For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
Summary: Wisdom is an interesting commodity. We know what happens when we do not have any, but what happens when we do? Do we actually want to use it?
One of the more famous passages in Scripture is a quote from the letter written by James, the brother of Jesus. He writes:
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” (James 1:5)
The first thing that wisdom teaches us is that God is also the source of knowledge and understanding. But how many people actually want wisdom, knowledge, and understanding?
Let’s look at the question differently.
Looking back on your life, if you had known then what you know now, what would you have done differently?
I hope that there is at least one thing each of us has learned that we would do differently. (In my case there is a lot I would change!) So even using the little bit of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding that I have now as a measuring stick, I can see that there are different choices I would have made.
Now for the really hard question!
Had I known the difference between doing what I did and what was wise, which path would I have taken?
In other words, would I have done the stupid stuff, anyway?
Sadly, the answer in my case is “Yes, I would have.” Maybe not every time, but I know that there were many times I “knew better” and did whatever stupid thing it was. This brings to mind the old joke:
Q: “Where does good judgment come from?”
A: “Bad judgment.”
There is a difference between knowing (head knowledge) and knowing (life knowledge). “Life knowledge” includes digesting the knowledge, wisdom, and understanding from God so that it becomes part of who we are.
Even when we know which path we should take, standing at the fork in the road, the call of “adventure” is strong. One path is safe, the other offers… what? Risk? Excitement? What is it exactly that draws us into the shadow of stupid mistakes?
The most famous example of Stupid Mistakes I can think of is found in the story of Solomon. After God established the kingdom of Israel under David, Solomon is handed the reins of a nation at peace. He asks God for wisdom and God is pleased to give him more than he asked for (1 Kings 3: 6-15).
Sadly, given virtually unlimited power and wealth as well as wisdom, Solomon disobeys God’s advice. In particular, God said, “He [the future king of Israel] must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray.” (Deuteronomy 17: 17) But Solomon could not help himself. In the end, he had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. As if that was not enough, God had commanded Israelites not to marry the Canaanites “because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods” (1 Kings 11: 1-6). And so they did!
The entire history of the world would have been different if Solomon had obeyed God. He knew better, but he still followed the desires of his flesh instead of God’s instruction.
“Downstream impact” is a phrase that is sometimes used in business to describe the effect of our choices. If I pour used engine oil in the stream next to my driveway, the oil flows downstream. It leaves a sheen not only on the water but on the soil, too. It also leaves behind the dead bodies of the little critters poisoned by the oil. Dumping oil impacts everything downstream.
If we think of time as a stream, pouring moral poison into the flow of time has a downstream impact. When Solomon married “foreign women,” he married their gods as well. The poison he poured into the history of the Jews eventually ended up with the complete desecration of the Temple (Ezekiel 23:39).
So what is the point in all of this? If the wisest man who ever lived could not follow his own wisdom, what hope do you and I have?
Actually, we have something Solomon did not have. We have God’s own Holy Spirit in us. The Spirit of God coaches us, guides us, and convicts us when we are headed in the wrong direction. In addition to knowledge, wisdom, and understanding, God also gives us himself.
Application: Trust God for knowledge, wisdom, understanding, and guidance.
Food for Thought: What does it sound like when God gives us wisdom, knowledge, and understanding “from his mouth”?
There is a reason Solomon wrote down his wisdom under the direction of the Holy Spirit. It is because God wanted us to have His wisdom revealed to us in the Scriptures. The sound that is needed is the sound of Bible pages being turned (or listening to His word via an audio Bible).
Thank you, Brother.
I’ve been listening to your Wednesday meditations online. Almost like an audio-bible only with great commentary! 🙂
Thank you brother. You are gracious and kind.
01-31-2022, Proverbs 2:6, What does it sound like when God gives us wisdom, knowledge, and understanding “from his mouth”?
2 Timothy 3:16, All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness.
How it sounds to the receiver will depend upon the condition of their heart.
Ron,
Great comment! You make a critically important observation.
It is likely that the teachings of “false teachers” (2 Peter 2:1) reflect what they see in Scripture but what they “see” is twisted by a heart that is in no condition to received God’s Word.
I would like to add a clarification to today’s “Food for Thought” question:
John 14:26 tells us, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
My experience, and the experience of others whom I know, has been that God does speak to us directly. Of course, we have to test any spiritual voice against the Word of God (1 John 4:1), but God does reach into our minds and speak at times.
Yesterday, Darla mentioned the “’still small voice’ inside of me.”
If you have experienced this, how does God’s voice sound to you?
I personally feel the description of a still small voice works well. To me it feels like a strong urging or leading that I have to work hard to ignore – and hopefully I do not often ignore.
How has God spoken to me:
“Last”-“Lasting” Conviction:
At 33Years old, I was single managing a critical portion of a large international manufacturing company making lots of money. I lived in a mansion on 5 acres with two other men, and our live in maid, we stocked the house with drugs and alcohol, and there was a steady stream of beautiful women coming and going.
I Came home one afternoon, the house was unnervingly quiet and empty. I know today, God had called a meeting, possibly my last opportunity. God quietly opened my mind to visions of my depravity, I saw exactly who I was, what I was doing and where I was going. I thought NO WAY anyone would do that to me and I went to get my gun, determined to end life right then.
Growth:
God stopped me, placed a vision of a church I passed each day going to and from work in my mind and said GO THERE. God had a man in the church waiting to introduce me to Bible Study Fellowship which had a long waiting list. Jim told them about me, and I was placed in a class immediately. In six weeks of studying John, I accepted Christ.
God told me to move, I bought a house, hired movers, and in one day telling no-one where I was going I moved into my own home where I continued my studies in isolation for the next 6 years. It was a wonderful time with our Lord. I joined a church, and began serving others in every possible position available.
Correction:
As the years passed, I became very successful as a manager of a company I had started with some partners. In time my wife left for another man, and I began to slide back into some old sinful ways. God took everything I had away from me and I was left homeless with a 12 year old daughter to care for. Under Gods care, we had an old but solid car, we were never without a roof over our heads and never missed a meal. In time I began receiving a reasonable compensation from my company even though I did not work there and after another 5 years we sold it and I received more money than I had ever dreamed of. I tithed to church, paid my taxes and it was still too much, so I gave an additional 1/3 away. I invested most of the rest and retired and lived a quiet life, not giveing a single thought to walking away from the Lord again.
Guidance:
In time I developed and patented new products which I licensed another company to manufacture. We worked together to test, test, test the finished product until it at last met the very high standard required. We made arrangements to reveal this product to potential customers at a giant product show in Las Vegas, to be attended by 63,000 potential buyers. I was to leave Portland on Monday morning and on Saturday morning I received a call, My 44 year old son had been found in his home dead. I cried out to God about this, it was not fair, was not right or natural. Parents were to die before their children. God worked with be and brought various passages, examples from the Bible to my mind. I was not accepting any of them.
Then He spoke to my heart, Powerfully, firmly but not loudly. He asked me, “ Am I sovereign?”. I thought about it and at some point replied “Of Course.” He then asked me, “Full time or part time?” and was silent, He had signed off!
It Was up to me to figure this out, I left Monday morning to serve the living by promoting my product, And contributed what I could regarding the departure of my son when I returned.
Today I rest easy in all circumstances knowing GOD IS SOVEREIGN. Nothing happens without His approval and we remain His humble servants finding peace in all circumstances. How very blessed we are to be allowed to serve our Lord.
Ron,
Thank you. Your story is a powerful illustration of how our God speaks to us. Sometimes it is the Quiet Voice. Other times he has to get our attention before we will listen.
Thank you for listening! And thank you for sharing what you heard. The truth that God is sovereign even in troubled times is especially comforting now in these troubled days.
The power of these days to bring us to our knees is similar to your first meeting with God that you describe. The only difference is that today God is using our trials as a wakeup-call for the entire world.
You got it Jeff,
It’s interesting how we can accept and actually believe we are living as humble servants before God, however have a problem with His being Sovereign in all things.
Like throwing our baby into the pool. We stay real close as she goes down a couple times, but soon she is swimming. God is always close ready to grab us as we learn to walk in Him.
Proverbs is looking Great, Thank you for all your work Brother!
Blessings,
Ron