Proverbs 2:1 - Meaning and Application

Long before this, Job asked, “Where can wisdom be found?” and “Where does understanding come from?” (Job 28:12, Job 28:20). He gave a broad answer, “God knows where it is” (v. 23), but Solomon goes further here. He tells us where wisdom is found and how we can get it.

First, we must carefully attend to God’s word, because it is the word of wisdom. It is able to make us wise for salvation (Proverbs 2:1, Proverbs 2:2). We must be convinced that God’s words are the source and rule of wisdom and understanding. We do not need to wish for more wisdom than they can give us. We should incline our ear and apply our hearts to them, as we would to wisdom itself.

We must also receive God’s word with a willing mind, welcoming even the commands as well as the promises, without complaining or arguing. Like Samuel, we should say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” We must hide God’s words with us, as we would guard treasure from thieves. We should not only receive the word, but keep it, storing it in our hearts so it is always ready to use.

We must incline our ear to it, taking every opportunity to hear God’s word and listening with care and seriousness. We should be alert, afraid of letting it slip past us. But this is not enough by itself. We must also apply our hearts to it, or else listening will do us little good.

Second, we must be much in prayer (Proverbs 2:3). We must cry out for knowledge like someone begging for bread in a time of need. Weak desires will not do. We must be earnest, because we know the value of wisdom and our own need for it. Like newborn babies craving pure milk, we must long for the pure teaching of the word (1 Peter 2:2).

We must lift up our voice for understanding, looking to heaven for it, because every good and perfect gift comes from above (James 1:17; Job 38:34). The wording also means we should speak up for understanding, choose it, and submit our tongues to wisdom’s rule. After giving our hearts to it, we must also use our voices to seek it. Solomon could point to this as a tested way, since he prayed for wisdom and received it.

Third, we must be willing to work hard for it (Proverbs 2:4). We should seek wisdom as silver, valuing it far above the riches of this world. We must search for it like miners dig for ore, enduring hard labor and danger with steady effort and strong resolve. Or we may think of people who want to be rich, who rise early, stay up late, and turn over every stone to gain money. In the same way, we must be diligent in using the means of knowledge and keep pressing on to know the Lord.

If we use these means, our labor will not be wasted. We shall learn how to live in fellowship with God. “You will understand the fear of the Lord” (Proverbs 2:5). That means we will know how to worship him rightly, understand the meaning of his ordinances, and meet the purpose for which he gave them. We will gain the knowledge of God that is needed to fear him properly. It is for our good to know God, and to show that knowledge by fitting affections and worship.

We shall also learn how to live rightly among other people (Proverbs 2:9). Through God’s word, we will understand righteousness, justice, and equity. We will learn the principles of justice, love, and fair dealing that guide the whole course of life. This will fit us for every relationship, every task, and every trust. It gives not only a right idea of justice, but also a heart to practice it and give everyone what is due.

This will lead us in every good path, for Scripture makes the man of God complete. The people who know their duty best have the best understanding (Psalm 111:10).

We have good reason to expect this blessing, but our hope must rest on God alone (Proverbs 2:6-8). The Lord is wise himself, and he also gives wisdom. That is more than the wisest people in the world can do, because only God can open the understanding. All wisdom in any creature is his free gift, and he gives it generously (James 1:5). He has given it to many, and he is still giving it, so we should ask him for it.

He has also blessed the world with a revelation of his will. From his mouth, through the law and the prophets, through the written word and through his ministers, who speak for him to people, come knowledge and understanding. This kind of truth, if we receive it well, makes us truly wise. It is both a reason and an encouragement to seek wisdom, since we have the Scriptures to search, and we may find it there if we seek carefully.

He has also made special provision that good people, who truly want to do his will, will receive the knowledge and understanding they need (John 7:17). Let them seek wisdom, and they will find it. Let them ask, and it will be given to them (Proverbs 2:7, Proverbs 2:8). These are the people favored in this promise: the righteous, in whom God’s image is being renewed, and the upright, who are honest in their dealings with God and people and who make it their concern to do their duty as far as they know it. They are his holy ones, devoted to his honor and set apart for his service.

What is stored up for them includes instruction, satisfaction, and protection. The means of wisdom are given to all, but sound wisdom is stored up for the righteous. It is stored up in Christ, their head, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and who has become wisdom for us from God. The Spirit who reveals truth in the word also gives wisdom in the hearts of those who are made holy. This wisdom is solid, stable, and truly useful.

Some understand the verse to mean that God lays up lasting substance for the righteous, not only solid knowledge, but solid happiness and comfort (Proverbs 8:21). Riches are uncertain things, and those who have them may only imagine they are happy. But what God stores up in his promises and in heaven will make the righteous truly, fully, and forever happy.

Even those who live uprightly may still face danger, as a test of their faith. But God is, and will be, a shield to them, so that nothing that happens to them will do them any real harm or fill them with fearful thoughts. They are safe, and they will know they are safe. “Do not be afraid, Abraham; I am your shield.” It is their way, the paths of justice in which they walk, that the Lord knows, owns, and cares for.

Grace to continue until the end is also promised. If we depend on God and ask him for wisdom, he will hold us in our integrity. He will help us stay in the paths of justice, even when we are tempted to turn aside from them. He preserves the way of his saints so that it is not corrupted, and so he keeps them in that way, safe and blameless, for his heavenly kingdom. The assurances God has given of his grace, if used well, should stir us up and strengthen us in doing our duty. “Work out your salvation,” because God is working in you.