Proverbs 2:1-5 (Pt 3)

My son, if you receive my words

    and treasure up my commandments with you,

² making your ear attentive to wisdom

    and inclining your heart to understanding;

³ yes, if you call out for insight

    and raise your voice for understanding,

⁴ if you seek it like silver

    and search for it as for hidden treasures,

⁵ then you will understand the fear of the Lord

    and find the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 2:1-5 ESV

NOTE: We are working through these five verses section by section. We covered the first point here and the second point here.

The third condition: If we want to understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God (vs. 5), the third thing we must do is call out for insight and raise our voices for understanding. Like the previous two conditions, this requires action on our part.

Perhaps we should begin by identifying the source of wisdom. While scripture is filled with references that indicate that God is the source of wisdom, perhaps none are more clear than Proverbs 2:6, “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” The Lord is the source of wisdom, thus it is from Him we are to request wisdom. Interestingly, while the Old Testament is replete with verses that say God gives wisdom, this is the only verse in the OT that I have found (to date) that suggests we need to call out, or ask for it.

The New Testament has a couple verses about asking for wisdom. The most direct verse is James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” Indirectly Paul indicates that we can (or should) ask for wisdom in Colossians 1:9, “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”

If the Scripture is clear that God is the source of wisdom and that we can (and should) ask Him for it, what prevents us from doing so? Is it pride? Ignorance? Here, Solomon conditions understanding the fear of the Lord and finding the knowledge of God upon calling out for it. So it seems pretty important to ask.

Will you join me in asking God for wisdom today? Now?