Proverbs 3:13 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.
16 Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.
17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.
Happiness is equated with blessedness. Happiness is for the man that finds wisdom. Unless the Lord opens your understanding, you will not seek wisdom. The natural man cannot find wisdom on his own. He seeks happiness through a job, through sex, through money, through liquor, cigarettes, illicit drugs, etc. That is what defines the lost.
However, that cannot define the God-fearing man. New Evangelicalism suggests these things in moderation can work for the man of God. That is a lie, but it is being promoted in the modern pseudo Christian world. Some of those who hold to that philosophy may be repulsed when they see it in writing, but just because you may not go that far, does not mean that you are not a part of that philosophy.
God met with king Solomon while he was a young king. Solomon understood he was given a forbidding task as a king. He had been trained by king David. King David made some mistakes in his life. However, he had learned some important truths from those sins. He was not one who wanted to whitewash his sins. Read Psalm 51 for example and see David’s heart-cry. Solomon saw and heard what true faith looks like. He understood he needed that as a young king. God was willing to give him that wisdom. Solomon needed to understand that he needed to draw from that wisdom. It was available to him, but he needed to avail himself of it. We see that he did that when his brother wanted to have Abishag as his wife. He understand that his brother was looking for a way to undermine his authority. He understood the need to deal with Joab in a forceful manner. He also needed to deal with Shimei. He gave him the opportunity to extend his life, but he soon proved he did not weigh the consequences of his actions very seriously. He understood how to deal with the two harlots that came to him with one living baby. Each claimed the live baby as their own. Solomon knew how to solve that problem very quickly.
However, he did not avail himself of that same wisdom when it came to his wife. His first wife, which should have been his only wife, was a foreign woman. God told the kings of Israel they were to marry a woman from within the nation of Israel. Solomon ignored that. After he married that woman, he was not satisfied. He kept finding more and more women. By the time he died, he had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. He allowed those women to turn his heart away from the Lord. Those women were wicked women; however, Solomon chose them. He could not blame them for his failure. He allowed them to turn him away from the truth. The result of that was further trouble for himself and the nation of Israel.
The happy man is the one who finds wisdom and the man that gets understanding. The word translated as understanding involves intelligence. Obviously, Solomon did not appreciate God’s wisdom for long. He did not see the value of that. The majority of mankind does not see the value of God’s wisdom. We lack understanding.
In verse 14 we see that these qualities are contrasted to merchandise and they are better than the merchandise of silver and gold. The man who gains understanding of God’s wisdom, is richer than the man who increases his gold holdings.
Most people look at material things as riches. They see the things that glitter as of greater value than wisdom. Achan believed that. His faulty vision cost him and his family their lives. However, thirty six other men lost their lives as a result of this as well. The nation of Israel suffered because Joshua momentarily failed to see the value of God’s wisdom.
In verse 15 we see that God’s wisdom is more precious than rubies. Rubies are a valuable gem. People like rubies in their jewelry. Kings like rubies in their crowns. There is nothing that is of greater value than God’s wisdom. The young son needs to understand this. The fathers of our world need to understand this and they need to teach their children this.
What we are seeing is an increase in greed. We see our politicians talking of how they care about the higher cost of groceries and the inability of people to purchase a house, etc. Yet they love the increases in pay they get. It does not matter how bad the economy is getting; their pay checks keep coming in. They keep getting in the jets and flying all over the place and wasting taxpayer dollars. They talk of climate change, but they don’t care how much exhaust those jets spew out to get them where they want to go. Jet exhaust is not causing climate change, but that is what they tell us.
God wants us to put the brakes on and ask Him to open our eyes and ears to see Truth.
Verse 16 answers the concern of so many who are looking to avoid death. Many have searched for that illusive “fountain of youth”. The fact is that aging is part of life. We cannot stop that. We can have some impact on how we age. If we seek after God’s wisdom we will avoid many things that have a negative effect on human life. Length of days includes more than that which we see with our naked eye. Length of days includes eternal life which is found in knowing the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour and then serving God with Him as the Lord of our lives.
We need God’s gift of salvation. We also need God’s gift of wisdom after we are saved, to know how to make wise choices. We see as well that wisdom has riches and honour in her left hand. God’s wisdom is all encompassing. Riches are not that pie in the sky riches that the charismatic fools talk of. They steal money from the gullible and greedy in order to line their own pockets. They talk of how God will increase your wealth if you just surrender to Him and give them a little more of what you have. Too many believe that lie and they sacrifice food and clothing in the hope that they will all of a sudden become rich. For many that never happens. God is not talking of bank accounts. His riches are eternal and cannot be diminished by inflation or theft. They are wealth the world cannot see nor understand.
In verse 17 we see that her ways are ways of pleasantness. Sometimes people make foolish decisions that then bring worry. They get into a mess and then do not know how to get out of it. Samson made a mess of his life. He lost his eyes, his freedom, his joy. His only hope was to end his life along with the lives of many of his enemies. He did not need to end up in that mess, but he chose to ignore God’s wisdom. He played around with the blessings God gave him.
God offers peace on His paths. His paths are not confusing, nor corrupting. For some it will be into full-time ministry. For others it will be labourers in some particular field of service. When a person is saved and allows God to lead him into His path, he will know His peace as well.
God’s wisdom is a tree of life. Imagine that. A tree we can pick from on a daily basis. A tree that has more than enough fruit on it. Adam and Eve had access to the tree of life in the Garden of Eden. They chose to reject that tree and God drove them from the Garden so that they could no longer access it. The book of the Revelation tells us there is a tree of life in heaven. Those who are saved have access to that tree even now through the gift of eternal life. Our physical bodies are getting older and deteriorating. However, our spiritual life is real and alive from the moment of salvation. One day all the saved will be in glory, enjoying the many blessings of God in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is where true happiness is found and maintained. If you are struggling today, turning to God and trusting in Him will make all the difference.
Pastor Bartel