Finding Wisdom – Job 28:1-28

Good morning, church! Hope you’re doing well this morning. As we turn to God’s Word this morning, I want all of us to ask ourselves, “What am I expecting God to do through His Word this morning?” Hebrews 4:12 gives us a great place to start from:

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

This passage reminds us that the next 30-40 minutes isn’t about a feel-good message, but allowing the living and active Word of God to pierce our hearts & expose hidden areas that don’t align with God’s character and will.

The reason God’s Word does that is not to condemn us, but to convict us and bring us to repentance. So I would urge all of us to have this expectation above every other expectation & let’s humbly ask God to use His Word to pierce our hearts, expose our hidden sin, and bring us to repentance.

If you’ve been tracking with us, you would be aware that we’ve been going through a series titled God’s blessing in suffering from the book of Job. And as we arrive in Chapter 28 this morning, we know that what should’ve been a consoling, comforting conversation between Job and his friends has turned into a long, frustrating debate.

In fact, so frustrating was this debate that it seems like Job interjects Bildad in Chapter 25 and doesn’t allow him to continue. Zophar, the third friend in the conversation ,doesn’t speak again. The debate has reached its most frustrating point, and yet in the middle of all this, Job suddenly begins a poem on wisdom.

Now why does Job suddenly introduce a poem on wisdom out of nowhere? It’s not because he wants to distract from the main topic of the debate. It’s not because he’s suddenly feeling philosophical. Let’s remember that Job is still grieving the unbearable loss that he’s experienced.

After all, he’s lost his health, his wealth, and his family. And he experienced this unbearable loss after being faithful to God all his life. So he is in this place where he’s still trying to make sense of what just happened to him. Questions of how and why are still lingering in his heart. And that’s why he’s searching for wisdom, he’s looking for wisdom, he’s on the quest of finding wisdom.

So if you’re in this place today, where questions of how and why are still lingering in your heart, if you’re thinking in your heart, “I wish I had the wisdom to navigate through the difficulties and hardships in my life today”, then know that you’re not alone, God’s people through history have had similar struggles, and God’s Word has something to speak to us.

How do we find wisdom? Let’s try and figure this out verse by verse.

1. Wisdom can’t be found by human strength (V1-12)

The first few verses almost seem like Job’s giving us a science lesson by talking about mining and precious metals. But why is Job talking about this? He’s trying to show how humans are ambitious beings. They will go to any extent to try to get hold of their desires.

1 “Surely there is a mine for silver,
    and a place for gold that they refine.
2 Iron is taken out of the earth,
    and copper is smelted from the ore.

These were precious metals in Job’s day as much as they are considered precious today. All of these metals were much sought after. They were in demand because of their value.

3 Man puts an end to darkness
    and searches out to the farthest limit
    the ore in gloom and deep darkness.

Mining or extracting precious minerals and metals from the earth is no easy job. The first big challenge is to locate where these metals are at (which are usually at unfamiliar, unvisited locations), then the next big challenge is to have the right equipment & have the willingness to put your life at risk to be able to mine metals.

We still have the benefit of technological advancement today. In Job’s day, they didn’t have that benefit and so one could only imagine how much tougher & extreme it would have been to mine for these metals in those days. And yet people did that – because they desired these metals and their ambition didn’t stop them from doing that. In fact the verse says “man…searches out to the farthest limit the ore in gloom and deep darkness”.

4 He opens shafts in a valley away from where anyone lives;
    they are forgotten by travelers;
    they hang in the air, far away from mankind; they swing to and fro.

Again referring to the mining illustration where shafts or vertical tunnels are sunk into the ground in order to excavate minerals or metals. Same theme again, going far away from the town, doing labor intensive work, taking huge amounts of risk in order to get hold of these precious metals.

5 As for the earth, out of it comes bread,
    but underneath it is turned up as by fire.

6 Its stones are the place of sapphires,
    and it has dust of gold.

Food, vegetables and fruit is easily accessible on the earth – they are all found on the surface. But these precious metals and stones are located in the depths and need to be dug up.

7 “That path no bird of prey knows,
    and the falcon’s eye has not seen it.

8 The proud beasts have not trodden it;
    the lion has not passed over it.

When it comes to mining and finding these precious metals and stones, animals have absolutely no idea. Animals don’t care as much as we do. Mining and finding these precious metals and stones is a uniquely human ambition.

9 “Man puts his hand to the flinty rock
    and overturns mountains by the roots.

It doesn’t matter if it involves breaking hard and tough rocks. It doesn’t matter if a mountain needs to be overturned. If humans have something to gain from it, they’ll go and do it.

10 He cuts out channels in the rocks,
    and his eye sees every precious thing.
11 He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle,
    and the thing that is hidden he brings out to light.

Humans will go on relentlessly breaking and cutting through the rocks until they find these precious metals and stones. Whatever is stored deep inside the earth, humans will find a way to bring it out.

This is true not just of the mining industry but also of knowledge and technology. We live in an age where AI tools can be accessed on our phones at any point of time. Technology that was once considered unknown a decade ago has now become the norm for many of us.

So when you think about it – it almost seems like whatever humans want to find, they’ll find a way to get it. No matter how difficult it might seem, humans will find a way to get hold of it. That’s their ambition. And yet look at V12

12 “But where shall wisdom be found?
    And where is the place of understanding?

Despite all human effort and ability, despite all the experience with mining and searching and finding whatever they want to find, they can’t find true wisdom. That’s the point Job is trying to make. Human ambition and human effort and human strength cannot bring you to true wisdom. 

But not only can wisdom not be found by human effort but

2. Wisdom can’t be compared in its value (V13-19)

13 Man does not know its worth,
    and it is not found in the land of the living.

The problem is not only that we can’t find wisdom with our human efforts and ambition. The problem is that we can’t estimate the value and worth of wisdom. This wisdom that is spoken of in Job, we can’t comprehend how valuable it is in reality.

14 The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’
    and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’

One reason why we can’t comprehend the value of wisdom is because it’s not found in the natural world around us. It’s not found on earth, nor is it found in the sea. So we’re already getting a hint here, that when Job is talking about wisdom, he’s not referring to worldly knowledge – things that we can learn by observing and studying the world around us. This is a different sort of wisdom which is being described here – something that’s not found in this world.

15 It cannot be bought for gold,
    and silver cannot be weighed as its price.

16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
    in precious onyx or sapphire.
17 Gold and glass cannot equal it,
    nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal;
    the price of wisdom is above pearls.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
    nor can it be valued in pure gold.

In these verses, Job is comparing wisdom with the most precious earthly treasures and then says that none of these treasures put together can come close to its value because it’s so much more superior in value and worth. V17 sums it up so well – it says “nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold”. Even if we take all of our jewelry, empty out our bank balance and sell all our possessions, we’ll not be able to buy this “wisdom”.

Let’s remember that these are the words of someone who used to be known as the greatest man in the East – someone who was very wealthy. All these precious stones and metals, in all likelihood, he used to have all of them in his treasure chest until tragedy struck. And yet, he’s the first one to declare that all this is nothing compared to the value and worth of true wisdom.  

Not only is wisdom not found by human effort & not only is wisdom incomparable in its value but

3. Wisdom can’t be perceived by human ability (V20-22)

20 “From where, then, does wisdom come?
    And where is the place of understanding?

21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living
    and concealed from the birds of the air.
22 Abaddon and Death say,
    ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’

This brings it to the crux of the problem. The crux of the problem is in V21 that this wisdom is “hidden” from us. It is “concealed” from us. It’s kept a “secret” from us. In our natural state, we simply don’t have the capacity to perceive “wisdom”.  It’s similar to what Paul says in 1 Cor 2:14:

14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

Unless God gives us discernment, unless God gives us perception, unless God opens up our spiritual eyes, we won’t have the capacity to perceive wisdom.

Sometimes when me and Angie want to talk about some subject that we don’t want our kids to be listening to, we’ll switch to another language. A language that they’re not familiar with or comfortable in. We’re concealing our conversation from them.

But if our children need to be involved in that conversation, what will need to be done? Either they learn another language or we reveal it to them – we translate it to them. In the same way, unless God reveals to us or gives us the capacity to discern, we won’t be able to perceive “wisdom”.

Let this truth humble us this morning – we are utterly helpless when it comes to perceiving and receiving and understanding wisdom.

Not only is wisdom not found by human effort, not only is wisdom incomparable in its value and not only is wisdom not perceptible by human ability but

4. Wisdom can only be found in a relationship with God (V23-28)

23 “God understands the way to it,
    and he knows its place.

In contrast to humans who cannot find wisdom, God knows the way to wisdom. He knows exactly where wisdom is kept. How does He know where wisdom is?

24 For he looks to the ends of the earth
    and sees everything under the heavens.

It’s a reference to God being all-knowing all the time. There is nothing that is unknown to God. There is nothing that God is ignorant about. There is nothing that God is unsure about. There is nothing that is kept hidden from him. He knows everything at all times. In other words, He is the all-wise God.

25 When he gave to the wind its weight
    and apportioned the waters by measure,
26 when he made a decree for the rain
    and a way for the lightning of the thunder,
27 then he saw it and declared it;
    he established it, and searched it out.

The God who determined the weight of the wind, the God who determined how much water should be in the seas, the God who commands the rain, lightning and thunder, He is the One who saw wisdom, declared wisdom, established wisdom and searched wisdom – examined wisdom completely. In other words, God knows wisdom from the inside out.

What Job is telling us is that – if we need to find wisdom, the only place we can only find that is with God. Nowhere else.

28 And he said to man,
‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
    and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

I know we’ve spoken so much about wisdom. But what is wisdom after all? Is it what we learnt from our schools and colleges – is that wisdom? Is it what our parents & elders have taught us – is that wisdom? Is it what we’re picking up from social media – like a viral clip?

Is it what celebrities, successful businessmen or great sportspersons – when they share their inspiring stories and lessons of life – is that wisdom? All of that can be clubbed as worldly knowledge. Not to say that all worldly knowledge is bad, some might be helpful as well. However, that’s not true wisdom.

So then what is true wisdom?

It’s the skill of making godly decisions in life. It’s the skill of applying biblical truth in your daily lives. It is a God-given God-centred biblical way of living your life.

By this definition we can see that it’s not just about making godly decisions on a Sunday but it’s about making godly decisions throughout the week. It’s not just about hearing God’s word on a Sunday but knowing how to apply that through the week.

True wisdom is trusting and obeying God’s Word in our everyday situations and relationships. In other words, it’s something that every believer in Christ is empowered and called to do at the same time.

So somebody could be very intelligent and successful in life, but still not have wisdom. They could still end up making terrible life decisions & making a mess out of their relationships – which is often the story of a lot of famous people. Why? Because they don’t have wisdom.

But how do we obtain this kind of true wisdom? V28 By having the fear of the Lord.

This fear is not being scared of God or dreading His presence. Why? 1 John 4:17 says “perfect love casts out all fear”. Because Jesus came for us and died in our place taking on our punishment and wrath, hence there’s no need for us to be scared of God.

But if it’s not being scared, what is this fear of the Lord? It’s a reverential, holy fear of God knowing that He is Holy, Just and Righteous. It’s having the awareness that God hates sin – not only in unbelievers but also in the life of the believer! There is no condemnation for believers in Christ but God still hates sin within us.

And therefore the fear of the Lord means approaching Him with that reverence. Let’s look at a few other verses in the Bible that talk about the fear of the Lord:

Blessed is the one who fears the Lord always,

    but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity. (Prov 28:14)

Fearing God in this context shows sensitivity toward sin. It means not having a “chalta hai” attitude toward sin. It means not having a casual approach to sin.

28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire. (Heb 12:28-29)

The first part of the verse talks about grace – where we have received a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Did we do anything to deserve that kingdom? No, it was just a gift of grace. What should that grace enable us to do? Should it make us have a casual, indifferent attitude toward God? Does that make us have a lower view of God’s holiness?

In fact, it’s the opposite. It makes us more aware of God’s holiness because now we know what it cost God to grant grace to us.

Let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.

God’s character doesn’t change even though we’ve become believers. He responds differently to us now that we are His children, but doesn’t mean that God is no longer a consuming fire.

And that’s why the second part of Job 28:28 is a right response. and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

Having a sensitive, repentant, yielding, submissive heart is one that is wise. We started today’s sermon by talking about desiring wisdom in the midst of hardships, so how do we tie this together?

This passage tells me that true wisdom shows itself by not using hardship as an excuse to sin against God. God still desires for me to fear Him and have reverence for Him in my hardship.

“But God didn’t answer my prayer the way I wanted Him to? Though I was faithful to God, He still allowed this difficult thing to come upon me.” Yes, that’s true but still not an excuse to sin. Why? Because God’s character hasn’t changed. Neither has our calling changed. We are still called to revere, fear, obey and turn toward our God.

So if you feel like your heart has wandered away this morning? God is calling us to repentance.