True Wisdom

Job 28:1-28 

1 "Surely there is a mine for silver,
And a place where gold is refined.

2 Iron is taken from the earth,
And copper is smelted from ore.

3 Man puts an end to darkness,
And searches every recess
For ore in the darkness and the shadow of death.

4 He breaks open a shaft away from people;
In places forgotten by feet
They hang far away from men;
They swing to and fro.

5 As for the earth, from it comes bread,
But underneath it is turned up as by fire;
6 Its stones are the source of sapphires,
And it contains gold dust.

7 That path no bird knows,
Nor has the falcon's eye seen it.

8 The proud lions have not trodden it,
Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.

9 He puts his hand on the flint;
He overturns the mountains at the roots.

10 He cuts out channels in the rocks,
And his eye sees every precious thing.

11 He dams up the streams from trickling;
What is hidden he brings forth to light.

12 "But where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?

13 Man does not know its value,
Nor is it found in the land of the living.

14 The deep says, 'It is not in me';
And the sea says, 'It is not with me.'

15 It cannot be purchased for gold,
Nor can silver be weighed for its price.

16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
In precious onyx or sapphire.

17 Neither gold nor crystal can equal it,
Nor can it be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold.

18 No mention shall be made of coral or quartz,
For the price of wisdom is above rubies.

19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
Nor can it be valued in pure gold.

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 Destruction and Death say,
'We have heard a report about it with our ears.'

23 God understands its way,
And He knows its place.

24 For He looks to the ends of the earth,
And sees under the whole heavens,

25 To establish a weight for the wind,
And apportion the waters by measure.

26 When He made a law for the rain,
And a path for the thunderbolt,
27 Then He saw wisdom and declared it;
He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out.

28 And to man He said,'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
And to depart from evil is understanding.'"

Job knew what wisdom was. He compared finding it to diligently mining precious metals and jewels from the earth.  He asked where wisdom and understanding can be found.  People don’t know the value of what they cannot find, for it is beyond worldly possessions or riches, hidden from outside eyes.  Even death and destruction have but heard tell of wisdom!  But God knows where it is and the way of wisdom, for He is the Author of it.  He sees all and established it by His word and hand.  Then He tells us through Job that fear of God is the foundation of wisdom, and understanding then leads one to run away from evil, withdrawing from it and avoiding all manner of evil.  This is to be wise in being holy as He is holy.  Do we exercise true wisdom?