Double Down

Proverbs 4:1-9

There is a slight change to whom this set of proverbs is addressed. Did you notice it, or did it just slip by? He writes “sons” plural. This advice applies to all his sons collectively, not to one son in particular, or each son individually. Sometimes the LORD has something for all of us, something that will fit with all our lives. Sometimes the LORD’s advice is more tailored to meet our specific need.

This passage contains many themes that we have read before, especially the need to gain wisdom. But it takes on a more personal tone. He connects with his sons by referring to that fact that he is a son just like them (v3). He even recalls the conversation his father had with him about the importance of gaining wisdom (vv4-9). It is right in the middle of this conversation that the writer shares something new.

His father told him that wisdom was the most important pursuit in life, so if you are going to succeed at one pursuit, make it the pursuit of wisdom (v7). You don’t want to fail at this task.

Notice the parallel structure of this verse. Wisdom and understanding are what we are to get. They stand at the end of each phrase to show that they are joined together. He is not contrasting wisdom and knowledge, but saying they are the same end.

The start of the journey is simple: get wisdom. But getting wisdom means you get knowledge as well. The second phrase steps up the pursuit. No matter how much is costs, get wisdom and knowledge. Start the journey and do whatever it takes to finish it.

This doubling up of ideas is a common way to drive home a point in Hebrew poetry. In Blackjack you can double down to take the greatest advantage of certain times when the house odds are at their worst. This is what the writer does with his words. He doubles down on the pursuit of wisdom, raising the stakes, and maximizing his odds of getting wisdom and knowledge.

It can be easy to let our spiritual disciplines slip down the priority list in our lives. This passage today would say to move it back up to the top and do everything you can to keep it there.

Detour

Proverbs 2

 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.