The Value and Benefits of Wisdom. Proverbs 3:19-34
In the first part of this chapter, in
vv. 1-18, the focus is on how to be blessed: the blessing in life that comes
from wisdom. This becomes part of the summary exhortation in the conclusion at
the end of the chapter in vv. 33-35.
Proverbs 3:33 NASB ÒThe
curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the dwelling
of the righteous.Ó That connects what is said in vv. 19-32 to the theme of this
chapter, which is blessing. [34] ÒThough He scoffs at the scoffers, Yet He
gives grace to the afflicted.Ó That is the way in which He blesses the
righteous and a way in which He judges by divine discipline the
ÒhouseÓ—the home, the life, everything involved in the life and family--of
the wicked. In contrast there is blessing on the home of the just. The
long-term result is then stated in v. 35: ÒThe wise will inherit honor, But fools display dishonor.Ó Notice the concept there of Òinherit.Ó That is the possession. The ultimate concept
of the word for inherit in the New Testament is a possession that someone owns.
And in contrast there is shame as the legacy of fools. The fool is the one who
has rejected wisdom and GodÕs grace.
So what is it that we are to do? Why is
it so important to Òstudy wisdomÓ? That takes us to verse 19. Verses 19 and 20
are four lines that focus on the same topic, the topic of wisdom in terms of
divine wisdom. Wisdom often in Proverbs is personified. Wisdom represents that
aspect of GodÕs omniscience in terms of its outworking in what He creates.
Wisdom is infinite knowledge that enables Him to create what He creates with
perfect beauty, which has to do with aesthetics and functionality. The only
reason they may seem less than perfect is because of sin. God does what He does
according to a standard in His thinking, which is wisdom. As we have seen,
wisdom is the concept of skill in application.
This theme is emphasized in other
passages of Scripture, such as Psalm 104:24 NASB ÒO LORD,
how many are Your works! In [By (instrumental)] wisdom
You have made them all; The earth is full of Your
possessions.Ó Notice that in this psalm, in Proverbs 3 and in Proverbs 3 and 8,
creation is a foundational doctrine in the Scripture. Creation is not a
secondary, ancillary issue because it is fundamental to understanding who God is.
Proverbs 3:19 NASB ÒThe LORD
by wisdom founded the earth, By understanding He
established the heavens.Ó What we see here is the principle that if God used
wisdom, and to put it in a little more anthropomorphic sense, if God needed to
use wisdom to create the world, donÕt we think we might need wisdom to live in
the world? That is the basic point here. [20] ÒBy His knowledge the deeps were
broken up And the skies drip with dew.Ó The first three
lines, two in verse 19 and the first line in verse 20, are roughly parallel. We
are told that the subject is the Lord in the first line and then that He is the
assumed performer of the action in three lines, each stating the means or
instrument by which God created—by wisdom in the first line,
understanding in the second line, and by knowledge in the third line. As we see
in the poetry of Proverbs these three terms, wisdom, understanding and
knowledge—even though they have some distinction to them—are used
in a synonymous manner.
The two verbs that are used in Proverbs
3:19, founded and established, have to do with a) founded: has to do with the
foundation stone in the temple. It is the beginning process of the work of
creation; b) established: used parallel to that, that God sets this up. The
thrust of this is that there is a stability in
creation, a certainty. The very basis for modern science came out of a
Christian or a biblical presupposition about knowledge, and that is what the
writer of Proverbs is emphasizing here. Because God created everything there is
a certainty and a stability in the creation. So we can
count upon that. And just as there is certainty and stability in the physical
realm we can extrapolate from that and make application to the spiritual realm
that the principles applied to life from the Scripture apply to relationship,
to society, to economics, that if we base our thinking upon the Word of God
there is certainty and stability in those areas as well. So we can move from
the physical and the known to the abstract and the more unknown, and because
God oversees all aspects of creation there is stability in understanding how He
has structured the universe.
In Proverbs chapter eight there is an
extended reflection upon creation. Proverbs 8:25 NASB ÒBefore the
mountains were settled, Before the hills I [wisdom]
was brought forth.Ó Wisdom existed, not that wisdom was apart from God but
wisdom resides in the very omniscience of God Himself. Therefore wisdom is
eternal. [26]
ÒWhile He had not yet made the earth and the fields, Nor the first dust of the
world. [27]
When He established the heavens, I was there, When He inscribed a circle on the
face of the deep [the limitation of water], [28] When He made firm the skies above, When the springs of
the deep became fixed, [29] When He set for the sea its boundary So that the water
would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the
earth; [30]
Then I was beside Him, {as} a master workman [craftsman]; And I was daily {His}
delight, Rejoicing always before Him, [31] Rejoicing in the world, His earth, And {having} my
delight in the sons of men.Ó Over and over again in Scripture in almost every
book of the Bible there are these references to the creation. Creation is
foundational to everything else in the Scriptures.
Unbelievers need to recognize who it is that we are speaking about when we talk about God
and Jesus, that this is the unique creator God of the universe and as such He
has the right to define everything in creation—including sin and
salvation.
From this foundation of stating the
value of wisdom to God in the creation in vv. 19 and 20, the writer of Proverbs
then goes on to develop and deduce some exhortations of challenges from this
principle. It goes like this. If God used wisdom in order to create everything
in the universe and everything that we experience in life, and therefore we
need to use that wisdom, how valuable should it be to us?
A general mandate on the importance of
wisdom: Proverbs 3:21 NASB ÒMy son, let them not vanish from your
sight ÉÓ What he means by that is that the eyes are the visual gate into the
soul. We learn through our hearing and from what we read. And so often the eyes
and the ears are used as really a metaphor for what passes through them into
the soul. In Ephesians chapter one Paul prays to the Father: ÒLet the eyes of
our mind be enlightened.Ó So there is the idea that how we initially perceive
things is through our eyes and through our ears. When the writer of Proverbs says ÒLet them not vanish from your eyesÓ he is basically
saying, ÒContinuously focus on the Wisdom of GodÕs Word.Ó ÒÉ Keep sound wisdom and discretion.Ó
So there are two commands here. First, ÒLet them not vanish,Ó a
negative—donÕt forget these, donÕt let them get out of your sight.
Second, it is a positive command: ÒKeep [natsar] sound wisdom and discretion.Ó Natsar means
to guard, to watch over something, to keep it, maintain it, protect it, to
preserve it. So the focus here is to make a priority of maintaining in the soul
sound wisdom and discretion. Discretion is the application of wisdom in the
circumstances and situations in life.
That is the priority that is set forth
in this section of Proverbs. We are commanded to donÕt forget this, donÕt get
so busy that it departs from our focus, to always have wisdom and doctrine
before us, and then maintain it as vital to our life.
This will produce certain results, and
in one sense the rest of the chapter defines some of those results. It is
defined in a couple of different ways.
Proverbs 3:22 NASB ÒSo they
will be life to your soul And adornment to your neck.Ó The result of this
begins with focusing on life, the abundance of life, the
quality of life. That is, wisdom and discretion will be life to your soul. You
will live like you should live and experience the fullness of life as God
intended, in contrast to living like a spiritually dead person. We see the
imagery of the neck several times in these first three chapters, e.g. in 1:8.
This is a metaphor of protection. It enhances the life on the positive side but
it also is a sign of protection of the individual. In 3:3 we see this
emphasized again. Again, the neck is standing really metaphorically for the
whole person and binding wisdom around the neck is a metaphor of protection for
the personÕs life, the personÕs thinking; and so the result of keeping wisdom
and discretion is that first of all it produces life, and it produces grace or
beauty in the life of the individual believer.
Another area of result: Proverbs 3:23 NASB
ÒThen you will walk in your way securely And your foot
will not stumble.Ó This emphasizes security, and this is expanded upon in the
next verse. [24]
ÒWhen you lie down, you will not be afraid; When you
lie down, your sleep will be sweet.Ó So as a result of wisdom we can have a
fullness of life, a capacity for life and joy and happiness that we canÕt have
apart from wisdom. Without wisdom all you get is a sham, superficial flashes of
emotional excitement; you donÕt have real lasting happiness that can enable you
to handle the challenges of life whether adversity or prosperity. It also
brings security: Òyou will walk in your way securely And
your foot will not stumble.Ó If you make a commitment in your thinking to apply
the Word of God in every situation and every circumstance, then it means that
you will have security in life. As a result as you live out your life you will
not stumble.
The first of six prohibitions: Proverbs 3:25 NASB ÒDo not be afraid of sudden fear Nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes.Ó DonÕt be so concerned about this that it consumes the life. Ultimately our steps are ordered by the Lord. We can take certain measures of safety and security. [26] ÒFor the LORD will be your confidence ÉÓ It is an unusual word for confidence here. It has the sense in some passages of hope or confidence. It is our future expectation, and because He is our confidence we are able to handle whatever comes our way in a relaxed manner. It emphasizes a growth in our faith-rest drill, our ability to trust in Him. ÒAnd will keep your foot from being caught.Ó That is a parallel back to v. 23. So God is the one who ultimately oversees our path. We may not know what decisions to make here or there but, going back to Proverbs 3:5, 6, when we trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding, and we acknowledge Him in all our ways, then He directs our paths. He is the one who oversees this. We are going to make mistakes. We are going to do things that maybe put us in harmÕs way or be involved in things that may not be the most secure, but our life is in GodÕs hands and so we relax and He takes care of things.
Proverbs 3:27 NASB ÒDo
not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When
it is in your power to do {it.} [28] Do not say to your neighbor, ÔGo, and come back, And tomorrow I will give {it,}Õ When you have it with you.Ó
These verses are related to one another. In the first part the command is
related to being someone who is a giver and focused on helping others. Not just
believers because we know from Scripture that the concept of a neighbor is not
simply someone who lives next door to us. According to Luke chapter ten when
the Lord was teaching on the good Samaritan a neighbor
is someone who comes across our path in life. The idea here is that we are
given financial resources and skills and abilities that are not supposed to be
hoarded for our own use, but that God has given us those things so that we can
use them as a blessing and benefit to others. If we have the ability to help
someone then we should use it.
Verse 28 is basically saying, like
James in James 2, ÒGo away, be warm and be filled.Ó Using trite sayings like
ÒTrust the Lord,Ó knowing full well that we could do something that might be a
little inconvenient, might cost us something, but we donÕt want to get
involved, so we say, ÒIÕll pray for you,Ó rather than helping them at that
particular moment. The writer of Proverbs says that we should recognize that
this is an opportunity from God to be a blessing in the life of others and to
demonstrate the grace and the love of God in the life of those around us.
In vv. 29 and 30 we have another pair
of negative commands. Proverbs 3:29 NASB ÒDo not devise harm against
your neighbor ÉÓ LetÕs say you help your neighbor and he doesnÕt pay you back.
DonÕt plot revenge upon him or some way to get back at them because they have
not paid you back. ÒÉWhile he lives securely beside you [for safety sake].Ó
There is a principle here of blessing by association. Those around us who are
blessed by association with our lives, and just because they do things wrongly
toward us, it does not in turn give us justification to retaliate toward them.
[30] ÒDo not contend with a man without cause, If he
has done you no harm.Ó In other words, there are times when we are to protect
ourselves in some sense against someone who is taking advantage of us, but this
is wisdom in knowing when to respond and when not to respond. We have to
exercise wisdom in the process and that only comes from developing a wealth of
doctrine in our soul from which we discern how to apply doctrine in the
individual circumstances.
Proverbs 3:31 Do not envy a man of
violence And do not choose any of his ways.Ó Sometimes
we see the evil or wicked person and they are prospering. David has a couple of
statements in the psalms where he says, ÒHow long O Lord will the wicked
prosper?Ó After a while we may be tempted to think, Well
this guy is really getting away with it and look at how God is prospering him.
Our confidence is not in any of these other methods but our confidence is in
the Lord who is going to preserve and protect us.
Then we come to the conclusion.
Proverbs 3:32 NASB ÒFor the devious [perverse] are an abomination to
the LORD; But He is intimate [His secret counsel] with the upright.Ó
We will see about seven different places in Proverbs that talk about different
things that are an abomination to the Lord. An abomination is something that is
offensive to God. There are numerous sins that are listed as an abomination to
God. And a perverse person is someone who is twisting Scripture, twisting the
absolutes and the ethics of Scripture. In contrast, GodÕs secret
counsel—the way in which He guides and directs believers in an unseen
way. He is working through circumstances and guiding us, directing our paths.
The upright refers to the believer.
Proverbs 3:33 NASB ÒThe curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked ÉÓ Everyone involved in the house of the wicked, the one who opposes God and opposes wisdom. In contrast: ÒÉ But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous.Ó
Proverbs 3:34 NASB ÒThough
He scoffs at the scoffers ÉÓ And God has an attitude of scorn towards the
scornful, those who reject Him, like the fool who says in his heart there is no
God. God in turn makes war upon them; He brings discipline and judgment upon
them. But to the one who humbles himself under the mighty hand of God, God
gives grace. To those who are believers, those who are studying His Word,
walking by His Word, God is going to provide protection and grace provision. So
we need to put our trust in Him. ÒÉYet He gives grace to the afflicted.Ó
As a result the wise, those who have
learned the Word and implemented it in their life, shall inherit glory.
Proverbs 3:35 NASB ÒThe wise will inherit honor [glory] ÉÓ We can
put that together with passages in the New Testament related to the church age
believer, that when we are with the Lord in the millennial kingdom there will
be extended blessing and in our roles and responsibilities with Him as opposed
to those who lose inheritance at the judgment seat of Christ. And that would be
related to the shame of those who have foolishly disregarded the teaching of
GodÕs Word and the application of it in their lives. ÒÉBut fools display dishonor.Ó
The principle here is on the value of
wisdom. If God needed wisdom, donÕt you think you needed wisdom as well?