What is the meaning of Job 28:27? He looked at wisdom God’s first action is simply to gaze upon wisdom. Far from being distant, He beholds it as something that belongs to Him. Scripture often pictures the Lord surveying His creation—“The LORD looks down from heaven; He sees all the sons of men” (Psalm 33:13). When 2 Chronicles 16:9 reminds us that “the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth,” it shows a God who is never ignorant of anything, least of all wisdom itself. By looking at wisdom, He: • Affirms that real wisdom exists independently of human opinion. • Establishes Himself as the One who defines what wisdom truly is (Proverbs 8:22-23). • Demonstrates His intimate involvement in every detail of life, inviting us to seek our understanding from Him rather than from shifting cultural voices. and appraised it The verse then says He “appraised” wisdom—He set its worth. Earlier in the chapter Job lists gold, onyx, sapphire, and “crystal” yet concludes, “It cannot be bought with gold” (Job 28:15-19). God alone measures wisdom’s value because He alone is qualified. Proverbs 8:11 echoes, “For wisdom is more precious than rubies.” By appraising wisdom, God: • Declares that nothing we chase—wealth, status, knowledge—compares with knowing Him. • Reveals that wisdom’s price is beyond earthly currency; it is accessed through relationship with Him (James 1:5). • Calls us to adopt His value system. When Isaiah 55:8-9 tells us that His thoughts are higher than ours, it urges us to trust the One who has already weighed and declared wisdom priceless. He established it Next, God “established” wisdom. This speaks of laying a foundation. “The LORD founded the earth by wisdom and established the heavens by understanding” (Proverbs 3:19). Jeremiah 10:12 uses the same language, showing that wisdom is woven into the universe’s very framework. In establishing wisdom, God: • Anchors all reality in His ordered, purposeful design. • Guarantees that moral and spiritual laws are as fixed as physical ones. • Provides a steady compass for every generation, so that even when society drifts, “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17). and searched it out Finally, He “searched it out.” This does not imply ignorance; rather, it pictures complete comprehension. Romans 11:33 marvels, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” When God searches something, He plumbs its depths and fully understands its nuances—something no human mind can do. His searching means: • Every facet of wisdom is exposed to His sight; nothing is hidden (Psalm 147:5). • He can apply wisdom perfectly in every circumstance, assuring us that His judgments are always right (Isaiah 40:13-14). • We are safe to follow His lead, for He has already explored every possible outcome. summary Job 28:27 paints four movements—God looks, appraises, establishes, and searches—that together affirm His exclusive ownership and mastery of wisdom. Because He sees its essence, sets its value, builds creation upon it, and understands it completely, we can rest in the next verse’s conclusion: “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding” (Job 28:28). True wisdom is found by revering the One who already possesses it in full. |
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