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Job 28:1-28
Interlude: Where Wisdom Is Found
1There is a mine for silver
and a place where gold is refined.
2Iron is taken from the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.
3Mortals put an end to the darkness;
they search out the farthest recesses
for ore in the blackest darkness.
4Far from human dwellings they cut a shaft,
in places untouched by human feet;
far from other people they dangle and sway.
5The earth, from which food comes,
is transformed below as by fire;
6lapis lazuli comes from its rocks,
and its dust contains nuggets of gold.
7No bird of prey knows that hidden path,
no falcon’s eye has seen it.
8Proud beasts do not set foot on it,
and no lion prowls there.
9People assault the flinty rock with their hands
and lay bare the roots of the mountains.
10They tunnel through the rock;
their eyes see all its treasures.
11They search the sources of the rivers
and bring hidden things to light.
12But where can wisdom be found?
Where does understanding dwell?
13No mortal comprehends its worth;
it cannot be found in the land of the living.
14The deep says, “It is not in me”;
the sea says, “It is not with me.”
15It cannot be bought with the finest gold,
nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
16It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir,
with precious onyx or lapis lazuli.
17Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it,
nor can it be had for jewels of gold.
18Coral and jasper are not worthy of mention;
the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.
19The topaz of Cush cannot compare with it;
it cannot be bought with pure gold.
20Where then does wisdom come from?
Where does understanding dwell?
21It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
concealed even from the birds in the sky.
22Destruction and Death say,
“Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.”
23God understands the way to it
and he alone knows where it dwells,
24for he views the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
25When he established the force of the wind
and measured out the waters,
26when he made a decree for the rain
and a path for the thunderstorm,
27then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;
he confirmed it and tested it.
28And he said to the human race,
“The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
and to shun evil is understanding.”
You might remember that we devoted a Reflection to the Book of Job when the lectionary started its series of readings from that book a few weeks ago, and now we’re coming back to it on the last day of the series. It’s interesting that the last reading from Job isn’t from the end of the book itself. The readings get to the end of the book – to Chapter 42 – and then go back to this passage from Chapter 28 as the final reading in the list from Job.
That’s unusual for the lectionary, but in this case, it makes sense. I say that because Job is one of a group of Old Testament books we call “Wisdom literature,” along with Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, Lamentations and the Song of Solomon. And this passage from Job 28 is a reflection on the subject of wisdom.
It seems to me that the scholars who put together the lectionary figured that anyone who has read all the way through the Book of Job has read so many ‘un-wise’ opinions of Job’s wife and friends that they’ll need some genuine wisdom to get their head straightened out, so to speak.
As you might remember, throughout the Book of Job, his wife and friends offer all kinds of explanations for the misfortunes that have befallen him. Lots of them are ancient versions of the kind of glib sayings people of faith sometimes offer to suffering people today – “Everything happens for a reason,” or “God must be testing you,” or “You know what the Bible says: God won’t give you more than you can handle.” But at the end of Job, God shows up personally and tells Job that none of his friends ‘folk theology’ holds water.
It seems to me that the real wisdom of this book of Wisdom Literature is that there are some things that are beyond our understanding, and that true wisdom comes from humbly walking with our God. As this passage ends, “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.”
I think it’s fair to say that in our culture, Wisdom is held in pretty low regard. Tech-smart youth is prized over experienced maturity, and older people are more likely to be blamed for the world’s problems or dismissed as foolish dotards than respected as a source of valuable wisdom. On top of that, people have access to so much information through their smartphones they figure they know everything they need to know. But that reveals some confusion about the meaning of wisdom as distinguished from information and knowledge.
Most of us have access to far more information than people in earlier times could have dreamed of, largely because of our phones. They give us instant access to far more information than the scholars in the best libraries had a hundred years ago. But as some people are coming to realize by now, all that raw information isn’t worth much (aside from settling the occasional argument) unless we’re able to apply some of it in a useful way.
That’s where knowledge comes in, it seems to me. Knowledge is the ability to take information, organize it in some way, and put it to meaningful use. Plug a scanner into your car’s OBD port, and it’ll spit out a code to tell you why your ‘check engine’ light is on. That code is information. But your mechanic’s ability to know what that code means and what to do about it – that’s knowledge.
But wisdom, it seems to me, is the capacity to use knowledge to advance human flourishing. A person with wisdom can take knowledge and use it in such a way that people’s lives are made happier and healthier. Wisdom helps people live together more harmoniously. Wisdom improves the common welfare.
When it comes to our relationship with God, biblical Wisdom is the ability to take knowledge from the Bible and from our observation of God’s creation, and to use that knowledge in promoting good and healthy relationships with God and our neighbors. Biblical Wisdom helps people live in ways that please God more and more. If you remember the ‘fruits of the Spirit’ that Paul lists and that we pray about frequently – love, joy, peace, goodness, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control – those are probably characteristics of the life of true Biblical Wisdom.
So I suppose you could make the case that Wisdom itself is a gift of the Holy Spirit – as that Spirit is at work in the life of a person who “fears God” in the sense that they serve God in reverent, loving obedience.
And that’s probably why the scholars put this passage at the end of the list of readings from Job – to let us reflect on the meaning of true Godly Wisdom.
Let’s pray. Lord, in a world that almost worships the technology that provides us with information, help us to use that information and the knowledge that comes from it in a way that promotes the flourishing of all your children, and especially that helps us and them come to know you better and serve you more faithfully. Amen.
Grace and Peace,
Henry
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