Take my instruction and not silver, And knowledge rather than choicest gold. 11 "For wisdom is better than jewels; And all desirable things cannot compare with her. Proverbs 8:10-11 (NASB)
How valuable is wisdom? You can't find any valuation for it on the New York Stock Exchange or in a bank. There is no mention of it in any of the mutual funds or among the currency exchange markets either. So just how valuable is wisdom? Well, according to what we read in Proverbs 8:10-11 wisdom is extremely valuable - worth far more than anyone in the financial world could imagine. First we learn that we should take a father's discipline and instruction rather than silver. "Musar" is the Hebrew word used here and it means the instruction and discipline that comes through a father's oral instruction - but it can also mean the way this comes through the rod as well. According to other places in Proverbs (i.e. 1:7, 8:33, 13:1, and 15:5) if we receive this we receive life and the favor of God. When we reject our father's instruction and discipline, we receive death, poverty, and shame. In many ways the Word of God says that the way we deal with our father's instruction and discipline will be mirrored in how we receive His in our lives. Hmmm, a southern way of saying this might be, "Take your daddy's talkin's and whippin's rather than money." Might sound kind of strange - but when I think of the value of a godly father's instruction - it is something that is invaluable. When I consider how much I could have learned from my dad - and how much pain and problems could have been prevented in my life if I did - I see where this is worth more than silver. The second statement her is to take knowledge rather than gold. This is the Hebrew word "daath" which means a knowledge gained from learning, discernment, and insight. The word speaks of a knowledge about how life works, as well as a knowledge of the divine. A way to put this where you can really grasp it is that the knowledge God commends is knowing Him and therefore knowing how to life live to its fullest. Now if we thought that a father's instruction and discipline was valuable - we will be blown away at the value of the knowledge God gives. It is worth more than the choicest gold. The gold described here is what is known as "fine gold" and it describes gold that is highly refined and extremely valuable. To know God and thus to know how to live this life is so incredibly valuable. Nothing is worth more to a human being because such wealth does not leave you when you die physically. To know God and how to live will last for all eternity. Next we are told that wisdom is better than jewels. The word used here usually refers to rubies and other highly valuable gems. The word also indicates that these are not raw jewels, but ones that have been cut and adorned with gold and other items to make them highly valuable. Imagine if you will the entire collection of England's crown jewels. These are not as valuable as wisdom. Wisdom again is simply seeing things the way that God sees them and thus knowing how to make decisions that please and honor Him. To close out this proverb we finally read that "all desireable things cannot compare with her." Take all the things of this world that men consider valuable. Pile them all up into one glorious wealthy heap - and all these things together cannot compare to wisdom. This world puts great pride in what they consider valuable. We even used to have a show were the lives of the rich and famous were put on display for all of us to covet. The problem is that all those things are not as desireable as knowing God. They don't add up to a life where we learn valuable and wise lessons from our earthly fathers - then follow their example by learning from God Himself the very things they have sought to teach us. What is the value of wisdom? It is of such a high value that they've not even invented charts that can accurately show the true value and the wealth that comes from it. That can only be measured in the joy and thrill of a myriad of lifetimes spent in the presence of God Himself in heaven.
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"All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness; There is nothing crooked or perverted in them. "They are all straightforward to him who understands, And right to those who find knowledge. Proverbs 8:8-9
Ah yes, that sticky doctrine of infallibility of Scripture rises again with a statement made by Wisdom. God is speaking in this passage as wisdom is personified. God is calling out to men and women everywhere to listen and to open their hearts to receive the wisdom that God wants to grant to them. Wisdom is awaiting them at home, in the workplace, in the market, where the two roads diverge in the wood (with thanks to Robert Frost). But the question should rightly be asked, "Can we trust what Wisdom says to us in all these situations?" ALL the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness! Well there is an answer for us. Wisdom cannot lie to us - cannot mislead us - will not deceive us! Every utterance - every word from the mouth of God given in wisdom is righteous (that means they are all in a state of being RIGHT!). What is even better is that we next read, "There is nothing crooked or perverted in them." Crooked here means to twist something - and it speaks of those who are shrewd and cunning - those who are devious and who wrestle the truth in a direction that is to their liking. God does not work like this. Holiness means that God's motives are utterly transparent. He may speak things in a mystery - but He never speaks things with devious or cunning intent. What drives Him is His love - and His passion for righteousness and for His own glory. Perverted here is the Hebrew word "iqqesh" which means something crooked and perverse. It describes one with a deceitful, perverse, and evil heart. The person like this perverts morals, social graces, even religious things for underhanded purposes. Once again - God knows nothing of this kind of mindset or motive. We read further of His heart in verse 9. All God's utterances - His Word - are straightforward. In the vernacular of our day - God shoots straight with us. The idea behind this word is honesty. It also has with it the idea of someone who is incapable of being perverted or being partial in their judgment. Something we all need to grasp is that ultimately God is worthy of all glory - therefore - what He does is ultimately to display His own glory. What we don't grasp is that God is not being in any way conceited by doing this. To be conceited, God would have to be gaining or seeking glory that is not rightfully His. The truth is - all glory is rightfully His - all the time - in every situation - and from every person that has ever lived or ever will live - period! Therefore God speaks the truth - and He does so with absolute honesty - and with a view to the absolute best at all times. Now there is something that would be nice to have. Someone Who will never be partial to anything but the very best. Someone Who knows what needs to happen, what needs to be said, what needs to be addressed - and does so every single time with wisdom, with tact, and with razor sharp accuracy. But we need to note that this ability to see God in this way is for those who "understand." There is a discernment that takes us beyond fleshly, earthly wisdom that is necessary for men to understand the straightforwardness of God at all times. You see all the time in liberal circles men and women who don't understand - and who accuse God of the most horrific sins and the most terrible motives. The fact is that they DON'T udnerstand and are blind the true nature of God. This understanding comes from the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds. Without Him and without God's gracious work in us - we will never understand. Our minds and hearts are perverted and twisted by sin. It is only when God's grace is manifest to us that we are transformed - and that our sinful tendencies are no longer dominant in our thinking. God is offering wisdom to us every day - in a myriad of situations where we need it. The truly wise man is the one who submits himself to God - and learns to listen at the crossroads as God instructs him in how to live and how to walk. May we be such men and women - and may we be blessed by the wonderful straightfoward words of God! "For my mouth will utter truth; And wickedness is an abomination to my lips. Proverbs 8:7
Wisdom is calling to us to come and learn wisdom from her. Her call is to all places where we walk and live. Her comes everywhere - and if we will listen we will be blessed throughout every day. Wisdom wants to assure us what we will receive when we heed the Spirit's desire to teach and instruct us. Wisdom will utter truth to us. The word "mutter" here is very instructive in how wisdom works in our lives. This word means "to growl, groan, sigh, or mutter." It means figuratively to meditate or to ponder. When wisdom speaks to us - it will often be as we take the time to meditate upon and ponder what God's Word says to us. Psalm 1 and Joshua 1:8 promise blessing and prosperity to those who meditate upon the Word of God. A wise man is one who meditates upon the things of the Lord - who meditate on the Word of God. The Spirit of God will speak to us when we meditate - and He will guide us into wisdom and understanding when He does. Want wisdom? Then learn to ponder and think about the Word when making decisions about your future and decisions. Wisdom also assures us what we WON'T hear when God speaks to our hearts by His Holy Spirit. We are told that wickedness is an abomination to the lips of wisdom. When we listen to the Lord as He teaches us the Word, we can be assured that we will NOT hear anything wicked. This actually will help us to know when the Spirit of God is speaking and when He is NOT speaking. If we hear something wicked - it is NOT the Spirit of God offering His wisdom to us. Too often people make really ignorant decisions when they think they've heard God. But if they are counselled to do something ungodly - something wicked - something unscriptural - it is NOT God speaking. But if we hear truth - and realize the ramifications of what His wisdom would have us do - then we are hearing the Spirit of God. Once again the Word "mutter" is so helpful to us in understanding God's ways here. We will much more likely be receiving God's wisdom when we are taking the time to think and ponder God's Word than in doing any other activity we can do. It is the mouth of God who is speaking truth to us as we mutter to ourselves concerning what the Word of God says. God is wanting to speak truth to us - to lead us in His way. But to hear Him we need to take the time to ponder and seriously think about what the Word of God says to us. When we do - we will enter into the counsel of God as He speaks to us about what is right in God's eyes. "Listen, for I will speak noble things; And the opening of my lips will reveal right things. Proverbs 8:6
Why should we listen to the voice of wisdom when the Holy Spirit speaks to us? It is because unlike anything else in this world - when He speaks wisdom to us - it is a noble and a right thing we will hear - and hopefully receive. Our society is devolving every day. This is true because of the 2nd law of thermodynamics. But it is also true morally. Due to the fall and our propensity to sin - we gravitate to things that are not noble or right. Consider for a few moments the direction of the movie and television industries. When these mediums came out - the programming was primarily good and wholesome. But as time progressed writers and directors wanted to "push the envelope." what is interesting is that by pushing the envelope, they did not mean challenging people with godly morals and values. They meant that they were wanting to use foul language. What began as one curse word at the end of "Gone With the Wind" became movies so filled with profanity that we had to devise a rating system to protect our children from it. When started as moving a married couple into the same bed in the early sixties - has run headlong into every kind of heterosexual and homosexual immorality with a thirst for more. What started as allowing a little violence has descended into the most gruesome and disgusting ways of using special effects to depict the bloodiest butchery. We don't gravitate toward what is noble and good. Sure, we have the occasional movie where we see nobility and goodness - but they are definitely the exception and not the rule. When the Holy Spirit speaks God's wisdom to us - we will hear Him speak noble things. The word noble (nagiyd) means just what it says - nobility, a ruler, a prince or a king. It refers to the most noble of statements. We are not going to hear gutter language from the Holy Spirit - we will hear the most noble of statements. These will be things that will call us higher into the very nobility of God's character and ways. The Holy Spirit will lead us into noble action that will glorify God and do what is best for His creation. This is especially true for what we will do for each other. The other thing we will hear when God speaks His wisdom to us is "right things." It is interesting that the passage says that He will "reveal" right things to us. The "right" way is not natural to us. There are those who in their ignorance tell people to just follow their hearts. The problem with this counsel is that our hearts are deceitful and desperately sick. They are given to doing that which does not please God - or doing the supposed right thing with the wrong set of motives. We need God's wisdom - which will reveal to us the "right things" that we should do. We need revelation in order to get wisdom. We won't get it searching within our own hearts. But if we will listen to the Lord. If we will go to God's Word and read and study it with the help of God's Spirit - we will know the right thing to do. Oh, one other wonderful thing about this is that we will also be able to DO the right thing too. When God wants to give you wisdom - Listen! It is the best way to fill your mind and heart with noble thoughts - and with right actions. "To you, O men, I call, And my voice is to the sons of men. "O naive ones, understand prudence; And, O fools, understand wisdom. Proverbs 8:4-5
I find it fascinating to know that when God speaks of wisdom - that He represents wisdom calling out to men. But in order for us to be a candidate for wisdom, we must consider ourselves in need of it. This presents an interesting challenge for guys. Being a member of the male side of the species I think I can speak with some authority on the issue of guys and pride. My experience here is not just through book-learning - it actually comes from way too much experience with pride in my own life. Men hate to express two things in life. First, they don't like to express a need for direction in life. Most guys want to have a sense that they know where they are going. I've even heard tales of men refusing to ask for directions when they are lost - and everyone knows it. The second thing about guys is that they don't like to admit weakness. They want to at least appear strong - even if that appearance is betrayed by the facts later. So, when God lets us know that wisdom calls out to us - and only asks that we admit that we are naive, simple, and fools - who would think that men would resist? Here is the problem though - God is calling out to us every day. He is trying to get our attention so that we can hear what wisdom has to say to us. There is a lot that God would like to tell us - if we would only listen. Thus, the whole thing of listening is where we tend to short-circuit. There is a statistic that speaks of how women speak twice as many words as men. Most women would tell you that part of the reason for that is that they have to repeat themselves when they talk to their husbands. Our history as a gender betrays the truth that we don't exactly listen as well as we should. It is to our advantage that we listen - and fortunately God Himself has wisdom calling and lifting her voice to get our attention. That much is to our benefit. Whether we actually listen or not is up to us. God calls to the "naive ones" when he calls. To be naive means to be simpleminded and foolish. This condition is one where a person does not understand the complexities and challenges of life. He is inexperienced and lacking insight - which God tells us comes from His words and laws. We are simpleminded as men - needing God to give us a proper understanding of how complex decision making can be. We often don't grasp the challenges that are before us - and how often these challenges are exacerbated by bad decisons that we make when we don't consult the Lord prior to making them. Live long enough and you will come to grasp much more clearly that you don't have the insight into the current or future that you are about to choose. But if you will admit that you are not the end-all of wisdom at the moment - that you are not all-wise and all-seeing - and you will turn to the Lord in the midst of making decisions about where you are going and what you plan to do. He sees all things and knows the right way to choose and to go. Turning to Him is wisdom indeed. The second thing God points out about us and our need for wisdom is that we can be fools. Making choices according to our own foolishness will really hurt us in the end. We've learned already that the fool is the dullard - the stupid man and that left to ourselves we will not live out our lives in practical success that will bring us into God's favor and blessing. Some reject this idea and join with other men in proclaiming that they know how to live and what to do. Funny, they also state loudly later that the world is messed up and that people are constantly making really stupid choices. It is the classic mistake of saying everyone else is a dullard - but I've got it together. The truth is that we need to listen every day to what the Lord is saying - not just in a time we set aside each morning to seek God, but just as importantly, when we are walking through life. Gos is calling to us - wisdom is trying to get our attention. The real question is whether we will take the time to listen - admitting openly our lack of wisdom; or whether we will stumble on our way - and prove by our choices that we never had it. Does not wisdom call, And understanding lift up her voice? On top of the heights beside the way, Where the paths meet, she takes her stand; Beside the gates, at the opening to the city, At the entrance of the doors, she cries out . . . Proverbs 8:1-3
Here is a comforting passage dealing with wisdom and where it is available. Proverbs eight personifies wisdom as if wisdom was calling out to men. The fact is that Wisdom is personified - because Jesus Christ is to us . . . Wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30). This passage does not speak of Jesus as wisdom, though, because wisdom is spoken of as a woman. Thus, what we have here is God offering to us the person of wisdom - a wise woman who is calling to us to come and receive her insight - her understanding into the heart of God. She is calling to us to show us how to walk in this world according to God's wisdom and understanding. The first thing we see here is that wisdom calls to men. God does not hide His wisdom from us - He makes it available to us every day. The idea of wisdom calling is that wisdom is summoning us - inviting us to be educated and taught. Wisdom joins her voice with that of understanding - who is also lifting her voice above the din of the crowd to be heard by the naive of the world. They want us to know the heart of God - to know how God views things and sees the world around us. They want us to grasp how to make decisions in light of God's Word - to discern where God wants us to go - to discern what God wants us to do and what to say. Here is the comforting fact . . . when God wants to reveal to us His wisdom and understanding it is not in a convent or a monestary - not in a closed room filled with dusty religious books. Where are wisdom and understanding calling out to us? On top of the heights beside the way is the first location. Wisdom is calling to us as we are walking along the way - even in remote locations God wants us to know His wisdom. This location is further described as being where the "paths meet." Here is the place of decision in life. When the paths come together and you need to make a decision - there is wisdom and understanding calling out to you wanting to be revealed to you so that you can make a godly decision. What is interesting here is that the Word tells us that wisdom takes her stand at the place of decision. How often have you faced a decision - you were at a crossroads - and you just wished that you knew what God thought about it? What we learn from this verse of Scripture is that God is there - that His wisdom is there calling to us, wanting us to know the heart of God and the direction He wants us to take. Why would wisdom "take her stand" at the place of decision? Because she is not the only one awaiting the moment when we are about to make a decision. The world would love to help us make our decisions - as would our flesh and the devil. Things would be much easier if the world was not in a fallen condition. We would not have an opponent in the devil who desires for us to follow his will ratrher than God's will. We would not have a world system dominated by the devil that sends us messages contrary to God's will. We would not have a fallen nature that thinks contrary to God's ways - and is unwilling to submit itself to God. Yes, things would be much easier if man had not fallen. But . . . man did choose to rebel against God - and therefore we need for wisdom to take her stand at points of decision in our lives. The last place that is mentioned in this message to us about wisdom's call is the gate of the city. Why is that singled out for us? It is because the gates of the city were the place where the elders and leaders would meet to make decisions. It is equivilent to the political arena today. The elders, the wise men of the city met there to make decisions that would affect the entire city. As they sat there discussing the issues of the city and the situations where wisdom was needed - they would be entrusted to make the kind of decisions that would work for the best interests of everyone who lived there. What a blessed place our world becomes when our leaders are filled with the wisdom and understanding of God. We saw what happened when our forefathers put our government together with careful thought and consideration for future generations. They made decisions to pit the three branches of government against one another so that one branch would not try to consolidate power to itself. The reason they did this is because they recognized the fallen nature of man - and how when invested with too much power - men are corrupted. They sought to put a governmental system in place that would represent society and protect it at the same time. Just as a nation and city is blessed when wisdom speaks at the gate - society is cursed when wisdom is ignored there. Unfortunately, we have a system that is broken - not because the system itself is flawed - but because the men and women working within it are more interested in their own future than that of succeeding generations of Americans. They make decisions that promise whatever the people want - whether what they want is good for them or not. They craft laws designed to get themselves re-elected - and honestly don't care whether the laws will bring blessing to future generations. What we need is to see our elected officials once again far more concerned about he good of the people more than they are concerned about their continued place of power among them. Until we do - we won't see the kind of wisdom in the gate that will last for generations. Wisdom and understanding are standing at the place of personal and societal decision. May God give us ears to hear and a heart turned to what God desires to reveal to us. Wisdom is calling - I guess the question is, "Are we listening?" "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate. Proverbs 8:13
Hate . . . most people believe that Christians should not hate at all. They believe that hate is a bad thing. Yet here in Proverbs, the book of wisdom from God, we have a command to hate! Let's take a look and see how God calls us to be a hater . . . of sin and evil. "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil . . . here is where it all starts. It starts with a respect and honor for God Himself. We will never be wise until we understand that God is great - greater than all others and penultimate! That respect, honor, and yes fear will move us toward wisdom - because what is penultimate in our lives is what will eventually govern us. That honor and respect also means that we will hate evil. Hate . . . This Hebrew word means to hate, to despise, to dislike something or someone and thus to be hostile toward it and loathe it. The statement, God doesn't hate anyone is not theologically sound. According to Psalm 11:5, God hates those who love violence. We learn in Hosea 9:15 and Amos 6:8 that God detests and hates those who turn to evil and choose it instead of Him. Psalm 5:5 makes is clear that God hates all those who love evil. Rather than try to do an exhaustive study on this - let's realize at this point that God hates certain things - and yes - He hates certain people. Here is the fact of this passage - if we honor and respect God - we will hate evil. We will loathe and despise it with everything within us. The proverb goes on to say, we hate several things specifically. Pride . . . we hate pride. Pride has an interesting root word that instructs us greatly. The root word means to rise up, to lift up, and thus to exalt. There is only One Who sould be lifted up and raised up and exalted. God is that One and His interests and desires should always reign supreme in our lives. Problem is that they don't - and we lift ourselves up and exalt ourselves as the authority in our lives. We decide we know best - and we are adequate for life and for everything. This is the root of pride - when we choose to exalt self above God. This we should HATE! Arrogance . . . this is pride in action. Pride indicates the attitude that a person has that is independent of God - the one who thinks they can live apart from Him. Arrogance is when a person acts upon that pride and lives in a way that no longer exalts and honors God. We act arrogantly when we lift up our own thinking and reasoning above that of God. That kind of action we should HATE! The Evil Way . . . the word way is the often used word "derek" and it again refers to a lifestyle - a way a person walks and lives their lives. Note here we've moved from the attitude of pride - to the acting out of that pride in arrogance - and now we see the fruition of many acts of arrogance in an evil lifestyle and way of living. When we choose not to honor or lift up God, but rather lift up ourselves over and over again - we develop an entire lifestyle. God hates a lifestyle that ignores and dishonors Him - and we should HATE it too. The Perverted Mouth . . . This is a mouth that deviates and distorts the Lord's ways and turns from Him. It is corrupt and deceptive speech - a distortion of what is straight and right. When a prideful lifestyle and arrogant actions prevail in our lives - we will then justify them by speaking what is perverted. We will justify our lives - and as we do - we will distort God's ways - and deviate from them in what we say. Romans 1 says that the wicked not only live the way they do - knowing it is not God's way - but they also heartily encourage others to do the same thing. God does hate certain things - and He lists them here for us to learn and to avoid. The wise man learns these things - and realizes that one of the most foolish things in life to do is to anger and enrage the living God and embrace what He hates. |
Proverb a DayEach day, we'll take a look at a verse from the chapter of Proverbs for the day. Our hope is to gain wisdom each day - and from that wisdom - to have understanding to make godly decisions in the throes of everyday life. Thank you for visiting our website! Everything on this site is offered for free. If, however, you would like to make a donation to help pay for its continued presence on the internet, you can do that by clicking here. The only thing we ask is that you give first to the local church you attend. Thank you!
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