The weather has always fascinated mankind. Tornados, lightning, hail, rain. Personally, I’m a lightning fan. The way the positive and negative charges formed in the clouds push through the air to reach the charges on the ground has always intrigued me. I know, what a nerd.
But despite all the studies done, mankind has yet to grasp the complexities of the weather. It is hard – if not impossible – for us to completely predict the weather. We’ve mastered the art of getting pretty close, but no prediction is perfect.
And this has pretty much always been the case as we can see in a book of the Bible called Job.
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.
(Job 28:24-27)
Job 28:24-27 comes at an odd point. Job is talking about how no one can find wisdom. It is completely unattainable like a precious gem worth more than anything on earth (Job 28:12-15). Then, God is declared as knowing where to find wisdom and in the middle of the passage is this odd description of the weather.
What does weather have to do with wisdom? And can wisdom really not be attained?
Wisdom vs The Wisdom
If you’re unfamiliar with the story of Job, it might first be helpful for a recap. Job was a righteous man, completely favorable in the eyes of God (Job 1:1). The enemy (Satan), however, claimed Job was simply righteous because of the many blessings God had given him. God agrees to allow Satan to take away Job’s family, cattle, and health (Job 1:12). Um… why?
Well, that’s the question Job asks.
More specifically, the question is, “Why does God run the universe the way He does? Does He run it the best way it can be run?” Tough questions.
This is when Job starts to talk about wisdom. Let’s read what he says about it.
[Wisdom] cannot be bought for gold, and silver cannot be weighed as its price… 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.
Job 28:15, 20-21
Job says A LOT more about how worthy and unattainable wisdom is earlier too. Wisdom is incredibly valuable and incredibly illusive. No matter how hard you search and dig or how much you try to pay, you cannot attain it. Not even death knows exactly where it is (Job 28:22). Nevertheless, Job reasons that it’s this wisdom that enables us to understand the “whys of the world.” And for that reason Job craves wisdom. Wisdom is what he needs.
“But wait,” you may be thinking (especially if you grew up in church), “doesn’t James say we can ask for wisdom?”
Yes. Yes he does.
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him.
(James 1:5)
Does the Bible have contradictions?? Well, no, rather English is just mildly insufficient.
See, in Job (and many other places) the word for wisdom is חָכְמָה (chokma). But what Job is referring to in verses 12-23 is more unique. Before this חָכְמָה is a הַ, which means “the.” This is The Wisdom that only God has (Job 28:23). He imbued this wisdom into the fabric of the world (Proverbs 3:19), which is why the world is not just physically ordered, but also morally ordered.
But look at verse 28 of the same chapter, chapter 28.
And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.
This is the wisdom that James talks about. The little “w” wisdom as I like to call it. This is the wisdom we can receive.
Seeking the Giver
This little “w” wisdom is only found through seeking the Giver, not the gift.
Look at Psalm 103:7.
He [God] made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
The Israelites only saw God’s deeds, His actions, while Moses saw His ways, which can also mean His manner, customs, or path. Moses had a deeper understanding of what God was doing. Why? Because he drew near to the Giver, not just the gift of wisdom.
In Exodus 33, we read that Moses asks God to show him His ways or His character (Exodus 33:13). Moses wanted a greater understanding of God Himself. God’s character is exactly what quieted Job as well (Job 40:3-5). Throughout the entirety of Psalm 103 God’s character and glory are displayed and praised.
Countless times we see that to better understand the why, we should not seek The Wisdom we should seek The Wisdom holder. Trying to seek The Wisdom outside of God is impossible since He is the possessor of it (Proverbs 8:22-31). Just like one will best understand a complex piece of machinery through talking to its engineer, we only comprehend the complexities through talking to the Maker of life. As Christopher Ash said in his book Trusting God in the Darkness, “The seeking required of us is not ultimately the seeking for philosophical answers or even for practical wisdom; it is the seeking after God Himself” (95).
This is little “w” wisdom. This is why James says this wisdom can only come from God. This is the wisdom Job 28:28 talks about. Fear of the Lord, or a respect and understanding of His great glory, is the wisdom we can seek and ask for. Wisdom leads back to God.
But even if we went our whole lives studying God’s character, growing closer to Him, and coming to understand His ways more, would there not be some of His actions that don’t make sense? Is completely understanding The Wisdom truly impossible?
The Wisdom of God
The Wisdom is used in very few places outside of Job. One place it is found is in Matthew 11:19 and Luke 7:35. Both are the same statement of Jesus down below.
“The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”
I always found the last sentence a little random and confusing. What does wisdom have to do with this? The Wisdom, what God acts in, often seems odd and maybe even negative to us. And in no better way is this displayed than when the Son of God came down to die for – not just eat with – the broken and outcast. Now that is odd.
Why God would stoop down to forgive the mistakes, the sins, of mankind makes no sense. Grace makes no sense from our human perspective. We messed up so we deserve the punishment. That’s how it works.
But God.
He sent His Son who lived a perfect life to die and rise to cover our failures. Jesus is God’s great mystery sent down to us. In Him, The Wisdom is hidden (Colossians 2:2-5).
In Isaiah 55, it talks about God’s thoughts and ways being higher than our thoughts and ways. I’ve always understood this to simply be, “God is wayyy smarter than us so just don’t try to question.” But upon reading it again recently, I noticed something deeper.
Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
(Isaiah 55:6–8)
God’s thoughts are higher because He allows the wicked and unrighteous to come back to Him. He allows them to repent. Actually, beckons them to repent. He allows Himself to be sought and found. What kind of all-glorious, all-powerful God lets broken, imperfect, failure-prone people to come to Him?
It doesn’t make sense to us, yet it is full of The Wisdom of God. What is confusing or even chaotic to us is ordered to God – just like the weather.
This is why weather was brought up in Job 28. Even the weather, which is often random to us, is imbued with God’s Wisdom. If God were to reveal the why beyond all His does, the complexity of it would still overwhelm us. He is an overwhelming God. Yet, He has made Himself available to us.
So seek Him. That is wisdom far more worthy than gold.
Resources
- Job: The Wisdom Series by the Bible Project
- Proverbs: The Wisdom Series by the Bible Project
- Trusting God in the Darkness: A Guide to Understanding the Book of Job by Christopher Ash
- Exodus 33
- Psalm 103
- Job 28
Overwhelmed 