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READ: Job 28:12
CHALLENGE: Find True Wisdom with God
- WISDOM IS PRACTICAL
We saw the profound question a few weeks ago, if a man dies, will he live again? This has to be the most germane question for humanity. Today, another question is asked. V12 – “But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?” Another fantastic question. In other words, “How should we live”?
We all need wisdom lest we make a wreck of this life. Where is wisdom found? Where is the place of understanding? We’ll allow Job to explain it.
The context of chapter 28 is ancient mining. Miners dug shafts and channels in the rock to pull out gold, silver, and gems. They dammed creeks and used fire and swung off ropes all in an attempt to gather jewels and precious metals. Their efforts are Herculean.
They sought it because they valued it. We tend to seek what we prize. Even Jesus noted that your treasure is where your heart is. What do we treasure? Certainly should be God. Hopefully it’s our marriage and family as well. And if that is the case, we’ll put effort into it. You’ll put yourself aside to do what’s best for them. What about our spirituality? Our connection with God and the truth that comes from Him?
The miners put extraordinary effort into digging for gold. If they swung an axe enough, dug enough, tunneled enough, risked enough, and worked enough, it could be obtained. Then, the evidence of their knowledge and skill was worn by women and men in the form of jewelry. Perhaps it became coinage or some other type of treasure.
God’s wisdom is worth more than any treasure and that’s point that Job is making. Why is it so valuable anyway? It lays out the map to a happy and fulfilling life. I’ve used the All Trails App many times and it’s so important to have in unfamiliar territory.
When we chased the Indian Staircase in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge, there were so many connecting paths and we would have never have found it without the app that laid out the path. God’s word spells out how to have sins forgiven, eternal life, how to have a good marriage, and be moral.
And how do we define it? It means to “be wise” and to “act wisely”. The wisdom in the Bible is not just about having knowledge, it’s specifically geared to how you live your life. “Hebrew wisdom is practical – based on the revealed principles of right and wrong, to be lived out in daily life.” “The source of all wisdom is a personal God who is holy, righteous, and just”. You won’t be wise apart from knowing God.
Wisdom is clearly associated with righteousness. Wisdom is knowing how life works practically speaking. Wisdom is not having knowledge for knowledge sake. It’s deeper. It’s applying the principles to daily life. Being wise and being smart are not the same thing.
You can have a degree in quantum physics and be a great mathematician but still not be biblically wise. Wisdom has to show up in the way that you live. If you look at a book like Proverbs, what you see is an application of biblical knowledge. It will deal with handling anger, alcohol, saving money, morality, honesty, working hard, talking less, not praising yourself, humility, and relationships, etc. That’s wisdom. It’s clearly showing up not as a score on a test – it’s conduct related.
Let’s learn some things about this valuable concept of wisdom. Happiness is invaluable.
B. WISDOM IS PRICELESS
Vv13-19 – Man does not know its worth, and it is not 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.’ 15 It cannot be bought for gold, and silver cannot be weighed as its price. 16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire. 17 Gold and glass cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold. 18 No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; the price of wisdom is above pearls. 19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.
- Some Don’t Know What They Are Missing
Man does not know it’s worth. They say that knowledge is power. There’s another thing too – knowledge is money. How much is it worth? Depends on how are you using it? If you have a special knowledge and skill, you might be able to name your price because you have insights that other people don’t have. As a junker, I have learned that knowledge allows you to see value in things that other people pass up. They just don’t see the worth of something. It takes knowledge and I only have spoonful compared to other people.
Now some knowledge seems fairly irrelevant, and you probably won’t be profited. One could spend a lot of time trying to understand the Marvel comics world and who’s spiderman’s latest villain but how much does that mean? The last movie I watched got so confusing that I lost interest.
I’ve had times where I could name every main skill player of every team in the NFL. That’s what playing fantasy football will do for you. But what does it really do to help you get farther down the road of life? Sure, you might win a league championship from time to time but it’s not paying bills. It’s not saving souls. It’s not about how to live.
We may have a head full of knowledge but do we have wisdom? Can we truly help the hurting? Are we walking with God?
Job said that man does not understand it’s worth. Do we understand the value of God’s wisdom? In America today, our bellies are full and we are prosperous so perhaps some don’t think they need to seek God. It’s a shame because the Lord is so relevant to life.
My wife and I had somewhere to go together and we listened to five days of bible reading along the way. It was incredible to hear it read. How God keeps his eye on his people. About how concerned God was with taking care of the poor and how he expands the nation.
We also witness the horrors when people ignore the path of God’s word. You really want to mess up your life? Don’t listen to God. Evil would love to seduce you into destructive patterns but it’s God who will get you back where you belong.
- Don’t Expect to Find It with Man
He said that it’s not to be found in the land of the living. Now, this is a profound and continued thought throughout. You don’t find it among people. You can’t just listen to your friends. So, this may be Job’s way of saying, “Sorry fellas, I’m not getting my wisdom from you”. You’re not the original source of it.
Personally, I’m very benefited by the wisdom, words, and help of others. I could never ever do what I do alone. I like to listen to what other people say because I don’t know everything. We get by with some help with our friends but no comment of mankind is as valuable as is what God has to say unless they are sharing Scripture.
2 Timothy 3:16 – All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
We know that the wisdom of God is foolishness to those who are perishing. The cross is absolute nonsense to the lost, but what is unwise to man is God’s wisdom. Who are you going to listen to? Such an important question.
I remember talking with someone years ago and asking them, “Who have you been talking to”? They were spitting out all the normal comments of “Have to make myself happy”. What’s your source of wisdom? I’m not looking at Hollywood or media. I find the path in God.
V18 – the price is beyond pearls which was among the rarest of things back in that day.
V20 – asks, where then does wisdom come from.
v.22 – Abaddon and Death say, we’ve heard a rumor of it.
C. WISDOM IS FOUND WITH GOD.
V23 – God understands the way to it. He knows it’s place.
There is a source and that source is God. And if God holds it, it must be valuable. Job values it more highly than treasures. Interestingly enough, it’s one of the things that Job didn’t lose. He lost family. He lost cattle. He lost much of his work force and I imagine that many were friends. He didn’t lose God’s truth. I believe people forsake God’s teaching, but we don’t lose God’s teaching. David hid it in his heart.
When Paul was imprisoned, no one could lock up the truth. The truth is always out there no matter what. No one can ever take wisdom from you. You can’t lose it in a stock market crash.
The miners found treasures in the dirt. It was below! Wisdom from God is from above. James 1:17 – But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
V27 – then he looked at wisdom and appraised it; he confirmed it and tested it. V28 – And he said to the human race, “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.”
- Fear God
Proverbs 1:7 – The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
To fear the Lord, that is the beginning of knowledge. When you’re looking for something, knowing where to start looking is super important. If you need a car, don’t go to the grocery store. If you crave Thai food, don’t go to McDonalds. Knowing where to look is huge.
Where will we find wisdom? To fear Him is the beginning of the journey to spiritual understanding. This is wisdom in a nutshell.
Any journey has a beginning step – the first mile. The very first step is to fear the LORD. A wise person respects God. We regard His ways, His thoughts, His direction, His power. Ever work around an electric fence? Perhaps you’ve been weed eating when your elbow accidentally made contact. You’ll jump high enough to slam dunk a basketball and one thing you don’t do after that is do it again. You are always aware of it.
I hit a nest of yellow jackets while brush hogging late last summer. I got stung 10-20 times and not only did it hurt but then it itched like crazy for another 2-3 days. I will be thinking about that this coming season!
When you fear God, He’s on your mind! You’re factoring Him into your decisions. I’m careful what I do, what I say, and what I think. Especially if I think that He will not be pleased with me. I’m concerned with what God thinks and I’m living for that day when I’ll stand before Him.
How do we process this fearing of God? Where does it apply to our lives? Think about the 10 Commandments. If you fear God, you won’t have other gods in front of Him. There will be no idol to displace God. It’s easy to get caught up in the rat race and forget how important God is in our lives. You don’t worship other gods when you fear the Lord.
You should not take His name in vain. You would not use his name as a curse word, right? There have been horrible things that I’ve heard where people put the name of Jesus between vulgar swear words. That’s not fearing God! I also wouldn’t be flippant about asking God to condemn things to hell. You don’t need to be damning nails, fingers, tools, drivers, etc.
We’re supposed to keep the Sabbath day holy. Are we taking one out of 7 to focus on God or do we? Is that a consistent pattern! People make lots of excuses like, I’m busy. Church is full of hypocrites. Are you going to church? Perhaps the entire 10 Commandments is a litmus test for whether or not we fear God.
I have had to come to respect things. Driving on snow. Because the snow is on the road, that impacts your driving. Isn’t this the case with the fear of the Lord. It truly impacts how we’re living because we consider His will.
Living in the presence of God is a beautiful thing because you’re conscientious. Even acknowledging God in our activities is important. Do we talk to Him before making decisions? I fear that a lot of times I’m just jumping right out there and not praying about it. Acknowledge God in all of your ways and He will direct your path.
- Turn From Evil
This is what we saw at the beginning of the book. Job 1:1 – In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.
Sometimes you can define something by looking at the opposite. Love is the opposite of hate. It’s the polar opposite. When you love someone, you have warm feelings toward them. When you hate someone, you seethe at the thought of them. I guess you do have “warm” as in “heated”.
Hot and cold are opposites. When we are cold, we bundle up. When we are hot, the sleeves go short and so do the pants. Those are two opposite things.
The opposite of wisdom. The polar total opposite is evil. That’s the exact other way. You cannot claim to be wise and do things that are bad. There is not snuggling up with God and simultaneously making the devil your best buddy.
Isn’t it a choice? I will admit the same thing that Paul did. Sin is always right here with us. The potential for caving to it is always there. It’s a current always moving so you have to watch out for it. Part of walking with God is walking away from evil. Shun it. Wherever that evil or temptation is, walk away from it. It’s a choice. It’s not hard to find problems. It’s actually easy to give in. But here’s a fact, you never “accidentally” cave. You made a choice. This is true infidelity to gossip.
You don’t accidentally cheat, you do it on purpose. You don’t accidentally lie to someone, you chose to lie. And here’s the thing. God and sin are two forces that are always there. If I’m wise, I’m fearing the Lord. Perhaps we could say that we don’t accidentally fear God either, it’s a choice.
Walk the other way! Stay away from it. Don’t get caught up in the current of it.
I’d like to make a point about how this is available to any who seek it. While you may not be able to afford jewelry like rich people can. You can all be rich in God. Anyone can have salvation. Isn’t it great that people of wealth don’t have more access to the throne room of God than you?
I saw that there is an auction of old books and some are rare, I’m sure. You know what’s not rare? The Bible! The wisdom from God is available to all of us. It’s truly amazing.
Wisdom is with God and coming to God is free.
Ephesians 2:8-9 – For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
It’s not by grace through money or good looks or artistic ability. It’s just grace by faith. And this is a super beautiful concept. You can all do the right thing. You can all have a wisdom that only God provides.