Job 28 focuses on wisdom; on where man searches for wisdom & on God's wisdom.
There is a mine for silver
and a place where gold is refined.
They tunnel through the rock;
their eyes see all its treasures.
They search the sources of the rivers
and bring hidden things to light. Job 28:1, 10 & 11
How often do we search for answers in the wrong places or attribute wisdom with wealth & success? Do we really seek God or do we rely on our own ways to find answers to our problems?
What is true wisdom? It is so much more than just being smart. The dictionary defines it as "experience & knowledge together with the power of applying them critically or practically." We may feel that applies to us in certain areas, but is certainly not something that we can achieve in all areas of our life or in full understanding in light of eternity.
Job goes on to say that man does not have an understanding of wisdom & it's not something that we can find on our own.
But where can wisdom be found?
Where does understanding dwell?
No mortal comprehends its worth;
it cannot be found in the land of the living. Job 28:12 & 13
Where then does wisdom come from?
Where does understanding dwell? Job 28:20
God understands the way to it
and he alone knows where it dwells,
for he views the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens. Job 28:23&24
There are good reasons for God to do (allow) what he does, but we are not privileged to his understanding & wisdom. We need to accept that God's ways are beyond our understanding & trust him.
Why can't we have the same understanding?
Our human minds can't grasp it. God is all-seeing. Our perspective is limited to ourselves; we see what's happening in our own lives, at this time, & that is our concern. God, though, views our lives on the scale of the world & in light of eternity.
Perhaps the biggest reason, though, is faith & trust.
God has made it clear to us that he loves us & is in control, but the why & how things happen are not for us. We need to have faith in his sovereignty & trust him. Men will sometimes make choices or do things that may not make sense or will even come to regret, but God never will. He will never make the wrong decision. One day we will know & understand why things have happened the way they did, but that's not for us right now.
And he said to the human race,
“The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
and to shun evil is understanding.” Job 28:28
God will give us the wisdom that we need, in the amount that we need it, when we seek him. Let's trust him even when we don't understand him.
5 comments:
Many times we ask why to God after something happens that doesn't fit into what we think should happen. We just need to let it go and go back to leaving it in His hands, having faith that He is in control and doing what's best. Later when looking back we see this every time.
Good point that God's ways are beyond our understanding and that we need to trust Him.
Job 28:28 - "And he said to man, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding."
This verse stood out for me because to turn away from evil I took to mean that I need to set aside some of my personal desires. My desires are not always God's desires, but if I fear God, then I will want to set my desires to the side. Not always easy to do.
Like Job, we too can claim that our conscience is clear - not because we have never sinned, but because we have been forgiven (if we confess our sins to God). Then we no longer need to live under guilt.
Those same verses stood out for me.
God understands the way to it
and he alone knows where it dwells,
for he views the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
We often do search for "wisdom" in places where it cannot be found.
oops ^ that was Pamela...who is catching up on reading at school ;)
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