Job 28 Devotional

Wisdom No Miner Finds

“And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’””Job 28:28 (BSB)

Job 28 pauses the argument for a poem. It begins underground. People cut shafts far from where anyone lives, dangle in the dark, overturn mountains at their roots, and bring hidden silver, gold, and sapphires into the light (28:1-11). Human skill can reach astonishing places.

But where does a person go to find wisdom (28:12)? Not in the deep or the sea, and not for any price. Gold, onyx, coral, and rubies cannot buy it (28:13-19). It is hidden from every living thing (28:21). God alone understands the way to it and knows where it lives, because he sees everything under heaven and set the weight of the wind and the path of the thunderbolt (28:23-27). Then he tells humanity what wisdom is: reverence for the Lord, and a life that turns away from evil (28:28). Paul says that every treasure of wisdom and knowledge lies hidden in Christ (Colossians 2:3). The richest seam of all is not found by digging. It is given by the God who knows where it is.

To think about: Where are you searching for wisdom today, and what would it look like to begin with reverence for God?