If he tears down, none can rebuild; if he shuts a man in, none can open. – Job 12:14
Today’s verse shows that God has the final say. He is the Supreme Authority. Who can argue against God? Yet, many try. There was a wise man in the New Testament, Gamaliel. When apostles Peter and John were brought before the court because they were teaching the people about Jesus, the Sanhedrin wanted to put them to death. Gamaliel, though he didn’t believe in Jesus, convinced them to spare the apostles’ lives. He said others had risen up with false teaching and they were scattered. If these men were not of God, they would come to nothing. But if they came against them, they might find they are fighting God (Acts 5). And that’s a losing battle.
How proud people are sometimes, thinking their ways are better than God’s. Coming up with excuses why God’s ways won’t work, they do what’s right in their own eyes. Proverbs 15:21 says, “The Lord tears down the house of the proud but maintains the widow’s boundaries.” Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. The Lord took care of him and his family and shut them in the ark (Genesis 7:16). These are examples of what Job talks about in today’s verse.
Applying God’s Word and ways to your life may go against the general consensus, but God knows what He’s talking about. Just because something is popular and accepted doesn’t make it right. Stand up for God. He does not fail. Pray for the nation to turn to the Lord and His ways and not be too quick to embrace worldly views.
Today’s Verse: Job 12:14
If he tears down, none can rebuild;
if he shuts a man in, none can open.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Recommended for further reading: Isaiah 40:9-18
Go on up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good news;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news;
lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Behold your God!”
10 Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?
13 Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord,
or what man shows him his counsel?
14 Whom did he consult,
and who made him understand?
Who taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge,
and showed him the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
and are accounted as the dust on the scales;
behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.
16 Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,
nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.
17 All the nations are as nothing before him,
they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.
18 To whom then will you liken God,
or what likeness compare with him?
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
