person practices what he preaches but you also have to have knowledge now when he speaks concerning knowledge in romans 15 14 it's speaking not of simply the knowledge of the world it's not saying that you need to go to college and receive degrees that that make you better and more learn it it speaks of a spiritual knowledge he says you have moral goodness because that is a fruit of the holy spirit but you also have a knowledge a deep personal knowledge of god himself you know god you know his word you know his ways and so if you're going to bring a correction paul says there needs to be moral goodness but there also be a knowledge of god that should be there and then finally that gives you the ability to admonish somebody you see goodness and knowledge of the things of god qualify a person to admonish another what we have with zofar is we have a man who is able to speak and make pronouncements about god who is lacking in sympathy and compassion there's hardly hardly anything more difficult to handle than when somebody is bringing a correction to a person who and that person bringing the correction is not a sympathetic person a compassionate person and that's what we're seeing here now we've seen aliphaz we've seen bill dad and zofar these men have all brought rebukes to job and so job is now about to let them know how he feels about their arguments and notice how he begins here in chapter chapter 12 he responds with what has been called stinging sarcasm he makes it clear that god is behind all events whether those events are good or evil and he also says that in his pain i still need to ask god why i'm suffering so when it says in verse one job answered and said notice the sarcasm in verse two no doubt you are the people and wisdom will die with you that's a very sarcastic thing he's saying obviously you are above every other human being on planet earth and all wisdom exists in you as a matter of fact when you die all wisdom will cease to exist and no one will know anything now isn't that kind you guys are know it all is what he's saying every one of you wisdom is going to die with you it's all summed up in you you know everything and that's the attitude that they've been expressing or exposing to him and it bothers him so that's why he said no doubt you are the people wisdom will die with you but verse three i have understanding as well as you i'm not inferior to you indeed who doesn't know such things as these notice his response by the way he's not boasting he's making it clear that he already is aware of this these things that they've said he is saying i have no consciousness of any inferiority to you you aren't my teachers you see god is in control of everything we know that who's arguing about that you see anyone who believes in god knows he has wisdom knows he has power and knows he has justice so you're not teaching me anything i don't already know in verse four i am one mocked by his friends who called on god and he answered him the just and blameless who is ridiculed he's saying you've accused me of mocking if you were to remember in chapter 11 verse three it says when you mock should no one rebuke you so you've accused me of being the one who is mocking but in reality it is you who are mocking me as a matter of fact job is saying i have become the laughing stock of my neighbors later on chapter 19 in verses 18 and 19 job says even young children despise me i arise and they speak against me all my close friends abhor me and those whom i love have turned against me i'm the laughing stock of my neighbors i am the laughing stock of even the children in the in the in the city in the village and i am the one noticed verse four who called on god and god answered i am the just and i really am blameless he's saying but i'm being ridiculed god answered my prayers and i know that i'm just and i know that i'm suffering in a way that that i haven't called upon myself i'm innocent but i'm being ridiculed for something something i haven't done so instead of arguing with me why not pray for me why not pray that i might be healed instead of ganging up on me each one of you bringing your various pronouncements and your wisdom why haven't you taken the time to pray for me there have been times in my ministry where somebody has done something that obviously has reaped certain repercussions produced them i don't have to walk up and say to that person look what you did and you're deserving everything i don't have to do that they're already convicted they already know that most of the time so what good is it going to do me to walk up to somebody and say to them look at if you wouldn't have it if you wouldn't have and you and that's no sometimes it's just wiser and sometimes it's simply the right thing to just have a listening ear and a heart that's touched by other people's infirmities sometimes that is just so important you know the scripture says weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice weep with those who weep on one end of the spectrum you have sorrow on the other end of the spectrum you have joy and so you need to be somebody paul would say who's able to weep with those who are hurting but also to rejoice to the ones who have joined their heart it's an it's something that you have that goes on the whole spectrum of being a human being and and there are times when somebody may have done something that certainly needs to be spoken about will be spoken about but your initial response if you want to be an encourager is to learn to cry with those who cry to learn to weep with those who weep and so job is trying to bring correction to them as he's speaking to them and making it very clear that what they're doing is is not proper and it's actually well i already know these things but i'm one mocked by my friends in verse five he says a lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease it is made ready for those whose feet slip when he speaks about the one at ease those who are at ease those who are relaxing they don't need a lamp but the one not suffering from any misfortune is a person who sometimes doesn't understand the misfortune you're going through and so he's saying seeing that you are at ease you don't understand what i'm going through he says in verse six the tents of robbers prosper and those who provoke god are secure in what god provides by his hand and so god doesn't always act quickly against the evil one of this world and we know that don't be sometimes it seems that evil goes unchecked and sometimes it seems that those who are doing what is really wrong the bible would call evil sometimes evil people can be at rest sometimes evil appears to go unpunished while righteous people seem to suffer it seems that god sometimes puts into their hand these evil ones opportunities to prosper even more than than righteous people do so you have a neighbor who has one of those bumper stickers my kid is an honor roll student at such and so school and they're very proud of this kid but the kid's a bully he's a thief he's a liar and you you raise your kid to love the lord and he can't even spell his name the same twice in a row and he's 16 he doesn't want he doesn't want to read he doesn't want to study he doesn't want to excel you've given him devotions his whole life you've cared for him taken him to church you've done everything there's other kid who's neglected in every way is an honor roll student and in your kid you know is not he's not excelling and sometimes you you think about it and you think lord how come you say god you know i work i do my best you know and and and my neighbor down the street you know every couple years is driving a brand new car and and me when i drive my car it's kind of like making smoke signals telling people when i drive it you know it's just it's falling apart the doors are falling off i don't even have to open them up i just step into it you know what's with me you know i'm trying my best i'm doing my best and it seems that the wicked prosper and and i i don't have two nickels are up together what's going on and you can do that sometimes it appears that those who are or are are wealthy good they that they they just go unpunished and that those who are doing the best to serve the lord it seems that they they often suffer but but the point he's making is god is in control whether it be allowing the wicked to prosper or or even the suffering of the righteous god is in control in what god provides by his hand verse seven ask the beasts they'll teach you the birds of the air they will tell you speak to the earth it will teach you the fish of the sea we'll explain it to you who among all these does not know that the hand of the lord has done this so he continues in he says if you could only speak to nature nature itself would reveal that god is absolute ruler he says in verse eight speak to the earth the earth has a message it gives in its seasons we have the summer the winter we have what is called seed time we have harvest and and in this this demonstrates in its order that that there is an intelligence behind it that god is behind everything remember that zover has just told a job that god's ways are unsearchable but jome is simply saying you you don't need to go to heaven or hell you can observe this on the earth you can see this observe the beast observe the birds the earth itself fish they all are the witness of creation in romans chapter one verses 18 through 20 paul said this he said the wrath of god is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness because listen what may be known of god is manifest in them for god has shown it to them for since the creation of the world his invisible attributes are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even his eternal power and godhead so that they are without excuse if you take notes there are two things that he points to when he's speaking in romans 1 18 through 20 one is saying there's a witness within themselves that's another another way of speaking of your conscience that people have a conscience that can accuse them or excuse them the conscience is not the holy spirit the conscience is a moral code that you have that you can violate so he says there's a witness in you meaning that it is possible to know something's wrong with you because your own conscience rebels it tells you it was wrong for you to do that to that person it was wrong for you to steal that it was wrong for you that's your conscience so he says that there are two basic ways that that that you can know there is a god one is your conscience because there's something inside of you that wants to do right but doesn't and then second the witness of creation as you look out you see that every house is built by some man but he who built all things is god and so the witness of creation i've had fathers who have accompanied their wife into the delivery room i did that several times and i've had fathers who have said that when they when the baby parted the womb they said they were just when they woke up after fainting they said they said there is a god we used to call it the wonder of childbirth to see that ugly little thing bounce out and they their little hands are all like that those mamas and dads who've been their hands are all scrunched up and their faces are all distorted and their heads are all lopsided i remember when my son david was born and he came out of conehead his head looked like an oval and i'm looking at this and i'm and the doctor saw my face and he said he'll be okay he'll be all right because i was going oh my looks like the other side of the family what am i going to say they're ugly the c-section babies are beautiful because they didn't go through the trauma right all of you mamas who did c-section you know that c-section babies are beautiful the other ones some of them outgrow ugly others you just get used to them but you know the wonder of creation the wonder and the awe and it really is i mean for that moment when the baby parts the womb and and the doctor hands if you're in the room the doctor hands the baby to you and you look at the baby and your heart wells up with emotions that you didn't even know you had and that i've had happen several times where you're just holding on to this and it they're always beautiful i tease about that but you know they're beautiful they're so beautiful i remember our first born how my father-in-law was standing next to me and my daughter Corinne was laying in one of those little bassinets at park avenue hospital in Pomona and my father-in-law was standing next to me and i'll never forget that it was his first grandbaby and uh he was looking and he's yeah he was he was one of those those grandfathers that just he was bursting and he was bursting i and he was oh she's beautiful david look at her isn't she beautiful and i'm looking at this ugly baby and i'm saying you know i'll get your glasses grandpa she'll outgrow that but you know you're looking and and there is a wonder there really is a wonder of creation sometimes my wife and i in the morning will be um early when the sun is it's been up a little while but not too much not too long there'll be times when marie and i will look at one another and we'll say look how beautiful this is look how beautiful this day is you guys ever do that just take a moment to appreciate you know they say smell the roses to do that just to just sit down and relax for a moment and think of the wonders of creation you know creation speaks there's a designer creation speaks every house is built by some man there's a designer an architect and a builder and he who built all things the writer of hebra says is god god is in control and god it can be known by his creation not not in a salvific way not in a way of being saved but but but become aware that there is something greater than myself and and so that's what he's pointing to in deuteronomy 10 14 the writer says behold the heavens the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the lords your god the earth also with all that therein is psalm 24 verse 1 the earth is the lords and the fullness thereof the world and they that dwell therein and once again psalm 89 verse 11 the heavens are yours the earth also is yours as for the world and the fullness thereof you have founded them and that's what job is saying speak to the earth it'll teach you the fish of the sea will explain to you who among all these doesn't know that the hand of the lord has done this there is a god and he's saying you see the witness of creation so if you would speak to nature nature would reveal that god is absolute ruler in verse 10 he goes on to say in whose hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind god is all powerful he's saying god has absolute power he gives life and he takes it away he gives life and he gives health when it pleases him but he also takes it away if he desires and he's saying his ways are deep and cannot be understood in verse 11 does not the ear test words and the mouth taste its food the wise man does not accept everything he hears and he doesn't like everything he tastes there's discernment and these things call for discernment we need to be able to distinguish what is true and what is false and he's saying you men have not exercised this discernment because you are charging me with sin verse 12 wisdom is with aged men and with length of days understanding why should i listen to you if you don't speak with wisdom the natural way for for us to gain wisdom and that's what he's saying wisdom is with aged men length of days understanding the the natural way for us to gain wisdom is is it's a process normally that occurs over many years it's not until they've grown old that they can qualify for being wise in the old testament as well as the new there is a there is a presentation of the fact that wisdom is with the aged that if a man's ways have pleased the lord and he's lived a lifetime of serving god that that is a person that ought to be respected and listened to when it comes to counsel it's it's like if if you have to go to the doctor and you have a particular illness that is greatly concerning to you and you need a specialist and you have an option you can go to a doctor who has been a specialist in that field for 25 years who has a lot of experience in that area is known for being able to to deal with the thing that is concerning you you have that option should i go to somebody with that many years of experience and all or should i go to somebody who just graduated from med school and the average person not all but the average person would probably say i want to go with experience and we do that in life don't we i mean if you go and you have your car needs to be worked on you want somebody who knows mechanical things somebody who's got experience you want somebody who comes with recommendation somebody that can be trusted you're going to go to that person not somebody who says well you know what i don't know much but i got a wrench you're not necessarily going to go to that guy and so in life and here's something that i could speak about for a while but i'm not going to i'll just say this i think one of the mistakes that i made as a young man that i've learned since then was the mistake of thinking i already knew what somebody else was saying and trusting my friends over the advice of those who had been there before me me my friends had become my counselors young people like myself would say things i agreed with and so naturally i wanted to do the things that they would say but would i go to my parents and ask them for advice would i go for for advice from an older person no i i i i didn't do it i would speak to people who were just as immature and inexperienced as me and a lot of people do that to this day it's even worse today than when i was younger because when i was younger we didn't google all the answers we weren't you know google geniuses so somebody has a question and what they do is this they just go online and they they look up something that agrees with what they already pres presuppose and then they add that to their arsenal of argument and what we also have today is we have people who are not willing to listen to another side of an argument because they've already made up their mind that the popular argument is the right one and that happens too now that's not not new we've we've all done that if all of my friends agree that this is right then to me it's right that's the way it's always been but it's much more now it's more magnified now and so people are quicker to agree with those whom they already have agreed with in their own mind it's a wise thing to hear the other side it's a wise thing to let somebody else present their case so that you can hear the other side of the argument and that way you can make a better decision as it relates to that and when you're afraid to hear the other side of an argument that's not good you know when i went to college and i went to college for a number of years i didn't get a degree but i went for years and as i went for years i i took a lot of classes a lot of units and and and i have 137 lower division units i have 30 some or higher in masters division i just never have gotten my my my diplomas i never did i just went to school for for a number of years and i learned over time i learned to listen i learned to hear another side so that i could weigh what i believed with what somebody else believes i wasn't threatened by it i wasn't afraid of it i wanted to hear it because i wanted to make sure that what i believed was right but guys today that's not happening today we just believe what somebody told us and we don't need to investigate for ourselves listen if you want to grow and you want to be deep you got to hunt you got to search it's like a treasure you dig for knowledge you go after it read proverbs two you'll see what i'm saying it has to be like a treasure that's hidden that you go after you work for you dig deep into it and then you become wise and so if a person has been following the lord for a while and has integrity and and has a reputation for that that's a person that you probably can listen to wisdom is with aged men verse 12 again with length of days understanding and so the natural way again for men to gain wisdom is a process of many years and the natural way is to just grow and experience but of course it depends on what the person's life has been built on that determines whether or not they have wisdom because there are those who grow old but never grow wiser there's that old saying there's no fool like an old fool jope 32 9 says great men are not always wise nor do the age it always understand justice so it depends on the direction you went in your life as to whether or not you're gaining the proper kind of wisdom but wisdom is with aged men verse 13 now i'm going to read verses 13 through 25 and take it as a whole and i'm only going to do this chapter jove says with him our wisdom and strength he has counsel and understanding if he breaks the thing down it cannot be rebuilt if he imprisons a man there can be no release if he withholds the waters they dry up if he sends them out they overwhelm the earth with him our strength and prudence the deceived and the deceiver are his he leads counselors away plundered makes fools of the judges he loosens the bonds of kings binds their waste with a belt he leads princes away plundered and overthrows the mighty he deprives the trusted ones of speech and takes away the discernment of the elders he pours contempt on princes disarms the mighty he uncovers deep things out of darkness brings the shadow of death to light he makes nations great and destroys them he enlarges nations and guides them he takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth and makes them wander in a pathless wilderness they grope in the dark without light he makes them stagger like a drunken man so in verse 13 with him our wisdom and strength he has counsel and understanding in other words he is constantly wise he doesn't have more wisdom later on he's simply saying with him he is always wise he is always powerful he always has proper counsel he always has understanding he's not growing in any of these things when he says in verse 14 if he breaks the thing it cannot be rebuilt if he present in prisons a man that can be no release he's simply saying nothing can withstand him if he withholds the waters they dry up if he sends them out they overwhelm the earth he is the god of nature he controls nature he controls the rain he nourishes the ground with the rain with him our strength and prudence the deceived and the deceiver are his so he is strengthened with him he not only plans but he brings his plans to fruition he makes sure that his plans succeed but he also frustrates the evil plans of the deceiver in verse 17 he leads counselors away plundered and makes fools of the judges those who are wise on the earth cannot resist him and cannot escape him he loosens the bonds of kings he binds their ways with the belt verse 18 kings rule or are taken captive by his will he leads princes away plundered and overthrows the mighty he rules everything the priestly class everything is under his lead he verse 20 he deprives the trusted ones of speech and this one's interesting how it says he takes away the discernment of the elders he can he can prove those who are elders and should be wise he can prove that they are actually foolish because of his ways he's able to reveal those who are not truly wise they only appear wise in verse 21 he pours contempt on princes disarms the mighty princes and warriors are nothing to him he encovers deep things out of darkness brings the shadows of death to light he reveals secret things that men have hidden he reveals the secret plodding of those who would oppose him he makes nations great destroys them enlarges nations guides them yeah and he's done that for us too hasn't he he makes nations great it's been said that america is great because america is good and if america ever ceases being good america will cease being great and i agree with that i believe that's true that took place back in the 1700s in the formation of the united states and a french individual was here and he was observing this birth of of this great nation he said the secret of that nation's power is the thundering of righteousness that emanates from america's pulpits he said that the ministers were preaching righteousness and because people were going to church and hearing the message and living in a proper way at least much more than they do now he was saying that's its secret of greatness its goodness the secret of the united states and its greatness has always been in its goodness and even to this day guys even to this day there are so many things that we disagree with all of us as believers we see and it disturbs us many things but there are still there are still people who care there are still loving people there's still tenderhearted people there are still generous people there are still charitable people there there are still people with hearts we still see that is this nation what we want it to be right now no can it be yes how's it going to become that way through the preaching of the gospel that's how it comes it's not the transformation from one president to another it's the transformation of a person's heart so he becomes or she becomes someone else a new creation in christ jesus that's why i think it's wise for us as for me as a pastor teacher to always try and direct us in in in the path towards god and righteousness that's why i do that so that that we can we can we can have a nation that actually could be called good but it's god who makes that nation great verse 23 he makes nations great he also destroys them he enlarges nation and he guides them he takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth and makes them wander in a pathless wilderness when he says that he's making it very clear that that he can undermine the strength of those who are the chiefs if you will he he leaves them wandering in confusion it says in verse 25 they grope in the dark without light he makes them stagger like a drunk man that god is in control of everything and even those who are considered to be great and leaders are still under his guiding hand and under his authority and that's why and i'll close with this and that's why we believers need to first and foremost make sure that our trust and our hope is in the lord it always has to start there i i know i'm speaking to the choir i know you guys know this but that's what i really believe with all of my heart that uh what's going to make this nation a great nation once again is going to be when the people fear their god worship their god serve their god when this nation turns to to her god you know we're always saying in our national day of prayer you know if my people are called by my name will umba themselves and pray seek my face and turn from their wicked ways then i'll hear from heaven and forgive them their sins and and heal their land we have a tendency of speaking that scripture out and we popularize it in our prayer meetings but but the key is is that we need to confess our sins and turn from our wicked ways and that's when the healing is going to come guys when we turn back to the lord when we realize how great god is and how sinful we are how merciful he is and how in need of mercy we are when we understand that then we live humble lives and that gives us the ability to not be like jobe's comforters self-righteously arguing your point to make your point instead of caring for hurting people and so the church needs to wake up right now i think i think it has been asleep for a while but we're and paul says to the Ephesians awaken and christ will shine on you we need to wake up right now so that the light of christ might shine on us and shine through us we really do we really do