If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will discern the fear of the LORD And discover the knowledge of God. Proverbs 2:4-5
Solomon is relating to us an exhortation he gave to his own children. It dealt with the search and the quest to know God. There is no greater quest for anyone in this life than to know the God of creation and the God of salvation. The search is worth all the effort that we can muster - and the rewards will eventually dwarf any cost or effort we put into it.
Solomon tells his son to seek after God like one seeks for silver. The search for silver takes a man under ground. There are dangers in this search, but when you run across a vein of silver there is abundant wealth in the finding. The famous "Comstock Lode" in the Nevada region started just as a smaller vein of silver that was discovered. Yet when the search continued to areas adjacent to that area - a lode of silver of phenomenal proportions was discovered. This is how a search for silver goes. You research and study an area and search at great length to discover even a small vein of silver in the earth. But as you follow that vein there is the possiblity that you will find the "mother lode" which refers to the largest portion of the valuable silver ore. This parallels the search for the knowledge and wisdom of God. As you search the Scriptures - and seek for God Himself - He will allow you to find Him. The search may be long and arduous - but the finding is so glorious that all the hard work will seem as nothing.
This search is also compared to searching for hidden treasures. There are those who know of sunken ships that contain great treasures. Those who search for them scan documents that give clues in locating the sunken vessels. They take these clues and follow them in their search. They may search for weeks and months and even years - but they know that finding the treasure will make it all worthwhile. Solomon told his son to search the Scriptures the same way so that he would know the God of his fathers.
This search will yield great treasure. But our treasure is not measured in silver and gold. It is measured in discerning what is means to fear God. It is measured in what we find when we discover and know God Himself.
We search the Word and the wisdom of God so that we can discern what it is to fear God. The fear of God is not a terribly popular thing in today's society - but for those who study the Scriptures the fear of God is a treasure trove full of diamonds and rubies. We've already learned in Proverbs that one doesn't even begin the trek toward wisdom until he or she learns the fear of God.
As one searches the Scriptures he learns about God Himself. He learns of God's judgments and His mighty acts. Can you imagine being present as Mt. Sinai rumbled beneath a cap of smoke and fire? My guess is that those who viewed such a thing didn't respond with warm and fuzzy feelings. They looked and experienced great fear and trembling. Consider the mighty works of the Lord through the ages. Consider Sodom and Gomorrah being rained upon with sulphurous fire - consider Dathan and Abiram with their families falling into the gaping crevice that God opened in the earth to swallow them alive. Think about what it must have looked like to watch the Egyptian army crushed by millions of gallons of water as the Red Sea poured upon them - even while Israel walked on dry land with a wall of water on either side. Imagine the enemies of Joshua being crushed with huge stones that God was casting from the heavens - even as the sun was standing still in the midst of the sky. What do these things inspire? They inspire wonder and awe and fear! They should help us discern that our response to such a mighty God is to fear and honor Him.
There is more though. Through this kind of search we also "discover the knowledge of God." The word here is "daath" and it speaks of a knowing by experience, by relationship, and by encounter. This is what I love about the study of Scripture. We are not just looking into what is written in a book. We are not just studying so we can add to our "head-knowledge." We are studying and examining things so that we can KNOW GOD! There is a very real relationship and encounter awaiting us. God is real - in fact He Himself is ultimate reality. We search and seek so that in the end we may experience Him. This is the incredible promise that is made to us in Proverbs chapter 2. All the listening, the crying out, the seeking and searching is so that we can know the living God in a living relationship. This is NOT just religion or a set of values that will make our lives better. We are searching and seeking for THE God of the universe - Who literally made all that we see. He reveals Himself through Scripture - so that we may know Him as we walk through our every day lives. He is here - and He is knowable! That is why we search - that is why we seek - that is why with every fiber of our being we reach out to Him. We do so because He IS there - and He is drawing us into a vital, glorious, wonderful relationship with Himself. Oh the treasure that awaits us at the end of our search. Oh the ultimate mother lode that rewards us for digging and mining in His Word. Do not ever underestimate what awaits you when you seek God. Not even the first billionth could ever be comprehended of His imeasurable wealth and riches. So search . . . search with all your heart . . . search for the ultmiate treasure which is God Himself.
Solomon is relating to us an exhortation he gave to his own children. It dealt with the search and the quest to know God. There is no greater quest for anyone in this life than to know the God of creation and the God of salvation. The search is worth all the effort that we can muster - and the rewards will eventually dwarf any cost or effort we put into it.
Solomon tells his son to seek after God like one seeks for silver. The search for silver takes a man under ground. There are dangers in this search, but when you run across a vein of silver there is abundant wealth in the finding. The famous "Comstock Lode" in the Nevada region started just as a smaller vein of silver that was discovered. Yet when the search continued to areas adjacent to that area - a lode of silver of phenomenal proportions was discovered. This is how a search for silver goes. You research and study an area and search at great length to discover even a small vein of silver in the earth. But as you follow that vein there is the possiblity that you will find the "mother lode" which refers to the largest portion of the valuable silver ore. This parallels the search for the knowledge and wisdom of God. As you search the Scriptures - and seek for God Himself - He will allow you to find Him. The search may be long and arduous - but the finding is so glorious that all the hard work will seem as nothing.
This search is also compared to searching for hidden treasures. There are those who know of sunken ships that contain great treasures. Those who search for them scan documents that give clues in locating the sunken vessels. They take these clues and follow them in their search. They may search for weeks and months and even years - but they know that finding the treasure will make it all worthwhile. Solomon told his son to search the Scriptures the same way so that he would know the God of his fathers.
This search will yield great treasure. But our treasure is not measured in silver and gold. It is measured in discerning what is means to fear God. It is measured in what we find when we discover and know God Himself.
We search the Word and the wisdom of God so that we can discern what it is to fear God. The fear of God is not a terribly popular thing in today's society - but for those who study the Scriptures the fear of God is a treasure trove full of diamonds and rubies. We've already learned in Proverbs that one doesn't even begin the trek toward wisdom until he or she learns the fear of God.
As one searches the Scriptures he learns about God Himself. He learns of God's judgments and His mighty acts. Can you imagine being present as Mt. Sinai rumbled beneath a cap of smoke and fire? My guess is that those who viewed such a thing didn't respond with warm and fuzzy feelings. They looked and experienced great fear and trembling. Consider the mighty works of the Lord through the ages. Consider Sodom and Gomorrah being rained upon with sulphurous fire - consider Dathan and Abiram with their families falling into the gaping crevice that God opened in the earth to swallow them alive. Think about what it must have looked like to watch the Egyptian army crushed by millions of gallons of water as the Red Sea poured upon them - even while Israel walked on dry land with a wall of water on either side. Imagine the enemies of Joshua being crushed with huge stones that God was casting from the heavens - even as the sun was standing still in the midst of the sky. What do these things inspire? They inspire wonder and awe and fear! They should help us discern that our response to such a mighty God is to fear and honor Him.
There is more though. Through this kind of search we also "discover the knowledge of God." The word here is "daath" and it speaks of a knowing by experience, by relationship, and by encounter. This is what I love about the study of Scripture. We are not just looking into what is written in a book. We are not just studying so we can add to our "head-knowledge." We are studying and examining things so that we can KNOW GOD! There is a very real relationship and encounter awaiting us. God is real - in fact He Himself is ultimate reality. We search and seek so that in the end we may experience Him. This is the incredible promise that is made to us in Proverbs chapter 2. All the listening, the crying out, the seeking and searching is so that we can know the living God in a living relationship. This is NOT just religion or a set of values that will make our lives better. We are searching and seeking for THE God of the universe - Who literally made all that we see. He reveals Himself through Scripture - so that we may know Him as we walk through our every day lives. He is here - and He is knowable! That is why we search - that is why we seek - that is why with every fiber of our being we reach out to Him. We do so because He IS there - and He is drawing us into a vital, glorious, wonderful relationship with Himself. Oh the treasure that awaits us at the end of our search. Oh the ultimate mother lode that rewards us for digging and mining in His Word. Do not ever underestimate what awaits you when you seek God. Not even the first billionth could ever be comprehended of His imeasurable wealth and riches. So search . . . search with all your heart . . . search for the ultmiate treasure which is God Himself.
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