I’ve talked a lot about Job this summer. In truth, it’s been a great study for me, and I hope the devos I’ve shared from the book have been as interesting to read as they were to write. There are so many tremendous little nuggets of insight we can gleam, and some that have nothing to do with the specific hardships the man dealt with. For example, there’s a monologue that Job gives about 2/3 of the way through the book, where he talks about man’s innate desire to learn and know things, to uncover secrets, etc. It all culminates in him pointing out that there is nothing we can find on earth comparable to finding the Source of all knowledge (God)…
Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it. Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone. He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death. The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are dried up, they are gone away from men. As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire. The stones of it are the place of sapphires: and it hath dust of gold. There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture’s eye hath not seen: The lion’s whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it. He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots. He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing. He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.
But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living. The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me. It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold. Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding? Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air. Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.
God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof.
(Job 28:1-23)
To summarize: Job says men plunder the depths of the earth, searching for gold, iron, copper, sapphire, etc. We carry our torches and lights into caves that are dark, intending to find the end of those dark places. We want to know the secrets of the earth. We dig and mine for those stones in the darkness, even going deep into the shadow of death. Why? Not just to collect pricey stones, but because we want to know the answers. We search for answers, so that we may know all there is to know. We dig deeper than scavenging birds or hunting lions will go. We divert and dam up rivers, revealing new parts of the world previously inaccessible to us. Why? So that hidden things can be brought into the light. Why? Because in the light there is knowledge and understanding. The darkness holds only mysteries, and we are too curious a race to leave a mystery unsolved. If we have to dam up a river to see what’s underneath, we will do it.
I think that seeking/longing feeling that people possess is a quality implanted in us by our Creator. I think he instills in us a drive that compels us to look beyond our own limited selves and wonder, “is this all there is? Is there, perhaps, something more, something greater than me?” That question is asked by a person taking their first step to learning about the Maker of the universe, and ultimately finding those answers by reading the Bible (Psalm 19).
In the meantime, we dig, but what is the most we can find? Rocks and gems. That’s it. As Job asks, midway through the quote above: Is wisdom found in caves under the earth? Can we find it if we dig long enough? Can we uncover it if we dig deep enough? Where shall wisdom be found? Where can we go to reach “the place of understanding”? It is not found below, but above. We can answer many worldly questions by plundering the earth, but those questions will not matter when this life is done. Though man can uncover many things, he cannot find true wisdom just by himself. The depths, if they could talk, would tell us that they contain no knowledge beyond the limits of this world. If the sea could speak, it would tell us that knowledge that is truly life changing is not found within or beneath its waves. True knowledge is worth more than all the gold, pearls, rubies, and topazes you could ever discover.
True—eternal—wisdom is found from the Source above.
Man cannot find God just by relying on his own philosophy. In fact, that’s one of the great differences between the Bible and other religious texts: The Bible is the record of God seeking man. Other religions (Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, etc) have teachings centered around man seeking the higher power, not the other way around. That’s not to say there isn’t an element of us seeking God to be found. There is (Hebrews 11:6), but the Bible is a revelation from God to man, not the other way around. God sought us first. Recall how after Adam and Eve sinned, it was God who went looking for them (they were in hiding). Recall how God called out to Abraham when he was just minding his business in Ur. God called out to Moses (through the burning bush) when he was happy and content to be an obscure shepherd. The Lord Himself said the Son of Man came seeking to save the lost (Luke 19:10).
On the other hand, when men rejected the invitation of God, what did we do? We turned to vain philosophies and false religions (Romans ch1-3). Perverted men came up with perverted religions. That’s how it always goes when we try a bottom-up approach to religion. True religion is from the top-down. Without a revelation from God, people cannot know fundamental truth. We can learn a lot by digging deep and looking down. We can learn a lot by looking up with telescopes and satellites. But if we want the meaning of life, if we want a relationship with God, if we want to know the secrets of eternal life, we only have to stop and listen to the Lord’s invitation to us.
~Matthew