Author: divinewisdomforchristians

Drawing Near to God 

“The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him.” (Proverbs 15:8)

“Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.” (Ecclesiastes 5:1)

One of the advantages of living in a small space is that everything is close-by. Folks who live in small apartments, tiny houses, or mobile homes understand and enjoy this fact. It becomes especially important though, as HGTV is happy to point out, that a small space is a pleasant one, where we are surrounded by that which is enjoyable and agreeable. As I write this, I see there are too many papers and reference books in my immediate prevue, reminding me of unfinished tasks which will probably remain unfinished if I don’t attend to that which is so near. We can go to church today to worship and come away feeling “unfinished” if we think that we go to give God something, rather than to be in communion with him, staying “near to listen” to him.

Solomon’s advice in Ecclesiastes reflects his warning in Proverbs. Perhaps, writes Gill, guarding our steps as we approach our places of worship relates to the time at the non-burning bush when God  instructed Moses to “‘take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ And he said, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’” (Exodus 3:5-6) Moses dropped his face, with reverent fear (v.6). Perhaps you are like me, who does not approach Sunday worship with the respect of Moses and am too casual in my preparation. Recently a good friend recommended to us that we read over the hymns we are going to sing at church (in the online program) at home, to prepare for worship. I think this will have special meaning for us if we follow through during the Advent season. 

There is a fundamental difference in approaching God as if we have something to give him versus worshipping the Lord to receive divine graces and instructions from him. Moses entirely convicted of the need to listen to God, being near him, and knew from his past failings that he had nothing to offer. Sacrifices do not satisfy our God’s desire to be known by his children; those offered as a substitute for prayer and submission are unacceptable. Matthew Henry comments on worship: “Keep thy thoughts from roving and wandering: keep thy affection from running out toward wrong objects. We should avoid vain repetitions; copious prayers are not here condemned, but those that are unmeaning. How often our wandering thoughts render attendance on Divine ordinances little better than the sacrifice of fools!” *

Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice is the one on which we need to concentrate—what can we possibly offer God that is better than our prayers of adoration, thanksgiving, confession, and supplication, possible because of his ransom for us? Our prayers are the fruit of Christ’s work in us, and therefore not a sacrifice but a means of drawing near to God. Let us not think (foolishly) that we have anything of value outside of Christ to bring to the Lord, but concentrate on a heart and mind to hear him today as we worship. 

* MatthewHenry’s Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible, Ecclesiastes 5:1, https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-concise/ecclesiastes/5.html

Yielding to Loving Reproofs

“Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you…A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool.” (Proverbs 9:8; 17:10)

I was talking with some friends yesterday about my choice to have my second knee surgery in December, exactly two weeks before Christmas, just as community holiday events are in full swing. When I was growing up, in my Jewish home, we celebrated Hanukkah, which was pretty low-scale compared to many Christmas family plans. And, at that time those celebrated Hanukkah were considered a minority, so there was little mention of the holiday in my school and the general community. After that, I did join friends for Christmas and enjoyed church events, as I do today. However, my sixteen years in Africa only cemented my tradition of celebrating Christmas as a religious holiday, not a family event. So being in a hospital and a rehab facility leading up to Christmas is not a problem. Instead, it’s an opportunity to meditate on the wonder of Christ’s incarnation and humiliation, for our benefit. 

In the Spring of this year, I was reminded that when we study Scripture, we bring all our experiences, prejudices, presumptions, and perspectives with us. It is impossible to read or think about anything completely objectively, except for math, I suppose. Sometimes it is a challenge to read something accurately, and reading for depth of insight may escape us entirely. In our passage today verbal rebuke for the wise is contrasted to physical blows to fools for correction. The ESV Study Bible comments, “It is clear that the ‘wise’ or ‘righteous’ person does not rest content with his attainment, nor is he presented as morally ‘perfect.’ He becomes still wiser, and will increase in learning, through correction.” * This comment focuses on the recipient of the revision and his or her attitude toward being reprimanded. Those who are wise appreciate and love growing in wisdom while those who are not will reject it entirely, hating the one who only wants what is best for him or her. Today, as in the previous days, let’s focus on ourselves as those who either love God’s correction through scriptural conviction or reject it entirely, hating confrontation with our sin or self-deception. When we study the Bible, we do so either as those ready to judge others or willing to examine our beliefs, thoughts, and desires. Focusing on others’ problems may become a means to escape self-examination. 

Will we look at passages from Proverbs with a view toward ourselves? How about Matthew 7:6 (which is cited in commentary for our passage)? (“Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.”) When God offers us the gospel in the form of yielding to his correction, to be sanctified, becoming more like Christ, will receive it, with love? Do we demand that others believe the gospel when we do not apply God’s words for ourselves? How can you yield more readily to know and speak wisdom to those around us today?

*ESV Study Bible Notes, Proverbs 9:7-9, (digital edition), Crossway, 2008. 

Good Wounds from the Best Friend 

“A scoffer does not like to be reproved; he will not go to the wise…Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.” (Proverbs 15:12; 27:5-6)

Some of us live among people who would flatter us and are very polite, avoiding conflict and debates because of their unpleasant nature. Others are surrounded by those who are direct, truthful, and sometimes inappropriately critical, who love to listen to talk radio and political commentary. When traveling in some parts of the world, you may have observed that people don’t speak to each other at all unless they already are acquainted. Then, in other places, especially Africa, the Southern U.S., and Texas, people are very open and friendly. However, our Bible passage today is not about how we treat strangers but how we treat our friends, and how they respond to us. Those who don’t like to hear the truth will not befriend someone who speaks it, even to his or her benefit; they are more likely to go to those who will tell them what they want to hear. But friends who love each other deeply will share what is helpful, even when it is likely to wound, knowing that it will lead their friend to greater spiritual growth and godliness. Recently I participated in a Bible study with some other women from church on envy. There were only a few of us, and I surmise that is because of the topic. Who wants to study the sin of envy for nine weeks? We did! Oh, how I appreciate opportunities like that  where we could openly confront our ungodly tendencies for our collective benefit. 

“Every proverb that commands and commends wise and righteous living effectively expounds Jesus’ life on earth. For example, when Jesus rebuked Peter for his spiritual insensitivity and experienced Judas’s betrayal, He was experiencing a painful exposition of this proverb.” (1) It is crucial that we see the fulfillment of biblical instruction in Jesus Christ. He alone is the One who accomplishes the transformation of our hearts to react with love and sensitivity to others through his imputation of righteousness in our regeneration. However, we are not him, although we do have an example in Paul who rebuked Peter in Galatians 2:11-14, but it is extremely rare or appropriate for us to openly and directly rebuke anyone for spiritual weakness. “[Open rebuke] is to be understood, not of rebuke publicly given; even for rebuke among friends should be given privately, according to our Lord’s direction, Matthew 18:15; but it signifies reproof given faithfully and plainly, with openness of heart, and without mincing the matter, and palliating the offence.” (2) It is more likely that we need to apply the latter part of 27:6, so that we are not the enemy, offering fake kisses and flattery to our friends’ detriment.  

And yet it is always appropriate to seek God’s reproof through biblical texts and Bible studies. (2 Timothy 3:16) When we engage with others in the intentional examination of our hearts under the authority of Scripture, God will provide divine correction in proportion to our desire for growth. Are you studying and seeking God’s Word today, and every day that leads to biblical convictions? Will you give Christ the gift this Christmas of growing in holiness and fruit? God’s wounds are the healing sort and unite us with Jesus Christ, reminding us of him; “…with his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)

(1) Murray, David, “Jesus on Every Page,” page 177, Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition, 2013.

(2) Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible, Proverbs 27:6 https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-concise/

Christ is Our Reward

“Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded. The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death. Good sense wins favor, but the way of the treacherous is their ruin.” (Proverbs 13:13-15)

The Book of Proverbs frequently draws us to make comparisons and contrasts, which I find quite helpful when I am moving through my day. Will I choose something healthy to eat or junk food? Will I be negative and fretful or positive and hopeful in my assessment of the services I receive or the results of my efforts? Will I be more of a consumer or a giver? We have the opportunities to make choices about how we will approach and respond in most of our circumstances and relationships. By remembering that we are continually making decisions, we are more conscious of the fact that we are accountable and responsible for our them, and for becoming better at making good choices. 

“Every individual is ultimately accountable to God to be a learner. This principle of educational accountability is so often assumed that it is seldom explicitly stated. However, it needs to be articulated because it is the most foundational and most frequently declared educational accountability relationship in Scripture. God expects every individual in every stage of life to actively and thoughtfully seek to learn from every formal and informal educational opportunity…In fact, one of the key characteristics that distinguishes a wise man from a fool is his/her willingness to pursue wisdom or receive instruction.” (1)

Our passage today contrasts the dangerous person who hates God’s Word and becomes entrapped in snares of death leading to his or her personal ruin with the one who reveres  Scripture as the teaching of the wise, that is a fountain of life. Obedience to God’s commandments leads to rewards and good sense, through his favor. Christians cannot hear the phrase “fountain of life” without thinking about Jesus Christ, the source of eternal life, through the Holy Spirit’s work in us, through the gospel. But God has always given his people the opportunity to learn from him, as David wrote in Psalm 36:9 “For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.” 

When we love someone or something we want to spend time with him or her or it. We plan time with our families and friends during the holidays, play with our pets, watch our favorite Netflix series, and eat our favorite foods. Unfortunately, our love for Scripture often falls flat, perhaps because we think of it as homework rather than as spending time with God. What makes a wise person wise is personally knowing the first author of the Bible—Jesus Christ. Intimacy with Jesus is the best reward. How will you approach your time in the Bible over the holiday that celebrates the humble incarnation of Jesus? Will you study to check it off your list like an errand done or look forward to meeting him in the pages of Scripture? 

* MacArthur, John (General Editor), “Think Biblically!” (page 247), Crossway, Kindle Edition, 2003.

Continue Listening to God

“A wise son hears his father’s instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke…Cease to hear instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.” (Proverbs 13:1; 19:27)

Children love the song, “The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock.” They love the repetition, the hand actions, and the tune, but teachers often use the song as entertainment or occupation for small minds and hands rather than to teach its content. Jesus spoke these words to adults, though, not to children: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:24-27) The New Testament confirms the Old Testament. In Proverbs, Solomon could have been writing to his own son, or thinking of particular examples of foolish sons, such as the sons in law of Lot, the sons of Eli and Samuel, or David’s sons. Or, he could have been writing to the children of Israel, God’s son. (1)

Our world provides enough vacuous entertainment to keep us occupied for a lifetime, but Scripture is not that. “One-third of the book of Proverbs contains a father’s addresses and appeals to his son. Israel would have read this not merely as King Solomon’s words to his royal sons but as God’s words to His national son, Israel. The nation, of course, was far from being a faithful and loyal son to its God and Father, but Proverbs surely held out the prospect of someone who would come and fill that role perfectly.” (2) Christ hascome with the words of life and believers would do well to consider them carefully, repeatedly, ready to be corrected and be reminded of the gospel’s instruction to come to Jesus. When we stop listening to his invitation to lay down our burdens at his feet, to stop trusting in ourselves or the world, we will wander away from God. Hearing comes first, then listening, by applying what we hear; not just remembering, but obeying the words of truth contained in Scripture.

Will you pray that you will hear the Lord speaking to you when you read and meditate on particular passages in the Bible? Will you listen carefully, rather than skim or gloss over familiar verses, to know how they might apply to your situation, life, desires, beliefs, or habits? Is there something you have stopped hearing because it is too hard for you to accept? Lord, teach me to listen to you more carefully.

(1) JohnGill’s Exposition on the Whole Bible, Proverbs 13:1, https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/proverbs-13.html

(2) Murray, David, “Jesus on Every Page,” page 181, Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition, 2013.

Loving Sanctification’s Discipline

“Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid. A good man obtains favor from the Lord, but a man of evil devices he condemns.” (Proverbs 12:1-2)

Do you have a love-hate relationship with something or someone? We use the phrase “love-hate” to describe conflicted desires toward people with certain personality traits or things that we want but don’t want, like camping with our families or eating fattening desserts and snacks. But the truth is that we can’t love and hate anyone or anything at the same time. We can love the experience and hate the results, or hate the experience and love the results. If we want to resolve our conflicted attitudes or desires, we must explore the source of our love and hate, and the best way to do so is with God’s help through Scripture, prayer, and godly counsel. Proverbs 12:1 speaks of those who love discipline because they love knowledge in contrast to the person who hates discipline and hates knowledge. 

I imagine that not many of us would say that we love discipline coming from someone else, although we may like to be self-disciplined. When we study God’s Word over many years or decades the truths of God become our standard for our self-discipline, and thus we are being disciplined by the Lord. If we account for our self-control, submission to Christ, and obedience to the Bible by our power we are robbing God of his glory, and we imagine ourselves as the source of our success. However, it is the knowledge of God that is our driving force to receive God’s discipline—the knowledge that in Christ we have been delivered from an eternal death sentence. Thus we find ourselves, as transformed believers, to be the “good man” of verse 2 who has obtained God’s favor. The stupid man who has rejected Christ has rejected God’s discipline and is sinfully depending on his own devices is left in his condemnation, receiving what he deserves rather than God’s undeserved grace and mercy. When believers forget that we have been rescued from our death sentence we lose our strength and joy and choose to revert to our own devices (1). We won’t be eternally condemned but will probably be left to our consequences, unless we repent and remember that Christ has called us to a transformed life. Provers 12:1-2 reminds and encourages us to live the new life we’ve received in Christ, imitating his obedience to God’s instructions. Jesus “humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:8) 

Matthew Henry advises us, “Those who have grace, will delight in the instructions given them….Those that stifle their convictions, are like brutes.” How does this statement impact you and the way you respond to God’s Word? Or, does this statement from the Reformation Study Bible relate more directly to you, “The wise person accepts correction and consequently grows wiser, but the one who cannot accept criticism goes nowhere?” (3) How can you move toward Christ today?

(1) Kruger, Melissa B., “In All Things,” page 33, Multnomah Press, 2018.

(2) Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible, Proverbs 12:1, https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-concise/

 (3) The Reformation Study Bible, Proverbs 12:2, Reformation Trust Publishing (Ligonier Ministries), Sanford, Fl., 2015. 

God’s Good Discipline 

“My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.” (Proverbs 3:11-12)

“Peter Pan” was one of my favorite children’s stories. I liked the narrative and characters, the fairies, mermaids, and pirates. The children had the ability and freedom to fly, and have fun, implying that they did not enjoy their “real” life. Of course, the children had to believe they could fly to do so, and I wonder if our world has adopted this idea as a way to succeed. “Whatever you believe you can achieve,” is what I heard in a new age seminar that I attended way back in the 1980s, and that idea seems to have become prevalent in the world today, in rebellion against morality and virtue. After all, Wendy, Michael, and John defied their parents and nanny’s instructions to go to sleep and went with Peter to Neverland instead, causing their parents great fear and anxiety. Maybe the children felt oppressed by their parent’s strong discipline in the story, and that is a danger in some families. But some other prevailing trends regarding discipline include the idea that it is entirely unnecessary, that children will discipline themselves without instruction or authoritative guidance, or that it should be only reward-driven.   

Over the final weeks of the year, I will be examining passages from Proverbs that we haven’t considered in 2018, although we may have seen related themes. This week we’ll revisit the value of God’s discipline. The two verses from Proverbs teach children to accept God’s discipline, since he offers it in love. These verses were written by Solomon to his son (either literal or figurative) but also to us adults for our instruction. Nowhere in commentaries did I find an exclusion for grownups concerning Proverbs’ directives. “And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? ‘My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.’ It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?” (Hebrews 12:5-9)

God’s instructions include critical corrections that aren’t intended to harm or anger us. We need encouragement not to rebel against them because embracing reprimands is especially difficult.* I think our military troops are the best-equipped people to receive and apply chastisements, but even they probably experience that sting we all feel when it’s given. I received a speeding ticket for the first time in about thirty years the other day. I accepted the ticket as the right consequence for breaking the law. Even so, there was a small desire to argue and try to get out of it, because that is what my old sin nature always wants to do, worm that I am. “Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal.” (Job 5:17-18)

How do you view God’s correction? Are you willing to consider that God may rebuke or redirect you through His Word as you study and pray?

* TheReformation Study Bible, Proverbs 3:11-12, Reformation Trust Publishing (Ligonier Ministries), Sanford, Fl., 2015. 

Worshipping Our Living God 

“It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses. Every man is stupid and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them. (Jeremiah 10:12-14)

Late one night I made a note to call a friend because we hadn’t spoken in a while. But before I could call her the next day, she emailed me, and then we had our phone call. I marvel at the way the Lord knits us together and actively works in our lives to be “in sync” with each other. There are many ways that the Lord’s providential concurrence of events blesses us when we yield to his Spirit for meaningful, biblical fellowship with others. There is no more significant expression of this then when we come together to worship our living God corporately in our local churches, with our Christian families. 

Jeremiah wrote in the past tense about God’s formation of the earth by his wisdom and the heavens by his understanding. We worship the Lord for all he has done in the past, glorifying himself by his sovereign design of the world and absolute rule over all historical events, the placement of leaders, and humanitarian causes. We also praise God for his continual works, including sustaining the earth with water—in mists and raging storms with lightening. He causes the winds to blow as they do. On an extremely windy day I like to watch the clouds float by overhead, imagining the time when Christ will come on the clouds with even greater speed and notice (Mark 13:26; Revelation 1:7). But he is not absent now; he is alive and active, worthy of our attention, admiration, and exaltation.  

But then we are caught by verse 14, in which Jeremiah pointedly declares that we are “stupid” and “without knowledge;” we are dead-idol makers. In his “Institutes of the Christian Religion,” John Calvin wrote, “the human mind is, so to speak, a perpetual forge of idols.” * Today our idols are smartphones, electronic games, possessions, beauty, success, philosophical mastery, superiority, and other people’s relationships or seasons of life, houses, and cars—even wisdom and knowledge can become idols. We are indeed senseless; if we would give God the attention we give to these, how blessed and delighted we would be, as he is glorified and honored. 

Will you remember today that God is very much alive and present with you and your church family as you worship. Lord, help me fellowship with you today, my Living Father and Savior, who dwells in unapproachable light and with us lovingly, tenderly, and most definitely.

* Calvin, John, “Institutes of the Christian Religion,” Chapter 11, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes.iii.xii.html

God’s Unsearchable Wisdom Strengthens Us

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:22-31)

Have you ever fainted? I have not. I know people who faint for no apparent reason other than their bodies are aged and seem to give way occasionally. I can imagine that it is unnerving to wake up to find that you are not where you were before you fell, and possibly have unknowingly injured yourself. Sometimes when physicians search for the reasons for fainting spells the results are inconclusive—no low blood pressure, illness, or dehydration. Perhaps the patient experienced sudden pain or dizziness, but due to dementia, he cannot remember it. Hopefully, his doctor will find the cause and prescribe treatment, or at least advice. In contrast to human medicine, God’s understanding is unsearchable, since his knowledge is infinite and we are finite creatures with severely limited knowledge of God and his ways, except for the illumination provided by Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah proclaims the truth from the Lord’s mouth, as God’s instrument—we faint. Three times in this passage God describes human beings (including youth) are described as those who faint and are weary. We have no strength or might, like those who are exhausted. Original sin expresses itself in believers physically, when we faint and emotionally when we are broken-hearted. It also disturbs us spiritually, when we doubt God and his work in us, others, and the world; intellectually, when we seek help from academics and phycologists instead of Scripture; and socially, when we tend toward self-reliance and independence, rather than seeking fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. And there are many more ways that sin corrupts our minds, hearts, and lives!

But God is our everlasting creator, with perfect understanding, power and strength. Isaiah proclaims this truth not for our academic benefit but as the way that we can glorify God and live for and through him. This is a life lesson that we learn with the apostle Paul who was humbled by his weakness. Through God’s help, Paul learned to rejoice in his weakness, as we should. “[God] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor. 12:9-10) 

In Isaiah 40:29-30 we are encouraged to know that we “‘shall mount up with wings as eagles’; swiftly and strongly… expressive of the motion of the affections heavenwards towards God and Christ, and things above…and of the exercise of these graces on Christ, who is now at the right hand of God; of the expectation of glory and happiness in heaven hereafter, and of present support under afflictions, the Lord bearing them as on eagles’ wings…‘they shall run, and not be weary;’ in the way of God’s commandments; which shows great affection for them, haste to obey them, delight and pleasure, cheerfulness and alacrity…and ‘they shall, walk, and not faint…leaning on him, trusting in him, continuing to do so, till they receive the end of their faith, the salvation of their souls; and so shall not sink under their burdens, nor give out till they enjoy it.” *

Do we not all want to fly like eagles, run without weariness, and walk without fainting in God’s strength? Are we willing to humble ourselves rather than search for what is unobtainable in order to fly, run, and walk with Christ? How will you embrace your weakness today?

* John Gill’s Exposition on the Whole Bible, Isaiah 40:29, https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/isaiah-40.html

God Knows the Way of Wisdom

“From where, then, does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding? It is hidden from the eyes of all living and concealed from the birds of the air. Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’ God understands the way to it, and he knows its place. For he looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. When he gave to the wind its weight and apportioned the waters by measure, when he made a decree for the rain and a way for the lightning of the thunder, then he saw it and declared it; he established it, and searched it out. And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’” (Job 28:20-28)

The day before Thanksgiving I went to the market, forgetting that half of the city would also be there, so I wanted to get in and out quickly. But I left a bag of groceries in my shopping cart outside, which I later retrieved, by returning to the store, thanks to a kind soul who turned them in to a cashier. I did not see something in clear sight, which caused me to make two trips to the store, instead of one. How can I expect to see God’s wisdom in creation if I can’t even see what’s right in front of my eyes? And why would I, or anyone, look for God’s hidden wisdom when we are so challenged to see what is revealed to us in creation and his Word?

John Gill makes the point that since God has sovereignly and providentially created, established, and ordered all aspects of creation he knows all there is to know about all things with perfect wisdom. (1) He understands in a higher, more profound, and more comprehensive way that an artist understands her painting or an inventor understands the working of his new medical device. This foundational wisdom is deeper than anything we can achieve by looking at or even using an object. The gardener should wisely know what is under his soil to plant where rocks and roots won’t interfere with his new sapling. But he probably doesn’t know the nutrient content of the earth, unless he is very thorough in his research. Even so, he will never know all the plants that have been in the soil previously to his life, and how they have fared there. But God sees and possesses knowledge of every particle of dirt in his garden from before the beginning of time, even before they existed. The verses in Job 28 “contrast the inability of the created realm to find wisdom with God’s complete grasp of it.” (2)

Job writes that we can have one different kind of wisdom. “Mankind can acquire wisdom only from God, and He has not concealed it. It is obtained through obedience to His revealed will.” (3) Job 20:28 is the key to obtaining the wisdom of God; it is found in fearing the Lord—the theme of our entire study and key phrase in Proverbs. Gill says this fear is “…a godly filial fear; and which is consistent with strong faith, great joy, and true courage; is opposite to pride and self-confidence, and takes in the whole worship of God both external and internal: and it is called the fear of the Lord, because he is the object and author of it; it is not from nature, or in men naturally, but comes from the grace of God, and is a gift of it; it is wrought in conversion [in Jesus Christ], and is increased by the discoveries of the love and goodness…no man is wise till he fears the Lord; and when that grace is put into him, he begins to be wise, for this is the beginning of wisdom.”

Where will you look for wisdom today? Will you accept that many things cannot and should not be understood by us, but concentrate on that which we are called to do—obey God and turn away from evil? I pray that I will open my spiritual and physical eyes today, to see what I should and trust what I don’t know by faith from God. What will you pray?

(1) John Gill’s Exposition on the Whole Bible, Job 28:23-24, https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/job-28.html

(2) Ibid—Job 28:23-24.

(3) The Reformation Study Bible, Job 28:20-27, Reformation Trust Publishing (Ligonier Ministries), Sanford, Fl., 2015. 

(4) John Gill’s Exposition on the Whole Bible, Job 28:28, https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/job-28.html