Matthew Henry Commentary Job 28:20-28

"Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding? Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, And kept close from the birds of the heavens. Destruction and Death say, We have heard a rumor thereof with our ears. God understandeth the way thereof, And he knoweth the place thereof. For he looketh to the ends of the earth, And seeth under the whole heaven; To make a weight for the wind: Yea, he meteth out the waters by measure. When he made a decree for the rain, And a way for the lightning of the thunder; Then did he see it, and declare it; He established it, yea, and searched it out. And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding." — Job 28:20-28 (ASV)

There is a twofold wisdom: one hidden in God, which is secret and does not belong to us; the other made known by him and revealed to man. One day's events and one person's affairs are so interconnected and depend so much on one another, that He only, to whom all is open and who sees the whole in one view, can rightly judge every part.

But the knowledge of God's revealed will is within our reach and will do us good. Let man look upon this as his wisdom: To fear the Lord, and to depart from evil. Let him learn that, and he is learned enough.

Where is this wisdom to be found? The treasures of it are hidden in Christ, revealed by the word, received by faith, through the Holy Spirit. It will not feed pride or vanity, or amuse our vain curiosity. It teaches and encourages sinners to fear the Lord and to depart from evil, in the exercise of repentance and faith, without desiring to solve all difficulties about the events of this life.