Outline
- Intro: The literary structure of Job
- Text: Job chapter 28
- Teaching: Understanding the meaning of the text
- Response: Thank God for wisdom, ask God to help us obey and to treasure wisdom
Please turn to the book of Job.
We are looking at chapter 28, and take note of this chapter's location within the book of Job. One of the literary tools that ancient Hebrew authors used when writing scripture is called the “chiasm”. This means that the main focal point of a work is found in the middle, and everything is connected to that central point. In addition, working outward from that midpoint toward either end, each corresponding passage on opposite sides of the central point marry up to each other.
It's like taking a return-trip journey to acquire a new piece of knowledge that changes our perspective, and when we reach our destination we pivot, turn around, and retrace our steps back to the starting point, we see all the same things we saw before, but now from a new perspective. This chiastic structuring is all over scripture, the entire book of Job is formatted as one big chiasm, with chapter 28 as the midpoint of the entire book.
The book of Job is structured like this:
- There is a narrative framing-story written in prose, in the first two chapters and last chapter, that tell us readers what's happening in heaven, that Job and his friends on earth are unaware of.
- Next, if we open up that story like a set of double-doors and walk through them deeper into the book, most of the book contains dialogues written in poetry. These are like rooms in an art gallery or museum. In each dialogue we see and consider what that speaker brings into view, and then we are ushered into the next dialogue.
- Finally, pushing through all the dialogues, in the dead center of the book—its deepest point—we find something different. It stands alone, apart from the rest of the text, and is entirely self contained in one chapter. It's lyrics to a song: a hymn to wisdom.
This is the central teaching of the book of Job:
כִּ֤י יֵ֣שׁ לַכֶּ֣סֶף מוֹצָ֑א וּ֝מָק֗וֹם לַזָּהָ֥ב יָזֹֽקּוּ׃
בַּ֭רְזֶל מֵֽעָפָ֣ר יֻקָּ֑ח וְ֝אֶ֗בֶן יָצ֥וּק נְחוּשָֽׁה׃
קֵ֤ץ ׀ שָׂ֤ם לַחֹ֗שֶׁךְ וּֽלְכׇל־תַּ֭כְלִית ה֣וּא חוֹקֵ֑ר אֶ֖בֶן אֹ֣פֶל וְצַלְמָֽוֶת׃
פָּ֤רַץ נַ֨חַל ׀ מֵֽעִם־גָּ֗ר הַֽנִּשְׁכָּחִ֥ים מִנִּי־רָ֑גֶל דַּ֖לּוּ מֵאֱנ֣וֹשׁ נָֽעוּ׃
אֶ֗רֶץ מִמֶּ֥נָּה יֵֽצֵא־לָ֑חֶם וְ֝תַחְתֶּ֗יהָ נֶהְפַּ֥ךְ כְּמוֹ־אֵֽשׁ׃
מְקוֹם־סַפִּ֥יר אֲבָנֶ֑יהָ וְעַפְרֹ֖ת זָהָ֣ב לֽוֹ׃
נָ֭תִיב לֹא־יְדָ֣עוֹ עָ֑יִט וְלֹ֥א שְׁ֝זָפַ֗תּוּ עֵ֣ין אַיָּֽה׃
לֹֽא־הִדְרִיכ֥וּהוּ בְנֵֽי־שָׁ֑חַץ לֹֽא־עָדָ֖ה עָלָ֣יו שָֽׁחַל׃
בַּ֭חַלָּמִישׁ שָׁלַ֣ח יָד֑וֹ הָפַ֖ךְ מִשֹּׁ֣רֶשׁ הָרִֽים׃
בַּ֭צּוּרוֹת יְאֹרִ֣ים בִּקֵּ֑עַ וְכׇל־יְ֝קָ֗ר רָאֲתָ֥ה עֵינֽוֹ׃
מִ֭בְּכִי נְהָר֣וֹת חִבֵּ֑שׁ וְ֝תַעֲלֻמָ֗הּ יֹ֣צִא אֽוֹר׃
וְֽ֭הַחׇכְמָה מֵאַ֣יִן תִּמָּצֵ֑א וְאֵ֥י זֶ֝֗ה מְק֣וֹם בִּינָֽה׃
לֹא־יָדַ֣ע אֱנ֣וֹשׁ עֶרְכָּ֑הּ וְלֹ֥א תִ֝מָּצֵ֗א בְּאֶ֣רֶץ הַחַיִּֽים׃
תְּה֣וֹם אָ֭מַר לֹ֣א בִי־הִ֑יא וְיָ֥ם אָ֝מַ֗ר אֵ֣ין עִמָּדִֽי׃
לֹֽא־יֻתַּ֣ן סְג֣וֹר תַּחְתֶּ֑יהָ וְלֹ֥א יִ֝שָּׁקֵ֗ל כֶּ֣סֶף מְחִירָֽהּ׃
לֹֽא־תְ֭סֻלֶּה בְּכֶ֣תֶם אוֹפִ֑יר בְּשֹׁ֖הַם יָקָ֣ר וְסַפִּֽיר׃
לֹא־יַעַרְכֶ֣נָּה זָ֭הָב וּזְכוֹכִ֑ית וּתְמ֖וּרָתָ֣הּ כְּלִי־פָֽז׃
רָאמ֣וֹת וְ֭גָבִישׁ לֹ֣א יִזָּכֵ֑ר וּמֶ֥שֶׁךְ חׇ֝כְמָ֗ה מִפְּנִינִֽים׃
לֹֽא־יַ֭עַרְכֶנָּה פִּטְדַת־כּ֑וּשׁ בְּכֶ֥תֶם טָ֝ה֗וֹר לֹ֣א תְסֻלֶּֽה׃
וְֽ֭הַחׇכְמָה מֵאַ֣יִן תָּב֑וֹא וְאֵ֥י זֶ֝֗ה מְק֣וֹם בִּינָֽה׃
וְֽ֭נֶעֶלְמָה מֵעֵינֵ֣י כׇל־חָ֑י וּמֵע֖וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם נִסְתָּֽרָה׃
אֲבַדּ֣וֹן וָ֭מָוֶת אָ֣מְר֑וּ בְּ֝אׇזְנֵ֗ינוּ שָׁמַ֥עְנוּ שִׁמְעָֽהּ׃
אֱ֭לֹהִים הֵבִ֣ין דַּרְכָּ֑הּ וְ֝ה֗וּא יָדַ֥ע אֶת־מְקוֹמָֽהּ׃
כִּי־ה֭וּא לִקְצוֹת־הָאָ֣רֶץ יַבִּ֑יט תַּ֖חַת כׇּל־הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם יִרְאֶֽה׃
לַעֲשׂ֣וֹת לָר֣וּחַ מִשְׁקָ֑ל וּ֝מַ֗יִם תִּכֵּ֥ן בְּמִדָּֽה׃
בַּעֲשֹׂת֣וֹ לַמָּטָ֣ר חֹ֑ק וְ֝דֶ֗רֶךְ לַחֲזִ֥יז קֹלֽוֹת׃
אָ֣ז רָ֭אָהּ וַֽיְסַפְּרָ֑הּ הֱ֝כִינָ֗הּ וְגַם־חֲקָרָֽהּ׃
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר ׀ לָאָדָ֗ם הֵ֤ן יִרְאַ֣ת אֲ֭דֹנָי הִ֣יא חׇכְמָ֑ה וְס֖וּר מֵרָ֣ע בִּינָֽה׃
Yes, there's a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.
Iron from the dust is taken and from stone the copper to smelt.
An end has man set to darkness, and each limit he has probed, the stone of deep gloom and death's shadow.
He breaks under a stream without dwellers, forgotten by any foot, remote and devoid of men.
The earth from which bread comes forth, and beneath it a churning like fire.
The source of the sapphire, its stones, and gold dust is there.
A path the vulture knows not nor the eye of the falcon beholds.
The proud beasts have never trod on it, nor the lion passed over it.
To the flint-stone he set his hand, up-ended mountains from their roots.
Through the rocks he hacked out channels, all the precious things his eye has seen.
The wellsprings of rivers he blocked. What was hidden he brought out to light.
But wisdom, where is it found, and where is the place of insight?
Man does not know its worth, and it is not found in the land of the living.
The Deep has said, “It is not in me.” and the Sea has said, “It is not with me.”
It cannot be got for fine gold, nor can silver be paid as its price.
It cannot be weighed in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx and sapphire.
Gold and glass cannot equal it, nor its worth in golden vessels.
Coral and crystal—not to be mentioned, wisdom's value surpasses rubies.
Ethiopian topaz can't equal it, in pure gold it cannot be weighed.
And wisdom, from where does it come, and where is the place of insight?
It is hidden from the eye of all living, from the fowl of the heavens, concealed.
Perdition and Death have said, “With our own ears we heard its rumor.”
God grasps its way, and He knows its place.
For He looks to the ends of the earth, beneath all the heavens He sees,
to gauge the heft of the wind, and to weigh water with a measure,
when He fixes a limit for rain and a way for the thunderhead.
Then He saw and recounted it, set it firm and probed it, too.
And He said to man: Look, fear of the Master, that is wisdom, and the shunning of evil is insight.
Teaching
The interpretation of this is simple even though the imagery is rich and poetic.
Animals see all activity that happens on the surface of the earth, and humans blindly search even the unseen depths of the earth, and uproot entire mountains in search of gems and jewels and precious metals. Yet humans still have not discovered the place where wisdom lives, and all the treasures of the earth together could never afford to purchase wisdom.
So if God alone knows the place of wisdom, how can we hope to gain access to it?
Only through listening to what God has revealed about finding wisdom and understanding:
- trust and obey God as our master,
- and shun all evil.
Response
What kind of response should we have when we hear something like this?
- Be thankful to God?
- Humble ourselves?
- Turn from disobedience?
- Ask God for His help?
- Renew our complete trust in God?
- Be like Solomon and pray for wisdom?
We can do all of these!
Please join me as I pray, and let's unite with one heart together:
Almighty God, Maker of heaven and earth, Who alone lives with Wisdom:
- Thank you for revealing Your Wisdom to us,
- Help us to obey You, our Master, with reverence,
- And help us learn to treasure Your Wisdom in the way that we should.
This is the response of our hearts to You as we listen to Your word.