Search For Wisdom As You Do For Treasures, Proverb 2

Proverb 2 (NKJV)

The Value of Wisdom

01 My son, if you receive my words,
00 And treasure my commands within you,
02 So that you incline your ear to wisdom,
00 And apply your heart to understanding;
03 Yes, if you cry out for discernment,
00 And lift up your voice for understanding,
04 If you seek her as silver,
00 And search for her as for hidden treasures;
05 Then you will understand the fear of the LORD,
00 And find the knowledge of God.
06 For the LORD gives wisdom;
00 From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;
07 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
00 He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;
08 He guards the paths of justice,
00 And preserves the way of His saints.
09 Then you will understand righteousness and justice,
00 Equity and every good path.

10 When wisdom enters your heart,
00 And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,
11 Discretion will preserve you;
00 Understanding will keep you,
12 To deliver you from the way of evil,
00 From the man who speaks perverse things,
13 From those who leave the paths of uprightness
00 To walk in the ways of darkness;
14 Who rejoice in doing evil,
00 And delight in the perversity of the wicked;
15 Whose ways are crooked,
00 And who are devious in their paths;
16 To deliver you from the immoral woman,
00 From the seductress who flatters with her words,
17 Who forsakes the companion of her youth,
00 And forgets the covenant of her God.
18 For her house leads down to death,
00 And her paths to the dead;
19 None who go to her return,
00 Nor do they regain the paths of life--
20 So you may walk in the way of goodness,
00 And keep to the paths of righteousness.
21 For the upright will dwell in the land,
00 And the blameless will remain in it;
22 But the wicked will be cut off from the earth,
00 And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.

(2:1) My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you,

Solomon has taken God’s law and made it his own by faith and obedience, as well as teaching. The wisdom of these words are available to those who, first of all, understand the rich value (treasure) that wisdom possesses. Appropriating wisdom begins when one values it above all else.

(2:2) So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding;

Once wisdom is properly valued, both the ear and mind are captivated by it. “Apply your heart”: The “heart” commonly refers to the mind as the center of thinking and reason, but also includes the emotions, the will, and the whole inner being. The heart is the depository of all wisdom and the source of whatever effects speech, sight and conduct.

(2:3) Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding,

“Cry out for discernment” shows the passionate pleading on one who is desperate to know and apply the truth of God. The least bit of indifference will leave one short of the fullness of wisdom.

(2:4 If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures;

“Seek…Search”: A desiring search, the most intensive of a lifetime.

(2:5) Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, 00And find the knowledge of God.

These first 5 scriptures ares like a prayer. In fact, it is what we should all pray for. For a person to really be able to live a Godly life, you must first know what God expects. This first sentence says "receive my words". The heart is the place for the commandments and the Word of God to be hidden. If we receive into our being the wisdom of God and apply it to our heart we will do the things that are right in God's sight. Romans 10:10 says, For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. If we would spend even half the time learning the Word of God as we spend searching for worldly wealth, we would find the treasures of God. Knowledge has to be accumulated by learning. Wisdom is a gift from God. As we uncover the secrets of the Bible, We will have reverent fear of God and be filled with His knowledge.

(2:6) For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;

"Wisdom" is a gift from God, as we said. We read in James 1:5 that, If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. Not out of our mouths comes knowledge, but out of His. The knowledge is in His Word. The words of His mouth are contained in Scripture. It is there that God speaks.

(2:7-8) He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; He guards the paths of justice, and preserves the way of His saints.

God is the source of all wisdom. His kind of wisdom brings peace. You see, we are to be wise unto salvation. If we are righteous it is because we have taken on the righteousness of Christ and that is the greatest wisdom we can acquire. The Christian actually takes on the mind of Christ. I Corinthians 2:16 For "who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ. The Lord is our Protector (buckler) if we walk uprightly in our salvation day by day.
This, to me, is speaking of those who walk in the way of the Lord. The saints are those who are justified by the Lord and walk justly. For the justified who follow in his "judgments" (law), He "preserves" (saves) their way. The "saints" (we Christians) are eager to follow in the teachings of the Lord. Jesus is the way.

Wisdom comes only by revelation. Verses, 7 & 8, identify those who are true believers who seek to know, love and obey God and to live righteously. These covenant keepers alone can know wisdom and experience God’s protection.

(2:9) Then you will understand righteousness and justice, equity and every good path.

Vesre 9, is connected with verse 8 in that it is speaking of the saints. The saints shall "understand righteousness, and judgments, and equity (straightness) and every good path", Narrow is the path to righteousness. Jesus is that path. In fact, He is our righteousness. He is the righteous Judge. “Righteousness, Judgment, Equity are the same as the ethical triad elided to in Proverbs 1:3.

To receive the instruction of wisdom, Justice, judgment, and equity;

The book of Proverbs engages in a process of schooling a son in the disciplines of;
(1) Wisdom (a different Hebrew word from that in verse 2) which means discreet counsel or the ability to govern oneself by choice;
(2) Justice, the ability to conform to the will and standard of God; a practical righteousness that matches one’s positional righteousness;
(3) Judgment, the application of true righteousness in dealing with others; and (4) Equity, the living of life in a fair, pleasing way.

(2:10-11) When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you,

Wisdom is an advantage to the one who possesses it. Wisdom with Knowledge gives a person tremendous advantage. This understanding and discretion is not of the worldly, but of the Lord and His Word. A really good working knowledge of God's Word can keep you from making mistakes. The answers to all of life's problems can be found in the Word of God. The heart controls the conscious and subconscious actions of man. If the heart of man stays focused on the Lord, there is no way that man can be defeated. Thus truth is the protector from all evil

(2:12-13) To deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things, from those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness;

Knowledge of the Word of God will keep you away from the ways of the evil man. Twisted speech is typical of those who reject wisdom. You see, the righteous (believers in Christ) walk in the light and have no fellowship with darkness. In 1John1:5-7, we learn about who it is that walks in darkness and who walks in light.

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

(2:14-15) Who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perversity of the wicked; whose ways are crooked, and who are devious in their paths; a

Fools love most the things which are the worst. It seems in our society today television, movies, and radio try to make it appear that to live in sin is fun. Truly this is a terrible lie. It brings heartache and troubles in this life and an eternity in hell. The ways of the world will lead to destruction, not life. Drunkenness, drugs, immorality, lying, cheating, and stealing are part of the "froward wicked life". Not one of these things makes for a happy ending.

(2:16) To deliver you from the immoral woman, from the seductress who flatters with her words,

“the Immoral woman”: She is the harlot repeatedly condemned in Proverbs (compare 5:1-23; 6:20-29; 7:1-27; 22:14; 23:27), as in the rest of Scripture (Exodus 20:14; Lev. 20:10). She is “foreign” or “strange” because such women were at first from outside Israel, but came to include any prostitute or adulteress. Her words are the flattering or smooth words of (Prov. 7:14-20). The strange or immoral woman is the harlot repeatedly condemned in Proverbs, as in the rest of Scripture. Today those who are involved with strange women (women of the world) can look forward to diseases that cannot be cured by medicine now available. In verse 17 and verse 18 you see the fate of those who live unholy lives. The terrible disease AIDS is just one of the many modern incurable diseases that are associated with sex outside of marriage. Literally she is foreign or strange because such women were at first from outside Israel, but came to include any prostitute or adulteress. Her words are the flattering or smooth words of Proverbs 17:14-20.

(2:17) Who forsakes the companion of her youth, and forgets the covenant of her God.

“Forsaketh the Guide (or companion)” of her youth. She leaves the guidance and friendship of her husband (see 16:28 and 17:9). “Forgets the covenant”: In a wide sense this could be the covenant of Sinai, but specifically looks to the marriage covenant of Gen. 2:24 with its commitment to fidelity.

(2:18) For her house leads down to death, and her paths to the dead;

“down to death”: The destructive nature of this blinding sin leads one to walk alongside death (see verses 8-9, 12, 15). Death in Proverbs is presented as both a gradual descent (5:23) and a sudden end (29:1). God's covenant with mankind (men and women) is two fold. We must keep His laws to receive His blessing. God punishes sin. When we deliberately break God's laws, we can expect death, not life. God says in His law that men and women are to save themselves for the marriage bed. Notice in verse 19, that those who follow this sinful way of life find death. Death in Proverbs is presented as both a gradual descent and a sudden end.

(2:19) None who go to her return, nor do they regain the paths of life--

There are only two paths to take. The path of sin leads to death and destruction. The path of righteousness leads to life everlasting. The irreversible nature of continuing in this sin points to its devastating consequences. It leads to physical death, as expressed in the Hebrew euphemisms of v.22 (“cut off”) and (“uprooted”). After that comes the reality of eternal death.

(2:20) So you may walk in the way of goodness, And keep to the paths of righteousness.

The word "may" in this verse lets us know that it is our choice. It is our decision to live the way of the world or to live for the Lord Jesus. Our free will determines which. This is a decision no one else can make for you. You must decide: life or death.

( 2:21) For the upright will dwell in the land, and the blameless will remain in it;

“Dwell in the land … remain”: Exactly opposite to those who live in sexual sin and are headed for death, those who belong to the Lord will live.

(2:22) But the wicked will be cut off from the earth, and the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.

In Psalms 37:29 we read, "The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever. the righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell in it forever." We have seen over and over how the wicked will be driven off the land. Canaan became the land of Israel because the wicked were driven out. The Christians shall reign 1000 years with Jesus. Revelation 20:6 "Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years."

The Purpose For  Proverbs

The purpose of Writing the book of Proverbs was to reveal the mind of God in matters high and lofty and in common, ordinary, everyday situations. It appears that no topic escaped King Solomon's attention. Matters pertaining to personal conduct, sexual relations, business, wealth, charity, ambition, discipline, debt, child-rearing, character, alcohol, politics, revenge, and Godliness are among the many topics covered in this rich collection of wise sayings.

Without wisdom, knowledge is nothing more than an accumulation of raw facts, influenced by emotional feelings. Many highly educated people are in positions of power in the United States, but very few of those educated leaders have the wisdom needed to rule properly.

One can say that they have been educated well beyond their intelligence. A cursory look at the court system will prove my point that knowledge without wisdom will only lead to an immoral society that eventually crumbles from within. Judges are supposed to be above the fray, and immovable to emotions. Instead, the vast majority of judges today are Godless individuals who are vacant of wisdom. So their rulings are totally based upon emotional feelings.

We the people are to blame, because we ignored God's guidance in appointing our leaders. Instead of putting leaders full wisdom in power, we instead chose those who would scratch our itchy ears to lead us.

Of the 31 Proverbs, only the first 24 were written by Solomon. King Hezekiah wrote 5, Proverbs 25 to 29, Agur wrote Proverb 30, and Lemuel wrote Proverb 321. Now many believe Lemuel was in fact King Solomon and Lemuel was just a nick name his Mother, Bathsheba gave him. We are told that Solomon write over 3000 Proverbs and composed 1000 songs, but the only Proverbs God decided to preserve for us are Proverbs 1-24. Like the New Testament epistle by James, it is impossible to get a chronological outline for a study since they all bounce from subject to subject.

Along with my daily routine of reading the Bible, I try to read through the book of Proverbs once a Month. It's an easy task when you consider there are 31 Proverbs. So all you need to know is what day of the Month it is. In the Months that have 30 days, or in the case of February, I just double up by reading more than one two proverb so I can begin the next month with Proverb 1 on the first again.