Job 28:16

"He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle, and the thing that is hidden he brings out to light. But where shall wisdom be found?" No, 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? and where is the place of understanding? Well, it is not on the earth, and it is not down in these dark mines where man is so quick to go after what he values.

Something of such priceless value is now tested by all that man counts treasure. Pure gold and silver, weighed out without limit, cannot buy it. The fine gold of Ophir, the precious onyx and the sapphire — "a king's ransom" — have no place here… Men ransack nature in vain to find anything to compare with wisdom, whose price is above all the treasures of earth. Would that men realised this, so that they might find the one jewel of eternal value. All else is nothing without it.

The two stones called "precious" have very significant places. The precious onyx is the first stone named in the Bible (Genesis 2:12). The same verse also mentions gold and bdellium, the substance manna looked like in colour (Numbers 11:7). We find the onyx on the shoulders and breastplate of the high priest in Exodus 28. It appears again in Job 28, in relation to wisdom. Later, in Ezekiel 28:13, it adorns with other gems the king full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

Absolutely nothing in nature can approach the value of true wisdom, for this is spiritual, not natural… "But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory" (1 Corinthians 2:7). This wisdom is received only through faith in the Lord Jesus, by the revelation of the Spirit of God (v. 10).

What then is this wisdom, of such infinite value, and yet so unattainable? We shall be told in a little while by the Author of it. It must be enough for us here to say that it is the knowledge of the truth, the nature of all things, taken from God Himself. It is a knowledge which does not puff up, nor separate from God. It gives the soul a living principle of peace and joy in communion with Him.

It is useless to hope for a fair exchange. Men weigh out gold or silver in vain. No gem of Ophir will do, nor onyx, nor sapphire, nor golden glass, nor work of art in gold, nor coral or pearl, nor topaz, nor jewel of the clearest lustre… God understands its way and He knows its place… Yet He also laid down the foundation of all righteousness, and this for favoured man on earth to hear. It is to give God His rights. "Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding."