Job  

Chapter  28  

"The continuation of Zophar's last address."  

Job  28:1   "Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it."

Zophar is reminding us that there are mine shafts all over the country side, for that is where the silver and gold comes from.

Job  28:2   "Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone."

Stop and think for a moment, this is saying that they were able to take the iron out of the earth and make it into products, tools, weapons and so on, and we see that these processes go way back in time. 

Job  28:3   "He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death."

There is that hole in the ground that man has dug, and he can put a candle on his head, and he is willing to enter that hole even at the risk of loosing his life; all for the sake of gaining that gold, silver and iron.  He risks his life for the sake of reaching perfection and bettering his own life.  When he enters those deep shafts, and drives the darkness out with his lights, those precious stones are discovered there in the darkness.  Zophar is saying here that silly as man's ways are, he can lay open the riches of God's earth to better himself.

Job  28:4   "The flood breaketh out form the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are dried up, they are gone away from men."

When these miners are down in the earth, and they hit a shaft that is flooded, they are intelligent enough that they can drain the shaft and still get to the riches of the earth on dry ground.  Zophar is reminding us that man is real smart, and he is using the mining techniques as an example of man's intelligence.

Job  28:5   "As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire."

In other words, man himself forces the earth to produce for him.  The earth brings forth the grains, and man processes the grain and puts the fire to it to make his bread. He drills into the earth and brings us the oil and the gas to give him fire and to be harnessed into energy for himself.  

Job  28:6   "The stones of it are the place of sapphires; and it hath dust of gold."

Job  28:7   "There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen:"

In other words, man digs in the rocks and crevices in places where even the vulture has not seen nor imagined.  Man is far more intelligent than any of the dumb beast or other creatures of God's creation. 

Job  28:8   "The lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it."

Man digs in unknown places, even where the lion and her little ones have not gone. 

Job  28:9   "He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots."

Man has turned over, dug out, honeycombed and even eliminated mountains for the sake of getting the mineral wealth out of them.  

Job  28:10   "He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing."

This is quite common for the channeling of the water to irrigate the fields goes way back to the earliest of times. 

Job  28:11   "He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light."

These two verses belong back earlier in this chapter.  This is referring to the channeling of water out of the well shaft to where man and his light can reenter to work. 

Job  28:12   "But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?"

So with all this ability to dig up the wealth, to channel water and bring light into a shaft; is not that great of an achievement?  Even a mole and small creatures can dig into the ground and live in it.  It is saying that they are more intelligent than man, for they do their digging for basic needs, and do not risk their lives in the things that they do for the sake of gold and silver.   The point that is stressed here is that it is wisdom that causes you to do what ever you do, and wisdom comes only from God.  If you have wisdom and understanding, than you are happy, and if you are not, it means that something is missing.  There are exceptions to every rule, but God intends for you to be happy.        

Job  28:13   "Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living."

"Man does not know the way to wisdom on his own; it cannot be found in your flesh body [the land of the living]."  This alone should alert the true scholar that we are talking about two different ages here.  As this is implied; we will find out from God Himself before this book is finished, why this is so. 

Job  28:14   "The depth saith, `It is not in me:' and the sea saith,`It is not with me.' "

This earth itself will not withhold the wisdom that it holds, for the harder you work to get your harvest, do your fishing, mine your coal, or seek what ever you desire from the earth, it will give you what you are willing to strive for.  Then when you get all those things, gain your wealth, you will find that wisdom is not in there, for wisdom is of God, not of or in this earth:  Not true wisdom and true wealth. 

Job  28:15   "It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighted for the price thereof."

This is saying that you simply cannot buy wisdom with gold or silver no matter how much wealth you have.  If you can buy anything, then is that true wisdom or just a commodity?  Think about it.

Job  28:16   "It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the saphire."

The gold of Ophir is where the riches mines in the world were.  These miners were considered the righest men in the world. 

Job  28:17   "The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold."

Zophar is saying that when you compare that gold and crystal with wisdom, it simply cannot be compared.  It exists in two different dimensions, and matters.

Job  28:18   "No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies."

For those that understand, there is another mention of the price of wisdom, being compared to "the pearls of great price".  There is no price on wisdom, you either have it, or you do not.  You can't buy it, or get it from someone, for it is given to you as a free gift from God, when you seek after Him.  The wisdom that we are to have for this life in our flesh bodies is available to those that seek it through His Word.  Our Heavenly Father and His wisdom is in His Living Word.  Within it is wisdom, and God's Spirit will allow those truths to be understood in your mind when you seek that wisdom faithfully. 

Job  28:19   "The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold."

If you don't get wisdom through the topaz of Ethiopia, for there is nothing else of equal value .  Wisdom is known and given by God alone, and man in his flesh body will only be able to obtain and use just a very small part of God's wisdom. 

Job  28:20   "Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?"

God will only give that portion of His wisdom into the mind of a man that he is able to handle. 

Job  28:21   "Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air."

God's wisdom is hid from the eyes of all mankind living in the flesh, and even hidden from the birds in the heavens.   The revealing comes only by the light of God's Holy Spirit placing the truth in our minds and on the tablets of our heart.   

Job  28:22   "Destruction and death say, `We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.' "

"Destruction" is "Abbadon" in the Hebrew text, a person and not a condition; it is another name for Satan.  So this is what Satan and those that are of Satan's realm (the fallen angels which are the Rephaim) say.  [We discussed this in Job 26.]  They will mislead you with their false reports in which they say they heard with their ears.  It doesn't matter what their words say, or if those reports are true or not, for the only thing that matters to Satan and his realm is that words were spoken by them.  These souls were not to wise for they have been sentenced to death in the world that was. 

Jude 6  "And the angels which kept not their first estate [the Rephaim], but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment unto the judgment of the great day."

They are all going to be cast out here onto the earth in the last five month period of this age of the flesh.  Revelation  12:9  "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out onto the earth and his angels were cast out with him."

There is a time coming very shortly when Satan and all his Rephaim will be right here on earth.  Though this time of Satan's coming was appears to be in the past, John was writing this from the "day of the Lord".  It is future to us still living in the closing years of this flesh age.  This will happen at the sounding of the sixth trumpet, for then Satan will arrive on earth in his role as the Antichrist. 

However when Jesus Christ went to the cross, death [Satan] and hell [his realm] was defeated. Jesus Christ took the truth to those souls that were born of the flesh through the womb of women, that had died and passed on, and all souls all the way back to the beginning had the right to accept that truth and be saved.

II  Peter  3:18   "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:"

II  Peter  3:19   "By which also He went and preached uto the spirits in prison,"

Those three days and three nights that Jesus Christ's body was in the tomb, his Spirit went into the prison of sheol [of hell], and Jesus preached to all those souls that had died before His death on the cross.  He preached Christ crucified, and salvation through the blood of Christ. 

II  Peter  3:20  "Which sometime were disobedient, when once to longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is eight souls were saved by water."

At that time of Christ in the tomb, Job and all three of his friends heard the message of salvation, through Jesus Christ the Son of God, and many repented and were saved.  

II  Peter  3:21   "The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:"

Just like they were saved, we also have the right to hear and believe on Jesus Christ, and by our repentance in Jesus name, have salvation.  This is not talking about the saving of our flesh body, for from the day of conception that we were conceived and our souls placed by God in the womb of our mothers, these flesh bodies were doomed to age and destruction.  This is a matter of the soul, and putting away the filth of the flesh that is trying to take control of our lives. 

II  Peter  3:22   "Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him. "

All souls all the way back to the beginning, to the time of Noah and earlier had time to learn the truth, and accept "the tree of life" Jesus Christ for their souls.         

 Job  28:23   "God understandeth the way thereof, and He knoweth the place thereof."

If you really want wisdom, this verse says a lot.  Where is true wealth?  There is only one place to gain truth wealth and that is from God, for the Word of God.  If you want wisdom and wealth, go to God; go to God's Word for He is waiting for you to come to Him.  The way has been made, and the path is clear and well defined in His Word.  God wants to know that you love Him, and He wants to help you in your time of need.  Prayer is such a beautiful thing, yet some people think it is such a chore.  God likes to hear from you in the good times as well as the bad times.  When you seek God for wisdom, than the times of trouble will not be as often.  Have you told God that you love Him?  He is your Father and He has emotions like you and I have.      

Job  28:24   "For He looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven:"

There is no place in heaven or on the earth that you can hide from God, for God knows all things. 

Job  28:25   "To make the weight for the winds; and He weigheth the waters by measure."

What this is saying is that God controls even the unstable things.  Think about it when the storms of life are coming down on you, and the waves seem so high.  God can keep your little boat a float even in the roughest times.   

Job  28:26   "When He made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder:"

God controls the amount of rain that will fall, where it will fall and even the direction of the lightning as it comes down. 

Job  28:27   "Then did He see it, and declare it:  He prepared it, yea, and searched it out."

This is saying that our Father has created all things according to His desire and decree.  Then He carried it out.  Your being here on earth in the family your are in is not an accident, and everything that goes on in your life is under the control of God, and His will.  Think on that for a moment. 

Though you are in a position that seems so impossible, it is because you have allowed yourself to get into that place.  However, everything that is around you and that problem is within God's control, and He is waiting patiently for you to seek His help.  God will not intercede in your life unless you ask Him to.  When you seek God and His wisdom, He will give you what is required and you are able to handle. 

God controls the thinking of the people around you, and even those evil spirits that you cannot see that are in the world.  He controls the weather, and even the earth itself. He controls the heavenly bodies, and any substance or spiritual matter that is tarring you down.  However, it is up to you to seek the wisdom and help from God.  God loves you so much that He allowed Himself to be born in the flesh and see the same problems that you face.  He can do many things for you, but there is one thing that He cannot do, and that is to force you to do something that you do not wish to do on your own.  You seek God because you want to from your heart, and with a willing spirit.    

Job  28:28   "And unto man He said, `Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.' "

This verse is addressed to flesh man.  It is addressed to each soul that is living in their flesh body.  "Behold", pay attention, wake up, to revere the Lord; my friend, that is wisdom.  Once you understand that when you depart from all evil ways, that is understanding.  There is not much more that you can say to this statement.  Anyone even with a low mentality should be able to grasp at that truth.  To love God is to gain wisdom.  When you love God you talk to Him and desire to study His words that He has given to you, and that takes away all misunderstanding.  You have an open line to God that is free and never develops trouble in any part of the day or night.