Daily Devotional • September 19
A Reading from 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 Cush 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.’”
Meditation
Before we conclude reading Job, we go back several chapters to the Hymn to Wisdom.
If you have a hard time defining wisdom, so does Job. In the first 11 verses of chapter 28, Job orients us toward the things we know how to find: money, food, people, and work. Then Job tells us what we cannot find: wisdom.
Wisdom is always slipping through our fingers. Humans have proven ourselves to know nothing about wisdom — probably because we search for it in places like gold, people, and destruction — and yet, like Job, we keep on searching as if we could find our way into becoming wise. Wisdom belongs to God. We know that because he is the creator of all that is.
“Want to know what wisdom looks like?,” says Job, “look at the natural systems.” The order of creation is the result of wisdom. The fount of wisdom tells us that human wisdom is one thing: the fear of God. Even with all that Job has to fear (after losing everything he has), Job commends to us only one thing to fear: God.
Fear God and turn from evil. Easy enough? Job would be the first to tell us that both actions are passive: God comes, turns us from evil, and gives us a new heart to fear him.
Chase Benefiel is a friend, Tennesseean, preacher, and student (in that order) currently finishing his M.Div. at Duke Divinity School.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
The Diocese of Isi Mbano – The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion)
Grace Episcopal Church, St. Francisville, Louisiana