GET THIS
Proverbs 4:4-8 NKJV
4 He also taught me, and said to me:
“Let your heart retain my words;
Keep my commands, and live.
5 Get wisdom! Get understanding!
Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
6 Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you;
Love her, and she will keep you.
7 Wisdom is the principal thing;
Therefore get wisdom.
And in all your getting, get understanding.
8 Exalt her, and she will promote you;
She will bring you honor, when you embrace her.
This is one of my favorite proverbs because it is packed with nugget after nugget of timeless advice. The theme of this chapter is wisdom and what wisdom produces in our lives.
It would not be much of a stretch to assume that Solomon is referring back to the input he received from his father, David. It seems David spent time with Solomon, who refers to himself as the only one in his mother's sight. To the best of our knowledge, Solomon was the only child Bathsheba had. David was emphasizing to Solomon what would be the most important thing in his life. David also knew that it was Solomon that God had chosen to be the next king. So David’s job was to get him ready.
Let your heart retain my words. We can now switch from David’s advice to the inspired words of God. So, we are not listening to David per se. We are listening to what God would say to us. As we read from that perspective, we can see even more the importance of God’s wisdom in our lives.
Get wisdom and get understanding. Don’t forget or turn away from God’s words to us. And don’t forsake God’s words. These seem to be the three areas we struggle with today. The tendency to forget what God has said to us is always present. Thankfully, we have the Holy Spirit to help us remember. Don’t turn away from God’s word. This would imply knowing what to do but taking a different path. It’s way too easy to be led by feelings or reasonings, but those paths are not as productive. Following after God’s wisdom in His words is always the right choice. Forsaking God’s word would be the most dangerous. That is a conscious decision to abandon what God has said. This is a path that leads away from God.
But if we will hold onto wisdom, then God’s wisdom will guard and watch over us. Many of us can look back on our lives and realize where God’s wisdom has protected us. And we can look back on when we walked away from His wisdom, and the results were not good.
Wisdom is the principle or primary thing so get wisdom. The number of choices we face every day can be daunting, so it helps to have priorities. Making the pursuit and practice of God’s wisdom a top priority is of major importance. Pursuing and embracing God’s wisdom will produce promotion and honor. So, instead of a full-blown pursuit of promotion and honor, take the different path. Intentionally go after God’s wisdom, and it will produce the promotion and honor that we desire. Sounds a bit like seek first the Kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you.
The world, without God, seeks many of the same things that wisdom will produce in our lives. But we know the secret passage - wisdom.
PRAYER
Lord, show me how I can pursue Your wisdom to an even greater extent.