QT 7/5/2024 Prov 2:1-5, Making an effort to know God

Proverbs 2:1–5 (ESV) —

1 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.

 

NOTE: As Garrett comments, the whole text hinges on the "if" clause. There are three "if" statements followed by one "then" statement with two clauses. In another commentary the author laments that in today's culture, everything is fast, but wisdom comes slow and few make the effort or take the time to acquire what God offers.

 

Three "IF you …"

1. … receive my words … treasure my commandments … make your ear attentive to wisdom … incline your hear to understanding. We have to be actively looking and seeking God's word. It means getting up every morning and spending time seeking truth from God. It also means listening, that is, doing what you discover from God's word. The process is very intentional.
2. … call our for insight … raise your voice for understanding. We need to ask questions of our teachers and those who have clearly lived a life of wisdom. There are a lot of old people, there are a lot of old church people, but there are very few godly, rich in wisdom old people in our churches. Find them. Listen to them. Question them.
3. … seek for it like silver … search for it as hidden treasures. If it is important, you will make a priority of it. You will spend money, time, and effort to gain it. In life we spend money to make money. A business is a substantial investment in time, money, sweat, and tears to get off the ground. We do it to make money, but we seldom do it to acquire knowledge and wisdom from God. We expect to gain God's wisdom on the cheap (which is sad the we place God so low in importance).

 

One "THEN," two clauses.

1. … understand the fear of the Lord. If you think the fear of the Lord is "respect" for God, you really don't understand it. Fear is more than respect. There is a healthy understanding of great holiness and the fact of wickedness and how pervasive wickedness invades our flesh.
2. … find the knowledge of God. The infinite and vast God who inhabits a universe beyond our comprehension seems like a task beyond hope. In Islam, he is unknowable because he is transcendent. But God is knowable and has revealed aspects of himself to men and women through the ages. Jesus, the God-man, reveals God to us. Can we know all of God? Absolutely NOT. But we can know God. He wants us to know him. As the old scifi show says, "the truth is out there," but the truth is also right here, in our bibles, and in a relationship with Jesus Christ that happens when you believe.

 

PONDER:

1. What priority is knowing God to me?
2. What effort do I make to know God?

 

PRAYER: Father, I pray that I would make you truly the first priority in my life. I pray that you would continue to reveal yourself to me. I pray for wisdom from you to live my life.