Job 28:12 Commentary and Bible Study

But none of these activities of man succeed in finding wisdom, for this is very much harder to find and exists in a realm that man is not even aware of. After he has done all, he still does not have wisdom, for wisdom cannot be obtained by human industry. After he has exerted his skill to the utmost, he still does not possess it. All the gold, silver and precious stones which he discovers in the earth must be left behind in this world when he departs from it, so all his effort cannot gain for him anything of lasting value. Let him then despair of ever gaining the wisdom that comes from heaven by sheer labour; it cannot be done. He must stop in the midst of his work and ask, ‘How then can what has real value be obtained?’ He must say, ‘I must look for it somewhere completely different; I must go to God for this surpassing treasure.’This verse makes clear the intention of the whole chapter: to provide a comparison between heavenly wisdom and the greatest treasures that man knows about on earth, and to compare also man’s ability to find the two. The comparison works in two ways. The point being made repeatedly is that man cannot find wisdom because it must be revealed by God. It cannot be discovered by any amount of human ingenuity. On the other hand in each detail of the way in which men go about the search for silver and gold, there is an illustration of some aspect of the search for wisdom. Even though these techniques are inadequate for this much higher quest, they point out characteristics of wisdom: it requires knowledge of where to look, it needs skill and perseverance, it requires the utmost exertion of our energy. Each verse describing man’s search for gold is an illustration of one aspect of the search for wisdom, and yet when it comes to searching for wisdom, all these endeavours fail. Man does not know where to look for wisdom; he looks in the wrong place. He will not pick up God’s word and read it, for he prefers the flattering ideas of men to the honest analysis of the human soul that God gives. He will not expend the single-minded effort that is required to find true knowledge, an effort which means rejecting what is of no lasting value, and evaluating all things in the light of Scripture. He will not search with all his heart and strive to enter into the kingdom of heaven by all possible means, for that goal is not real to him and he has not sensed the value of heavenly wisdom. He is not prepared to go far away from the common paths which men tread and seek out what is not thought highly of by the majority. Job now applies the parable.