Wisdom & Understanding

 

The beginning of wisdom is [KJV - wisdom is the principal thing]: Acquire wisdom [chokmah – relates to prudence in secular affairs, skills in the arts, moral sensitivity, and experience in the ways of the Lord]; and with all your acquiring, get understanding [biynah – comprehension, discernment of good & evil, can be acquired & increased]. Prize her [salal – exalt], and she will exalt [promote] you; She will honor you if you embrace her [show of affection]. “She will place on your head a garland of grace; She will present you with a crown of beauty.                      Proverbs 4:7-9

According to Vines Expository Dictionary, chokmah is the knowledge and the ability to make the right choices at the opportune time. The consistency of making the right choice is an indication of maturity and development. Biynah is the object of knowledge, in the sense of what one desires to know. In Deuteronomy 4:6, “So keep and do them [statutes and judgments], for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’” The faithful observance of the laws would raise their national character for intelligence and wisdom, and it happened. Although the pagan world generally ridiculed the Hebrews for what they considered a foolish and absurd exclusiveness, some of the most eminent philosophers expressed their highest admiration for the fundamental principle in Judaism - the unity of God (Deuteronomy 4:5). 

Nothing compares with wisdom. It is supreme, well worth all the effort and cost involved in acquiring it. As wisdom is valued and loved, she gives honor and an attractive life, pictured as a beautiful wreath and a crown of splendor. The opposite is also implied: a foolish, unwise life is dishonorable, unattractive, and shameful. Solomon experienced both wisdom and folly and therefore, both kinds of results.

What is Man

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained; What is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than God, and You crown him with glory and majesty! You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet.                Psalm 8:3-5

God spoke the worlds into existence, but David saw creation as coming from God's fingers and hands, the work of a Master Craftsman. It was evil for the Jews to worship the heavenly host, but they understood that creation was proof of a caring Creator who prepared the world for the enjoyment and employment of mankind. God is mindful of us and cares for us. God completed His creation before He made Adam and Eve and placed them in the garden, so everything was ready for them to meet all their needs. The above passage, quoted in Hebrews 2:8-9, referring to Jesus, suggests that the writer of Hebrews saw David's psalm as a messianic psalm. God came down to rescue mankind and provide an opportunity for him to appreciate his existence.

Where Can Wisdom Be Found?

“Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where they refine gold. “Iron is taken from the dust, and copper is smelted from rock. “Man puts an end to darkness, and to the farthest limit he searches out the rock in gloom and deep shadow. “He sinks a shaft far from habitation, forgotten by the foot; they hang and swing to and fro, far from men. “The earth, from it comes food, and underneath it is turned up as fire. “Its rocks are the source of sapphires, and its dust contains gold. “The path no bird of prey knows, nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it. “The proud beasts have not trodden it, nor has the fierce lion passed over it. “He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the base. “He hews out channels through the rocks, and his eye sees anything precious. “He dams up the streams from flowing, and what is hidden he brings out to the light.                     Job 28:1-11

“But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? “Man does not know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living. “The deep says, ‘It is not in me’; and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’ "Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it, nor can silver be weighed as its price. "It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx, or sapphire. "Gold or glass cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold. "Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned, and the acquisition of wisdom is above that of pearls. "The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, nor can it be valued in pure gold. "Where then does wisdom come from? And where is the place of understanding? "Thus, it is hidden from the eyes of all living and concealed from the birds of the sky. “Abaddon and Death say, ‘with our ears we have heard a report of it.’ “God understands its way, and He knows its place. “For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. “When He imparted weight to the wind and meted out the waters by measure, When He set a limit for the rain and a course for the thunderbolt, Then He saw it and declared it; He established it and also searched it out. “And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.’”               Job 28:12-28

In spite of man's technological skills, he cannot find the greatest treasure of all, wisdom, without God. Its value is not fully known by man. He can discover other hidden treasures under the earth's surface, but he cannot discover wisdom in the land of the living or in any ocean. Nor can wisdom be purchased in a market with other precious metals and jewels man has uncovered (gold ... precious onyx ... sapphires crystal coral... jasper... rubies, or topaz), for wisdom far exceeds their value.

Job affirmed that no animal, person, or bird can see wisdom. The Lord by wisdom founded the earth, by understanding He established the heavens. By His knowledge the deeps were broken up, and the skies drip with dew (Proverbs 3:19-20). And just as the sea does not know where wisdom is obtainable, neither do Destruction (Abaddon) nor Death know. The only One who knows is God, for He is omnipresent (He sees what animals, people, and birds are unable to see). In creating the universe, God determined the elements, the weight of the wind, the amount of water, the limit of rainfall, and where each thunderstorm would occur. In His creative genius, He saw and valued wisdom, in contrast with man's inability to do so.

God told man (adam - mankind) that the essence of wisdom is to fear (reverence, venerate, submit to) the LORD, even when man cannot understand His ways, and to reject evil, living in accord with God's standards of righteousness. Job's accusers had insisted that he was not fearing God or forsaking sin and that, therefore, he was not wise. Job’s “friends” did not understand these principles; they were operating in human wisdom, wisdom from below. Job feared God and hated evil, but they were not! Therefore, wisdom and understanding were his, not theirs:

Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.                         James 3:13-18

The Gift of Wisdom

When Solomon asked God in 1 Kings 3:9 for an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil, the Lord told him, Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning [understanding] heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you (1 Kings 3:12). Like the church in the new covenant age, he was given a spiritual gift, but it must be submitted to the Holy Spirit: For to one is given the word of wisdom [sophia – wisdom from God] through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:8).

Ecclesiastes has been appropriately called “The Confession of King Solomon." Solomon is a man who has sinned in giving way to selfishness and sensuality, who has paid their penalty in gluttony and weariness of life, but who has, through all this, been under the discipline of a divine education, and learned the lesson which God meant to teach him in the end: reverence God – wisdom, and keep His commandments – understanding (Ecclesiastes 12:13).  

I Set My Mind to Know Wisdom

I said to myself, “Behold, I have magnified and increased wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.” And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving after wind. Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.                        Ecclesiastes 1:16-18

Solomon argued that when he reflected on his surpassing wisdom and vast experience, he realized that it held little real advantage over madness and folly (foolish ideas and pleasures). His pursuit of wisdom apart from the Holy Spirit was as frustrating as chasing after the wind, and its acquisition, far from alleviating the depression created by his somber verdict, merely increased his grief and mental anguish.

I tested all this with wisdom, and I said, "I will be wise," but it was far from me. What has been is remote and exceedingly mysterious. Who can discover it? I directed my mind to know, to investigate, and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to know the evil of folly and the foolishness of madness. “Behold, I have found only this, that God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices.”                     Ecclesiastes 7:23-25, 29

Solomon adds that wisdom has its limitations. Though he himself had applied all his great wisdom to understand the enigmas in God's distribution of prosperity and adversity, and though he was determined to be wise, he acknowledged that true wisdom was far beyond him. He also noted that no one can comprehend what has happened. The Preacher adds that God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices

Fear God & Keep His Commandments

"Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher, "all is vanity!" In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs. The Preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly. The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections [the collected sayings of scholars] are like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd. But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body. The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.         Ecclesiastes 12:8-13

This passage is regarded as the Epilogue of the whole book, a kind of apology for the obscurity of many of its sayings. As in its beginning, the Preacher speaks of himself in the third person. He first repeats the mournful, perplexing theme on which his thoughts began, and then states the encouraging practical conclusion to which his thoughts have led him. It has been pointed out that the Epilogue assumes the identity of the Preacher with the writer of the Book of Proverbs.

Words of the wise, those inspired with wisdom from above, are as goads, piercing deeply into the mind, inspired words, as the end of the verse proves. Well-driven nails are the masters of these collections, joint-authors of the collected canonical Scriptures. Given from one shepherd, the Chief Shepherd, namely, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the intention appears to be a reference to the logos, the Word of God, who became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). The scholars are the authors of the Scriptures, inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16). The Word of God is the tender grass that feeds the Lord's sheep.

The conclusion of the discourse, the answer to the question, What is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him? is: to revere God and to obey Him. This constitutes the whole man, his whole being. Solomon found the answer to every man’s question.

Hidden Wisdom

Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature [spiritually full grown]; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written, "THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM." For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so, the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God.                         1 Corinthians 2:6-12

There was a wisdom taught by the Spirit that Paul wanted his readers, the spiritually mature ones, to comprehend. Others did not understand this wisdom because they lacked the Holy Spirit. The message Paul proclaimed was God's secret wisdom, revealed only by God. At the heart of this wisdom is the plan of salvation intended for our glory, determined before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). Paul linked glory with the crucified Lord, an utter paradox to both Jews and Gentiles, God’s ultimate plan for all humanity.

The blessings of salvation were planned by the Father, executed by the Son, and borne witness to by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:3-14) to all believers. The only way the Corinthians could know this was by the Spirit, who knows and reveals these deep things of God. Paul is illustrating that spiritual understanding is a work of the Holy Spirit, from above, and not man's efforts to find wisdom and understanding from below. The Lord wishes that each believer come to know the things freely given to us by God. Wisdom and understanding must be sought after from the Spirit to find, as hidden treasure, the avenue into integrity:

If you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures, then you will discern the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity.                      Proverbs 2:4-7