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The Value of Wisdom
2 My son, if you receive my words
and treasure up my commandments with you,
making your ear attentive to wisdom
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 treasures,
then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.
For the LORD gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
guarding the paths of justice
and watching over the way of his saints.
Then you will understand righteousness and justice
and equity, every good path;
for wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
discretion will watch over you,
understanding will guard you,
delivering you from the way of evil,
from men of perverted speech,
who forsake the paths of uprightness
to walk in the ways of darkness,
who rejoice in doing evil
and delight in the perverseness of evil,
men whose paths are crooked,
and who are devious in their ways.
So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman,
from the adulteress with her smooth words,
who forsakes the companion of her youth
and forgets the covenant of her God;
for her house sinks down to death,
and her paths to the departed;
none who go to her come back,
nor do they regain the paths of life.
So you will walk in the way of the good
and keep to the paths of the righteous.
For the upright will inhabit the land,
and those with integrity will remain in it,
but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.
(ESV)
Proverbs 2 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
In Proverbs 1, we learned that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Here in Proverbs 2, Solomon begins to expand on that concept.
Seek
A healthy fear of the Lord cannot be described as passive. The treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded deep into the being of Christ. Fearing the Lord and seeking Him are one and the same. We cannot say we fear the Lord if we are idle in our relationship with Him. It is not a high intellect or education that will reveal God’s wisdom. That’s not a requirement.
“My child, learn what I teach you and never forget what I tell you to do. 2 Listen to what is wise and try to understand it. 3 Yes, beg for knowledge; plead for insight. 4 Look for it as hard as you would for silver or some hidden treasure. 5 If you do, you will know what it means to fear the LORD and you will succeed in learning about God.”
Proverbs 2:1-5 GNB
Is this how you currently view the Word of God? Is it the most valuable possession you own? Do you open it with excitement and anticipation? Do you look as hard as you would for silver or hidden treasure when you crack open the Bible? This is what it means to fear the Lord: to seek Him with everything.
The Promises
What are the promises that unfold for this type of seeking heart?
- Wisdom and understanding (verse 6)
- Help and protection (verse 7)
- Discernment (verse 9)
- Self-control and integrity (verse 16)
These are amazing promises! But they are only available to those who eagerly seek God. It is a conscious choice to follow Christ. It requires us to explore a new path in life.
“Notice also the word walk, Pro 2:7; Pro 2:13; way, Pro 2:8; Pro 2:12-13; Pro 2:15; Pro 2:20; paths, Pro 2:8; Pro 2:13; Pro 2:15; Pro 2:18-20. See how eager the Divine Teacher is (l) to deliver the unwary from the way of the evil man, Pro 2:12, and from the way of the evil woman, Pro 2:16; and (2) to direct the feet of the young into the ways of the good and into the paths of the righteous, Pro 2:20.”
F.B. Meyer