Underground mining is not a new thing. Job understands the wealth of the earth is given by the Lord, but so is life and death.
Job 28: Job Continues: Where Is Wisdom?
1 "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 travellers; 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 rumour 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.'"
Job 29: Job's Summary Defence
1 And Job again took up his discourse, and said:
2 "Oh, that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me,
3 when his lamp shone upon my head, and by his light I walked through darkness,
4 as I was in my prime, when the friendship of God was upon my tent,
5 when the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were all around me,
6 when my steps were washed with butter, and the rock poured out for me streams of oil!
7 When I went out to the gate of the city, when I prepared my seat in the square,
8 the young men saw me and withdrew, and the aged rose and stood;
9 the princes refrained from talking and laid their hand on their mouth;
10 the voice of the nobles was hushed, and their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.
11 When the ear heard, it called me blessed, and when the eye saw, it approved,
12 because I delivered the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to help him.
13 The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban.
15 I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame.
16 I was a father to the needy, and I searched out the cause of him whom I did not know.
17 I broke the fangs of the unrighteous and made him drop his prey from his teeth.
18 Then I thought, 'I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand,
19 my roots spread out to the waters, with the dew all night on my branches,
20 my glory fresh with me, and my bow ever new in my hand.'
21 "Men listened to me and waited and kept silence for my counsel.
22 After I spoke they did not speak again, and my word dropped upon them.
23 They waited for me as for the rain, and they opened their mouths as for the spring rain.
24 I smiled on them when they had no confidence, and the light of my face they did not cast down.
25 I chose their way and sat as chief, and I lived like a king among his troops, like one who comforts mourners
Things to think about…
1. Look at what Job is describing in Job 28:1-4. Underground mining via shafts and men swinging from cables and chipping away at the rock face. This book is probably dated around 1500-1800BC. There is truly nothing new under the sun…or the ground in this case.
2. Is Job 28:5 a verse on the fact that the earth’s land masses move on a molten mantle. I believe it is. Those of the ancient near east certainly were not unlearned primitive sheep herders or cave dwellers. They also built dams, vs 11 and mined precious gems and gold, vss 6, 15, 16. But Job says where can wisdom be found. “Man does not know its worth, and it is not found in the land of the living”, vs13. This is the age old problem and is the difference between the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life. As Ezekiel says – choose life!
3. Job’s friends should have known that Job understood where wisdom and understanding come from, Job 28:28. Any counsel we give to others should not insult their intelligence or ignore their understanding of the Lord. Pray for wisdom before you give any advice to fellow believers. You might be the one who is instructed at the end of the day.
4. ‘The good ol’ days’. What are the ‘good ol’ days’ anyway? Job thinks that they were in the past, Job 29. We can never dwell in the past. We know that in Christ our best days are yet to come.
5. Job’s suffering seems to have been for a few months, Job 29:2, yet his previous life of blessing went for many years. Our suffering has the unfortunate effect of changing our focus and becoming an all-consuming distraction. Where does my help come from? It comes from the Lord, Ps 121:1,2. Remember even in the valley of the shadow of death, the shadow means there is a light. Let’s walk in the light of Christ even when our days seem to be at their darkest.
6. Job reminds his friends of God’s presence and his previous life of blessing in Job 28:3-25. He was respected, vs 7, by young and old, vs 8. He was known for his wisdom, vs 10 and hung on every word, vs 21. But perhaps we see a touch a pride and self-reliance from Job in verses 18-20. It seems he considered the things around him and that these would accompany him even up to death. But we know that Jesus spoke against such folly in Luke 12:16-21 where the man who hordes and builds bigger barns has his life cut short in his prime. We must be prepared for any day being our last.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Cell groups off over the school holidays.
Prayer Points
1. Pray that the contacts made at carols would continue to join with Christ.
2. Please continue to pray for Glenys Zawada – out of the Wesley Hospital on the 21st Dec. Back for rehab as a day patient in early Jan.
3. The conflicts in Israel and Ukraine. Praise for the peace of Jesus to reign.
4. Mathys has a prayer time at church on Monday afternoons. He would be happy for you to join him and to send prayer requests.
5. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you to be saved. Pray for the blessing over the new pastoral care and hosting program.
6. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Praise God for the carols and the new contacts made.
2. Praise God for all the work that went into carols. Special mentions – Dan Horne – stayed till late packing and unpacking sound equipment, Rosie Dunn – face painting, Nafisah and Krystal Beatty – Sherbet Stall, Band members Jeromy, Mark, Ric, Zac, Josh, Ben, Suzy, Ashley as well as Bec on computer. Great effort everyone. Doug Horne with sound – big effort. Finally to everyone who cooked – Che, Ric, Dan and who packed up – thankyou.
3. Praise God Doug has known some relief to his headaches.
4. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Christmas day service, Mon 25th Dec 9:00am.
2. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
3. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for December...
Q. 15. Who wrote the Bible? A. Holy men who were taught by the Holy Spirit.
