Of Things Beyond Me (Job 28:1-28)

Nothing is settled, everyone is angry, God is still silent and Job is not healed (a paraphrase of FI Anderson). We are at the end of the three rounds of dialogue between Job and his three Comforter Friends (3-27), and we are on our way to three rounds of monologue between Job, long-winded Elihu and God (29-41).

So let’s talk about mining.

Say what?

Nestled between the dialogue section and the monologue chapters is this amazing chapter on the ingenuity and industrious of men in regards to mining and how that relates to man’s inability to discover wisdom. Hartley writes, “This passage is the only treatment of the subject of mining in the Old Testament.”

28:1 “Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where they refine gold. 2 Iron is taken from the dust, and copper is smelted from rock. 3 Man puts an end to darkness, and to the farthest limit he searches out the rock in gloom and deep shadow. 4 He sinks a shaft far from habitation, Forgotten by the foot; they hang and swing to and fro far from men. 5 The earth, from it comes food, and underneath it is turned up as fire. 6 Its rocks are the source of sapphires, and its dust contains gold. 7 The path no bird of prey knows, nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it. 8 The proud beasts 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 base. 10 He hews out channels through the rocks, and his eye sees anything precious. 11 He dams up the streams from flowing, and what is hidden he brings out to the light.

Each day in Duluth, MN I drive by one of the main ore docks where taconite (a low grade iron ore) from the Iron Range is brought down by rail and then loaded onto ships. Remarkable effort, great ingenuity, and huge machinery all play a role in digging the ore from the earth and transporting it to points farther east on the Great Lakes.

Far from the disgusting summary given by Bildad to mankind (“man is a maggot” in 25:6), Job gives tribute to the amazing ingenuity and industriousness of men in seeking riches from the earth. In this chapter we find all of these precious metals and minerals mentioned: gold (7 times), silver (twice), iron, copper, sapphire, onyx, glass (perhaps emeralds), crystal and topaz. Verse 18 also mentions coral and pearls.

As you read through these 11 verses, you find a multitude of terms and phrases that refer to the mining industry. Verse 4 is interesting, “He makes a deep mine far away from those living in the light of day; when they go about on the earth, they have no knowledge of those who are under them, who are hanging far from men, twisting from side to side on a cord.” (The Bible in Basic English).

In verses 7-8 Job states that even with the falcon’s fantastic vision and the lion’s great prowess, those animals are unable to match man’s ability to find the path to these precious gems and metals. “The miner ventures where not even the fierce lion dares to go in pursuit of his prey.” (JFB Commentary)

Men and women have assaulted the earth (vs. 9 “overturns mountains”) and gone to great lengths and depths to find hidden treasure. Hartley writes, “Man has amazing creative ability to discover gems hidden deep in the earth.”

When Job talks about the refining process in verse 1, we start to wonder, “Is Job beginning to gain an understanding into the reason for his suffering? Is there some sort of refining process going on in his life?”

28:12 “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.’”

The almost verbatim repetition of verse 12 in verse 20 indicates that this is the focal point of the chapter. From his commentary on Job, Chuck Swindoll gives us a definition of wisdom and understanding, “Wisdom is looking at life from God's point of view…understanding is responding to life's struggles and challenges as God would have us respond.” (Swindoll also notes that Job doesn’t ask, “Where can we get a peace of advice?”)

Verse 13 plainly states, “Man does not know its value (NIV has “man cannot comprehend its worth).” There are gold mines, silver mines and copper mines…but are there any “wisdom mines?”

Have you seen any episodes of that television series “Gold Rush Alaska?” This top rated series shows the intense struggles of a group of people as they try to strike it rich in Alaska. And the emotions that are seen when the tiniest bits of gold are found…wow! For the most part these families have risked everything to find this precious metal.

Gold rush fever can be quite infectious. But what we so desperately need is not another gold rush, but a “God Rush.”

28:15 “Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it, nor can silver be weighed as its price. 16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx, or sapphire. 17 Gold or glass cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold. 18 Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned; and the acquisition of wisdom is above that of pearls. 19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, nor can it be valued in pure gold."

Notice these phrases: “give in exchange,” “weighed as its price,” “cannot equal it,” “acquisition is above,” “cannot equal,” “cannot be valued in.” The gold of Ophir refers to the finest of gold.

Job seems to be saying this: Wisdom can't be obtained merely by human endeavor (vs. 1-11) and wisdom can't be purchased by human wealth (vs. 15-19).

28:20 “Where then does wisdom come from? And where is the place of understanding? 21 Thus it is hidden from the eyes of all living and concealed from the birds of the sky. 22 Abaddon and Death say, ’With our ears we have heard a report of it.’”

Wisdom and understanding is not the mere gathering of data. What’s remarkable is that a Harvard grad may be devoid of wisdom and yet a hungry-for-God high school dropout with his well-worn Bible may possess it! (I am not anti “getting an education”; it’s just that sometimes we can educate ourselves out of the anointing).

Remember this phrase from verse 11, “And what is hidden he brings out to the light.” Mankind can bring hidden gems and ore to light, but is unable to dig deep enough to find a vein of wisdom. Notice verse 21, "Thus it is hidden from the eyes of all living.” But, as per the following, God is able to dig it out for us:

28:23 “God understands its way, and He knows its place. 24 For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. 25 When He imparted weight to the wind and meted out the waters by measure, 26 When He set a limit for the rain and a course for the thunderbolt, 27 Then He saw it and declared it; He established it and also 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.’"

Verse 23 – God understands where understanding comes from.
Verse 24 – God sees everything. He knows (and cares about) your persistent and perplexing problems.
Verse 25a – How much does the wind weigh? And where do those missing socks go....the hozone?
Verse 25b – “…meted out the waters by measure.” Every morning I measure out exactly two cups of water to make my bowl of cream of wheat, but God takes His measuring cup and measures out the oceans!

One commentary states, “While understanding is a gift of God, it does not come automatically. The possession of it requires a persistent diligence. It is more than IQ; it connotes character. One is at fault if he doesn’t have it and in fact, not to pursue it will incur God’s punishment.”

The chapter is summarized in verse 28, “Behold the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom…” I have never heard of a Bible College offering a class called, “The Fear of the Lord 101.” The phrase “…to depart from evil” in verse 28 is remarkably similar to the opening of this book, “…Job eschewed evil.” In fact the wording is identical.

I glean two main thoughts from this chapter. First, even though greatly disappointed by the counsel offered by his three friends, you get the feeling that Job is still clinging tenaciously to the thought, “If only I could view my circumstances from God’s point of view…I need wisdom more than anything!” Many times we also need to see things from God’s point of view. As James states, God dispenses wisdom freely and liberally (James 1: 5).

The second thought I glean is that the intense labor demonstrated by mankind in searching for riches in the earth should be the same industriousness that we demonstrate in searching for riches in God’s Word. One commentator interprets a portion of verse 4 this way, “The people of the lamp (miners in the darkness) break open passages…” But we should be “the people of the lamp!” We need to blow the dust off of our Bibles and dig in! (Hopefully we don’t have to dig through too many layers of dirt.) There is a vein of greater riches in the Word than in all of the mines on the planet combined. You or I could strike it rich in some distant gold mine in Alaska, but it wouldn’t even compare to the wonderful nuggets of spiritual truth that await those willing to take the time to search God’s Word.

(The title of this devotional is borrowed from N. Habel’s book/article, “Of Things Beyond Me: Wisdom in the Book of Job.”)