...nor can it be exchanged for bitcoin

Been absorbing myself in the poetry and theodicy of Job lately (with the friendly companionship of John Goldingay's Job for Everyone study guide). I'm struck by how much, and yet how little, human experience has changed since Job's day [1]. Inspired by chapter 28 (and, in part, Isaiah 40-45), as well as everybody's favourite application of blockchain technology...

(N.B This is highly unlikely to be without technical error. So, if you don't know about Bitcoin or chip production, please assume I am wrong somewhere; if you do, please forgive me, and tell me where...)

The Bible (particularly in Isaiah and the other books of the prophets) has a lot to say about the foolishness of trusting things which we invent or construct ourselves. Such 'idols' will not satisfy, nor rescue and protect. Wisdom as a treasure to be searched for diligently is a recurring motif, especially (unsurprisingly) in the 'wisdom' literature books of the Old Testament (of which Job is the first, when taken in Protestant canonical order). It is incalculably more precious than every imaginable material possession...

It cannot be bought with the finest gold,
      nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir,
      with precious onyx or lapis lazuli.
Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it,
      nor can it be had for jewels of gold.
Coral and jasper are not worthy of mention;
      the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.
The topaz of Cush cannot compare with it;
      it cannot be bought with pure gold. (Job 28:15-19, NIV)

I don't think it's much of a stretch to imagine that the same applies to entries on a public distributed ledger.

How then to obtain it? where shall it be found? "It is hidden from the eyes of all living," laments Job (Job 28:21). "The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight." (Proverbs 4:7) – are you saying I need to somehow bootstrap this?!

Fortunately, the writer of Job gives a little bit more of a hint at the end of the chapter: "And [God] said to the human race, ‘The fear of the Lord – that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.’" (Job 28:28) Or, as Goldingay translates it, "submission to the Lord is insight" (John Goldingay, Job for Everyone, p132, emphasis my own). Submission. To a Divine Being of debated existence. It's hardly a solution set to 'sell' well in the current market. But, for what it's worth, these words of Martin Luther (unlike certain of his other words, which do not bear repeating) sum it up for me: “I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess.”

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[1] Goldingay describes Job's story as "set in a period like Abraham's" (i.e. the Patriarchal Age, c.2000BC perhaps) but written later (probably around 700-400 BC according to Wikipedia).

[Thumbnail image CC from zcopley on Flickr]

[Edited December 2017.]