then he saw it and declared it; he established it, and searched it out.
Job 28 watches men dig into the earth for silver, gold and gems, then asks what no mine can answer: where is wisdom found? Verse 27 answers from God's side, with four verbs for what He did with wisdom before any man looked for it.
God Knows the Place Man Cannot Reach
The chapter has just searched every place men can reach and found nothing. One commentator shows how easily God knows what men cannot find:
William KellySuppose it is hidden from the eyes of all living, and concealed from the birds of the heavens. Suppose destruction and death can only say that they have heard a report of it. God still understands its way, and He knows its place. The universe does not distract Him in the least. He looks to the ends of the earth. He sees not only in but under the whole heaven. Nothing is too delicate or too vast for His sight and His rule.
Saw It, Declared It, Established It, Searched It Out
The verse opens with "then" — after God set the weight of the wind and measured out the waters. Each verb says something different. The strangest is the last: God searched out what He already had. Where the ESV has "established it," older translations read "prepared it," and the comment below follows that wording:
Leslie M. GrantIn all this God declares His wisdom (v.27). He prepared wisdom, He searched it out, leaving not one part of its working without the fullest consideration. Does this not fill our souls with wondering admiration?
Wisdom Written into the Weather
What God saw and declared was not just an idea. He built it into the running of the sky. Job named things no one around him could measure:
William Kelly"He weighs the waters by measure," so that no matter what comes, the sea is never too full. The circle of waters is always going on. Water rises as vapour in vast quantities, because the power of the sun acts on the waters. Many tons go up every day. There was a measure for it all, in God's mind.
The same writer points out how long it took man to catch up:
William KellyMan discovered that the atmosphere had weight many hundreds, yes, some thousands of years later. But it did not enter into the philosophy of the philosophers then; they knew nothing about it.
Wisdom Declared, and Found in Christ
"Declared" means wisdom did not stay locked inside God's own thoughts. One commentator sees more here than knowledge — in redemption God Himself is the way:
Arno Clemens Gaebelein"God understands the way to it." Yes, in all His creation He knows the way. Much more so in redemption: in the person of His blessed Son, He is the way to Himself. In Him all the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge are hidden.
Another commentator points to where wisdom does come from:
William KellyThis is a very solemn thing! True wisdom and true understanding are not found in the earth at all! It comes down from heaven. It is found only in Christ.
A Path Already Prepared
God has done the searching. That leaves something practical for anyone who wants to walk with Him:
C. H. MackintoshWhat an unspeakable mercy for someone who really wants to walk with God, to know that there is a way for him to walk in! God has prepared a pathway for His redeemed. In it they may walk with all possible certainty, calmness and steadiness.
The chapter ends with God's own word to man. One commentator links it to the moment a person turns to God:
William Kelly"And He said to man" — there is a wisdom above man — "Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding." That is exactly what a soul feels at conversion. He may know nothing more than that. He sees how he has been in almost all evil, and he departs from it. A real sight of Christ is enough to do that, by the Spirit of God and the fear of the Lord.
Summary
- Saw — God saw wisdom first. The deep, the sea, the birds and death all come up empty, but nothing is too small or too vast for His sight.
- Declared — what God saw, He spoke out. One commentator finds the fullest declaring in His Son, in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.
- Established — He built that wisdom into the weight of the wind and the measure of the waters. The sea is never too full.
- Searched — He also searched wisdom out, leaving no part of its working without the fullest consideration.
- Walked — the searching is finished. A path stands ready, and a person enters it by the fear of the Lord and turning from evil.