JOB 28
INTERLUDE
Where then does wisdom come from?
And where is this place of understanding?
—Job 28:20
“Now we get to experience a rather strange chapter in the book of Job,” said the man, flipping back to the page he was on before. “Based on its position in the middle of Job’s final dialogue, it often gets attributed to Job. But compared to the passionate and energetic speeches that surround it, the lack of smooth transition and context, and the calm and measured tone of which this poem is delivered, it feels rather out of place to me there.
“I’ve even heard the speculation this piece of writing was accidentally mixed in with the book of Job altogether. Apparently, it was found alongside the rest of the scrolls and inserted in the final cycle while piecing together the disorganized conclusion. At least that’s how the legend goes. But I’ve found it sums up the overarching themes so nicely that I think it belongs, just out of place, or at least misattributed. I say this because it’s difficult to imagine this serene and peaceful voice coming from Job’s current state of emotion. I like to think of it as a brief interlude instead, like in a Greek play, when some chorus from the background invites the listener to see the overall themes of prior acts sewn together in a string of imagery.”
“Okay,” said the boy, “but an interlude for what?”
“Why, to lead us into the grand finale,” said the man. “The moment you’ve been waiting for.”
“Sheesh,” said the boy. “Finally. I thought we’d never get there.”
“Yet we will, shortly. But there’s much to cover here first. To note before diving in is that it contains no accusations, no complaints, no responses to anything said prior. It doesn’t advance the debate, it merely comments on what’s been spoken about so far. It’s delivered with a tone of reflection and inserts a tranquil pause to prepare us for what comes after. A calm before the storm, if you will.”
“Alright, alright,” said the boy, “let’s hear it already.”
“On we go then,” said the man, looking down to read:
There is a mine for silver
and a place where gold is refined.
Iron is taken from the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.433
Mortals put an end to the darkness,
they search out the farthest recesses
for ore in the blackest darkness.
They sink a mine shaft into the earth
far from where anyone lives.
They descend on ropes,
swinging back and forth.434
Food is grown on the earth above,
but down below, the earth is melted as by fire.435
Its stones are the place of sapphires,
and it has dust of gold.436
No bird of prey knows that hidden path,
no falcon’s eye has seen it.437
No wild animal has walked upon these treasures,
no lion has ever set his paw there.438
The miner uses a flint tool
and turns up ore from the root of the mountains.439
They cut tunnels in the rocks
and uncover precious stones.440
They search the sources of the rivers
and bring hidden things to light.441
But where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?442
No one knows where to find it,
for it is not found among the living.
“It is not here,” says the ocean.
“Nor is it here,” says the sea.443
It cannot be bought with gold.
It cannot be purchased with silver.
It’s worth more than all the gold of Ophir,
greater than precious onyx or lapis lazuli.444
Wisdom is more valuable than gold and crystal.
It cannot be purchased with jewels mounted in fine gold.445
Coral and quartz are not worth mentioning.
The price of wisdom is beyond pearls.446
The topaz of Cush cannot compare with it.
It cannot be bought with pure gold.447
Where then does wisdom come from?
And where is this place of understanding?448
It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
concealed even from the birds in the sky.449
Destruction and Death say,
“We’ve heard only rumors
of where wisdom can be found.”450
God alone understands the way to wisdom.
He knows where it can be found,451
for He looks to the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.452
He decided how hard the winds should blow
and how much rain should fall.
He made the laws for the rain
and laid out a path for the lightning.453
Then He looked at wisdom and appraised it,
He confirmed it and tested it.454
And to mankind He said,
“Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
and to turn away from evil is understanding.”455
The old man looked up from his Bible. “What do you think about that?”
The boy clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “I think I’m ready for God.”
The man’s face slumped into a frown. “You don’t even want to discuss what you just heard?”
“Not at all,” said the boy. “Interlude’s over.”
The man rolled his eyes. “Well, I do, so let me just explain the significance briefly and we’ll move on to the main event.”
“Fine,” said the boy, slumping down in his chair.
“Oh, don’t be so glum,” said the man. “The poetry we just heard sums up everything we’ve read perfectly. And as I’m sure you noticed from the pacing and content, it doesn’t quite fit a delivery by Job. That’s why I moved it here, where it gives us a little breathing room to let passions subside. It didn’t make much sense to be sandwiched between Job’s laments without any smooth transition into or out of them. In contrast to the strong claims about creation’s moral order, or lack thereof, made by Job and his friends, this piece offers an extended argument that no humans have access to the wisdom they’ve been discussing, at least not on their own. Job, especially, had portrayed creation as moral chaos, which is a different picture than the orderly world presented in the chapter we just read.
“The intention of the poem doesn’t appear to take the side of either argument but instead comments on the argument from an outside perspective. It allows us to reflect on the issues at hand and sets the stage for what’s to come.”
“Which is God,” said the boy.
“Precisely,” said the man. “But this chapter can be divided into three parts. First, we have the search for wisdom, illustrated by mining. The dangers and challenges of this metaphor highlight the formidable search for wisdom itself. The descent into the darkness of a mysterious place with hidden perplexities, swinging back and forth until you’ve reached the end of your rope, represents the very real descent into the crushing isolation that Job has endured. His search for the meaning of his suffering ventures down beneath the surface of creation and into the depths of his soul. This place where gold is refined very much echoes Job’s earlier sentiment of emerging as gold once he’s passed God’s test.
“Another feature of this first part is the theme of probing and searching in the dark. Wisdom will not reveal her secrets easily. The search will be as costly as the efforts required to dig for precious stones. An object of great value requires a search of great difficulty. Yet down this mine shaft is where these valuable objects are hidden, suggesting perhaps they’ve been deliberately placed in a location in which they’re hard to find. So Job must not only suffer, he must desperately search for what is not easily discovered or extracted. Because if Job can gain access to understanding, then his question will be answered, and he’ll no longer be suffering in the dark.”
The boy gave a silent nod, so the man went on.
“Up until now, we might find ourselves sucked into thinking the book of Job is about arguments over philosophies, but it’s not. It is about the quest of a believer, suffering in search of wisdom, and the longing to understand why the world is the way it is. This poem invites us not to be philosophers and debaters, like the friends, but to be honest seekers of wisdom, like Job. If there is any search worth pursuing in life, surely it’s this one.
“The second portion of this poem describes the inaccessibility of wisdom. Neither the falcon with his pristine eyesight nor the lion with his valiant strength have pursued this cause. This search for this unmatched value is only pursued by those prepared for pain and isolation. But the poem tells us that wisdom and understanding cannot be found in the Earthly realm, revealing how even with all our strength and determination, they elude us through human limitation. We can dig into the earth for precious metals, but even with all the gold and jewels we can scrounge, wisdom and understanding can never be purchased. They can’t be found in the bottom of the sea, nor inside textbooks, nor within the greatest human minds. There is only one path to wisdom.”
“Lemme guess,” said the boy.
“As you suspect,” said the man, “the third section begins, ‘God alone understands the way to wisdom.’ Then it highlights the rain, the wind, and the lightning to illustrate the riddle of God’s ways, using more things that elude our understanding. The theme at the heart of the book of Job is that any wisdom received by mortals is a gift from God and requires the revelation of God Himself. The final line is a reminder that our message is larger than merely for Job alone. It tells us that the fear of the Lord is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.”
“What does that mean exactly?” said the boy.
“Well, first, let’s understand theology is a necessary step toward grasping wisdom and understanding, but it’s not enough on its own. As we saw through all our discussions among the friends, we haven’t gotten very far in dissecting life’s biggest questions.
“Here, we can think of wisdom as something like an underlying order, hidden at the heart of the universe. When the great Architect built our world, He did so according to the blueprint of wisdom. But its construction runs deeper than material composition, extending into the moral and spiritual fabric of existence. It’s metaphysical as well as physical. But just as the scientist pursues the existence of a physical order that can be discovered, the believer assumes the conviction that a seemingly chaotic universe is built upon a fundamental majestic order. Of course, it’s this very conviction that’s challenged by the story of Job and thus requires hearing from God to address the issue raised by the story.”
“Which we’ll get to… sometime today?” said the boy.
The man gave a nod. “But in order to behold wisdom, we must fear the Lord. And fearing God is not a matter of theology but rather a deep respect and reverence for the Almighty. That’s why we are never told the location of where to find wisdom but instead directed toward the One who is the source of wisdom. Or, if you will, our attention is drawn away from the architecture and toward the Architect Himself. If you wish to live in this world as a person of wisdom, you mustn’t seek wisdom for its own sake but seek the Lord.”
“Don’t think, just embrace,” said the boy, rolling his hand in the air impatiently. “Got it.”
“Exactly. No matter how many PhD’s you acquire, you’ll never gain a fear of the Lord through higher education. The only source of wisdom is through God and God alone. Now, the flip side of that coin is understanding.” The boy’s head dropped to the table. “Which comes from turning away from evil. This means to exist in faith and trust by turning to God, living as He would have us live, with righteousness and integrity. As we prepare ourselves to hear from God in the coming chapters, let us not forget how Job was introduced, as a man who fears God and turns away from evil. And after all his philosophical discussions, in the end, he seeks God, which is the right move. This is why, hopefully, our spirits have been lifted by the interlude, even though the question of why Job’s suffering still hangs in the air.”
The boy’s head popped up again. “I know you keep saying that, but I’m still convinced Job only appeared to fear God and turn away from evil. I think there was something going on underneath that Satan was trying to reveal. But let’s see how it all shakes out.”
“Alright then,” said the man. “Next stop, God.”