"My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searches for he as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God."
Proverbs 2:1-5
Part 2
Yesterday: A Right Heart can Search for Wisdom
“My son.”
“If thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee.”
“So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding.”
“Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding.”
God’s wisdom may be gleaned by any believer willing to seek it!
Today: While Pursuing Wisdom, Keep Your Eye on the Goal!
“If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures.”
Seek and Search for wisdom like it is of great value: as silver and hidden treasure is sought after.
“Seek her – With unwearied diligence and earnest desire and patient expectation”[1] (John Wesley).
When we are determined to follow wisdom as we would be going after a great treasure, we may find it.
On the Klondike Gold Rush, in 1896, gold was discovered on the “Rabbit Creek” later renamed the “Bonanza,” a tributary of the Yukon River in northwest Canada. Shortly, over 100,000 people rushed toward the Klondike, facing untold difficulties and danger in their search for gold. Many never made it to the Klondike, and of those who did, very few found enough gold to matter. The surprising thing is the incredible effort it took for these would-be miners to chase after the elusive lure of gold. And even after losing everything in the venture, some said,
“There’s a land— oh, it beckons and beckons,
And I want to go back— and I will” [2] (Robert W. Service).
That’s unbelievable enthusiasm to find a treasure that will someday perish. Believer, what will you give to seek for treasure that is eternal?
“Ifs” from yesterday:
1. If you will be receptive to wisdom, listen to it, study and obey it, and make applications from it in your life…
2. If you will ask for wisdom early, inviting her to you as inquiring for vital information…
Today, the third key “if.”
3. If you will diligently seek wisdom like searching for hidden treasure…
“Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.”
THEN: you will understand and find the fear of the LORD and the knowledge of God!
To “understand” is to “perceive intelligently.” To “find” means to “obtain” the knowledge of God[3] (JFB).
Our goal as we search for wisdom is: to fear and know God.
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3).
Quote: “What were we made for? To know God. What aim should we have in life? To know God. What is the eternal life that Jesus gives? To know God. What is the best thing in life? To know God. What in humans gives God most pleasure? Knowledge of himself” [4] (J. I. Packer).
[1] John Wesley. John Wesley’s Notes on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword. Proverbs 2:4.
[2] Service’s quote Downloaded: Tuesday, April 20, 2021. From: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/klondike-gold-rush#.
[3] Jamison, Fausset, and Brown. Jamison-Fausset-Brown’s Commentary, the electronic version in eSword. Proverbs 2:4.
[4] Packer’s quote Downloaded: Tuesday, April 20, 2021. From: https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/knowing-god.html.