Where is wisdom?

Verse for the week: “The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him,
    and he makes known to them his covenant.”  Psalm 25.14

Prayer for the week: Dear heavenly Father, hallow your name among us: see to it that your Word is taught in its truth and purity and that we as your children live in harmony with it; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen.

Bible reading for the day: Job 28 (Job asks, where is wisdom to be found?)

“Surely there is a mine for silver,
    and a place for gold that they refine.
² Iron is taken out of the earth,
    and copper is smelted from the ore.
³ Man puts an end to darkness
    and searches out to the farthest limit
    the ore in gloom and deep darkness.
⁴ He opens shafts in a valley away from where anyone lives;
    they are forgotten by travelers;
    they hang in the air, far away from mankind; they swing to and fro.
⁵ As for the earth, out of it comes bread,
    but underneath it is turned up as by fire.
⁶ Its stones are the place of sapphires,
    and it has dust of gold.

⁷ “That path no bird of prey knows,
    and the falcon's eye has not seen it.
⁸ The proud beasts have not trodden it;
    the lion has not passed over it.

⁹ “Man puts his hand to the flinty rock
    and overturns mountains by the roots.
¹⁰ He cuts out channels in the rocks,
    and his eye sees every precious thing.
¹¹ He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle,
    and the thing that is hidden he brings out to light.

¹² “But where shall wisdom be found?
    And where is the place of understanding?
¹³ Man does not know its worth,
    and it is not found in the land of the living.
¹⁴ The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’
    and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
¹⁵ It cannot be bought for gold,
    and silver cannot be weighed as its price.
¹⁶ It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
    in precious onyx or sapphire.
¹⁷ Gold and glass cannot equal it,
    nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
¹⁸ No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal;
    the price of wisdom is above pearls.
¹⁹ The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
    nor can it be valued in pure gold.

²⁰ “From where, then, does wisdom come?
    And where is the place of understanding?
²¹ It is hidden from the eyes of all living
    and concealed from the birds of the air.
²² Abaddon and Death say,
    ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’

²³ “God understands the way to it,
    and he knows its place.
²⁴ For he looks to the ends of the earth
    and sees everything under the heavens.
²⁵ When he gave to the wind its weight
    and apportioned the waters by measure,
²⁶ when he made a decree for the rain
    and a way for the lightning of the thunder,
²⁷ then he saw it and declared it;
    he established it, and searched it out.
²⁸ And he said to man,
‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
    and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, we dig and mine and refine; extracting silver, gold, sapphires and pearls. But more precious than these, where is wisdom to be found? In Christ crucified and raised for our forgiveness, life, and salvation. Thank you! Day after day, teach me and your whole church to fear, love, and trust you above anything else and to turn away from evil. I ask this in Jesus’ name, amen.

Hymn: follow this link to a beloved classic that gives further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uesejz03QVY&ab_channel=AndrewRemillard

“Our Father, who art in heaven…”

What does this mean for us?  Here God encourages us to believe that he is truly our Father and we are his children. We therefore are to pray to him with complete confidence, just as children speak to their loving father. (from The Small Catechism, Martin Luther)

Benediction: For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
    he adorns the humble with salvation.   Psalm 149.4

 

*This is now our congregation’s 99^th year in the Word. In 2025, we are reading from Genesis to Revelation, with a few interludes along the way.