Compare Job 17:10 with Proverbs 12:15. How do both address wisdom and folly? Setting the Scene • Job 17:10 drops into the middle of Job’s painful dialogue with friends who claim to speak wisdom yet only deepen his misery. • Proverbs 12:15 comes from Solomon’s collected sayings, a handbook for everyday godly living. • Both verses weigh the same issue: Who is truly wise, and how can we spot folly? Job 17:10—Wisdom on Trial “ ‘But come back now, all of you, and I will not find a wise man among you.’ ” (Job 17:10) • Job openly invites every critic to re-enter the debate; he predicts none will prove genuinely wise. • Key takeaway: Empty talk and surface arguments cannot pass the test of real suffering. • Job exposes a disguised folly—a self-assured, moralizing counsel that lacks true discernment (cf. Job 13:4–5). • Wisdom, therefore, is measured by faithfulness to God’s truth and compassion, not by eloquence. Proverbs 12:15—The Self-Assured Fool “ ‘The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to counsel.’ ” (Proverbs 12:15) • Folly is pictured as self-confidence divorced from accountability. • Wisdom, by contrast, has open ears and a teachable heart (cf. Proverbs 15:22; Ecclesiastes 7:5). • The verse defines a practical test: Do I invite counsel, or insist on having the last word? Connecting the Dots—Shared Themes • Self-certainty without submission to God’s truth equals folly. – Job’s friends thought highly of their opinions; Proverbs calls that attitude foolish. • Genuine wisdom proves itself in humility. – Job seeks answers from God, not just human debate (Job 28:28). – Proverbs shows the wise continually learning. • Conversation reveals character. – Job 17:10 shames empty counselors. – Proverbs 12:15 warns that a fool’s mouth betrays an unteachable spirit (see also Proverbs 18:2). • Both texts underscore accountability before God, not self-made standards (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:19–25). Living It Out • Check your circle: keep company with people who point you back to Scripture rather than echo popular opinion. • Cultivate teachability: schedule regular moments to invite honest feedback and weigh it against the Word. • Test every claim of wisdom in the furnace of real life and suffering, as Job did. • Pray Psalm 25:4–5 over your decisions—“Show me Your ways, O LORD… teach me Your paths.” Additional Scripture Insights • Proverbs 11:14—“Victory is won through many counselors.” • James 3:13, 17—Heavenly wisdom is “pure… peaceable, gentle, open to reason.” • Psalm 1:1–2—Blessing belongs to those who reject ungodly counsel and delight in God’s law. The united verdict: true wisdom bows to God, listens before speaking, and proves itself in compassionate, faithful action; folly trusts its own loud voice and leaves suffering souls unconsoled. |
    |