When Wisdom Prevails


Proverbs 3:13-20
1My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments,
2for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.
3Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.
4So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.
5Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
6In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
7Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
8It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.
9Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce;
10then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.
11My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof,
12for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.
13Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding,
14for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold.
15She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.
16Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.
17Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
18She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed.
19The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens;
20by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew.

In these verses, Wisdom is personified as a living entity. And that is accurate, as Wisdom is made manifest in the Person of Jesus Christ. All of that which is listed in these verses is a gift to the believer, because of the blessings of Wisdom. That is what makes adherence to these verses so important and desirable.

The second part reminds the reader that Wisdom comes before obedience to the commands. The promises attached to the commands in the first part of this address are not to be regarded as things that people can achieve by their own efforts or earn by their merit. Rather, they are gifts from God, received by grace alone as the Holy Spirit works faith and grants increasing knowledge of Christ. The promises portray the blessings of wisdom as it is lived out in the lives of those who respond to the Gospel. This divine wisdom is lived out in the lives of those who respond to the Gospel. These commands, therefore, ultimately are not demands of the Law, but invitations of the Gospel. Wisdom gives the reader the power to respond to the invitations in the first section of this address.
Steinmann, A. E. ©2009. Proverbs (p. 114). Saint Louis: CPH.

We respond to God with the wisdom He grant to us. The Spirit empowers us to act “wisely” because He is wisdom. Jesus entreats us to join Him in the Kingdom, because He is wisdom. The Father created us out of His great love because He is wisdom. We respond to Him because He gives us His wisdom. It’s a completed circle.

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