Lessons from Job on Godly Wisdom

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I find the story of Job a compelling account of biblical wisdom. Job’s is a story of walking in the ways of the Lord. Despite its tragic elements, this story seems to be a critical lesson in the necessary focus of one’s soul. Job’s story is an ancient tale, the first book of Wisdom Literature found in the Old Testament canon.

I am drawn to Job as an exemplar of a righteous man who was blameless and upright. His standing before the Lord establishes the tension in the tragedy that defined him. But I believe the opening of this tale is a foreshadowing of how tragedy would finally define Job. It is clear that God saw Job as a righteous man before the tragedy, but a good story will often open with hints of the climax and conclusion to the tale. Therefore, if Job was a righteous and wise man before the tragedies that befell him, then how much more so would the tragic events brought upon him shape him to be a righteous and wise man. This is the story of righteous Job.

“There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.” — Job 1:1—

The opening verse to Job’s story describes a man whom all men strive to be. The teller of the story of Job introduces this ancient figure as one who is beloved by God and is:

• blameless — Job possessed integrity but was never sinless. His virtuous life was a witness of faithfulness, goodness, genuineness, consistency, and honesty. He was no hypocrite.

• upright — The biblical idea of being upright implies that Job was pure or innocent, especially in contrast to the wickedness of the ancient world. Being upright suggests that Job was straight and true in his dealings with others. Furthermore, being upright reflects faithful adherence to God’s ways. [Hosea 14:9].1

• God fearing — For someone like Job, fearing God was not simply reverence or ritual. Job possessed a lifestyle that was ethical by reflecting God’s character. He understood that God was just, and this fear represents wisdom itself. Deferring human wisdom to God’s superior wisdom was Job’s highest expression of true wisdom.

• turned away from evil — In terms of wisdom, evil is all that is contrary to God’s will and perfect goodness. Evil is that distortion of God’s true goodness. Turning away from evil implies that Job’s integrity truly avoided wrongdoing to the extent that his human will could.

These four character traits describe Job as a righteous man, a man of integrity, a man of virtue. The story presents Job as an exemplar of virtue and wisdom and the introduction to the lessons of practical godly wisdom found throughout the wisdom literature.

Job’s story is the opening of the five books of wisdom in the bible, understanding virtue as key to godly wisdom. Understanding Godly wisdom begins with this narrative. I hope to explore wisdom through the description of Job and write often on my meditations. Wisdom is at the heart of a righteous life. Please look for more reflections on Job and the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament at https://jesusmind.substack.com

It is important to distinguish the difference between a philosophical definition of wisdom and the biblical definition of wisdom.

The philosophical approach to wisdom might be human-centric in that one’s thoughts and actions must come from common sense, prudence, discernment, insight, and understanding. Reason is the source of wisdom, as the great philosophers would argue from Socrates to Kant.

Yet the biblical wisdom literature, while also calling for reason in discerning wise living, speaks much differently about the purpose of righteous living. Wisdom reflects a much broader grasp of one’s place in the cosmos. Biblical wisdom brings order out of chaos, or at least perceives order in the midst of chaos.2 Human wisdom seeks order in chaos. Godly wisdom brings order to chaos.

Job is an ancient tale, the first of five books of Wisdom Literature found in the Old Testament canon.

The Hebrew Canon recognizes three wisdom books as The Writings: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job.

Yet, the Protestant Christian Canon expands The Writings to include five Wisdom Books: Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes. The Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions observe a list of books remembered as The Didactic Books. Beyond the five Wisdom books, the apocryphal books, the Wisdom of Solomon and Ecclesiasticus, are included in the wisdom genre.

The wisdom literature possesses unique literary and theological attributes in the Old Testament canon. These books are characterized by their focus on practical wisdom for living well and understanding the complexities of living in a fallen world. The genre of wisdom in the Old Testament canon provides lessons on virtue and divine favor. These books are distinct from the narratives of the historical books and the poetic nature of the prophetic books.

Order out of chaos is why the creation narrative is central to biblical wisdom literature. Wisdom understands the created world and humanity’s place in it. Wisdom understands the place of society and human civilization. Wisdom grasps the place of the citizenry and the monarchy. Wisdom understands the place of the city of Man against the city of God. Wisdom understands the place of the created in relation to the creator.

The biblical discussion of righteousness is then the way of wisdom in light of right order. If reason is the path to philosophical wisdom, right reason is the path of biblical wisdom. Milton argued in his work that God originally created man with the ability for ‘right reason.’

Dr. James Wood, once a professor of systematic theology at Scottish Congregational College, Edinburgh writes in his Introduction to Wisdom Literature, “But I am strongly of the opinion that a mature Biblical theology must make room for the thoughts and speculations associated with Wisdom.”3 The Wisdom Movement of the ancient world gave rise to literature and proverbs in understanding righteous living. While the pagan cultures of Mesopotamia, Babylon, and Egypt focused on a wicked humanism in seeking after wisdom, it was the collection of wisdom lessons in Israel that showed a direct connection to the righteous man, a man of godly virtue, that was the result of godly wisdom as opposed to humanist wisdom.

Liberal Arts Scholar Mortimer J. Adler defined the differences between philosophical wisdom and biblical wisdom.

“The ancients seem to have not only a greater yearning for wisdom, but also a greater interest in understanding what wisdom is and how it can be gained. The traditional discussion of wisdom, furthermore, has its foundations in the literature of the Old and the New Testament, as well as in the books of pagan antiquity.

This is not true of other forms of knowledge. The teachings of revealed religion open a path to the “heart of wisdom.” They do not propose methods of scientific research. Again and again the Scriptures proclaim that “fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”—a wisdom which develops with piety and worship, as science develops with experiment and proof.”4

It is in this light that I believe a study of the wisdom literature of Christian scripture will prove to be a worthy pursuit. The biblical canon repeatedly proposes that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Therefore, I hope to begin a fruitful exploration of the biblical understanding of wisdom that Job exemplifies. It is through this study of Job that a comparative method of study will apply to the wisdom literature of the Old Testament and the entire canon.

Job’s story is one of great prosperity and joy destroyed by evil jealousy and tremendous physical and spiritual suffering. In the end, we see that Job was favored by God as a righteous and blameless man, upright and fearful of God’s ways, all before the tragic events of evil upon him. The narrative is a lesson that wisdom comes from learning to trust God, especially in times of tragedy.

Perhaps the first verse of the story foresees the end of the story. Job repents before God and confesses that God’s wisdom is beyond his own.

We honor Job not because of his suffering, but because of what the suffering taught him. He was truly a righteous and upright man. But this did not mean he had nothing more to learn. True humility is the foundation of wisdom.

I will reflect more on the lessons of Job and how these events shaped his character. It was the shaping of his character that revealed true biblical wisdom, as that journey of learning to love God and His ways unfolded. No one is perfect, not even Job. But the teachability and humility of Job show us that true wisdom means that we recognize our failures and weaknesses. Job definitely learns this lesson in wisdom.