As we move into Proverbs 2, yes, it has been a while, but we are back to continue taking our walk through this book of God's great wisdom, it does not take long for the power of what God is offering to us through these pages to arrest our progress.
Beginning with verse 1 we read:
1 My son, if you receive my words
and treasure up my commandments with you,
2 making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
3 yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
4 if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
God's Word and His wisdom is a great treasure. We are to be attentive to God's wisdom. Have you ever read something only to have to go read it all over again because upon reaching the end you realize that you really did not catch what the author was saying. Sure some of the time that is due to the technical nature of what we are attempting to digest, but other times our attentiveness ought to be called into question. Guys, it is like attempting to listen to anyone, especially our wives, during the big game. Our attention is divided and we cannot fully gather what is being offered. This attentiveness ought to be deeply reflective, a passionate pursuit for understanding. The wisdom granted to us from God is a true treasure. Like silver, we are to seek out this treasure.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
8 guarding the paths of justice
and watching over the way of his saints.
9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice
and equity, every good path;
10 for wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11 discretion will watch over you,
understanding will guard you,
12 delivering you from the way of evil,
from men of perverted speech,
13 who forsake the paths of uprightness
to walk in the ways of darkness,
14 who rejoice in doing evil
and delight in the perverseness of evil,
15 men whose paths are crooked,
and who are devious in their ways.
Here we are instructed in the value of this great treasure and the purpose for its being shared with us. We are to seek after understanding, storing it up to our benefit throughout our lives. In Romans 5:3-4, Paul notes that "Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope". Wisdom, like character, takes time to attain. It takes patient humility as we seek to grow in Christ. Through this pursuit, we learn to avoid the paths that would lead us to evil and destruction.
16 So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman,
from the adulteress with her smooth words,
17 who forsakes the companion of her youth
and forgets the covenant of her God;
18 for her house sinks down to death,
and her paths to the departed;
19 none who go to her come back,
nor do they regain the paths of life.
20 So you will walk in the way of the good
and keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright will inhabit the land,
and those with integrity will remain in it,
22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.
As we seek God's wisdom in His Word, we are equipped as we seek to shape our lives around the guidance of His wisdom. God promises the land to those with integrity. There may be times when this seems contradicted by the immediate circumstances that we see in this life, but God's vision far exceeds our own and His promises are for now and for eternity. Those who pursue treachery will have their day in which they are cut off.
Thanks be to God, that in Christ, even our own treachery is able to be rooted out of our lives, set aside, forgiven, and we are restored to wholeness in Christ with God our Father.
