Title: Proverbs 3 Wisdom
By: Todd Bevins
Intro into Wisdom
Sometimes, in my mind, I understand something; or at least I think I do. Usually, the examples I try to give may not be so good. Therefore, in search of a better way of explaining wisdom tonight, which is what we will be talking about, and the importance of it. Let’s think about wisdom like this. It is the practical skill of living a successful and moral life in alignment with God’s will. It is more than just knowledge. It is the ability to apply that knowledge with a moral and spiritual understanding, leading to righteous actions and avoiding the path of foolishness. Last but not least, this wisdom is a divine gift that helps navigate life’s complexities leading to blessings and protection from evil.
Keep that in mind when we talk about wisdom tonight. We will begin in verse 13 and picking up there. As we have been talking about so many different things, and most of the time when someone mentions proverbs 3, one immediately thinks of to trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Most certainly, that is a key verse in it all. That is what it all hinges upon. Isn’t it? Our life in its entirety should trust in the Lord with all our heart, with all of our being, with all we know and all we have. Why is that? Well, who better to trust in than in the Lord.
Beginning in verse 13, we read these verses here. I am going to read from the King James version that I have here. However, I am going to use the NLT to break it down a little bit. There are some things they use that I want to share with you.
Proverbs 3:13-20
13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.
14 For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
15 She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.
16 Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.
17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.
19 The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.
20 By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.
We are going to stop and look at a few things. As you read it in the NLT it brings out the idea, and it says this.
Proverbs 3:13-15
13 Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding.
14 For wisdom is more profitable than silver, and her wages are better than gold.
15 Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.
Let’s think about it one more time. Repetition is the key to remembering things. Right? Think about this just for a moment. “Joyful is the person who finds wisdom…” Wisdom is more than just knowledge. Isn’t it? (Congregation agreed.) It is the ability to apply that knowledge with a moral and scriptural understanding leading to righteous actions and avoiding a path of foolishness.
Joyful is the person who finds that wisdom. It guides them in a way that they understand this isn’t good for my life, or this is good for my life. Not only that but also, in that verse, “the one who gains understanding.” In verse 14, “for wisdom is more profitable than silver and her wages are better than gold.” Wisdom in verse 15, is “more precious than rubies.” Nothing you desire can compare to her. Nothing is compatible to having not only that knowledge but also the ability to understand and put it into action, the knowledge that you gain that says this is a better way of life for me. This is what I need to be doing. This is what I don’t need to be doing. This is what I need to be involved in. this is what I don’t need to be involved in. someone that is able to take that knowledge, understand it, and apply it to their life and align themselves with God; the writer says that person is not only going to be joyful, gain understanding but that it is going to be more profitable for them than silver. The wages of it are much more than gold. The dividends that it will pay out is way more than all of that. Not only that but it will be more precious to them than fine rubies and nothing they could ever desire could even possibly compare to that.
Now, here are some questions I have.
1. Why is the person who finds wisdom, joyful and the one who will gain understanding?
2. How is wisdom more profitable? How is it more profitable than silver, and wages better than gold?
3. How can wisdom be more precious than rubies and nothing be compared to her?
Those questions came from the three verses that I read to you. It is defining and telling us about a person that their life is going to be joyful. It is going to be filled with understanding. Also, they are going to realize the value of what they have and how precious that it is. They are going cling to it. The answer lies in verse 16; if you will look there as I already read to you in the King James Version. I will now read to you out of the NLT. It says this.
Proverbs 3:16
16 She offers you long life in her right hand, and riches and honor in her left.
Think about this just for a moment. What are two things the world wants more than anything else? Money and power. We will add one more along with that power that will connect along with it. They don’t want to die. Do they? I don’t know anybody that says I would just like to die tomorrow or die today. They will spend all the money they can spend, just like the woman in the Bible. She spent all she had. Why? She had a situation that was going to take her out of this world. She didn’t want to die. Money then didn’t mean anything. Money means something to them when they are healthy and okay. However, when they are looking at death; they don’t want to die, so they will spend all of that. They want money. They want power and life.
Verse 16 tells us that wisdom—she holds in the right hand there is long life, then in her left hand there is honor and riches. What are you getting at Todd? There are two thoughts that I had. Godly wisdom, that which a person takes knowledge, is able to understand it, apply it to their life; aligns them with God’s will and the way God wants them to go. They say, “Hey, this is what is good for my life.” Godly wisdom holds in her hand the very thing the world is trying to gain apart from God. Seeking God, and the wisdom of God in that we find…Everything—we say it all the time—but simplifying it just like this in Him and seeking Godly wisdom lies absolutely everything we really desire and want. God has absolutely everything we need in all—His wisdom will guide us in that direction.
Let me explain. Here is the second one. Godly wisdom will help in providing for our monetary needs as well as, our physical needs. I am going to explain how. Godly wisdom helps us—and I’m going to say it this way. It helps us in our work ethics. Do you believe that? Good. I’m glad you did. If you didn’t, I would ask you to leave. Na, I’m just kidding. What it does is this. Godly wisdom—as we look to the Lord, we take that knowledge and again, it helps us to understand what? That God does not want us to be lazy. Does He? When we have a job to do, when we have agreed to do something then that is what we should do. If we don’t then we are lying, aren’t we? If we don’t fulfill that then we are not being truthful. Wisdom helps us. We gain understanding. I want my life to be in alignment with God. Well, God is truthful therefore, I must be truthful. If I am on the clock, and something I am supposed to be doing then that is what I am going to be doing.
I have had others tell me on the job site—I am not bragging. Please, don’t misunderstand what I am saying. It is the only example I have. Anyways, I have been on the job sites before, especially union jobs where they say “Sit down. You have eight hours. Don’t worry about it.” I look at them and say, “That is not what they hired me for. That is not what I was told to do. If you want to sit, that’s fine, but don’t condemn me for something. This is my job!” They didn’t have a problem hiring me. I didn’t have a problem saying, “I will do whatever it takes when I needed a job.” If I said that and I meant it then when it comes time to go to work then go to work. So, what I am pointing at is this. Godly wisdom will help us with our work ethics and with the job. It helps us. When things are not right—we don’t steal from businesses. We don’t do this and we don’t do that; things that aren’t right. We do the things that needs to be done. Why is that? It is because we have Godly wisdom that helps us to understand that we want to walk in the way of God because this is a better life for me and I don’t want to behave that way. I don’t want to do that. As we see that, it helps us in not only our work ethics but also the way we spend our income, the way we spend, the way we take the money.
There are things—just the other day, I made a purchase of something. It was a bunch of tools, that I already had and only because they were on sale. I was going down the road and I thought, that really wasn’t very smart. I went back and took them back. The lady said, “You have buyers’ remorse? Do ya?” I said, well I already have all of these. I just have to get them back from my son. He takes everything I have.
So, he gives us Godly wisdom. We can take some of those things; not only does it help us in being able to construct to pay for our bills. We just don’t go out here and waste it on things that are unnecessary all the time. If we did that all the time then we wouldn’t be able to pay our bills or take care of the things we need. Right? I’m not saying that we don’t at times, with impulse, maybe buy something or do something like that—that we probably should not have done. However, what I am saying is this. Wisdom will help guide us in our finances that we are able to pay for the things we need for this life. So, in her hand, she has what we need. Who? Wisdom! Where does the wisdom come from? God Almighty! We are talking about Godly wisdom. We are not talking about a dog-eat-dog world wisdom. We are not talking about a wisdom that the world has that says, “I will climb over, chew up, chew down, throw down anybody I have to in order to get what I want. No. That’s not what we are talking about. We are talking about wisdom from God Almighty that says I am going to help you throughout your life, to show you the path that you need to go and the way that is right.
We find out that not only does it help us with our income—I wrote this down as well—it will help to us the physical dangers of substance abuse, as well as, our dieting, then I put in (should we allow it). Wisdom will teach us that partaking in certain things are going to be harmful to our bodies. I’m not going to get too deep into that. The point of the matter is that wisdom, godly wisdom says, “Hey, that’s not good for you. Stay away from that. Don’t get involved in that.” Have you grabbed that tenth piece of fudge, then think, “I probably shouldn’t do that.” Yeah, you shouldn’t. Godly wisdom. Why is that? Cause it really isn’t that good for you. Godly wisdom will helps us as long as we will allow it. If we will use it as it is intended—guess what? It is way more precious than rubies. It is more valuable than silver and gold. The wages of it will pay out more. The dividends of it outweigh anything that we could ever imagine. So, when we narrow it down to that and we say everything the world is trying to gain; I already have it in God Almighty through Jesus Christ. The wisdom of God will produce in my life all of those things.
You have heard me say a hundred times before, and I will say it for the hundred and one time that… The Psalmist said I have never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. God has promised us that if we will listen and follow Him; He will take care of everything we need physically, financially, and spiritually. Praise God! When we learn the wisdom of God, when we understand where wisdom comes from, at least, accept Him then the closer we get to Him the more He helps us understand. Praise God! Then the more we want to embrace Him. Right? Alright!
In verse 17, when we read that earlier; it tells us her ways in the King James Version, that her ways are ways of pleasantness and her paths are peace. In verse 17, we learn that godly wisdom wants to guide us in ways that the result will produce a heart that will be satisfied. Listen to this in the NLT if you will. She meaning wisdom will guide you down delightful paths and all her ways are satisfying. The wisdom of God, as we seek God’s face, as we draw near unto His side, as we learn all we can about the Word of God and we apply it to our lives; then the wisdom of Almighty God desires that we live in peace. Now, when we say that—Does that mean peace as far as, we never have problems, we have a situation—No! It is peace within us. There is no turmoil on the inside of us. Not only that but along with that we live a life that we are satisfied. We talked about that the other day; we are satisfied. Why is that? Because we realize that wisdom is knowledge, with understanding put into action causes us to do what? Understand that we have everything we need. When I realize that I have everything I need; I am satisfied. What more could I want? If I have everything I need, then what more could I want? Right? Quit praying about that new car. Alright. Just kidding!
Proverbs 3:18
18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.
Verse 18 reminds us once again—and I wanted to point this out to you—of the importance of godly wisdom in not only seeking it, but also finding it and embracing it. Listen. Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her. Happy are those who hold her tight. Happy are those who say, I am not going to live that way. I am not going to put myself through those things. I am not going to sit and wring my hands and worry about things that I can’t do anything about. I am going to trust God. That is godly wisdom. That is the Holy Spirit of God leading us in a path of godly wisdom that says, this is what is in step with God. This is what is in tune with God. This is in the way of God. That way you don’t worry about it. You let Him handle it. In that path is peace. In that path is satisfaction. In that path we understand that hey, I don’t need to worry about how high the water is getting, or how hard the wind blows. I don’t have to worry about how long the sun is going to be gone, or how dark it is going to be outside. How long it is going to be before the sunrise. I don’t need to sit and worry about these things as far as, over this situation that we are dealing with. I am just simply going to trust God. Wisdom helps us. The Holy Spirit of God takes wisdom and guides us to do that. Wisdom says, I am going to trust God. I am going to depend upon God.
Proverbs 3:19
19 By wisdom the Lord founded the earth; by understanding he created the heavens.
Do you see what the writer is doing? He is putting it out there for the readers to understand. Guess what? We have been talking about wisdom and the value of it. We have been talking about how important that it is. Let me tell exactly where it comes from. Let me tell you the source. Not only that, but let me tell you how powerful He is. So, he tells them…
Proverbs 3:19
19 By wisdom the Lord founded the earth; by understanding he created the heavens.
That eliminates—as He writing to those who are going to be reading it; then when they are thinking about those things…
By wisdom the Lord founded the earth; by understanding he created the heavens.
That means there never was an earth. He is saying, hey, think about His power. Think about who we are talking about. There wasn’t even an earth. By His wisdom it was founded. By His wisdom. I don’t know how God did it, but He did it. I don’t know how that it happened. But by His understanding He created the heavens.
Proverbs 3:20
20 By his knowledge the deep fountains of the earth burst forth, and the dew settles beneath the night sky.
I guess we could word it like this. He is saying, I don’t have a clue how it works, but I know the wisdom of God did it all. He did it all. When I think about Him, and who He is, and the fact that He is God; this is offered to us. He is offering to us. People go out here and climb over one another, and they fight one another and do all these things to try to get the things that are going to be gone one of these days. They think this is what I really want. He is saying, no, it all really lies in the life of God. That is where it is at. He is the one that has wisdom. He is the one that can guide your life to prosperity. I am not talking about riches and all kinds of monetary things. I am not necessarily meaning that, but I am not excluding that either. What I am talking about is this. He is leading us in a way that is successful in our walk with Him to a life that is satisfying, a life that is pleasing unto God. It is only through Him.
I have seen some that had a lot. I have seen some that had little. As long as they had Christ, both were satisfied. It wasn’t what they had in their pockets, or what they had at home; but it was who they had in their heart. How do we know that? Godly wisdom. The Holy Spirit of God takes the Word of God and applies it to our heart and teaches us Godly wisdom and says hey, this is what is better than anything else. You cannot desire anything else that could even remotely come close to it. Do you know what we do? We believe it. Why? It is because it is better felt than told. We know it to be true in our heart because we put it to the test. We have experienced Him. We experienced it at the hand of God. We watched Him time and time again put money in our pockets that we didn’t know where it was going to come from. Also, to put food on our table that we had no idea where it was going to come from. You say, Todd, has it really been that bad? I am sure they have. It has in mine. It probably has in yours as well. If they haven’t they may. What I know is this. God takes care of His people. Godly wisdom tells us don’t you sit back and worry about that. You just trust God.
Reading from the NLT and I love this. I just told myself I’ve got to read this. You have got to hear this. I love the way they word it.
Proverbs 3:21-24
21 My child, don’t lose sight of common sense and discernment. Hang on to them,
22 for they will refresh your soul. They are like jewels on a necklace.
23 They keep you safe on your way, and your feet will not stumble.
24 You can go to bed without fear; you will lie down and sleep soundly.
He is saying, Listen, guys. It doesn’t take Einstein to figure this out; just a little common sense. A little common sense, a little discernment to understand that there is a God in heaven, who spoke this world into existence, by His wisdom and by His power. If you will embrace that and if you will accept that and if you will allow Him to be Lord of your heart—praise God!
Proverbs 3:25-26
25 You need not be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked,
26 for the Lord is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap.
How? Cause He is the source of all wisdom. When there is a trap laid out there for you, His wisdom will guide you. The Holy Spirit of God will lead you and direct you and the wisdom of God will help you to understand that I need to be a little cautious about this. I need to spend a little more time in prayer about this. Think about this thing a little longer. You see we don’t do that in our own ability. That is the wisdom of God. Why is that? At the end of the day, I know this. I know in my life and I know in your life, we all want to please God. Don’t we? That’s what I really want to do. I want God to be happy. If that be true and it is, then the Holy Spirit of God leads me, guides me, helps me and He brings understanding in my life. I can take that and put it into action. That is godly wisdom. It helps me to say, hey, this is what is good for my life. That is not. I want to say this as well. It helps us in our discernment and who we allow into our space and into our lives and those that we don’t. Sometimes, it takes us a little longer than others. Sometimes, we catch on. Sometimes, we don’t. However, at some point the wisdom of God, when there are certain people that do not need to be in our lives, in our space; He says, you might want to think about this just for a moment. He begins to point out things and show us things. As we recognize those things then we begin to say, I don’t need that in my life. That is not us—in our own ability and our own power. No. That is godly wisdom saying, hey, think about this for a minute. If you want to stay in tune with God, you want to walk in the steps and the way of God, you want to be satisfied and your life to be pleasing unto God; then there are some changes that needs to be made. There are times like that. Isn’t there? Good.
Proverbs 3:26-28
26 for the Lord is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap.
27 Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them.
28 If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say, “Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you.”
What causes us to do that? Oh, we are just really smart people. Awe, no. It is the wisdom of God. Do you know what He does? God not only gave us the job, He gave us the godly wisdom to understand that this is what is right. We go out and do what we need to do. The income that comes in—do you know what God does? Godly wisdom says, hey, there is somebody in need. Do you know what we do? In our understanding we say, I want to please God then we go out and help those in need. We do what needs to be done. We don’t do it out of our own ability. We do it because we want to please God. Through that we are satisfied.
Proverbs 3:28-29
28 If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say, “Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you.”
29 Don’t plot harm against your neighbor, for those who live nearby trust you.
Some of us would like to but He says, no. Godly wisdom won’t let us do that. Will He? For those who live nearby trust you. I am going to read again.
Proverbs 3:29
29 Don’t plot harm against your neighbor, for those who live nearby trust you.
What is it saying? Those you don’t even realize you are influencing, you are having an impact in their lives, and they trust you in areas and ways that you don’t even realize. Therefore, don’t seek out and don’t do things that would be bring reproach to that or would harm that. Don’t do that. I know it is speaking about bringing harm against your neighbor. Let’s read the next one that can help us also with this.
Proverbs 3:30-31
31 Don’t pick a fight without reason, when no one has done you harm.
31 Don’t envy violent people or copy their ways.
Why is that? Again, for those that are nearby trust you. They are watching us.
Proverbs 3:32-35
32 Such wicked people are detestable to the Lord, but he offers his friendship to the godly.
33 The Lord curses the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the upright.
34 The Lord mocks the mockers but is gracious to the humble.
35 The wise inherit honor, but fools are put to shame!
How do we know this? I know all of this to be true because of godly wisdom. Godly wisdom helps me to understand that when I read this to not go out here and be mean to others. Don’t talk about others. Don’t try to hurt others. Don’t wish harm on others. Why? Because there are people around watching your life. How do you know that? Godly wisdom teaches me that. It teaches me that. It says, don’t behave that way. Don’t act like that. Don’t do that. Why? Within me, I then say; I don’t want to be that way. Why is that? Because I want to please the Lord. Why is that the case? Because I want to walk in the way of the Lord. Why do I want to do that? Because that is the only place I am satisfied. I can have all the money in the world. I can have no money at all. However, if I am not walking in the way of God then I am not satisfied. It really doesn’t matter what I have.
That is the wrap up on Proverbs 3 and Wisdom. If you didn’t enjoy it then just keep that to yourself. Just kidding.
The Lord is good!