How
hard is it to get life “right?” I mean, if we want to really make a positive
impact on our world, what is it going to cost us? The quick answer is everything.
But this answer doesn’t help us walk it out in any meaningful way. It doesn’t
provide any direction for our day to day journey.
Proverbs are often stated in pairs of lines
like verse one, two parallel thoughts, the second building on and expanding the
imagery of the first. Accept my words // store up my commands. Together these
start to paint a picture. Pay attention to this first line, second line
pairing. What does the second line say that the first line doesn’t?
Our passage today (vv1-15) is filled with
actions we can take, word pictures that give us direction. Run through these
verses and look at all the verbs, the actions. Accept, store up, turn, apply,
call out, cry aloud, look, search. Then match these with the pictures they
evoke in your mind. Let it soak in.
The LORD wants us to do more than casually
approach wisdom and knowledge. He wants us to be diligent students, looking for
it with energy and determination (vv1-4). Each second half amplifies the action
of the first half. He wants us to not just accept, but to store up, not just
hear, but apply, not just whisper for it, but be willing to make some noise,
seek it as the most valuable thing in life. If we do this, then (v5) we will
understand just who the LORD is, His character, power and unapproachable
holiness. We won’t just know about God, we will have firsthand knowledge of
Him.
And why is this so? He is the source of
wisdom, knowledge and understanding (v6). Does that mean we don’t need to study
for the test and just pray and ask Him to bail us out? Of course not! Gaining
these things is a process (vv7-8). There were be many side streets onto which
we might wander, but He will give light to His way. He will protect the way.
Another way to put this would be that His way will be protected while other
ways are not. This does not mean that there will be no pitfalls if we follow
the LORD, but that His presence will be with us, if we follow His leading. We
live in a sinful world where the results of sin have permeated the creation
itself, and sometimes, perhaps even often, we feel the negative repercussions
of sin’s presence.
Verses 9-15 illustrate the protective force
of wisdom. If we know what wisdom looks like and sounds like, we won’t be pulled
of the path by those whose current purpose in life is ruining themselves and
others around them. Again, read the pictures and let it sink in. Wisdom can
save us from so many ills.