Proverbs (Part 019) - Pro 2:6-7
Submitted by Pastor Chad Wagner on Wednesday, July 17, 2019.
6. Pro 2:6 - "For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding." A. In Pro 2:1-5, the Lord revealed the method of obtaining the understanding, knowledge, and wisdom of God. B. In Pro 2:6 the LORD reveals the source of them. i. It's necessary for us to diligently desire, ask, and seek for knowledge, but it's not within our power to produce it ourselves by mental effort. ii. It's rather the gift of God, "for the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding" (Pro 2:6). C. The LORD giveth wisdom. i. Wisdom is the ability to judge rightly in matters of life and conduct. ii. It is the LORD alone who gives wisdom because He is the sole source of it in the universe (Rom 16:27; 1Ti 1:17; Jud 1:25). a. "Wisdom and might are his" (Dan 2:20) and "he is mighty...in wisdom" (Job 36:5). b. The depth of God's wisdom and knowledge are unsearchable (Rom 11:33). c. But even though He has an infinite supply, God doesn't give wisdom to all men indiscriminately, but rather He gives it to men that are good in his sight (Ecc 2:26). iii. The LORD gives wisdom, not merely makes it available to those who earnestly seek it. a. Give v. - General sense: To make another the recipient of (something that is in the possession, or at the disposal, of the subject). I. trans. To bestow gratuitously. 1. a. To hand over (a thing) as a present; to confer gratuitously the ownership of (some possession) on another person. b. God not only gives wisdom to those who sincerely ask for it in faith, but He gives it to them liberally (Jam 1:5). c. Liberally adv. - 2. Bountifully, freely, generously. b. Without stint; abundantly, amply, plentifully. d. This is what God did to Solomon when he asked for wisdom (1Ki 3:9-12; 1Ki 4:29). iv. God not only gives wisdom to older people, but to younger people too who seek after it. a. The older generation are usually endued with wisdom, but such is not always the case (Job 32:7-9). b. Sometimes older people still make foolish decisions. c. "The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness" (Pro 16:31). d. A wise child is better than an old fool (Ecc 4:13). e. A young child that believes, studies, and submits his life to the scriptures will receive more wisdom from God than those who are many years elder than he who do not (Psa 119:97-100). f. The Lord Jesus Christ at a mere twelve years of age was "filled with wisdom" (Luk 2:40) and "increased in wisdom" (Luk 2:52) as He matured. D. The LORD giveth wisdom . . . knowledge and understanding. i. Along with wisdom, the LORD also gives knowledge and understanding to those who zealously seek after it. ii. Knowledge is "the fact of knowing a thing" (OED). iii. To know is to "have cognizance of something, through observation, inquiry, or information; to be aware or apprised of; to become cognizant of, learn through information or inquiry, ascertain, find out" (OED). iv. To learn information through observation and inquiry requires that a man first possess understanding which is the "power or ability to understand; intellect, intelligence" (OED). a. To acquire facts without using the intellect to connect them logically so as to properly understand their relationship with each other is of little value. b. One can know the individual meanings of a group of words, but until those words are ordered in a purposeful way via the intellect to convey a thought representative of reality, true knowledge is not attained. c. Thus, the LORD gives a man understanding in order to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge; and once knowledge is obtained, He gives wisdom which enables the man to use his understanding to apply his knowledge to a particular situation, judge rightly what is the proper course of action, and choose the best means of accomplishing it. E. Out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. i. Now we find out how God gives wisdom, knowledge, and understanding to the seeker of truth. ii. Wisdom is not conferred not telepathically or miraculously. iii. God gives them by speaking them to us from His mouth. a. But it doesn't come to us audibly, the claims of deluded charismatic "Christians" and madmen notwithstanding. b. The LORD does so by speaking through His prophets and apostles who were holy men of God that spoke and wrote His words as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (Heb 1:1-2; 2Pe 1:21; 2Sa 23:2; Jer 36:1-2). iv. After inspiring His prophets and apostles to write down His words in the scriptures (2Ti 3:16), the LORD then ordained pastors to preach His word to His people and feed them with knowledge and understanding (Jer 3:15; Tit 1:3). v. Christians in turn must do as the noble Bereans who "received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so" (Act 17:11). vi. The written word of God is the wisdom and understanding of every child of God who reads and believes it (Deu 4:5-6). vii. If a Christian desires to "get wisdom [and] get understanding," he must not "decline from the words of [God's] mouth" (Pro 4:5), but instead read the scriptures, which are, as it were, God speaking directly into his ear, imparting wisdom to him and enabling him to make wise decisions and "cleanse his way . . . by taking heed thereto according to [His] word" (Psa 119:9). 7. Pro 2:7 - "He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly." A. The LORD has a depository of wisdom from which He dispenses to the diligent who ask and seek for it. i. Lay v. - 60. lay up. c. To deposit or put away in a place for safety; to store up (goods, provisions); to put by. ii. Even with infinite resources at His disposal, the LORD is nevertheless a saver, laying up wisdom for the time to come. a. As a good leader, God leads by example in teaching His children the importance and necessity of saving, a principle that is taught throughout the Bible. b. "There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up." (Pro 21:20) c. It's prudent to under-consume to put away physical wealth for the future; how much more so is it incumbent upon a Christian to "lay up for [himself] treasures in heaven" (Mat 6:20). iii. The LORD repeatedly admonishes His people to follow His lead and lay up spiritual treasures, not in their houses, but in their hearts. a. Deu 11:18 - "Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes." b. Job 22:22 - "Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart." c. Pro 7:1 - "My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee." d. Pro 10:14 - Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction. e. Pro 23:23 - Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding. B. He layeth up sound wisdom i. The wisdom that God lays up for us is not "the wisdom of this world" (1Co 1:20), nor the "the wisdom of men" (1Co 2:5), but rather sound wisdom. ii. Sound adj. - II. 8. a. In full accordance with fact, reason, or good sense; founded on true or well-established grounds; free from error, fallacy, or logical defect; good, strong, valid. iii. Sound wisdom is the truth which conforms to reality and is in agreement with fact and reason. a. Truth n. - II. 5. a. Conformity with fact; agreement with reality; accuracy, correctness, verity (of statement or thought). b. Sound wisdom (truth) is found in the word of God which is truth: (i) "Thy word is true from the beginning..." (Psa 119:160) (ii) "...all thy commandments are truth" (Psa 119:151) (iii) "thy word is truth" (Joh 17:17) c. It is reliable and cannot be gainsaid. d. It therefore can be trusted unreservedly: "blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust" (Psa 40:4). C. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous i. God doesn't cast His pearls before swine (Mat 7:6). ii. He only lays up sound wisdom for the righteous. iii. Righteous adj. - 1. a. Of persons: Just, upright, virtuous; guiltless, sinless; conforming to the standard of the divine or the moral law; acting rightly or justly. iv. God is only concerned with the righteous (Psa 34:15). D. He is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. i. Uprightly adv. - 1. In a just or upright manner; with strict observance of justice, honesty, or rectitude; sincerely, justly. ii. Buckler n. - 1. A small round shield iii. In other words, God is the protector and defender of the righteous. iv. He accomplishes this by two means: directly and indirectly. a. God directly, through His sovereign control of all things, hedges His children about, keeping the devil and the evil of this world from them (Psa 5:12; Psa 91:4-10). b. He also indirectly safeguards His obedient children by giving them wisdom through His word which enables them to make wise decisions to avoid the snares and traps of the wicked (Pro 2:10-12, 16).
