Job 28:20-28 | KingComments | STEP | Job again asks the question of the origin and finding place of wisdom and understanding ( ; ). It takes a revelation from God to know where wisdom comes from, namely from God Himself. To know where the place of insight is, the same applies. “The eyes of all living”, that is, men, do not discover wisdom. It is covered, hidden from them ( ). By “the birds in the sky” can be meant in connection with the first part of this verse and the first part of the following verse: (evil) spiritual powers. Divine wisdom is also hidden from the most cunning spirits, whose intelligence is many times greater than that of man. “Abaddon and Death” are the places where the spirits of unbelievers find themselves after their death ( ). Anyone who comes into contact with them through a death in his family or surroundings realizes that he lacks the wisdom to comprehend what these places mean, what lies behind death. In this sense a rumor penetrates man’s ears. God with His wisdom sees through what is dark to man ( ). He can lift its veil and give insight into the situation after death ( ). In summary, we see three areas where wisdom is not (cf. ). Wisdom is 1. not on earth with all the living, with men; 2. not above the earth with the birds in the sky or the world of the spirits; 3. not beneath the earth in the realm of death with Abaddon and Death.

‏ Job 28:20-28

Wisdom Is Neither Visible nor Audible

Job again asks the question of the origin and finding place of wisdom and understanding (Job 28:20; Job 28:12). It takes a revelation from God to know where wisdom comes from, namely from God Himself. To know where the place of insight is, the same applies. “The eyes of all living”, that is, men, do not discover wisdom. It is covered, hidden from them (Job 28:21). By “the birds in the sky” can be meant in connection with the first part of this verse and the first part of the following verse: (evil) spiritual powers. Divine wisdom is also hidden from the most cunning spirits, whose intelligence is many times greater than that of man.

“Abaddon and Death” are the places where the spirits of unbelievers find themselves after their death (Job 28:22). Anyone who comes into contact with them through a death in his family or surroundings realizes that he lacks the wisdom to comprehend what these places mean, what lies behind death. In this sense a rumor penetrates man’s ears. God with His wisdom sees through what is dark to man (Pro 15:11). He can lift its veil and give insight into the situation after death (Lk 16:19-23).

In summary, we see three areas where wisdom is not (cf. Phil 2:10). Wisdom is

1. not on earth with all the living, with men;

2. not above the earth with the birds in the sky or the world of the spirits;

3. not beneath the earth in the realm of death with Abaddon and Death.

Wisdom Belongs to God

From nature Job now turns to the Origin of wisdom (Job 28:23). Here is the answer and that is that the Creator of the world knows the wisdom. He only understands the way of wisdom because it is His wisdom. He also knows the place of wisdom because wisdom dwells with Him. In one glance He overlooks everything on earth, He sees to the farthest corners of it (Job 28:24). He sees everything “under the heavens”, that is the whole universe.

He sees what He has created, and He governs it all. Everything is in His hand. Thus He imparts “weight to the wind” (Job 28:25). The waters that go over the earth under the impulsion of the wind are measured by Him (cf. Isa 40:12). The waters of the rain that He pours out over the earth are accompanied by thunder and lightning, with thunderbolt (Job 28:26). God governs the extent and duration of a storm that is accompanied by rain and thunder. Man is powerless in the face of this. The fact that man is incapable of managing and directing God’s works of creation does not mean that God has lost control of them. He is still in control.

God has dealt with wisdom like a skilled craftsman (Job 28:27). He “saw it”, “declared it”, “established it”, and “searched it out”. Seeing wisdom means that He knows where wisdom is. It is noticing its presence. He declares wisdom, which means that He gauges or fathoms wisdom, that He knows all its facets and aspects. Then He establishes the wisdom for the work He is going to do or the action He is going to perform. Finally, He searches out wisdom in order to know how He is going to apply it. In short, God knows wisdom through and through.

Creation is the work of His wisdom (Pro 3:19). Because of that wisdom, creation is a faultless work, without flaws, a work of which it could be said that it was very good (Gen 1:31). God knows His creation inside and out in all its complexity. It is also a perfect whole. It is thousands of years old, and everything still functions as He ordained it. Look at the wind and the rain. They are still there. They never had to be adjusted. They never need to be replaced by something better, as is the case with everything man thinks up and makes.

The Revelation

Here we see how man, once he knows where the wisdom is, can get this wisdom. This is by fearing the Lord (Adonai). This is what Job has done, just as he has turned away from evil (Job 1:1). These two always go together. Those who fear God can only hate evil and turn away from it. Wisdom is not simply truth, but truth applied to conscience. That is to say, truth that puts man in his true place and enables him to receive what God has to say. The consequence is to turn our backs on evil.

The “fear of the Lord” makes man bow before Him, before Whom the seraphs cover their faces. This fear is not anguish, but awe and reverence, worship. If this fear is there, God can be seen everywhere: in the depths, on earth and in the air, everywhere in the universe (Psa 111:10; Pro 1:7 ; Pro 9:10; Ecc 12:13). Materialistic man does not see the fear of God as valuable. He only seeks materialistic advantage for this life.

God is the “only wise God” (Rom 16:27). Job knows that he does not possess wisdom and that his friends do not possess it and that it can only be found with God. He will experience the scope of these words only at the end of the book.