This study is from an on going online Daily Bible Study at:
DailyBibleStudy.Org | Daily Bible Study Index Page | Daily Bible Study Online E-Book Library
Job 28:23-24
23 God ['elohiym] understandeth [biyn] the way [derek] thereof, and he knoweth [yada`] the place [maqowm] thereof.
24 For he looketh [nabat] to the ends [qatsah] of the earth ['erets], and seeth [ra'ah] under the whole heaven [shamayim]; KJV-Interlinear
23 'God understands its way; And He knows its place. 24 'For He looks to the ends of the earth, And sees everything under the heavens. NASB
There are always those who will say, 'Given enough time and resources, man can discover everything that exists, and even of how it works.'
But the Bible counters that belief with a simple, 'No, man cannot figure out everything, even if given an infinite lifetime and an infinite amount of resources.'
Man has his limitations. Just as God has limited the planet earth to the boundaries of its upper atmosphere, even the universe to its prescribed boundaries, whatever they may be, just as God has limited mans lifespan to a set number of years, so too is mans knowledge limited. There will be a point beyond which man will never be able to go.
Certainly, man has exceptional abilities. Our knowledge in the sciences has exploded off of the charts just in this past century.
But even so, with all of our knowledge, with all of our technology, man, on his own, has never cracked the wisdom barrier. It cannot be done by means of science, art, philosophy and so forth. Nothing of this physical realm gives man the resources to possess wisdom, let alone discover it.
And no, wisdom is not the content of the encyclopedia, dictionary, or any other library book. Even the Bible as a written or audio publication is not wisdom. If it were, then an unbeliever, even Satan, could read the Bible and possess wisdom. And Satan knows the Bible inside and out, but he lacks wisdom.
Col. 2:2-4
… and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. NASB
Psa. 139:6
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it. NASB
Man has been able to search the seas, the sub-atomic realm, the regions outside of this planet in outer space. But God knows all things in this earth, in this universe, in heaven, and not only the physical but the causes and effects, the principles, the ends and governing laws and so forth. He invented them all.
Mans limits are his IQ, his telescopes. His microscopes, his ingenuity, and all of these and even more, are mere dim views of the near things that we can gain access to.
Man is locked in a shadow of existence. The realities of life are in heaven. We have already studied the shadow concept. But, given the vastness of mans knowledge, and knowing that it is but a mere shadow, then how much more can the full extent of all knowledge be? Beyond anything, we can even begin to comprehend.
But still, knowledge is not wisdom. Knowledge is limited to the lists of details of information that exists. Understanding comes next, and that is where all of this information is compiled into principles, categories, and order and such.
Now, one quick note. The Book of Job is generally the book of the study of suffering. But as you should be able to see, this book gives us phenomenal insight into the spiritual realm.
Job knew these principles and he lived over four-thousand years ago. Why has humanity not been able to advance any further than Job? After all this is the twenty-first century!! We have toasters and mp3 players.
