What is the meaning of Job 11:12? But a witless man • “Witless” paints the picture of a person devoid of spiritual understanding, the fool who says in his heart, “There is no God” (Psalm 14:1). • Paul echoes the same reality: “The natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him” (1 Corinthians 2:14). • Without God’s revelation, every one of us starts here—empty-headed about eternal truth, even if we appear intelligent in earthly matters. can no more become wise • Genuine wisdom is never self-generated; it comes only from God. “For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6). • Left to ourselves, we cannot flip a switch and gain godly insight. Jeremiah admits, “I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not his own; it is not in a man to direct his steps” (Jeremiah 10:23). • The good news is that God freely offers wisdom: “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault” (James 1:5). than the colt of a wild donkey • A wild donkey’s colt is untamed, stubborn, and resistant to guidance—an apt comparison to the unregenerate heart. God asks Job later, “Who set the wild donkey free? … It scorns the tumult of the city” (Job 39:5-7). • Ishmael was prophesied to be “a wild donkey of a man” (Genesis 16:12), a picture of independence and defiance. • The image underscores how deeply ingrained our rebellion is; it is not a superficial habit but a nature. can be born a man! • Just as no animal can self-transform into a human, no sinner can self-transform into a saint. Spiritual birth is a miracle, not a moral improvement project. • Jesus told Nicodemus, “No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3). • When that new birth happens, the impossible becomes reality: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). summary Job 11:12 uses a vivid comparison to declare that apart from God’s intervention, a foolish, spiritually blind person has as much chance of producing true wisdom as a wild donkey’s colt has of being born human. Wisdom is a gift from above, received through humble dependence on the Lord who alone can replace folly with understanding and transform rebels into new creations in Christ. |
    |