"But where shall Wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
Job And His Friends
Gustave Dore
(1832-1883)
French Realist painter
Man knows not the price of it; neither is
it found in the land of the living,
The deep says "Wisdom is not in me; and the sea says,
"It is not with me."
It cannot be gotten with gold, neither shall silver be
weighed for the price of it.
It cannot be valued in terms of the gold of Ophir, in the
precious onyx or beryl, or the sapphire.
Gold and glass cannot equal Wisdom, nor can it be
exchanged for the jewels or vessels of fine gold.
No mention shall be made of coral or crystal; for the
possession of Wisdom is even above rubies or pearls.
The topaz of Ethiopia cannot compare with it,
nor can it be valued in pure gold.
From where then does Wisdom come?
And where is the place of understanding?
It is hidden from the eyes of all living, and knowledge
of it is withheld from the birds of the heavens.
Abaddon, the place of destruction, and Death say,
"We have only heard of it with our ears."
God understands the way to Wisdom
and He knows the place of it.
Wisdom is with God alone.
For He looks to the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
When He gave to the wind weight or pressure
and allotted the waters by measure.
When He made the decree for the rain
and a way for the lightning of the thunder.
Then He saw Wisdom and declared it:
He established it, yes, and searched it out
for His own use, and He alone possesses it.
But to man He said,
"Behold the reverential and worshipful fear of the Lord
-that is Wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding."
AN EXCERPT FROM THE APOSTLE PAUL'S
FIRST LETTER TO THE BELIEVERS AT CORINTH
The Apostle Paul
Melozzo da Forti
1438-1494
Italian Renaissance painter
"None of the rulers of this age or world perceived and
recognized and understood this-Wisdom-for if they had,
they would have never crucified the Lord of glory.
But on the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has
not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the
heart of man, all that God has prepared, made and keeps ready,
for those who love Him, who hold Him in affectionate reverence,
promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing
the benefits He has bestowed.
Now we have not received the spirit that belongs to the world,
but the Holy Spirit Who is from God, given to us that we might
realize and comprehend and appreciate the gifts of divine favor
and blessings so freely and lavishly bestowed on us by God.
And we are setting these truths forth in words not taught by
human wisdom but taught by the Holy Spirit, combining and
interpreting spiritual truths with spiritual language to those
who possess the Holy Spirit.
But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome
or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of
the Spirit of God, for they are folly, meaningless nonsense to him;
and he is incapable of knowing them, of progressively recognizing
and understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them,
because they are spiritual discerned and estimated and appreciated.
But the spiritual man tries all things, he examines, investigates,
inquires into, questions, and discerns things, yet is himself to be
put on trial and judged by no one; he can read the meaning of
everything, but no one can properly discern or appraise or
get an insight into him.
For who has known or understood the mind, the counsels
and purposes of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him
and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ,
the Messiah, and do hold the thoughts,
feelings and purposes of His heart."
1 Corinthians 2:8-16
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