“Where Can I Get Wisdom and How Much is It Worth?” -- By: Theron R. Young

Journal: Emmaus Journal
Volume: EMJ 14:2 (Winter 2005)
Article: “Where Can I Get Wisdom and How Much is It Worth?”
Author: Theron R. Young


“Where Can I Get Wisdom and How Much is It Worth?”

An Exposition of Job 28

Theron R. Young1

Introduction

The Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota is promoted as “America’s largest shopping and entertainment complex” and boasts of 520 stores to satisfy any shopping need. A first-time visitor can easily become overwhelmed by the immensity of the facility and the variety of merchandise available. But one important commodity is not sold within this great vending complex. Nor is it displayed, packaged, advertised, or produced by any of the mall’s legion of suppliers. Nevertheless, the item is in short supply in America and around the world. It is fervently pursued by some; others spend much of their lives in despair for lack of it. The commodity is wisdom. Job 28 is the “one-stop shopping center” for those who seek wisdom. In a beautiful poem of twenty-eight verses it tells us (1) where wisdom can be found and (2) what is its worth.

Setting of the Poem

With the exception of the first two chapters and about half of the final chapter, the entire book of Job is written as poetry. It is important to understand the difference between what the ancient Hebrews understood by poetry and what present-day western peoples denote by this literary form. In the west, poetry is often associated with what is imaginative, fanciful, or entertaining. Propositional

truth is normally communicated through prose. In the ancient Near East, poetry was the accepted form for passing on the wisdom of the ages, for shaping philosophical debate, and for communicating spiritual truth. We should not, therefore, conclude that ideas given in poetic form in the Bible are less objectively credible than ones presented in prose. Hebrew poetry, in fact, allowed for a great deal of creativity in viewing a topic from many angles, in emphasizing important points, in clarifying concepts, and in presenting ideas in memorable form.

The voice of this poem is neither that of Job nor of one of his companions. Throughout the book, the individual speeches of Job and his companions are prefaced by phrases such as “then Job answered and said” (19:1), “then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said,” (20:1), etc. After Bildad’s speech in chapter 25, Job responds in chapter 26 and continues in chapter

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