Below is an adaptation of a meditation I gave on Proverbs 2:1-11. The book of Proverbs empowers Christians to learn and live God’s way in the fear of the Lord. The foundation of God’s way begins with the fear of the Lord. For the full meditation, scroll down to the video.
Proverbs is a model of reality.
The Hebrew noun “proverb” is related to a verb that means “to represent, to be like.” So a proverb is a little model of reality, a little verbal representation of some aspect of our daily lives. And by picking a proverb up and turning it over and over and looking at it from all angles, we can see something about our lives before we step out into the actual reality. The world says, Live and learn. God is saying, Learn and live.
Ray Ortlund[1]
Let’s learn and live God’s way by turning to Proverbs 2:1.
If
Notice the action words in these verses and how they grow in intensity.
My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you, So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures;
Proverbs 2:1-4
Did you notice that the passage begins with a condition, “if”? In the four verses, we read three “ifs.” The conditions increase in intensity.
If we receive. The word for “receive” means to take possession of his words.
How did the Israelites receive the land that God had promised to them? They received the Promised Land one battle at a time.
The battles were the Lord’s when they were totally surrendered to Him. He fought the battles, but they had to receive the promise.
Receive to Perceive
It’s like receiving a gift. You have to hold out your hands as the gift is dropped into your hands. It’s up to you to open the gift and take it out of the bag or box. It’s up to you to use the gift or delight in the gift.
How are we receiving God’s Word?
Treasure Forever
The second half of that verse: “And treasure my commands within you.” How do we treasure a command? First we take possession of His words, then we treasure the commands of His words where? Within us. We make them sink down into our hearts.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:19-21
Where is your treasure? If God’s Word is your treasure, it has sunk deep into your heart, into your very being, into your thoughts, moment by moment.
How are we receiving and treasuring His word and commands? By inclining our ears to wisdom. We are listening deeply.
Focus on God
Then we are applying our hearts to understanding. We’re receiving or taking possession, treasuring, or hiding it away in our hearts, listening deeply, and asking “so what”? What does this mean to my life?
How can I understand God’s Word and His commands and apply them to my life?
We focus on God and His direction, His help in understanding His Word, His commands. Let’s fervently ask God to help us understand His Word. Let’s learn and live out God’s Word in our daily lives.
Seek and Find
Have you ever participated in a scavenger hunt? You’re given clues to find objects, and you scurry from one place to another trying to find as many objects as possible before the other people find them. When time is up, the one who finds the most objects gets a prize.
What better prize than God’s wisdom? Let’s seek His wisdom with all our hearts.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:21
What are you seeking for as if it were silver, a hidden treasure? Are you learning, seeking, and searching for God’s wisdom? How are you living in that wisdom?
The ancient Hebrews took it for granted that wisdom created the universe, controlled nature, and society.
If … Then
The first four verses set up the condition. If you receive, treasure, incline, apply, cry out, lift up your voice, seek, and search for wisdom. Now, we have the outcome if our hearts have fervently sought God’s wisdom.
Then we will understand the fear of the LORD. What’s the theme of the book of Proverbs?
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 1:7
Wisdom is a gift of God to those who diligently seek it as a treasure. It comes from God.
We learn about God’s commands and His wisdom by studying His Word, the Bible. Facts give us knowledge. As we meditate on God’s Word, the Holy Spirit teaches us, and we gain understanding that helps us apply what we have learned.
Treasure Wisdom
God is a God of abundance, and He’s waiting to pour out His treasured wisdom upon those who are walking with Him in His commands.
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
James 1:5-6
When our hearts are filled with God’s wisdom, the facts delight us, and we can discern how we should think and act. That discretion keeps us, and we understand how to rest in God.
Study Meanings
I did a search in BlueLetterBible.org on the exact phrase “fear of the Lord” and on the word “wisdom.”
The exact phrase, “fear of the LORD,” is found 14 times in Proverbs, 1 time in Job, 3 times in Isaiah, and 1 time in the book of Acts.
I also looked up the word wisdom. “Wisdom” is found 227 times in the Bible in the NKJV, and 49 times in the book of Proverbs. Then, I went through the verses and highlighted or underlined, circled “wisdom,” “instruction,” “understanding,” and “knowledge.” I highlighted the actions we are supposed to take and the actions that God takes.
Wisdom, understanding, instruction, knowledge, and the fear of the LORD.
You might want to do your own search and prayerfully ponder them.
The Fear of the Lord
The fear of the Lord is active and powerful.
Below is a handout that I prepared.
On Jesus rests the Spirit of the LORD. The Spirit of the Lord is wisdom, understanding, counsel or instruction, might, knowledge, and fear of the LORD.
Learn and Live
The fear of the LORD is our treasure. Knowledge begins with the fear of the LORD. We find life in the fear of the LORD.
What does the fear of the LORD look like in your life?
[1] Raymond C. Ortlund Jr., Preaching the Word: Proverbs—Wisdom That Works, ed. R. Kent Hughes (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012), 26.
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