Today's Reading: Job, Chapter Twenty-eight
Job seems to give a soliloquy on wisdom in the midst of all that is happening to him.
As we think about wisdom, it seems that one couldn't put a price on it. Verse 15 states:
"It cannot be gotten for gold, and silver cannot be weighed out as its price."
Certainly, our institutions of higher learning might beg to differ on this adage!
When Job states that "the price of wisdom is above pearls" in verse 18, it reminds me of the parable that Jesus told in Matthew 13:45-46:
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it."
Wisdom, like the kingdom of heaven, is something that one would give up everything to possess.
We finally get a hint of what Job considers wisdom in the last verse of the chapter where God states:
‘Truly, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.’
Sometimes we learn from our mistakes.
As we see what Job has endured, one could say that a part of what this book is getting at is that wisdom can be gained in suffering. I'm certainly wiser for the difficulties I've had to endure. Hopefully, these things give us greater empathy for one another rather than greater cynicism.
The perspective of wisdom may be that we understand that bad times don't endure but that good times don't either. Both are ephemeral. We have to celebrate the good while we have them and help each other through the bad when they occur. Maybe in this we discover the kingdom of heaven.
I like the Black Crowes song called "Wiser Time" whose chorus states:
On a good day, I know it ain't every day
We can part the sea
And on a bad day, I know it ain't every day
Glory beyond our reach
Prayer for the day:
Gracious God, like Solomon before us, we would ask you for wisdom. But if this means that we must endure hardship to get it, we are not so sure. And so, when the darkness descends upon us for whatever reason, help us to gain perspective in its midst. And as we gather greater understanding, we would ask that this be tempered with greater compassion as well. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.
Photo by Jake Pierrelee on Unsplash
“Wiser Time” lyrics © 1994 American Recordings LLC
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
No comments:
Post a Comment