Lesson
4
Read
in Scripture: Job 28: 1-28
The
main idea in this section is the question, is there wisdom in all of this
suffering?
Where did this chapter come from?
That is probably a great question to ask in light of the fact that it follows
none of the previous chapters tone or writing style. Is it Job? Probably not! It does not follow the argument of Job of
his righteous nor deal with any of his suffering. And it certainly does not
fit any of the three friends in their line of thinking. Rather it seems to be a
narration similar to that of the first section where we are told the story of
Job. It provides a break for understanding in the midst of the discussion. We
are brought into a contemplative place to explore the deeper wisdom of God.
When everything we know cannot explain the why or how of it, only God has the
answer that we need.
A great deal of time is spent
on mining. Why? Probably to bring us to an understanding of what humans will do
for wealth. We will dig as deep as we
need to find precious metals and jewels. We will send people miles beneath
the surface of the earth to find these things and put them in dangerous
situations, all to secure wealth. Just think of it for a moment. Men (and
women) would easily go into a place deep within the bowels of the earth, where
air is thick and dense making it hard to breathe, where the slightest shift in
earth can bring your world crashing down upon you, all for what, gold or
diamonds or precious metals? But the truth is we value wealth more than life
itself. At least if we are truthful with ourselves. I remember the old adage,
“You can’t take it with you” and I have often wondered if that is the basis for
trying to claim and spend it before we go.
But what will we do to find
wisdom?
And where will we go to look
for it?
Solomon is considered by
history as one of the wisest of people and maybe there is part of the answer to
the vexing question of wisdom. Where did
Solomon go for wisdom? He went to God. In this chapter we see the writer
telling us that humans cannot find true wisdom. It is nowhere to be found on
the surface of the earth, nor in the deepest trenches in the sea. It cannot be
bought with the most precious of metals or jewels. Even Abaddon, defined as the
place of the dead or the angel of destruction, does not know the answer to
wisdom. Only God knows.
And in verse 28 and 29 we are
told one of the greatest truths. Wisdom
is to follow the will of God and to avoid evil and do good is the true
understanding of that wisdom and of God.
Questions
Answer the following questions in discussion group:
1.
What
would you pay for wisdom?
2.
Why
does it seem so hard to obtain?
3.
How
do you live the truth of verse 28 and 29?
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