06 The ‘Why’ For Wisdom (Proverbs 2:6-10)
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Last episode, if you remember, we talked about the pattern presented in the first 10 verses of chapter two, the pattern of condition, result, reason. We talked about how we are given a condition in verse 1-4, and if we are to follow that condition, we will receive the result found in v5. And what was that condition/result you might ask? Well the condition is the six disciplines (listen, desire, ask, urgency, pursue, focus) which are necessary for the result of obtaining wisdom & understanding of the fear of the LORD.
And that right there is where we stopped last episode. We stopped at the condition in verse 1-4 and the result in verse 5, but there’s so much more to it. And that is what I want to talk about today.
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You see, Solomon is a good teacher and a good parent. And, like any good teacher or parent does, Solomon is not just giving his son and giving us instructions on what to do, he is also providing reasons why we should do it.
Think about it more deeply from a parent’s perspective:
Say you tell your kid, little 5 year old Timmy, that he should go to school, that he should listen in class, desire to learn, ask questions, have a sense of urgency that combats the temptation of laziness, pursue knowledge, and focus on grades, homework’s, and tests. And you say that because IF he does that, IF little Timmy has those six disciplines (listen, desire, ask, urgency, pursue, focus), THEN, THEN, you tell little Timmy, then he will understand what it means to be a successful student and he will grow in knowledge.
And although that all sounds great, if you’re listening and you’ve had kids before or you’ve been a kid before (which would be all of us) you would know that’s not going to be enough for Little Timmy. Little Timmy’s gonna say ‘Why? Why Momma? Why should I care about being a successful student and growing in knowledge? I don’t care. I just want ice cream for dinner, can we do that?’
Hahaha. I mean c'mon. Any good parent, any good teacher, would give reasons why we should care about any condition or result. And again that’s exactly what Solomon does in our passage today. He tells us why we should care about the condition and result found in verses 1-5.
Solomon says, starting in verse 6,
‘For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; 7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, 8 guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints’.
Now this reason found in these three verses, introduced by the word ‘for’, which continues the if/then/for pattern we talked about last episode, highlights the importance of that argument, the if/then or the condition/result argument, and it shows us WHY it works.
How so? You might ask. How does this reasoning in verses 6-8 highlight the importance of the condition/result?
Well it does so because it puts in direct touch (as one commentator puts it) with the grace and the power of God, who both ‘gives’ (in verse 6) and ‘guards’ in verse 8, equipping us with the wisdom of His very words (because from his mouth come wisdom and understanding), storing up that wisdom for the upright in verse 7, and serving as a shield to those who walk righteously, or walk in integrity (which is the end of verse 7).
Put another way, the why for the condition/result in verses 1-5 is that you will be in lockstep with the Lord. You will be walking on the same path as Him…the giver and guardian, the one who both gives Wisdom and guards your life. You will be as one of the saints whom the Lord watches over. You will be provided for and protected. You won’t need to ask where the right path is because you’ll be walking on it. Simple as that. That’s assurance right there. And it's worth it. So worth it.
I also love here how Solomon is describing wisdom as a gift. Yes, as we saw in verses 1-5, wisdom is something to pursue, but at the end of the day you and I can do nothing to earn wisdom. No amount of personal pursuit can earn you wisdom. It is solely through the Lord, and His graciousness, that we are given the gift, a wonderful gift at that, of wisdom.
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Moving on to verse 9, Solomon says,
‘Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path;’
I love what Solomon does here because he restates the result from verse 5 again, that result being that you will ‘understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God’, but he does so in a more practical way. Back to our illustration, it’s what any good teacher or parent does when their student or child doesn’t quite get it the first time.
Remember little Timmy? Remember how we told little Timmy to follow the condition so that THEN little Timmy will understand what it means to be a successful student and will grow in knowledge?
Well what if we were more practical and specific with our result? What if we told little Timmy that he will understand science and math and English and history and what if we told him that he wouldn’t just grow in knowledge but that he would grow in knowledge of the way the world works so that he could impact it in a positive way?
You see that’s what Solomon is doing in verse 9.
He is making the fear of the Lord and the knowledge of God in verse 5 practical. He’s giving it legs.
‘Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path…’
What’s even cooler about this verse is its connection to the intro of the book. In verse 3 of chapter 1, in the purpose section of the whole book, Solomon says the purpose of his writing is that we might ‘receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity’...
You know what that means? That means that what we’re seeing in this chapter as a whole and what we’re seeing building up to this verse, verse 9, is showing us that pursuing wisdom and receiving it from the Lord will give you what the introduction and the purpose of the book promised.
In other words, we’re seeing the purpose found in chapter 1 become practical & obtainable in chapter 2. Which is awesome.
If we follow the condition, Solomon says, if we listen, desire, ask, have urgency, if we pursue, if we focus, we will understand righteousness and justice and equity.
If we follow the condition, we will understand God-honoring morality.
O and if that is not enough for you, if the understanding of the terrific trio of righteousness, justice, and equity is not enough, Solomon ends verse 9 saying you will understand ‘every good path’.
Not just some of the good paths…no no no. Don’t undermine the word ‘every’ in Scripture, that word is there for a reason. You will understand every good path. And that’s because, like I said earlier, you won’t need to ask where the right path is when you’re on it. God’s Word is a lamp to our feet and a guide unto our path (Psalm 119:105). In Christ we don’t have to worry about where the road leads because He is our light and our guide.
‘Thus says the Lord: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls’ (Jeremiah 6:16).
Now how does God produce this result in verses 5 & 9 in us?
Well, remember in verse 6 Solomon says it is for the LORD gives wisdom…but similar to what he did with the result in verse 5 by making it practical in verse 9, Solomon does again by making his reasoning in verse 6 practical in verse 10.
He says,
‘for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul…’
This verse brings us back to the beginning of this series…you want to know why? Because Solomon is showing us again here that wisdom is not a set of tips and tricks. Wisdom is not behavior modification. Wisdom is not mechanical change. I cannot say it enough which is why I won’t stop saying it. Wisdom is not a set of tips and tricks. It is not behavior modification.
Wisdom is a relationship with the LORD, the filling of His Spirit in your heart. Wisdom is heart change, organic change. That’s what wisdom is. It’s heart change.
‘For wisdom will come into your heart….’
Wisdom is change from the inside out, not outside in.
As one commentator puts it, ‘for us to walk in the path of righteousness and wisdom, we must have the law written on our hearts and experience inner transformation. That’s the only way we can obey God’. It’s true. We only know where the good way is, every good path, we only understand righteousness, justice and equity because wisdom has come into our heart.
‘For wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul…’
Now the second part of that verse is how we opened the last episode and how I want to close this one.
The second part of verse 10 shows us that wisdom isn’t just useful but it’s also incredibly attractive. And sure in some senses usefulness itself is attractive, but I’m not comparing wisdom here to a toothbrush. Wisdom is certainly useful like a toothbrush, but it’s also incomparably attractive. That’s why we’ve seen the personification of wisdom as a beautiful woman and not a toothbrush. Wisdom is beautiful and it is those who see the true beauty of wisdom that obtain it in full.
Look at Solomon as the prime example of that. In 1 Kings 3 the LORD appeared to Him by dream and basically said ‘ask whatever you want and I’ll give it to you’...and Solomon, who could’ve said literally anything; he could’ve asked for wealth, he could’ve asked for health, he could’ve asked for a bigger kingdom, better security, the perfect life, the perfect wife, man he could’ve had anything he wanted, and he asked for what?
He asked for wisdom. Wisdom to discern what is good and what is evil. He asked for something unseen because he knew of the value and the beauty it had.
Man, I want to be more like Solomon in that regard. I want more people to be like Solomon in that regard. To ask God for wisdom over anything else, the wisdom that He gives generously to all without reproach who ask. I wish we had more people who took that passage in James more seriously and asked for wisdom all the time, holding onto that promise that the Lord will provide it. Why? Because as we have seen in the first 10 verses of chapter 10, wisdom is of great value. Wisdom is pleasant to our soul.
If/Then/For. Condition/Result/Reason. That’s verses 1-10.
IF you follow the condition presented in verses 1-4, if you listen for, desire, ask, if you have urgency, if you pursue and if you focus on the Lord and Wisdom,
THEN in verse 5 you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God,
FOR you will be in direct touch with the grace and the power of God, who both ‘gives’ (in verse 6) and ‘guards’ (in verse 8), equipping us with the wisdom of His very words (because from his mouth come wisdom and understanding), storing up that wisdom for the upright (in verse 7), and serving as a shield to those who walk righteously, or walk in integrity (verse 8).
And to put all of that more practically:
IF you follow the condition presented in verses 1-4, if you listen for, desire, ask, if you have urgency, if you pursue and if you focus on the Lord and Wisdom,
THEN you will understand righteousness, justice and equity (verse 9); you will understand God's moral compass. And you will understand every good path, where the good way is.
FOR wisdom will enter your heart, it will change you from the inside out, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul (verse 9 and 10).
IF/THEN/FOR. Condition/Result/Reason.
That’s your first 10 verses.
Next week we’re going to close out chapter 2, looking at the two illustrations given in the next few verses, which illuminate and emphasize the importance again of the condition in verses 1-4.
I love you all.
God bless.
