Proverbs 2
15 April, 2007

Listen to this word puzzle. Each and every word in this list has the same
unusual uniqueness in common. Here are the words: assess, banana, dresser,
grammar, potato, revive, uneven, voodoo. What do these words have in common?
If you get the answer it’s because you’re able to achieve some insight into
the problem that leads to a solution. That insight is based on some
knowledge of words and the like, but it is different from that knowledge. It
is something more than just knowledge. I’ve gone through all of this to give
you an idea of what wisdom is. Wisdom is the ability to see the solution,
the right response to some situation. That ability is based on some things
that you know, but it is separate from that knowledge. It is this intangible
something that enables you to see what’s really going on and how to best
respond. That’s wisdom, and it’s no wonder that we find ourselves praying
for it so often. And yet, I think that I can say that there is a fairly
widespread pessimism in the Church about actually becoming wise. Just as
some of you thought, ‘I could never figure out the answer to that word
puzzle’, likewise many of you also think, ‘I could never become really wise.
’ Jesus says that you are wrong. He holds out to you, to all of you, the
hope of gaining wisdom, real, practical wisdom. So, this morning we’re going
to take a look at wisdom so that you might be able to live this life well,
that is, to live it wisely.

The first thing that I want you to see is the assumption and expectation of
our text. The text urges you to become wise because it assumes that you can.
That’s the point of the father’s comments to his son. ‘My son, if you do
what I’m telling you, then you will become wise.’ Wisdom is not the
possession of some elite. It is something that you can possess. This makes
complete sense if you consider some other Scriptures. ‘…in Jesus are hidden
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.’ [Colossians 2:3] But that wisdom
is not just for Him. Paul writes, ‘He is the source of your life in Christ
Jesus, whom God made our wisdom…’ [1 Corinthians 1:30] The wisdom of Jesus
is the heritage of every Christian. The ability to understand life and to
choose well is part of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. So, no one
here should tell himself, ‘I could never become wise.’ The Gospel says
otherwise.

But, what is it that you need to do to gain this wisdom? Let’s start with
this from our text. ‘For the Lord gives wisdom…’ Wisdom is a gift. It’s
something that God gives. And that leads us to something James wrote. ‘If
any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all
without reproach, and it will be given him.’ Wisdom is a gift that God gives
to those who ask Him for it. So, you need not be discouraged as you face the
confusion of this life. There is an answer to the difficult situations that
confront you. Insight into what to do can be yours so that you can solve the
puzzles of life. Ask! After all, didn’t Jesus say, ‘If you then, who are
evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your
Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him’? But there
are still some who doubt. They have, in fact, asked, but they haven’t seen
much change. They don’t feel any wiser. And here’s one reason why. Too often
Christians pray and ask for wisdom but then do nothing else. Is God’s method
of giving wisdom for you to ask and then do nothing? Please remember that
God ordinarily uses means to give us what we need. And so, we need to pray –
most definitely. But then we need to do what Proverbs urges upon us. If you
would have wisdom, then you need to also heed what it is telling you to do.
Prayer alone is rarely the answer to our needs. There are things to be done.

Let’s explore this. You may have noticed that our text has an ‘if/then’
structure to it. In fact, there are two ‘thens’ in our text. The first is in
verse five and following. ‘…then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.’ This talks about the fruit of wisdom in our
relationship with God. The second is in verse nine and following. ‘Then you
will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path…’ This
talks about the fruit of wisdom in our relationship with our neighbor.
Wisdom answers the sometimes perplexing question, ‘How do I love God and
neighbor in this situation?’ The promise of the text is that you can know
how to answer that question in the many different ways it comes at you. But
to be blessed with that wisdom there are things you need to do. And here we
come to the ‘if’ part of the text. Listen: ‘My son, if you receive my words
and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to
wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for
insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures…’ Wisdom is a gift of the free
grace of Jesus. And yet, you will never receive it if you do not work hard
to get it. So, what do we need to do? The key is where the father starts in
his exhortation to his son. ‘… receive my words …’ Even as this father spoke
to his son, your Father in heaven speaks to you. ‘… receive My words…’
Wisdom is gained by seeking for it in Scripture. ‘Oh how I love your law! It
is my meditation all the day. Your commandment makes me wiser than my
enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my
teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.’ [Psalm 119:97-99] Do you
want to be wise? Mull over the Word of God. Meditate on it, and have it with
you, in your heart, always. And if you would meditate on it well you need to
do that in the context of real world questions. How do I deal not just with
evil people but evil institutions? What does it mean for me to be a good
steward of the earth? How do I cultivate anger as a Godly response to the
wickedness that I see? How do I love this woman in this situation? Real
world questions. This takes more than just memorizing Bible verses. It also
takes asking the hard questions that come from living in post-modern America
in the 21st century and then working to find God’s answers to them in His
Word. Here, I would have you consider the education of your children. How
much of that training is given over to the careful mulling over of Scripture
especially as that relates to real world questions that come up in the study
of things like history, science and civics? It makes no sense for our
children to study long and hard on their subjects with Scripture effectively
relegated to the sidelines. Diligent students of this sort will become very
knowledgeable adults, but they will not be very wise in using that
knowledge. They will not be prepared to answer the hard questions that will
inevitably confront them. The goal is not smart kids but wise kids.

Our text has told us that if we would be wise then we need to pray and we
need to carefully ponder the Word. There’s one more aspect of this that I
want to show you. Listen: ‘…He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is
a shield to those who walk in integrity…’ There is a moral aspect here. It
is impossible to be wise, to understand life so that you can make good
choices, if you refuse to submit to Jesus and obey Him as Lord. Here, we
encounter a major theme in Proverbs. How can someone become wise if he is
determined to live as a fool? Let me be clear. A fool is not someone who is
unlearned or ignorant. There are many fools who are quite learned and know a
great deal. Being a fool is a moral category in the book of Proverbs. A fool
is someone who refuses to follow Jesus as Lord. He is not upright. He does
not walk in integrity. But obedience to Jesus as the way to wisdom only
makes sense. Jesus always chose wisely. Always. He saw what was going on in
each situation. He understood the issues, options and consequences. Thus, He
responded well. His was a life of wisdom. He calls us to follow Him into
wise living. By His Spirit, He takes the Word and shows us how it speaks to
life as we face it, life in the real world. It is at that point that we all
have a choice. We can agree with Him – or not. And our choice is no secret.
It becomes quite evident. If we agree we will obey. If we don’t, we won’t.
Refusal to agree with Jesus, to submit to Him, is to choose folly. It is to
make bad choices because of a rebellious attitude. Wisdom is only found in
submitting to Him.

And so, three ingredients for wisdom that our text points us to: prayer,
pondering Scripture, endeavoring to live as becomes the followers of Christ.

Some last thoughts. First, if these things are to be done well, then they
need to be done with vigor. Verse 4: ‘if you seek it like silver and search
for it as for hidden treasures…’ Half-hearted seeking for wisdom will not be
successful. There needs to be a measure of intensity. I include this here
because it is just a fact that you have only so much time and energy. If you
would seek wisdom vigorously, then, for most of you, something else will
have to go. If you would seek wisdom with some intensity, then most of you
will have to do some hard thinking about your family’s budgeting of its time
and energy. You’ll need to ask yourselves how important it is for you and
yours to seek wisdom like hidden treasure. My second thought is this. These
things – prayer, pondering Scripture, obedience to Jesus – these means that
God uses to bless us with wisdom are not things that are best done alone.
They are best done together. Actually, you really can’t do them alone and
hope to become wise. Growing in wisdom is a community project. That’s one
reason why Jesus has established His Church. Then there is this. Being wise
has tremendous consequences. ‘So you will walk in the way of the good and
keep to the paths of the righteous.’ (20) These blessings of wisdom hold
obvious advantages to you, blessings which I hope you will fully enjoy. But
being wise, enjoying these blessings, also affects our mission. We live in a
place given to folly and among a people who chase after what is foolish.
There are, though, some among them who know that their lives are not
working. But they have no clue what to do about that. So, imagine the power
of a life that is working. We have all known Christian people we considered
wise. We were impressed with them and in some sense wanted to become as wise
as they, or at least get a little closer to their level of wisdom. How much
more would something like this happen when foolish unbelievers see the
practical wisdom that is in your life, wisdom that is a gift of Jesus? There
is much at stake.