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Job 28:7-8
7 There is a path [nathiyb] which no fowl [`ayit] knoweth [yada`], and which the vulture's ['ayah] eye [`ayin] hath not seen [shazaph]:
8 The lion's [shachats] whelps [ben] have not trodden [darak] it, nor the fierce lion [shachal] passed [`adah] by it. KJV-Interlinear
7 'The path no bird of prey knows, Nor has the falcon's eye caught sight of it. 8 'The proud beasts have not trodden it, Nor has the fierce lion passed over it. NASB
The Bible discerns between precious things and non-precious things. Typically, wood, hay, and stubble are viewed as useless and with little if any value. They deteriorate quickly and are thrown out or trampled over.
On the other hand, gold, silver, and precious stones are things of great value. Their value is intrinsic and they are never thrown out.
In life there are things of value and things of no value. Using these same examples, the wood, hay, and stubble of life are the representations of everything in this world. Anything and everything in this world is nothing more than a shadow, vanity, emptiness, nothingness. Everything lies either on or beneath the earth, and man has to expend great effort in order to acquire or manufacture it.
Unlike the foods which come from the earth, gold and such things are sought after despite their being hidden.
Food grows on the surface. Food utilizes the light and is relatively easy to tend. Man does not have to place himself in danger in order to plant, grow and harvest corn for example.
Food sustains life, while jewels serve only to accessorize life.
In the spiritual realm, gold, silver, and precious stones represent the intrinsic value of infinite treasure. Treasure which lasts forever and is of such value as to far surpass the collective total of everything on this earth which has ever existed.
Man looks at doctrine, and looks at the possibilities of hunting for gold, building buildings, getting involved in any worldly function, and the Bible is left behind.
But here we have the birds who have such keen eyesight, that they can see something of value from great distances. Lions, or predatory and fierce animals, know danger even for them, and they are smart enough to avoid danger, and they are but animals.
But man will dig tunnels, shafts, and go into the most extreme places, dangerous places, in order to obtain something which they believe is valuable, but in the big picture, is not.
Birds will not venture into the dug out shafts. Wild and fierce beasts will not venture into, but will avoid the dug out shafts, and they again, are but animals. Animals exercise common sense even though they lack the superior intellect of humanity.
Man has the scriptures right in front of his eyes, in his ears, within his thinking mind, but tends to ignore them. The scriptures are the most valuable thing in existence, and are ignored. Even with mans superior intellect, common sense seems to be lacking as far as setting up ones priorities in life.
Man will pursue with great vigor, the hidden, imperceptible and inaccessible treasures of the earth. Man will busy himself with the various forms of human activity which are common to humanity. But when doctrine is given, doctrine whose value far exceeds all of the gold, silver, and precious stones that exist on the planet, then it is rejected, tossed aside as garbage.
