The Proverbs Series: Wise Counsel
Walking the Wise Path to the Good Life
Dear #DailyFollower,
Introduction
I hope you’ve had a fantastic start to your week. It’s been an intense start, yet I'm thankful it’s been productive.
Today, we start to explore Proverbs 2.
If this is the first #DailyFollower newsletter you’re reading, we’ve been on a journey through Proverbs in the last 10 days; you can catch up on all the thoughts shared about the verses of the first chapter in Proverbs here.
So, let’s dive in!
The Text
Proverbs 2:1-4, EXB
1 My ·child [or son], ·listen to [grasp] what I say and ·remember [store up] what I command you.
2 ·Listen carefully [Bend your ear] to wisdom; ·set your mind on [stretch your heart to] understanding.
3 Cry out for wisdom, and ·beg [shout out loud] for understanding.
4 ·Search [Seek] for it like silver, and ·hunt [search] for it like hidden treasure.
Some Thoughts
Now, we’ve met Lady Wisdom (in Proverbs 1:20-33, EXB), and we understand that she leads everyone who listens to (hears and obeys) her to a life characterised by safety, peace and the absence of fear - that is the good life. Wisdom guides all who pay diligent attention to her through wise paths that bring them into and sustain them in the good life.
In Proverbs 2, King Solomon is back with some critical admonition. He calls us to listen, then listen carefully to His wise sayings. In the opening words of this passage, Solomon says when we find wisdom and understanding, our discovery will help us to find and stay on the path to a good life.
We see it isn’t only Lady Wisdom that cries; Solomon admonishes us to cry out for Wisdom. Since Wisdom is already crying out for attention in the noisy scenes of life (Proverbs 1:21, EXB), it’s possible that our quest to get her attention gets drowned in these noisy scenes. Hence, Solomon’s advice is to cry out for her and shout out loud for understanding, searching for her as though we were looking for a hidden treasure.
One Question To Ponder
How might I be missing hidden treasures of Wisdom, even though she shouts at the top of her voice at the city squares (Proverbs 1:20, EXB)?
Isn’t it amazing that Wisdom can be both visible and hidden at the same time? We see Wisdom visibly calling out for attention (Proverbs 1:20, EXB), and yet it needs to be sought out like a hidden treasure (Proverbs 2:4, EXB).
Some of the wonders of Scripture are at play here, and it is in the place of meditation that we find how both statements are true and the best way to find the hidden treasure out of the highly visible Lady Wisdom.
Conclusion
Silver is precious, and it takes searching to get it. It’s only after getting it that we can extract value from it. Knowing the general area where one can find silver brings only a limited amount of value compared to the value that comes from trading silver.
So knowing about Wisdom or occasionally listening to (hearing and obeying) her valuable instructions will yield less value than being in an ongoing relationship with Wisdom.
Daily Followers seeking to walk the wise path to the good life must commit to searching for and discovering the hidden value of Wisdom, and that only comes from an ongoing relationship with Wisdom.
If you’re not already in one (an ongoing relationship with Wisdom), it’s time to get into one.
Yours faithfully,
John, a #DailyFollower.
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