The Blessings of Wisdom (v. 7-22)

We are in Proverbs, looking at wisdom. Something we all need - always. In the evil day in which we live, I would suggest we need it all the more. Paul said, “Walk not as unwise, but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil…” And unless God has mercy and turns our society around, in the near future, we will feel a more acute sense of the need of wisdom. 

We have been laying a foundation the last two weeks that will help us as we look at some intensely practical issues. Two weeks ago, I defined wisdom. Wisdom is taking God’s instruction on how to rule and govern our lives and applying to all of life. Wisdom is the skill in understanding how to govern our lives in a way that achieves successful outcomes that glorify God. And then we saw how it all begins with the fear of the Lord. A reverent love and delight in God so that we fear disappointing such a good and glorious and loving Father. 

Last week, Reid looked at the last 13 verses of Proverbs 1 and the call of wisdom. Wisdom cries out in the streets to not be content with being simple and foolish but to come and receive her great blessing. Today I want to turn our attention to lessons on how to gain wisdom. We are going to look at verses 1-6 in detail, but I do want to look very briefly at verses 7-22, which tell us that God’s wisdom preserves, guards, and delivers us from the ruinous ways of evil men and women by guiding us on the path of what is good and right, so that we live a truly blessed life in Christ. 

For those who receive and walk in God’s wisdom:

• God is a shield for them (v. 7)
• He guards them (v. 8)
• He watches over them (v. 8)
• He delivers them from evil men and the forbidden woman (v. 12, 16)
• He guides on the good and right path (v. 20)
• And they inhabit the land (v. 21). Fifth commandment (Ephesians 6).

There is a kind of wisdom that is from this world. It may sound good. It may seem to “work” for a season, but in the end it will lead to destruction. Christian came out of the slough of despond, and was getting back on the path Evangelist had told him to take to the wicket gate. Christian’s goal was to get rid of the heavy burden on his back. And he ran into a man named Mr. Worldly Wiseman who warned Christian that the path he was on was full of danger, peril, and possibly death. Christian said, “Anything to get rid of this burden.” And then Mr. Worldly Wiseman had the hook in. He said he knew of a way to get rid of the burden without all the danger, difficulty, and peril. Christian followed his counsel… and it almost ruined him. The reason why The Pilgrim’s Progress is so widely adored is because we understand that and we can relate to it. 

The easy path, the path of least resistance is always a temptation. But remember, Jesus said, “the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction…” (Matthew 7:13). We want God’s wisdom - wisdom from above - not the wisdom that comes from below. So let’s come to our text for this morning and lessons on how to gain wisdom, so that we may walk in it. There are two. 

Wisdom comes from a loving Father (v. 1)

My son… (v. 1)

These two words are not throwaway words. They are not spoken at random, and are not without meaning. Of course the human author is Solomon speaking, and he is speaking to his son. But the divine Author is God and he is speaking to us as his children. It is the Father’s voice that speaks to us here in the proverbs. Isn’t that amazing. People want to hear God speak. Many clamor for a word from God. Here it is. Do you hear him speaking? Our Father speaks to us. 

Look at verse 6 which says, “From his mouth come knowledge and understanding”. From his mouth. From the very mouth of God comes knowledge, understanding, wisdom. Our Father speaks his words of wisdom to us. This reminds me of the apostle Paul’s pinnacle teaching about scripture, where he gets to the essential quality and nature of scripture. 2 Timothy 3:16,

All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 

What are the scriptures? God-breathed. The bible is God opening his mouth and exhaling. And so Proverbs 2:6 says, “from God’s mouth come knowledge and understanding”. 2 Timothy 3 says, “All scripture is breathed out of God’s mouth”. Brothers and sisters, we have the book of wisdom from the very mouth of God our Father (the bible). It is through the scriptures that our Father speaks to us. I don’t doubt that God can communicate in unique ways and does at times. However, I highly doubt that he would communicate that way to someone who forsakes the bible; who sees the bible as a second-rate communication from God. How blessed we are to have the very words of God written? Massively blessed! Here’s the wonderful thing about having God’s divine revelation for us in scripture:

In scripture, God speaks with clarity. Have you ever heard someone who claimed to be channeling a message from God and thought to yourself, “I have no earthly idea what that person just said.” They just strung a bunch of words together. God’s word is clear. There’s clarity. That doesn’t mean we understand everything, but God expects us to be able with study and prayer and meditation - and obviously with the help of the Holy Spirit. 

But here’s something else. In scripture God speaks with authority (“Thus says the LORD”). What he says is final. What he says, he says as the One who made the heavens and earth, who sustains every star in the galaxy and every subatomic particle you cannot see, and who sustains you every moment of every day. What he says is not up for debate. He is the final authority on all matters of life and godliness. There is no knowledge hidden from him, for it all comes from him. He knows the hidden thoughts of man, he knows our weaknesses, temptations. He knows our psychological makeup. The library of congress, with its 173 million items is a drop in the bucket in terms of authoritative knowledge to our God. We are called to listen attentively, receive humbly, believe, and obey.

And finally, in scripture God always speaks what is good for us. What is it that our Father speaks? WISDOM. Verse 6 says, “For the LORD gives wisdom, from his mouth come knowledge and understanding” He knows what’s good for us. Truly when it comes to God, Father knows best. He is the “all wise God” (Romans 16:27), and as such he always speaks what is wise and good and right and trustworthy. Proverbs 8:6-9:

Hear, for I will speak noble things, and from my lips will come what is right, for my mouth will utter truth; wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are righteous; there is nothing twisted or crooked in them. They are all straight to him who understands, and right to those who find knowledge.

When we realize that our God is all wise, the only wise God, and that he speaks with clarity and authority and for our good, and he is our Father, how ready should we be, how thrilled should we be to receive his wisdom? But O, how often we spurn it. We turn away from it, because we know better. Or because we feel something so strongly. A friend (B. Luce) and a compass.

We need to cultivate our hearts to hear the Father speaking through the scriptures, and hear with an eagerness to believe and obey what he says. Over and over again, the proverbs entreat us to hear our Father speaking:

• My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandment (3:1)
• My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings (4:20)
• My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you (7:1)
• My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways (23:26)

[transition: wisdom comes FROM the mouth of our wise, loving, good Father which he speaks to us from His word - the bible.] Here’s another lesson we need to learn. 

Wisdom comes to children who seek it (v. 1-5)

Verses 1-5 make it clear that wisdom doesn’t come to those who are passively waiting for it to float down from the sky. It comes to those who seek to obtain it. Listen to verses 1-5: 

My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive and inclining your heart to understanding; yes if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then (THEN) you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.

Wisdom comes to those who seek it. You might think why doesn’t God sprinkle it on us whether we seek it or not? I would respond by asking, “Why would God give something so precious to those who don’t care about it?” Jesus gave us a kind of proverb in Matthew 7:6 when he said, “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before pigs…” I think what Jesus means is don’t give something precious to those who have no value for it and will simply trample it under foot. 

Not only that, but there is great benefit even in the process of seeking wisdom. Truly hunting for understanding of truth and God’s wisdom as though you were looking for a hidden city of gold, yields great blessing. This is part of God’s training program. 

What we see here in verses 1-4 is a series of if statements which culminates in verse 5. It’s a series of if statements that culminates with the “then”. If / then. If, if, if, if, then. And of course the conclusion of the series of if statements is, “then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God”. That’s the key, right? That’s what we are going after. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; it’s basic principle of wisdom. You cannot get to first base in wisdom without the fear of God. And all of your growth in wisdom will be connected to a true fear of the LORD. So this is where we are heading. 

And each of the if statements is a statement of parallelism. In Hebrew writing this is a common technique where two statements are made that correspond closely in order to make a point. This is meant to help further clarify the meaning. There are these statements and remember the point is that wisdom comes from the Father and it comes to those who seek it. So let’s think about each one of these parallelisms:

First Parallelism:

If you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you… (v. 1)

If you receive my words. The word receive here is not primarily a passive word. It means to take hold of, acquire, or to seize. To receive the words of God is to lay hold of them for what they truly are - namely the words of God. Absolutely true, authoritative, life giving, and for our good.

And treasure up my commandments with you. What’s this? To treasure up God’s commands. To treasure up - to store, to hide, to lay up. Psalm 119:11 says, “I have stored up (treasured) your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” 

** The point here is to receive God’s words and commands and diligently store them up in your heart. **

Second Parallelism:

Making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding… (v. 2)

Attentive listening. Every parent knows what it is like to have a child who for whatever reason is unattentive when you have given them important instruction. Well guess what? We can be too. But if there are any words that ought to command our attention, it is the words of God. 

I remember once working with a man who would listen to Rush Limbaugh religiously. And if he did not get his daily dose of three hours of Rush a day, he was deprived. His ears were attentive to the voice of Rush Limbaugh. We do the same. Our ears can be very attentive to a certain teacher, podcast, cultural commentator, or political prognosticator. But let me ask you… 

When the word is read (by you or others) or preached, does it command your attention? Attentive listening. The second part speaks of an inclined heart to understanding. The psalmist teaches us to pray, “incline my heart to your testimonies.” (Psalm 119:36). There is a reason why we should pray this. Because we aren’t always inclined. We are distracted, we have other interests, our hearts are inclined toward other things. When I was 12 years old, I could’ve told you all of the stats of my favorite baseball, basketball, and football players. I could’ve told you their height and weight. I could have told you where they were born, their date of birth, where they went to college, and so forth. But I also would have been the first person to tell you that when it comes to the bible, “I just can’t understand it, I can’t memorize it.” What was the problem though? The problem was I didn’t want to. The problem was my heart was not inclined toward that. And that’s the problem with us today when we make excuses like that. It’s good just to admit it, repent of it, ask God for forgiveness, and seek his help to move forward in victory in this area. Wisdom is at stake.

We ought work to cultivate an attentiveness to God’s word. If you struggle with ADD tendencies, pray and ask God for help and work to direct your mind to listen to the Father’s words of wisdom. Cultivate a heart that is inclined to God and a true understanding of his word. And I think part of this inclined heart is that once we understand what God says, once we gain wisdom from the word, we don’t argue with what God says, we don’t try to change what he says. Rather we need to say, “You are God, I am not. You are wise, I am not. You are the Creator, I am a creature. I need to listen, and I need your wisdom”. 

Third Parallelism:

Yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding… (v. 3)

What is this? What is it to call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding? Earnest prayer. James tells us that if we lack wisdom, we should ask for it from our Father. So it’s not either/or. Either we seek wisdom in the word OR pray. It is both/and. Horatius Bonar, a Scottish preacher from the 19th century said the following about this verse:

[the scriptures] must be prayed over. In the study of it we must deal with God. He has the key for unlocking its chambers; the light for shewing us all its recesses. We must go to him to be taught: "If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God." We must study it on our knees.

** Wisdom comes to those who seek it in prayer, seeking the wisdom of God’s word on our knees. **

Fourth Parallelism:

If you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures… (v. 4)

What are you looking for? A treasure! We are to be like the Gates’ family in National Treasure, looking for the city of gold, looking for hidden treasures. Which is not easily found. We shouldn’t expect little effort to yield great treasure. Proverbs 25:2 says, “It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.”

God hides the treasure of his wisdom, not from us, but for us - to be sought out and found. John Piper once said regarding the study of scripture and discovering glorious truth, “raking will give you leaves, digging will yield diamonds.” And so we are to be digging, searching, constantly on the hunt for the wisdom of God, so we may walk in it. So we have these four conditions, if this, if this, if this, if this, then what? “You will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.” the basic and ruling principle of wisdom. 

What more important thing could you expend yourself for than to get wisdom. The wisdom from above. It comes from the Father. It comes to his children who seek it.