He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots.
Job 28 belongs to Job's praise of wisdom, and to praise of God's wisdom that His children must learn by walking in fear of Him, with His goodness shown through His power and wisdom. It pictures man putting forth his hand upon rock and overturning mountains by the roots in mining work that searches out the earth's hidden resources. That mining work proves there is a place for everything to be found, with a vein for silver and a place for gold, iron taken out of the earth and brass molten out of stone. The same human skill searches out iron and copper and silver and gold, cuts out channels among the rocks, and binds streams so they do not flow. The miner's overturning of mountains by their roots shows great effort to reach hidden riches, like following a rich vein of ore, so that finding what is hidden requires persistent, thorough searching.
The verse also describes divine power to put the hand upon solid rock and overturn mountains from their roots. That power is seen in carving a waterway through hills and moving massive boulders, and such works of nature testify to wisdom, power, and majesty beyond human comprehension. At God's presence mountains can be overturned from their roots and melt away, so that their apparent strength and stability is nothing before their Creator. The chapter's account of human power over the earth contrasts with the wisdom and power of God, teaching that wisdom cannot be found by human searching alone, yet the simple can find it.
With all his power over the earth, man does not know the place of wisdom, which cannot be found in the sea nor gotten for gold nor equaled by any wealth of the world. God understands the way of wisdom and brings it within reach of man in the simple truth that the fear of the Lord is wisdom and to depart from evil is understanding, which His children must learn by walking in the fear of Him, and His goodness is shown through His power and wisdom. As a mine full of precious ore holding inestimable treasures, the Bible remains undiscovered and unvalued unless its treasures are diligently searched and sought. Applied to the Bible, the verse points to studying each subject across Scripture to uncover what God has revealed.
Job 28 belongs to Job's praise of wisdom, and to praise of God's wisdom that His children must learn by walking in fear of Him, with His goodness shown through His power and wisdom. It pictures man putting forth his hand upon rock and overturning mountains by the roots in mining work that searches out the earth's hidden resources. That mining work proves there is a place for everything to be found, with a vein for silver and a place for gold, iron taken out of the earth and brass molten out of stone. The same human skill searches out iron and copper and silver and gold, cuts out channels among the rocks, and binds streams so they do not flow. The miner's overturning of mountains by their roots shows great effort to reach hidden riches, like following a rich vein of ore, so that finding what is hidden requires persistent, thorough searching.
The verse also describes divine power to put the hand upon solid rock and overturn mountains from their roots. That power is seen in carving a waterway through hills and moving massive boulders, and such works of nature testify to wisdom, power, and majesty beyond human comprehension. At God's presence mountains can be overturned from their roots and melt away, so that their apparent strength and stability is nothing before their Creator. The chapter's account of human power over the earth contrasts with the wisdom and power of God, teaching that wisdom cannot be found by human searching alone, yet the simple can find it.
With all his power over the earth, man does not know the place of wisdom, which cannot be found in the sea nor gotten for gold nor equaled by any wealth of the world. God understands the way of wisdom and brings it within reach of man in the simple truth that the fear of the Lord is wisdom and to depart from evil is understanding, which His children must learn by walking in the fear of Him, and His goodness is shown through His power and wisdom. As a mine full of precious ore holding inestimable treasures, the Bible remains undiscovered and unvalued unless its treasures are diligently searched and sought. Applied to the Bible, the verse points to studying each subject across Scripture to uncover what God has revealed.