In Proverbs 3:13-18, we see strong restatements of the value of wisdom. For instance, blessing accompanies those who pursue wisdom (verse 13), and the gain from it is greater than the finest gold or earthly riches or even our greatest earthly desires (verse 14-15). We come again to the blessings of long life, riches, and peace for pursuing wisdom in verses 16-18.

            Verses 19-20 then add another theme: God’s use of wisdom. God was able to create the world through wisdom, reminding us that wisdom is from God and is not the domain of men. If we can use God’s wisdom in great ways, God’s ways of using it are eminently and infinitely greater. It is this same God who then offers the protection afforded to pursuers of His wisdom (verses 21-26). Those verses all converge on the phrase, “for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught” (verse 26). The One who created all things with wisdom will also sovereignly help those who are pursuing His wisdom. This does not mean that harm will not come upon us, but that all will be administered by God for our good and His glory, that we may be preserved unto eternal life and for growth in godliness and wisdom…

Having laid a foundation up to this point in Proverbs, Solomon is now at the place where he teaches us more about what is called the Shema. The word “Shema” simply means “hear,” and the title refers to Deuteronomy 6:4-5, which says, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Therefore, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” The Shema represents the summative relationship between God and Israel (their covenant). The One God desires that His people also have a corresponding oneness as His people. In other words, the one and only God has perfect faithfulness to His covenant, and His people are required to mirror this oneness of faithfulness back to God (with all their heart, soul, and strength, meaning the entire person with no part withheld). We become members of Israel through Christ, and so we partake in all the blessings promised to Israel through Him. Thus, just as the Israelites received a command from God to educate their children in God’s Law, so we also have a commission from God to both pursue this perfect faithfulness ourselves and to raise up godly offspring for Him who will also have this perfect faithfulness. Thanks be to God that He gives us the tools to move further and further in that direction! Christ also obeyed this on behalf of Israel, guaranteeing that we will one day—on the new earth—be made perfectly faithful.

Proverbs is a teaching program for the Shema, which is meant to help both us and youth to love God with increasing measure—unto perfect faithfulness in the Resurrection.

“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.”

“In the plea for the way of wisdom, there is a sense in which wisdom personifies Christ. Verse 23 says, “If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.” This is like Christ’s first coming and Israel’s rejection of His teaching…We now have, for instance, the revelation of God (the Bible), and we have a connection to the One God through the New Covenant in Christ. Those rejecting the way of wisdom thus reject the truth of God’s revelation, preventing them from having a covenantal relationship with God.”

“…the ‘fear of the Lord [is] a “gateway to knowledge, [where] everything that follows is reframed in terms of one’s relationship to God.’ In effect, this makes everything in Proverbs—all the value of its teaching—hinge on whether or not one has a right relationship with God. “Fearing” God refers to viewing Him as bigger or greater than everything else, to the point that we orient our lives around what He desires for us…”

“It is true that, in a biblical book like Proverbs, we find an endless treasure trove of biblical wisdom. Yet, many seem to think that its wisdom is inaccessible or for some super-spiritual or intellectual elite. Despite this perception, Proverbs was written for everyone. In fact, since the time it was written, it has been recognized as the Bible’s education program for passing down the faith to one’s children…”