In the last devotional, we looked at the two ways taught in Deuteronomy, Proverbs, and even by Jesus. The two ways are the way of wisdom or life, and the way of folly or death. Today’s devotional will continue looking at the two ways, beginning with the value of godly wisdom and then looking at both the benefits of following the way of wisdom and the consequences of following the way of folly, as found in Proverbs 2.
In verses 1-5, the proverbial father is speaking on behalf of God to convince his children of the utter worth of pursuing the wisdom of God. The commandments that we are to treasure within ourselves (verse 1) are not belonging properly to the parent, but to God, who Himself gives them their worth. Parents are the conduit God more naturally uses for passing down His wisdom. There are four points that are important to take out of this passage:
(1) The commandments of God are to be treasured, cherished, and guarded within us. In other words, they are to be treated according to their true worth, so that they penetrate and define our hearts. Jesus said in Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” There is also a sense in the Bible that what we treasure in our hearts determines what it produces: “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). So, treasuring up these commandments in our heart has the effect of producing what is good and righteous. Said another way, treasuring up God’s wisdom in our heart has the effect of producing what is good and righteous.
(2) We need to be careful to hear and properly understand wisdom. This does not only refer to hearing audibly with our ears, but reflects a way of life: carefully tuning ourselves to discern godly wisdom for use in our everyday lives. Verse 2 says that we are to incline our hearts to understanding. So, not only are we to tune ourselves, but we are also to labor in the Word to accurately understand this wisdom. That describes a life actively inclined to pursue wisdom.
(3) Not only are we to cherish, guard, and incline our lives to understand and use wisdom, but we are also to take pains to pursue growing in wisdom. Verse 3 teaches that we are to “call out” or “raise your voice” for insight and understanding. Verse 4 parallels this meaning by calling us to seek wisdom as silver or hidden treasure. He described this pursuit in four different ways in those two verses, which highlights the great importance of this admonition. Those who are lazy, slothful, or who just don’t make the time will lose out on so much that wisdom offers even in this life. Pursuing wisdom does not simply mean hitting the right books or doing Bible studies (although that is an important part of pursuing wisdom). Rather, the essence of this wisdom is pursuing the proper use of the wisdom that we have already obtained from God’s Word for our whole lives, making this wisdom, as it were, a living word within us. It is making use of God’s Word to determine the course and character of our lives, pursuing conformity to Christlikeness as taught in the Bible. The aim is not self-serving, but God-serving: fearing the Lord comprehensively, loving only Him above all.
(4) The result of the former three is that we will fear the Lord and find the knowledge of God (verse 5). In other words, we will have the gift of wisdom that we may know God, fear God, and live according to His ways.
Verses 6-7 then serve to remind us that God is the author of all wisdom: “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright.” We can never get wisdom without God first giving it to us, since He is the only source of wisdom. It cannot be found apart from Him. In fact, He reserves His abundant wisdom for those who pursue His ways and righteousness.
The rest of the chapter teaches us the benefits of wisdom and the consequences of folly. Regarding the benefits of His wisdom, (1) God promises to be their shield (verse 7b) and to guard and watch over their ways (verse 8). In other words, God watches over those of us who are pursuing wisdom—rooted in the fear of the Lord—for our good and continued growth in righteousness. (2) We will know righteousness and every good path (verse 9). This is the inevitable result of God watching over and guarding our ways. He will supply us with His abundant wisdom. (3) Verse 10 says that “wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.” This means that wisdom will come to define our being (our hearts), causing us to love the knowledge of God. (4) All of this will lead to our growth in wisdom to become wise in the Lord ourselves: “discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you.” Thus, not only will God watch over us and guard our ways (a provision that begins when we start pursuing wisdom), but we ourselves will also become wise, discerning good from evil and living accordingly. This will deliver us from many evils in the world (many of these are listed in verses 12-22).
In some ways, the consequences of folly in verses 12-22 also shows the benefits of wisdom, since it describes the many ways that wisdom delivers us from those consequences. Yet, it also helps to paint a picture of contrast between the two ways. (1) Those on the way of folly have perverted speech. This does not only refer to saying unpleasant, or even rude, words, but to the state of their tongue. For instance, the evil tongue is described as the “lying tongue” (6:17), the “smooth tongue” (6:24), a “mischievous tongue” (17:4), and rash words as “sword thrusts” (12:18). It depicts the state of the person himself. Likewise, the wise tongue is as “choice silver” (10:20), “the mouth of the wise brings forth wisdom” (10:31), “truthful lips endure forever” (12:19), “commends knowledge” (15:2), and “a gentle tongue is a tree of life” (15:4). We (our tongues) can either be conduits of the wisdom of God, or a tool for promoting evil. (2) The foolish rejoice in doing evil and in the perverseness of evil (v. 14), rejoicing also in what is forbidden (v. 16a). This is not only in the egregious, but in the simple and day-to-day evils that we tend to overlook. Outside of wisdom, our lives are given over to the pleasures of evil. (3) Not only would evil characterize us and we rejoice in wickedness, but we would also actively pursue evil, heaping more and more judgement onto ourselves. The adulteress is described as using “smooth” or “enticing” words (verse 16b), seeking to seduce others to evil. Evil ones become quite skilled in doing evil, often pursuing it passionately and with such fervor that would put many professing Christians to shame, when compared to their pursuit of wisdom. If evil ones pursue evil with such fervor, how much more should we for that which is good? (4) Good will be forsaken for our own evil desires, highlighting our abandonment of any covenant we could have with God. The example given is abandoning marriage for temporal pleasure (verse 17). (5) Lastly, the final consequence of the way of folly is eternal death, never to “regain the paths of life” that comes with a life lived in wisdom (verses 18-19). Death comes to all who turn away from God, who Himself is the only source of life.
Two lists are included below to help mark the contrast between the two ways (compare 1 and 1, 2 and 2, and so on). Next time we will be looking at how Proverbs teaches the love command from Deuteronomy 6:5.
Benefits of the Way of Wisdom
God is their shield (v. 7b). God guards/watches over their ways (v. 8)
We will know righteousness and every good path (v. 9)
Wisdom will define our being (our hearts), causing us to love the knowledge of God (v. 10)
Wisdom will lead to our discerning between good and evil, guarding our paths from evil (v. 11-22)
Consequences for Rejecting Wisdom
Way of folly leads to a permanent death (even eternal death) (v. 18-19)
Fools forsake good things for their own evil desires, paralleling their abandonment of God’s covenant (v. 17)
Fools rejoice in doing evil and in the perverseness of evil (v. 14), rejoicing in what is forbidden (v. 16a)
Fools pursue evil, even with smooth and enticing words (v. 16b)