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 our 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.

What is Wisdom? It's actually hard to define, perhaps impossible. My father used to tell me that wisdom is knowledge rightly applied. And wisdom is often contrasted with knowledge. It has been said (I'm not sure by whom, but that is the case with most wisdom sayings!) that knowledge is knowing that tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad. Knowledge is realizing when a street is one-way; wisdom is looking both directions anyhow. Knowledge is knowing what to say; wisdom is knowing when (or even whether) to say it.

Knowledge, in most cultures (ancient and modern) is the realm of the elite few, the educated, the professionals: Professors, pastors, experts. Wisdom, by contrast, is the realm of the common people, the folks. Wisdom comes from your grandmother's kitchen, or from the old men at the barbershop. Knowledge also tends to be external--it comes from books, reports, scientifically collected data. Wisdom, however, tends to come internally, from personal experience, failure, observation, and time.

Sometimes people confuse "understanding" with wisdom. But you can know something, and even understand something, without being wise. That's why they are separate words, seperate concepts, in English as well as the Hebrew in which today's passage was originally written. In Hebrew, wisdom is חָכְמָה (chokmah) and understanding is בִּינָה (binah). Both concepts appear in today's scripture passage.

Today's scripture passage, along with the entire book of Job, and also the book of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, are all part of what's called the "Wisdom Literature" of the Bible. Sometimes Psalms and the Song of Solomon are also included in this category. All of Job is considered wisdom literature, but today's passage in particular is well