Matthew Henry Commentary Job 28:1-11

"Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place for gold which they refine. Iron is taken out of the earth, And copper is molten out of the stone. [Man] setteth an end to darkness, And searcheth out, to the furthest bound, The stones of obscurity and of thick darkness. He breaketh open a shaft away from where men sojourn; They are forgotten of the foot; They hang afar from men, they swing to and fro. As for the earth, out of it cometh bread; And underneath it is turned up as it were by fire. The stones thereof are the place of sapphires, And it hath dust of gold. That path no bird of prey knoweth, Neither hath the falcon`s eye seen it: The proud beasts have not trodden it, Nor hath the fierce lion passed thereby. He putteth forth his hand upon the flinty rock; He overturneth the mountains by the roots. He cutteth out channels among the rocks; And his eye seeth every precious thing. He bindeth the streams that they trickle not; And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light." — Job 28:1-11 (ASV)

Job maintained that the arrangements of Providence are regulated by the highest wisdom. To confirm this, he showed how much knowledge and wealth people can master.

The caverns of the earth may be discovered, but not the counsels of Heaven. Go to the miners, you sluggard in religion; consider their ways, and be wise.

Let their courage and diligence in seeking the wealth that perishes shame us out of laziness and faint-heartedness in working for the true riches.

How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! How much easier and safer it is! Yet gold is sought after, but grace is neglected.

Will the hope of precious things from the earth (as people call them, though they are truly insignificant and perishable) be such an incentive to hard work, and should not the certain prospect of truly precious things in heaven be a much greater incentive?