Job 12:11

11 Doth not the ear ['ozen] try [bachan] words [millah]? and the mouth [chek] taste [ta`am] his meat ['okel]? KJV-Interlinear

11 'Does not the ear test words, As the palate tastes its food? NASB

Job closes what he has just said, and sets the stage for what he is about to say in the next few verses. He is not simply talking about hearing and tasting, but he is referring to humanity's ability to discern in some of the most fundamental functions of human activity, hearing and tasting.

Both are responses to something else. Neither initiate their senses onto others, but take in information in the form of sounds or flavors, and decide between what is taken in, as to which is better and acceptable, and which is rejected.

In short, God has given man the ability to discern between the good and the not so good, and even the very bad, along with everything in between.

Foods and beverages come in a very wide variety. There are salty foods and sweet foods, there are fruits and vegetables, and meats of various types. There are foods that are cooked and need added ingredients in order to bring out their flavor, and there are things that should never be eaten because they are poisonous and pose a danger to ones health and life.

Eating is basic to every human being who has ever lived. Even babies, as young as they are, develop an attitude toward various foods and they will want or reject certain foods.

You eat or drink foods and beverages because you are driven by hunger and thirst. You have a lack of something, nourishment, and your basic instincts drive you to eat.

And so it is with the soul. Your soul is driven by a need for truth through your hearing, or learning processes. When you hear sounds you either like them, or you ignore them, or you don't like them. When you hear words, then you apply a little more discernment in what is being said.

You can either listen because the subject interests you, or you can be indifferent because the subject does not interest you.

Job's friends have been throwing out sayings, commonplace suggestions, proverbs and such things. And even though they are in themselves true when applied to the proper circumstances, they can be twisted and their meaning or their conclusions can be false, when misapplied.

I could tell you that the sky is blue, that water is wet, and then conclude that you are an idiot. What does one have to do with the other or the price of tea in China for that matter?

Jobs friends have wisdom, but it is limited to academic regurgitation of ancient sayings, not a true application of facts with respect to Jobs circumstances.

Jobs friends are voicing their opinions in order to advance their own ego's. They want to be seen as wise. One of their flaws is their approbation, though they would never admit it. Other than gaining public attention and recognition for themselves, they don't have any other hidden agendas.

Of course, we live in an age where people will try to get into the headlines in order to gain income through their notoriety by means of their being controversial. Or people will try to get into the headlines in order to get themselves promoted, elected, or just plain sought after.

The truth matters not. The result of their publicity is what matters to them.

And so Job points out the fundamental vehicles of discernment with which man has in order to see truth. Animals can figure out the seasons and they act accordingly, but man cannot figure out his own season.

Humanity will try to redefine nature, redefine history, and redefine truth in order to make everything more convenient to his liking and life style, even though everything he believes is a lie.

But then, who is going to know anyway? Life just rolls slowly along day after day, year after year, and nothing remarkable seems to happen. Sure, there are major events occurring in the world, but they happen to others, not to ourselves. And that is supposed to justify our way of thinking?

If animals can figure out life, and if our tongue can figure out what tastes good and what does not, and if our hearing has the capacity to figure out truth, then why does our hearing process fail?

Why are the simplest of things in life so complicated for us higher creatures?

Remember the spider's web we studied earlier in Job?

Now is the time to post a prayer.