SEEKING godly WISDOM in our LIVES
June 2
Bible Reading: Job Chapters 28-30
SEEKING godly WISDOM in our LIVES
"But where can wisdom be found? And
where is the place of understanding? Man does not know its
value, nor is it found in the land of the living. The deep says, 'It is not in
me'; and the sea says, 'It is not with me.' It cannot be purchased for gold,
nor can silver be weighed for its price. It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
in precious onyx or sapphire. Neither gold nor crystal can equal it, nor can it
be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral or
quartz, for the price of wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia cannot
equal it, nor can it be valued in pure gold. God understands its way, and He
knows its place. And to man He said, 'Behold,
the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is
understanding.'”
(Job 28:12-19, 23, 28)
Job continued
his long reply to Bildad, and the centerpiece of Job’s soliloquy is an exquisite
poem on wisdom (chapter 28:12-28). Job claimed that God’s wisdom supersedes all
human wisdom.
In
discussing the source of wisdom, Job used the imagery of mining. Gold, silver,
and precious stones lie beneath the earth’s surface all the time, but they can
be extracted only by lot of human effort. They are hidden from our sight, and
therefore are of no practical value until they are found and brought to light (vv.
1–11). The same is true of wisdom. It too lies hidden but even more so than
mere stones and metals (vv. 12–14). It is actually far more valuable than these
metals (vv. 15–19) precisely because it is so difficult to recover (vv. 20–22).
True wisdom,
in fact, cannot be mined from the earth but must come from God, who alone knows
where it is to be found (v. 23). We cannot separate godliness from godly wisdom
(vv. 23–28; Psalms 111:10; Prov. 1:7). It is only when we fear God, revere and
worship Him that we can know anything of godly wisdom. Let us always seek godly wisdom in our lives!
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." (Prov 9:9-10)
