Blog - Proverbs 2:4

If you like this blog, then you will like Get Wisdom, Get Understanding which is Pastor Wagner's commentary on Proverbs chapter 1 which is available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle. Find out more here. For all the blogs in this series, click here: Proverbs Commentary. Proverbs 2:4 "If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;" (Pro 2:4)

---

The third and final condition necessary to understand the fear of the LORD and to find the knowledge and wisdom of God (Pro 2:5-6) is, like the second condition, comprised of two elements: seeking and searching (Pro 2:4). The Lord Jesus Christ, "a greater than Solomon" (Mat 12:42), taught as did Solomon that in order to receive "good things" (such as knowledge and wisdom) from our heavenly Father a man must first ask, and then seek, before finding them.

Mat 7:7-11 - Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

If thou seekest her. Asking is necessary, but not sufficient, for finding God's knowledge and wisdom. Christians must not stop in their pursuit of the knowledge of God and His truth after having merely asked for it, but must prove that their desire is genuine by seeking it. To seek is "to go in search or quest of; to try to find, look for" (OED). Asking involves desire, but seeking requires effort; asking is relatively easy, but seeking is difficult. Because of apathy, few men ask for knowledge and wisdom; because of laziness, even fewer yet will seek for it. The fact that the knowledge of God must be sought for implies that the Almighty conceals it from men in general, which He does by hiding it in plain sight: for wisdom cries from every corner of life (Pro 1:20-21; 8:1-3). If thou seekest her as silver. The LORD here describes the intensity with which understanding, knowledge, and wisdom are to be sought after. There are few things that men will seek for with more diligence and drive than precious metals such as silver and gold. Mining for gold and silver is not for the slothful, but for the industrious. For millennia men have compassed land and sea, enduring hardship and deprivation, with the hopes of finding these costly commodities, often forsaking family and career for the chance of finding a fortune they deemed worth it. Rarely is silver found lying on the surface of the earth, but is nearly always discovered buried deep within it, requiring extreme exertion and often risk of life and limb to extract it. As it is for him who seeks silver, so it is for the man that seeks the knowledge of God: it will cost him dearly, sometimes including even his family, friends, time, reputation, career, and lifestyle. The knowledge and wisdom of God are far more valuable than gold or silver, and are therefore worth exerting more time and effort to find and acquire than them.

Pro 3:13-15 - 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.
Pro 8:10-11,19 - Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. 11 For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it. 19 My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.
Pro 16:16 - How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!

It is therefore beyond question that knowledge, wisdom, and understanding are exceedingly valuable, substantially more so than even gold and silver, and thus should be sought after more earnestly than they. Where then are these precious things to be sought? While the act of seeking is difficult, finding the place to search is not; for one must look no further than the word of God: "for the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding" (Pro 2:6). Hence the reason that in order to find the knowledge of God we must "search the scriptures" (Joh 5:39; Act 17:11). The knowledge and wisdom of God, which are better than fine gold and choice silver, are found in His law which is more precious than the same.

Psa 19:7-10 - The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. 8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Psa 119:72 - The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.
Psa 119:127 - Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.

And searchest for her as for hid treasures. If a Christian is to find the knowledge of God, it will be by searching for it with the same ambition as he would when looking for a sunken ship full of precious cargo or treasures that ancestors had buried on the family farm. To find material treasures, a man might have difficulty ascertaining where to begin looking, but to find true treasure, he only need look as far as Jesus Christ, "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col 2:3). To know the truth of God, we must read and study the word of God, as Jesus said, "if ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (Joh 8:31-32). By doing so, a Christian can lay up "treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal" (Mat 6:20). These treasures of the wisdom and knowledge of God and His kingdom are worth diligently searching for and selling all that a man has to buy them.

Mat 13:44-46 - Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. 45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: 46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

---