Karen Hollis | April 23, 2023
Reflection on Job for Earth DayJob Ch 28 1-12 Translation by Robert Alter
Yes, there’s a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.
Iron from the dust is taken
and from stone the copper to smelt.
An end has man set to darkness,
and each limit he has probed,
the stone of deep gloom and death’s shadow.
He breaks under a stream without dwellers,
forgotten by any foot,
remote and devoid of men.
The earth from which bread comes forth,
and beneath it a churning like fire.
The source of the sapphire, its stones,
and gold dust is there.
A path that the vulture knows not
nor the eye of the falcon beholds.
The proud beasts have never trod on it,
nor the lion passed over it.
To the flintstone he set his hand,
upended the mountains from their roots.
Through the rocks he hacked out channels,
and all precious things his eye has seen.
The wellspring of rivers he blocked.
What was hidden he brought out to light.
But wisdom, where is it found,
and where is the place of discernment?
Job is an awesome text. If you love literature, read Job - especially Robert Alter’s translation. Truest to the Hebrew poetry.
Job isn’t one we often go to on this topic, but the poet actually has a lot to say about creation.
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be reflections of your word to us today, in Christ’s name we pray. Amen
I am amazed that this passage even exists . . . that any reflection on mining or drilling was included in the Biblical cannon. I found this passage a few years ago and wondered: how long have we been mining our Earth. The arrowheads found in North America and made from stones like flint, obsidian, and jasper indicate we’ve been using these stony resources on this continent for over 11,000 years . . . and even longer in other parts of the world. The Job text itself is old, but not that old . . . by the time the Job poet is writing, we are using large pieces of stone to erect temples, extracting gold for jewelry, and unearthing jewels for the wealthy.
The Job poet emphasizes in these verses a few things that stand out to me: First, the vivid words used to describe what is required to remove things from the earth . . . breaking under streams, rocks hacked into channels, rivers blocked, mountains upended from roots. With excavation comes destruction. Humans have gone to great lengths and have been willing to pay the great cost, as the poet writes, of bringing to the light things hidden deep within the earth. Things to
which we give great value . . . for their beauty and for the way they help us to live the lifestyle we want.
Second, the Job poet tells us that mines are far away from the places we live, no one goes there. He may have been inspired by the ancient copper mines south of Israel, near the Gulf of Aquaba. They are far, far away from human activity . . . actually it says these places are forgotten by any foot . . . is that because they are far away or because the process of excavating renders them unpleasant to visit? The poet imagines that these places are even too far for the proud beasts to have traveled there. Far and remote places are actually where I would expect to see wildlife thriving, at last in North America. But given a choice, do wild animals spend time in places where mountains are upended from their roots? It doesn’t sound like a nourishing habitat . . . it doesn’t even sound safe.
Finally, elsewhere in Job, the poet ponders his own internal darkness and through the use of parallel language, draws a comparison between his human experience and the human occupation of mining. I might further wonder whether the now human preoccupation with drawing resources from the Earth is related to the avoidance of our own inner darkness. Humans have a tendency to look beyond ourselves, rather than within ourselves for answers . . . we illuminate the darkest places on earth and bring into the daylight the treasures hidden there. It is more difficult . . . and (if I may say
so) more risky to bring light into the hidden places within us. We feel vulnerable and exposed about excavating those depths and bringing the treasures hidden there to the surface. Gems that perhaps come out raw . . . but have great potential for reflecting divine light.
I often think about a sub-culture of young people who center their lives around getting the newest designer product . . . sneakers is a big one. The newer and the rarer the better. These items pile up into a vast collection and are exciting for a time . . . but the benefit of obtaining such a treasure doesn’t last long . . . something else comes along that is new
and mysterious . . . and just beyond the reach of a young human, longing for meaning. It is human to yearn for the next thing that will bring fulfillment . . . yet we know this is not actually wisdom.
Wisdom, where is it found, and where is the place of discernment, the poet asks? These are of far greater value than jewels or the fuel that powers our lives. Wisdom found in God brings us back home to ourselves, to community, back home to the web of connection created by God and through which all of life is fulfilled and sustained.