Proverbs 2:1-9, God, the Fount of Wisdom – The Source!
January 15, Proverbs 2:1-9
Luke 11:9; James 1:1-12 “To receive the instruction of wisdom…”
God, the Fount of Wisdom – The Source!
God, to be known by man, must be self-revealing, and all knowledge of Him, and therefore all Wisdom, depends on His self-disclosure. Life, for man, is impossible without this divine Wisdom to interpret aright life and death, heaven and hell. Unless man confesses the One above him, he will yield to that which is within him and about him.
- The Gift of God’s Wisdom: The Lord gives wisdom (v.6), otherwise man in “his blindness bows down to wood and stone!” Divine wisdom, then, is a gift from God.
a. The Spring of Wisdom: At the heart of the cry of mankind is the awareness, however muffled, of his failure to find the Source of true Wisdom (Jas. 1:5a). The Apostle James contrasts the wisdom from beneath (3:15-16) with that wisdom which is from above (3:17-18). Man cannot know the true God by all the human wisdom of the ages (1 Cor. 1:21-24). Man still comes, like the Jew with his rituals and race, or like the Greek with his wisdom and idol-worship, in his self-sufficient independence to bargain with God. This pride, this false autonomy, the fruit of his disobedience, has obscured the true Creator-creature relationship between man and God. Man must, therefore, be brought to see that he, in himself, is destitute of all spiritual truth. He must come to see himself as a helpless sinner and cast himself on the mercy of God. Then, through the New Birth, God imparts, in place of that spiritual want, spiritual wisdom. Wisdom, then, must be seen as an attribute of the whole Godhead, embodied in God the Son, Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us Wisdom (1 Cor. 1:30), and the Spirit is also the Spirit of Wisdom (Eph. 1:17).
b. The Store of Wisdom: God gives this wisdom liberally to all who seek Him (Jas. 1:5b). The true believer need never doubt or fear to come to God too often for fresh supplies. God is more ready to give than we are to ask, and He gives this wisdom according to our need. Paul draws a distinction between babes in spiritual things and those who are perfect, i.e., maturing. Yes, this wisdom that God gives grows and matures (1 Cor. 2:5-16). For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face (Rom. 13:12). Solomon reminds us frequently that there is a difference between merely having knowledge and being wise. Whatever we lack in wisdom, God is able and willing to provide. He is the giving God (present- continuous tense). But there are certain prerequisites to be fulfilled. a) We must ask in faith (Jas. 1:6-8). Let Him ask in faith, nothing wavering, not doubting, not double-minded (two souled), for such is unstable in all his ways. b) We must ask in hope of eternal values (Jas. 1:9-11). Here there are no high or low, no rich or poor. Both the wisdom and riches of this world come to nothing at the end of the day. c) There must also be steadfast love for the Lord (Jas. 1:12). God permits trials for His children that they may prove His Wisdom and persevere to the end and receive the Crown of Life (Rev 2:10).
Thought: “Conviction of ignorance is the doorstep to the temple of wisdom” (CHS).
Prayer: Lord, make me such as “ignorant” one.