Life Time Benefits From Diligently Seeking Wisdom
By: Dr. Mike Jones
Overview: The Book of Proverbs means what the name implies, a process of collecting short sayings from different places and produced over long periods of time. Simply put, a representation of wisdom derived from everyday experience. It’s also a representation of wholesome advice about the way a person should live in order to attain a happy and satisfactory life.
Purpose of the book is found in Chapter 1:5-6, “I want those already wise to become wiser and become leaders by exploring the depths of meaning in these nuggets of truth.”
The Theme in Chapter 1:7-9, “How does a man become wise? The first step is to trust and reverence the Lord! Only fools refuse to be taught. Listen to your father and mother. What you learn from them will stand you in good stead; it will gain you many honors.”
But we want to talk about the benefits of diligently seeking wisdom, which is found in Chapter 2.
What did King Solomon (whom God declared to be the wise’s man ever live, and nor will there ever be another like him) says are some of the characteristics of diligently seeking for wisdom?
Willingness – to be receptive of the words of others and to treasure what they say – stated in Chapter 2, verse 1: “My son, if you will receive my words and treasure up my commandments within you.”
Sensitiveness of the whole soul – will, mind, emotions, and intellect to give credence to the person sharing the wisdom: that means your EAR (willing to hear), HEART (willing to understand), MOUTH (to acknowledge and discern the understanding of what was said) – it’s found in Chapter 2:2-3, “Turn your ear toward wisdom, and stretch your mind toward understanding. Call out for insight, and cry aloud for understanding.”
Tenacity means to be “Gung-Ho” which means extremely excited and enthusiastic about doing something – in this case following through on what you heard from the wise advice you were given.
As Christians, we should experience (or gain) wisdom from:
Hearing the Word of God as stated in verse 2, and how do WE hear the Word of God? By: Tentatively listening to the one in the anointed TEACHER of the Word of God – then becoming like the Bereans – who searched daily to see if what was spoken was true.
Which leads us to the second one – Studying the Word of God on your own (Acts 17:11). We always seem to want someone else to do the studying, and just tell me what it says!
We can experience wisdom by ‘Meditating on the World of God. I always take a SELAH when I’m reading passages: I camp out there for a little while. The Hebrew word SELAH means “to hang” or “to measure or weigh in the balances.” Referring to wisdom, Job says Job 28:19, “The Topaz from Ethiopia (which is the Jewel of Jewels) cannot purchase it, nor even the purest gold.” The word translated “valued” in this verse is the Hebrew SELAH. Here Job is saying that wisdom is beyond comparing against even jewels, and when weighed in the balance against wisdom, the finest jewels cannot equal its value.
Praying for it – as expressed in verse 3, “Yes, if you want better insight and discernment, and are searching for them as you would for lost money or hidden treasure, then wisdom will be given you and knowledge of God himself.” The Apostle James (1:5) encourages us, if any man (or woman) lack wisdom, let him/her ask God for more of it, and He will grant it.
And in verse 4, it gives us the impression that we have to be PERSISTANT in our asking: [We’re to go after it like it was a hidden treasure that you were told about and were determined to find! Simply put, in Christ and His Word, there’s nothing but hidden treasures. And every time YOU find one, you can understand why the writer said in Psalm 34:8, Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Even Colossians 2:3, sums it up best, “God has hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Christ.”]
What do we really gain from seeking after WISDOM?
The Bible tells us in Proverbs 2:5-8, we gain the knowledge and protection of almighty God. Look at verses 5-8, “You will soon learn the importance of reverence for the Lord and of trusting Him. For the Lord grants wisdom! His every word is a treasure of knowledge and understanding. He grants good sense to the godly—His saints. He is their shield, protecting them and guarding their pathway.”
After reading this, we can understand better what Apostle Paul meant, when he said, in Romans 8:35-39, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,“For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
After I gain this knowledge, what does it do for ME as a Christian, living in this wicked and immoral world? Well, the answer is in verses 9 and 10, that wisdom provides many precious rewards:
“He shows how to distinguish right from wrong, how to find the right decision every time. For wisdom and truth will enter the very center of your being, filling your life with joy.” [Meaning: Men and women must appreciate wisdom in order to profit by it. “It is one thing to be acquainted with wisdom, and quite another for wisdom to be welcomed as a ‘pleasant’ guest.]
Exciting: What else do I gain from the knowledge of wisdom? It’s found in verses 12-15, “You will be given the sense to stay away from evil men who want you to be their partners in crime—men who turn from God’s ways to walk down dark and evil paths and exult in doing wrong, for they thoroughly enjoy their sins. Everything they do is crooked and wrong.”
And from immoral women and their seductive ways, as expressed in verses 16-19, “Only wisdom from the Lord can save a man from the flattery of prostitutes; these girls have abandoned their husbands and flouted the laws of God. Their houses lie along the road to death and hell. The men who enter them are doomed. None of these men will ever be the same again.”
And finally, we gain righteous living, from wisdom and knowledge, which leads to a ‘SPECIAL INHERITANCE,”as expressed in verses 20-22, “Follow the steps of the godly instead, and stay on the right path, for only good men enjoy life to the full; evil men lose the good things they might have had, and they themselves shall be destroyed.”