Sermon for March 10th, 2024

Job 28:1-28 (OT p.474)

Today's scripture is incorporated into the sermon itself.

In Pursuit of Wisdom, Part III

In just a moment, we're going to jump right into the scripture passage, but since we're also jumping from chapter 12 to chapter 28, let me briefly summarize the 15 chapters in between.

For the past two weeks, we've been listening to Job as he responds to his three friends in chapter 12. After Chapter 12, Job continues on for a few more chapters, then his friends each weigh in again, and then they go back and forth for a few more chapters--mostly talking past each other without really listening to each other. The speeches of Job's friends get shorter and shorter, until only Job is left talking.

Incidentally, this happens to me all the time. When I'm talking to friends or my wife, or my children about something I'm really passionate about (usually something that no one else is passionate about), I will suddenly look up to discover I'm the only one still talking...or paying attention. I like to imagine here that Job's friends are checking their phones, and throwing out the occasional "uh huh... yeah... sure... whatever, Job." The conversation has officially broken down.

And that's where we pick up with today's passage. But the VOICE speaking in chapter 28 is a different one, a new one. I don't think it's the voice of Job or any of his friends. Usually the beginning of each chapter tells you who is speaking, but that's noticeably absent here.

The NRSV translation calls this chapter an "interlude." And I think that's about right. The passionate argument between Job and his friends has reached a low point--none of them have anything more to offer. And so right here, I think the storyteller hits the pause button, does a freeze frame, and steps into his own story, directly addressing his audience. This is the narrator, the author of the Book of Job himself, giving his own answer to the question "Where shall wisdom be found?" Verse 1:

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.

Ok, so that's an odd place to start. What does any of this have to do with Job and his misfortunes? We'll get to that in time. This is actually a classic Middle-eastern Wisdom tradition approach: We've already seen how the ancients who composed and compiled wisdom literature looked to nature and the natural world for understanding of how things worked. That's why wisdom literature is full of analogies about plants, insects, animals, minerals, geographical features, and weather patterns. Ancient wisdom seekers were the early precursors of our modern-day biologists, geologists, meteorologists, and physicists. But the key word in those first two verses is "mine." It's a metaphor for a place where things are hidden, things of great value. Verse 3:

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.

How many of you here are students, graduates, or even just fans of the University of Texas at El Paso? Job 28 is your special Bible chapter. It's the most extensive chapter in the Bible about Miners. In this passage, we shift from nature itself--elements like silver, gold, iron, and copper--to humans who interact with nature. And there's an important aspect of wisdom literature here, too: Wisdom literature, unlike the rest of the Bible, is not about Kings, Princes, Prophets, or important people. Wisdom literature takes as its inspiration the common people and common professions (what we would call blue collar). The miner is remote from people, forgotten by travelers. But there's more to this metaphor: A miner must be dedicated to his task, must seek longer and harder and farther than all others in order to be successful at his task. Verse 5:

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.

Bread (which is common) comes out of the earth, but jewels (which are uncommon) are further down and harder to get. Incidentally, the Hebrew word for Sapphire is סַפִּיר. This is one of those rare English words that comes to us directly from Hebrew. In verse 7 and 8, we find a list of animals, again typical for wisdom literature. The point here is that even powerful animals--the lion with all its strength, the falcon with its sharp eye-sight, cannot see beneath the earth to what is truly beautiful, truly rare. But the miner can! Back to the miners in verse 9:

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.

Truly, if anyone in all humanity has the ability to seek out, find, and uncover what is precious and valuable, it is the Miner. And then in verse 12 the author drops his piercing, central question:

12 But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?

Most people seem to think that the main question in the Book of Job is "Why do bad things happen to good people?" I think there's a bigger question, and it's this: In the face of the bad things that obviously happen to good people (and all people!) how do we respond? Do we grieve? Do we get angry? Do we blame ourselves? Do we blame God? What is the wise response? Or, Where can wisdom be found? Note there are actually two questions in this verse. Often in Hebrew poetry, one line states an idea and the next line states the same idea in a different way (repetition). But here, I think the author is actually asking two separate questions: Where can wisdom be found, and WHAT is the place of understanding? More on that later. But first we work our way backwards, through humans and nature, to try to find our answer. Verse 13:

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."

In other words, nothing living on land or in the sea holds the answer. Even the Miner, who probes the very depths of the earth, finally runs out of luck here. Verse 15:

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.

So the entire first half of the chapter was a set-up, to say whatever thing you think is the most valuable, beautiful, rare thing in all creation--be it gold, silver, diamonds or pearls--wisdom is worth far more than all that...and (more importantly) it's more rare and difficult to find than all that. Verse 20:

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."

By the way, this word, "Abaddon" only shows up in wisdom literature (Job, Proverbs, Psalms). We often interpret it as another way of saying "Hell" but the concept of a differentiated afterlife (heaven/hell, etc.) is a much later development. Taken literally (as it should be here) it means "place of ruin." Notice the subtle difference here: Nothing LIVING knows where wisdom can be found, but death and ruin have at least heard a rumor of it. One explanation of this could be that true wisdom only comes to us at the point of death and total ruin, when our experience is finally complete. Verse 23:

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.

On the surface, this looks like an answer to both questions. God understands the way to wisdom, and he knows the place for understanding. But wait...that's not REALLY an answer, is it? If you asked me the square root of 28, and I told you that the Math teacher probably knows...did I really answer your question? No! But perhaps we're getting closer. Verse 25:

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.

Wind, water, rain, and thunderbolt. Another list from the natural world, supporting the idea that God knows where to find wisdom, and indeed established it. But there's something deeper to this list. Wind, water, rain, and thunderbolt. These are powerful, uncontrollable, unpredictable forces of nature. They all have the capability of causing catastrophe--those bad things that happen to good people. Those things for which we seek a wise response. Where can wisdom be found, and what is the place of understanding? Verse 28:

28 And he said to humankind, "Truly, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding."

As it turns out, we've been asking the wrong question. Instead of "where" is wisdom, we should have been asking "what" is wisdom? And how is it different from understanding?

Sometimes people confuse the two, or assume they are just synonymns. But in Hebrew (just like in English), they are separate words, distinct concepts. In Hebrew, wisdom is חָכְמָה (chokmah) and understanding is בִּינָה (binah). Incidentally, there's also a Hebrew word for knowledge, מַדָּע (madah). Together, these three form a progression. You can know something but not understand it. And you can understand something without acting wisely. But being wise encompasses the other two--it assumes both knowledge and understanding.

The Book of Proverbs (also wisdom literature) teaches a very simple approach to life: Do good things, and you will be rewarded, do bad things and you will be punished. The problem comes when we try to flip that around--does that mean that if good things happen to you, you must be good, and that if bad things happen to you, it must be because you have done something wrong? The author of the Book of Job would disagree, hence the whole story of Job. But here, in this one chapter (28) in this one verse (also 28) I think he gives a subtle hint of his own, personal answer:

Let's start with the second question: What is the place of understanding? It is to depart from evil, and (implied) to embrace what is good. That's the Book of Proverbs in a nutshell. But the author of Job is saying, that's okay, it's a good start, it's understanding...but wisdom is something more.

Where can wisdom be found? I don't know. God alone knows. But here's where it starts, here's what it IS: The fear of the Lord. In modern English, fear means primarily being afraid, but in Hebrew, יִרְאָה (yirah) it has a wider range. It can mean awe, reverence, honor, or just a healthy respect: To fear the Lord means to accept that God is God, the wind is the wind, the thunderbolt is the thunderbolt. We do what we do, and they do what they do. There are things in life we CAN control, but many we can't. There are things we CAN grasp, but many that are beyond our comprehension. Wisdom is accepting that there are limits to what we know, and what we understand.

And here, the author of Job "unpauses" the scene, and the story comes back to life. Job continues for a few more chapters to rage against God and his friends, protesting his innocence. And that's okay. In the end, God does not fault him for this. Given the circumstances, Job's response to all he has suffered seems understandable, even if it may not exactly qualify as "wise." And eventually, he gets there with a little help from God, who shows up and shows Job some of the wonders of his creation. Job begins to accept that God is God, Job is Job, and there's not always a good answer--at least not one that makes sense to us or seems fair to us.

But when we simply accept the wind, the waters, the rain, and the thunderbolt for what they are...we can also begin to see other things, too: The gentle wind and the cool, refreshing water on a hot day; the soft and life-giving rainfall in spring; the multicolored lighting that lights up the entire night sky; the birds of the air, the proud animals and the spine-tingling roar of the lion; the simple, dignified farmer working hard to bring bread from the ground, and the lonely miner searching the hidden depths of the earth for that rare, priceless treasure.

I am not a wise person, not by a long-shot. In fact, whenever I get called "wise," it's usually followed by a three letter word that's another name for a donkey. But maybe that's why I like the Book of Job so much. It reminds me that the pursuit of wisdom is exactly that: a pursuit, a lifelong, unending journey. What matters most is not that you have "achieved wisdom" but rather that you are pursuing wisdom; that you are growing wiser with every new experience, every new day, every step of the journey that brings you closer to the God who made you, closer to God's amazing creation, and closer to the people who journey alongside you.