ESOCS Devotional 12 October 2024 – The Search For Wisdom
MEMORY VERSE: “Where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell?”Job 28:12
TEXT: JOB 28:12-END
“But where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 Man does not know its value,
Nor is it 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 purchased for gold,
Nor can silver be weighed for its price.
16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
In precious onyx or sapphire.
17 Neither gold nor crystal can equal it,
Nor can it be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of coral or quartz,
For the price of wisdom is above rubies.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
Nor can it be valued in pure gold.
20 “From where then does wisdom come?
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 Destruction and Death say,
‘We have heard a report about it with our ears.’
23 God understands its way,
And He knows its place.
24 For He looks to the ends of the earth,
And sees under the whole heavens,
25 To establish a weight for the wind,
And apportion the waters by measure.
26 When He made a law for the rain,
And a path for the thunderbolt,
27 Then He saw wisdom and declared it;
He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out.
28 And to man He said,
‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
And to depart from evil is understanding.’ ”
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Does life have any meaning? Or is life, after all, meaningless? For all the effort and labour, we put into it, we are all of us, rich and poor alike, subject to the Great Leveler at that moment when we are marched off to meet death, “the king of terrors” (Job 18:14). It doesn’t matter who we are, or what we have been; this is what awaits us all. So is the perspective of the preacher in the book of Ecclesiastes: “Meaningless! Meaningless! Everything is Meaningless!” (Eccl. 12:8). ALL IS VANITY! Is there really no meaning to life? Is the skeptic right, after all? Life is basically unfair. There is no order, no structure, no universal law, no truth. You live and then you die; so, you had better make the most of it now; especially in the ways of the Lord.
It’s each man for himself. You may show kindness and love, but in the end, it will make no difference. This is how it is: “In this meaningless life of mine, I have seen both of these: a righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness”(Eccl. 7:15). Job was not prepared to accept that life is meaningless. That was what he meant when he said in Job 27:6, “I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it; my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.” Job imagines a mining expedition. The opening verses of this chapter give us a fascinating glimpse into ancient mining techniques. It describes the way silver and gold and precious gems are extracted from the depths of the earth, where no creature apart from man has ever seen (28:1, 11).
Things regarded as precious have a source that can be accessed, even if it involves great pain and arduous struggle. They may not yield their beauty easily, but they are obtainable. The ancients could dig great tunnels deep into the surface of the earth, but finding wisdom is another thing entirely. Where can I find it? Can it be bought? Can I write a cheque and get wisdom? Can I sign up for a course at one of the world’s greatest universities and get wisdom? Yes, to some degree, that is possible. And yet, as the preacher complains in Ecclesiastes 1:13-14, the intelligent are also destitute of true wisdom.
They may have intellectual knowledge, but they are unhappy. They fail to find the source of all true meaning and purpose. Man does not comprehend its worth; it cannot be found in the land of the living. The deep says, “It is not in me”; the sea says, “It is not with me.” It cannot be bought with the finest gold, nor can its price be weighed in silver. It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, concealed even from the birds of the air. (Job 28:13, 15, 21). God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells, for he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens (Job 28:23-24).
- If you are certain that you lack the wisdom of God, pray and ask Him for it.
- Lord, grant me the wisdom I need to live through life on earth.
Further Reading: Proverbs 16:16-32; Luke 19:11-27; 1 Corinthians 15:50-end
ESOCS Devotional 12 October 2024
