“My son, be attentive to my wisdom;

 incline your ear to my understanding,”

Proverbs 5:1 ESV

Throughout the book of Proverbs, gaining wisdom and understanding is presented as requiring effort and intentionality. Here, the writer commands us to be attentive and incline our ears, neither of which is passive. In other words, becoming wise doesn’t just happpen.

What are some of the ways you are intentional about becoming wise?

“When I was a son with my father,

  tender, the only one in the sight of my mother,

he taught me and said to me,

“Let your heart hold fast my words;

  keep my commandments, and live.”

Proverbs 4:3-4

Proverbs is filled with repetition, which indicates the importance of the subject that is being repeated. In this case, Proverbs 7:1 repeats vs. 4 above: “My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you.”

In this comparison, we see the writer’s emphasis on keeping “words” and “commandments,” which results in living. Once recognizing the principle of repetition regarding this subject, the wise reader should sense an urgency to ask and answer this question: “What are those words and commandments?”

Enjoy the journey of discovery as you mine the life-giving riches of Proverbs.

“Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold.”

Proverbs 3:13-14 ESV

Because proverbs is a book of faith, it is sometimes very counterintuitive. Without faith, the proverb may be impossible to believe: the gain from wisdom is better than the gain from silver and gold?

Only by faith does this make sense. Let that sink in a bit before dismissing it as nonsense. Additionally, look for this same principle to be evident throughout the book of Proverbs. Mark it when you see it.

Wisdom cries aloud in the street,
    in the markets she raises her voice;
²¹ at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
    at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
²² “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
    and fools hate knowledge?
²³ If you turn at my reproof,
behold, I will pour out my spirit to you;
    I will make my words known to you.

Proverbs 1:20-23 ESV

Here, wisdom is personified. I wonder if the intent is to give the reader a more relatable understanding of wisdom. In certain religions or philosophies, wisdom seems to be a thing that is so far out there, or otherworldly, that only a select few can understand what it is or achieve it.

By personifying wisdom, it seems that the writer is attempting to make wisdom relatable, understandable, and attainable … for all.

Challenge: This year make it your goal to befriend wisdom. Make wisdom a welcome part of your daily life. Reading Proverbs each day is a helpful way to do this.

“An excellent wife who can find?

    She is far more precious than jewels.”

Proverbs 31:10 ESV

Here, the writer almost offers a challenge: Who can find an excellent wife? Maybe he’s asking a group of young men, who compete to answer, “I can! I can!” And then to clarify, the writer adds, “She’s far more precious than jewels.” It seems that his audience may have thought that jewels are the most precious thing, so it’s important for them to know that an excellent wife is still more precious than jewels.

The message to men is not only to inform us about the value of an excellent wife, but also to shape our thinking about them. Most have some idea how jewels are treated and treasured. That provides a benchmark for how we should treat and treasure an excellent wife.

Men, are you treasuring your wife better than you would a bag of diamonds? “But she’s not an excellent wife,” some may reply. Is that because you have broken her spirit by not treasuring her appropriately?

The easy thing for us to do is blame the other party for not doing their part. In reality, we have control and responsibility only for ourselves. So, even if she isn’t behaving like an excellent wife for reasons other than you, treat her like a treasure anyway.