In Proverbs 4: 5 - 8, Solomon wrote the following words;
5 Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. 6 Do not
forsake her, and she will preserve you; Love her, and she will keep you. 7 Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. 8 Exalt her, and she will promote you; She will bring you honor, when you embrace her. She will place on your head an ornament of grace; A crown of glory she will deliver to you.”
In these verses, we find both a command and a promise. To obtain the promise, we must first obey the
command.
The Wisdom spoken of in these verses in not referring to the intelligence and understanding of man. It is far more valuable and has eternal implications. What Solomon is alluding to is the “law, testimony and statutes of the Lord”. These are the words found written in the Holy Scriptures. They are to be treasured above all things. Our desire for God’s Word should be the “paramount passion of our lives”.
David, Solomon’s Father, had these words to say about their value in Psalm 19: 10 - 11;
10 More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward.
The wisdom and understanding I am pointing to is “spiritual wisdom” and it is found in Christ and Christ alone. With this wisdom, we can lead happy, productive and fruitful lives. Without it, life does not have true value, meaning and purpose.
David paints the perfect word picture of what our hunger for Christ and his Word should look like when he penned Psalm 42. He said the following;
1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Nothing in our lives should be of more importance than Christ and His Word. May the great God and Father of our Saviour Jesus Christ create in each of us an insatiable
hunger and thirst for His Son and the words of life written in the Holy Scriptures.
In light of these words of wisdom given to us in God’s word I offer to you my brothers and sister in Christ the same commendation the Apostle Paul gave to the church in Rome in Romans 12: 1 - 2; I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Joe Beasley