(Continued from page 216.)

Section 2.- The wisdom which is above all price. (chap. 28.)

Continuing his monologue, Job next contrasts the doom of the ungodly rich, as described in the previous chapter, with the true riches, which can never be lost. The connection is clear, and the transition natural and striking. The opening part of the chapter describes the toil and care with which men search for the "delved gold," which so often brings but the "strife and curse which o'er it fall." He then passes on to the true riches-wisdom ; where shall it be found ? The search for it in earth or sea is vain; nor can all the wealth of the world be compared with^t. Where is this priceless treasure to be found ? Even the dark shades of death can only witness to its existence, but do not tell how or where to secure it. It can only be gained through the revelation of God; not only in His works, but in His Word, He appeals to the conscience and heart of man. The whole passage is beautiful and noble in its conception and expression, and indicates that the one who speaks knows that blessed One whom he describes. This chapter would prove that Job could not be the hypocrite his friends would make him out to be.

The entire chapter however is outside the atmosphere of controversy. Job is not here seeking to maintain his righteousness, but, for the time at least, loses sight of himself, and breathes the pure air of truth, unmarred by the noxious fumes of self-righteousness and unbelief. We can but feel the moral elevation of it all.

The chapter may be divided into seven portions.

1. The treasures of earth (vers. 1-6).

2. The hidden treasure (vers. 7-11).

3. Not revealed by nature (vers. 12-14).

4. Its priceless value tested (vers. 15-19).

5. Its report (vers. 20-22).

6. The Revealer (vers. 23-27).

7. The Revelation (ver. 28).

I. Job is evidently acquainted with all the processes of mining, whether from the rich deposits in the Sinai peninsula, or the nearer ones of the rocky regions of Bashan and Syria. He knows and describes the difficult and dangerous search for these treasures of earth, the "gold which perisheth."
All this is knowledge acquired by man, who spares no toil nor danger to gain the coveted stores.

There is a mine for silver, the "current money with the merchant." How much labor is represented in that shining white metal used so largely in the East as the medium of exchange. Alas, of that of which it is a type (the redemption-price for the soul of man, Ex. 30 :11-16; 38 :25-28) men know little and care less. Of this however Job does not speak.

Gold, too, refined in the fire and made into ornaments of beauty and the kingly crown, men will travel to the ends of the earth for it. The true gold, the righteousness of God in Christ, is treated by most as valueless. Iron, so much needed in every department of labor, is laboriously prepared from the dust of the earth. Man labors for these earthly necessities, but forgets Him in whom alone is strength. Brass, or copper, with its unyielding strength, was and is melted from the containing stones; but the unchanging judgments of God are little valued by men.

In his search after these treasures, man delves into the dark recesses of the earth with his lamp, making an end to the darkness as he penetrates into the farthest extremities (rather than "perfection") of the mines, searching for those ore-laden " stones of darkness "-stones hidden in the darkness. The bowels of the earth are like the shadow of death, and often entomb the hardy miner in their depths, but nothing holds him back. Men will give their lives for gold. They are not content with the fertile earth yielding food for man's need; they tear it and search its depths as a fire burning and destroying. Such seems to "be the clear meaning of verse 5. It is wealth, gold, jewels, glory, that man seeks after, and for which he is ready to barter his very life and soul. A glance at the history of the mining camps of modern times will confirm all that is said by the, patriarch. What covetousness, lust, violence, reign in these places, in the arid mountains of the West and the frozen land of Yukon. What a contrast to the peaceful pursuits of gathering the bountiful harvests God has provided upon the very surface of the earth. The typical and spiritual teaching here is very clear:"Having food and raiment (covering), let us be therewith content."

It is not meant of course that these precious things are sinful in themselves, nor that their proper use is not necessary. But the restless craving for them is significant of the poor heart of man, seeking for what can never satisfy. If he had but used the same earnestness in seeking for the true riches, how different would be the result. "My son … if thou criest after knowledge, … if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasure, then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord " (Prov. 2:1-5).

2. This portion (vers. 7-11) has been by Delitzsch connected closely with the preceding, as describing the search after earth's precious stores, and part of it does go into further details; but the similarity of ver. 21 to vers. 7, 8, suggests that even thus early in the chapter Job is hinting at his main theme-the true riches. Verse 12 confirms this thought. We therefore accept it.

There is a way-another way than in the depths of earth, or the loftiest mountain crags-the way of wisdom. We have seen that man does not get it in the mines ; here it is unknown to the birds and beasts. As we see the eagle high in air, with vision far wider than ours, there may come into our hearts a longing to soar, like them, above the earth, and to see what we have not here.

But those heights do not reveal what man must know in order to be happy. The boundless deserts, where the proud lion roams unfettered by the fear of man, discloses no treasure which the heart craves. The hermits, " desert dwellers," have failed to get peace to their souls by their fastings and immolation of the body.
Returning to the search for treasure, Job describes this fruitless quest in which man takes hold upon the rocks (possibly pebbles), and overturns the mountains. We see him washing and sifting the pebbles and sand, or blasting in the solid mountains. He cuts his way deep down, following the vein as a river in its course, and looking with greedy eyes upon the rich shining treasures locked up therein. If waters flow in, he finds a way to divert them, that he may pursue the hidden wealth thus laid bare.

Again we ask, why will not men labor thus for the "hidden wisdom ?" Why will they not seek to sift it out as it lies so close by, or, if need be, in faith remove the very mountains of difficulty. If the sweeping rush of "the course of this world," as a river, would engulf the true riches, why do men not stop it, or turn it from them, that they may possess themselves of this whose value is above all wealth? "He that seeketh findeth," is still true, though the seeking and the finding are different from what the toil for gold would indicate. The wisdom is hidden, the way to it is not known, because God is not known, and men will not hearken to Him.

3. But while man is told to seek, this wisdom is not found in nature, nor by human effort. The question is asked, Where is wisdom found ? Where is the place where understanding has its abode? Man, frail mortal, knows not and has not the price to obtain it, for it is not found in the land of the living. If it were within reach, then some would be able to attain to it; some rich man would have the price to pay for it. But it is beyond man; "It is high, I cannot attain unto it." In the fathomless depths of the abyss-"the waters under the earth" -the call for wisdom awakens but the reply, "It is not in me." The wide sea, in all its vast expanse, holds not this priceless treasure. Nature, in itself, is powerless to furnish a simple clue to this heavenly, this wondrous good.

What then is this wisdom, of such infinite value, and yet so unattainable ? We shall be told in a little while by the Author of it. It must suffice us here to say it is the knowledge of the truth, the nature of all things, obtained from God Himself; a knowledge which does not puff up, nor separate from God, but gives the soul a living principle of peace and joy in communion with Him. No wonder man would search and toil in vain for this priceless treasure.

And yet, when once God is known, we find all nature eloquent of Him. Those depths below and above declare His glory and power. The "great and wide sea" tells of the depth of His wisdom, care and goodness. The earth, with its myriad forms of life, speaks of Him as the Author and Maintainer of all life, from the lowest vegetable form up to the highest spiritual intelligence. The great creation psalm (104) declares this:"O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast Thou made them all:the earth is full of thy riches" (ver. 24). How sad it is to see men of vast knowledge, of profound reasoning powers, gazing into the glorious heavens and failing to find God or wisdom there, or analyzing the dust of the earth yet not perceiving Him who "wrought by weight and measure." Truly the words of the apostle state the solemn fact:"The world by wisdom (human knowledge) knew not God" (i Cor. i :21). How blessed it is then to have the true wisdom- "Christ the wisdom of God, and the power of God;" to know Him through that Cross which sets aside all of man's pride, his wisdom and his righteousness, and gives in its place the key to all truth- "the unsearchable riches of Christ."

We do but anticipate the full Christian revelation in speaking thus. If Job had not so wide a view, he at least had the germ of that to be revealed later on.
4. A thing of such priceless value is now tested by all that man counts treasure. Pure gold and silver, weighed out in unstinted measure cannot purchase it. The fine gold of Ophir, the precious onyx and the sapphire-"a king's ransom"-have no place here. Again gold is mentioned, along with transparent crystal-"pure gold, as it were transparent glass"-jewels as beautiful as rare; corals, pearls, rubies-wisdom's price exceeds them all. The topaz of far off Ethiopia finds its luster dim beside this bright jewel of God's glory. Nature is ransacked in vain to find something to compare with that whose price is above all earthly treasures. Would that men realized this, that they might find the one jewel of eternal value. All else is nothing without it.

"Were the vast world our own,
With all its varied store,
And Thou, Lord Jesus, wert unknown,
We still were poor."

5. But why speak of that which all searching cannot find, or wealth cannot buy? The question of verse 12 is repeated, not hopelessly, but to show man the futility of a merely natural quest. "Whence then cometh wisdom, and where is the place of understanding ? "

"Stars o'er us are silent,
Graves silent beneath us."

And yet, had the poet but ears to hear, those graves would at least whisper back a hint that the present life was not all-that wisdom lies beyond time. "Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears." How true it is that those who consider their latter end are near to wisdom, ready to receive the revelation which God gives. This is the wisdom which cometh down from above, and is given to the meek.

6. We turn now from nature to its Author, from creation to God. He knoweth the way, and He alone can reveal it to man. Nor is it merely God as Creator, but as Revealer in the person of His Son

-"I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." He has said, "I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them unto babes . . . No man knoweth the Father but the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him." He it is whose all-seeing eye sweeps the heavens, who has given its weight to the viewless air, and its appointed proportions to the water, who sends the gentle rain, and with it gives a course to the lightning's flash. He has seen wisdom; nay, He is that Wisdom.

We cannot but be reminded of the grand passage in Prov. 8, in which this divine Person, the true Wisdom, declares His character and power. "When He prepared the heavens, I was there:when He set a compass upon the face of the depth; when He established the clouds above . . . then I was by Him as one brought up with Him; and I was daily His delight . . . And my delights were with the sons of men" (Prov. 8:27-31). The similarity of this and other passages in Proverbs to portions of Job, especially the chapter we are considering, has given color to the theory that both books date from the same period, of Chokma, or wisdom. Taken reverently, the word of God allows such questions ; but when men go further, and doubt the authenticity or authorship of books declared to be written by certain men, as Moses, Solomon, Isaiah, etc., faith turns from the whole as dangerous and unholy speculation. It is also significant that as second in the Experience Books, Job is closely connected with the Chokma writings.

7. What then is the true wisdom ? What does God declare it to be ? It is most significant that it is not mere truth, but truth applied to the conscience, truth which puts man in his true place, and thus fits and enables him to receive what God has to say. The fear of the Lord (Adonai, the supreme Ruler and Master) is wisdom-the bowing in humiliation before Him in whose presence seraphim veil their faces, before whom Isaiah cried, "Woe is me, for I am undone." This fear is not mere dread, but reverence, submission, worship. It includes repentance, as evidenced in the words of the thief:"Dost not thou fear God ? " To know God thus is preparatory to and inclusive of the knowledge of His mercy and grace-for us the full knowledge of the gospel, and accompanying Christian revelation. It is not knowledge of God, but being brought to Him, and learning His grace and love. This is more than mere knowledge; it is the key to it; it is eternal life.

That Job could speak thus, shows that he had in some measure this wisdom, could not therefore be classed with the wicked. But how feebly had he grasped the great fact of which he had spoken. A little later this fear of the Lord will lead him indeed "to depart from evil"-from an evil heart and from himself. That was for him, as it is for us, the true wisdom. With this wisdom we can pass over the earth, or search beneath its depths, can cross the seas, or soar towards heaven, only to find God and His witness everywhere.

It is this moral character which marks out God's word as distinct from all other writings. It is addressed to the conscience of man, producing that "fear of the Lord," which is clean, enduring forever." S. R.

(To be continued.)