Sermon for March 6th, 2016
Job 28:1-28
1 Surely there is a mine for silver,
and a place for gold to be refined.
2 Iron is taken out of the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.
3 Miners put an end to darkness,
and search out to the farthest bound
the ore in gloom and deep darkness.
4 They open shafts in a valley away from human habitation;
they are forgotten by travelers,
they sway suspended, remote from people.
5 As for the earth, out of it comes bread;
but underneath it is turned up as by fire.
6 Its stones are the place of sapphires,
and its dust contains gold.
7 That path no bird of prey knows,
and the falcon’s eye has not seen it.
8 The proud wild animals have not trodden it;
the lion has not passed over it.
9 They put their hand to the flinty rock,
and overturn mountains by the roots.
10 They cut out channels in the rocks,
and their eyes see every precious thing.
11 The sources of the rivers they probe;
hidden things they bring to light.
12 But where shall wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 Mortals do not know the way to it,
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 gotten for gold,
and silver cannot be weighed out 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 chrysolite of Ethiopia cannot compare with it,
nor can it be valued in pure gold.
20 Where then does wisdom come from?
And where is the place of understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living,
and concealed from the birds of the air.
22 Abaddon and Death say,
"We have heard a rumor of it with our ears."
23 God understands the way to it,
and he knows its place.
24 For he looks to the ends of the earth,
and sees everything under the heavens.
25 When he gave to the wind its weight,
and apportioned out the waters by measure;
26 when he made a decree for the rain,
and a way for the thunderbolt;
27 then he saw it and declared it;
he established it, and searched it out.
28 And he said to humankind,
"Truly, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
and to depart from evil is understanding."
Wisdom in the Book of Job
Today is my final sermon on virtues in the Book of Job. We've talked about Love, Beauty, and Truth, but today we talk about wisdom. I have to confess, I feel just a little bit unqualified on this subject. Most of the times in my life when I have been called "wise" it has been followed by another three letter word that is another name for a donkey.
But I have learned a few things that I think qualify as wisdom. I will pass them on to you now, at the beginning of the sermon, and then afterwords, we'll all defer to the Bible, and I'll let you be the judge of where true wisdom is found. I promise it won't be a difficult choice.
1. The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese. 2. When everything is coming your way, it probably means you're in the wrong lane. 3. If you give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. If you teach a man to fish, he'll sit in a boat and drink beer all day. 4. Change is inevitable, except from a Vending machine. 5. Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on. 6. Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake whenever you make it again. 7. You do not truly understand something until you can sucessfully explain it to your grandmother. 8. Never criticize your wife's choices...you are one of them. 9. When your wife says "what?" it's not because she didn't hear you. She's giving you the opportunity to change what you said. 10. Before you criticize people, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you do criticize them you are a mile away from them and you have their shoes.
