Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone.
Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper, called brass in the King James Version, is smelted or melted out of stone. The saying belongs to Job's opening description of mining as part of his praise of God's power and wisdom, a chapter that praises that wisdom which His children learn by walking in fear of Him. Valuable materials have places where they can be searched out, found and extracted, as miners labor to bring what is hidden in earth and rock to light, along with silver and gold, cutting channels among the rocks and holding back streams.
That skill in finding metals is set against man's ignorance of the place of wisdom. Unlike ore, wisdom cannot be found, bought, or equaled by earthly treasure and wealth, it cannot be found in the sea and cannot be gotten for gold, and no wealth of the world can equal it. God alone understands the way of wisdom, yet He brings it within man's reach by revealing that the fear of the Lord is wisdom and to depart from evil is understanding.
The verse thus supplies an image for spiritual searching. Divine knowledge and precious truth are like rich ore or treasure hidden beneath the surface, found by digging deeper into Scripture and truth. They are found through diligent searching rather than casual observation.
Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper, called brass in the King James Version, is smelted or melted out of stone. The saying belongs to Job's opening description of mining as part of his praise of God's power and wisdom, a chapter that praises that wisdom which His children learn by walking in fear of Him. Valuable materials have places where they can be searched out, found and extracted, as miners labor to bring what is hidden in earth and rock to light, along with silver and gold, cutting channels among the rocks and holding back streams.
That skill in finding metals is set against man's ignorance of the place of wisdom. Unlike ore, wisdom cannot be found, bought, or equaled by earthly treasure and wealth, it cannot be found in the sea and cannot be gotten for gold, and no wealth of the world can equal it. God alone understands the way of wisdom, yet He brings it within man's reach by revealing that the fear of the Lord is wisdom and to depart from evil is understanding.
The verse thus supplies an image for spiritual searching. Divine knowledge and precious truth are like rich ore or treasure hidden beneath the surface, found by digging deeper into Scripture and truth. They are found through diligent searching rather than casual observation.