The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’ and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
Job has just described how far mining reaches — men sink shafts where no bird flies and turn mountains over. Then he asks creation itself for wisdom, and both the deep and the sea answer that they do not have it.
The reach of human search
The verse follows a picture of human skill and industry. One writer notes how far that skill had already gone in Job's day, and how little it found:
F. B. HoleIn his days men were mining: it may have been a new pursuit then, whether for iron or copper, for gold or silver or gems. They dig down, they divert the underground stream, they make paths that no strong beast or sharp-eyed bird has ever travelled. But in all this searching they never find wisdom... Men may discover much, and since Job's day they have discovered far more, but wisdom eludes them.
Two witnesses that answer no
The deep and the sea speak here, and both deny holding what man wants. One writer sets their answer next to man's own failure to find wisdom or pay for it:
Samuel RidoutBut while man is told to seek, this wisdom is not found in nature, nor by human effort... Man, frail mortal, does not know and does not have the price to obtain it, for it is not found in the land of the living... In the deepest depths of the abyss — "the waters under the earth" — the call for wisdom awakens only the reply, "It is not in me." The wide sea, in all its vast expanse, does not hold this priceless treasure. Nature, on its own, cannot give even a simple clue to this heavenly, wonderful good.
Riches below, but not wisdom
The deep is not empty, yet what fills it is not wisdom. One writer points to where wisdom does come from:
William KellyTrue wisdom and true understanding are not found in the earth at all! It comes down from heaven. It is found only in Christ; and Christ had not yet come... "Therefore the deep says, 'It is not in me.'" There are silver and gold in the deep, and other things like them, and precious stones.
Mining brings up riches. Kelly names what drives that search:
William KellyNo, there is no wisdom in all that. There is self in all that. There is what will make a man rich; there is what will bring money and perhaps distinction; but where shall wisdom be found?
Moral things and material things
Why has the sea no answer? One writer points to the gap between material things and moral ones:
A. J. PollockMoral things are greater than material things. Man is after all greater than the whole of the material universe. Inanimate creation cannot commune with God. Man can. Here stands his greatness, as given by God, and his responsibility.
Where the search ends
Job does not leave the question open. The chapter closes with God's own answer:
W. W. FeredayThe depths of the earth will not reveal it, and its value far exceeds that of gold and rubies. God alone can declare its true nature and value, "and to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.'"... Therefore until God gets His rightful place in a man's mind and heart he is incapable of viewing anything wisely. His thoughts are out of centre. His beginning is all wrong.
Ridout adds one more turn. Knowing God changes what a person hears in the same creation:
Samuel RidoutAnd yet, when once God is known, we find all nature eloquent of Him. Those depths below and above declare His glory and power. The "great and wide sea" tells of the depth of His wisdom, care and goodness... How sad it is to see men of vast knowledge, of profound reasoning powers, gazing into the glorious heavens and failing to find God or wisdom there... How blessed it is then to have the true wisdom — "Christ the wisdom of God, and the power of God."
Summary
- Where man digs — human skill reaches where no beast or bird has walked, and brings up gold, silver and gems. It has never brought up wisdom.
- Where creation answers — the deep and the sea both say wisdom is not with them. Nature cannot give even a clue.
- Where the mistake lies — men search the material world for a moral treasure. Man alone can commune with God, and that is his greatness.
- Where God speaks — God's own answer is the fear of the Lord and turning away from evil. Until God holds His rightful place in a man's heart, his thoughts stay out of centre.
- Where wisdom lives — writers point to Christ, the wisdom of God. Once a person knows Him, the same silent depths and seas speak of His glory.