Wisdom & Understanding

Wisdom, what is it and how does one acquire it?  The world defines wisdom as:

1. the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise.

I feel that this definition exposes a lack of true intentionality, and provides little depth.   I have come to the understanding that, wisdom is not something that everyone possesses, nor is it something that everyone can gain.  Some say wisdom comes with age, which I feel, if it was someone’s goal to pursue it, then yes, wisdom could come with age.  However, I don’t see that in many cases.  There are a LOT of people in various stages of life who seem to be without it.  So, this pursuit of wisdom and understanding is something, best answered by its source, or is creator if you will.  I wanted to explore and share this notion of wisdom in God’s word.  I wanted to seek it from its source and dwell in its depths. The Bible is filled with much wisdom, so much in fact, it would be impossible for me to demonstrate to you, in our limited time together, just how much wisdom is in God’s word.  So today I want to narrow our scope to just a couple of examples.  I want to point out a search for wisdom that many think they are on, however they only deceive themselves.   I hope that this post will serve you well in understanding why wisdom is valuable, where wisdom come from, and how we can obtain it.  I want to do this by looking at Job chapter 28 verses 12-28; 

¹² “But where can wisdom be found?

And where is the place of understanding?

¹³ “Man does not know its value,

Nor is it found in the land of the living.

¹⁴ “The deep says, ‘It is not in me’;

And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’

¹⁵ “Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it,

Nor can silver be weighed as its price.

¹⁶ “It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,

In precious onyx, or sapphire.

¹⁷ “Gold or glass cannot equal it,

Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold.

¹⁸ “Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned;

And the acquisition of wisdom is above that of pearls.

¹⁹ “The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,

Nor can it be valued in pure gold.

²⁰ “Where then does wisdom come from?

And where is the place of understanding?

²¹ “Thus it is hidden from the eyes of all living

And concealed from the birds of the sky.

²² “^aAbaddon and Death say,

‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’

²³ “God understands its way,

And He knows its place.

²⁴ “For He looks to the ends of the earth

And sees everything under the heavens.

²⁵ “When He imparted weight to the wind

And meted out the waters by measure,

²⁶ When He set a limit for the rain

And a course for the thunderbolt,

²⁷ Then He saw it and declared it;

He established it and also searched it out.

²⁸ “And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;

And to depart from evil is understanding.’ ”

  The very nature of wisdom is a long pursuit, one in which, many succumb to the lustful desires of the world long before they have seen the riches of it.  Job does well to see that wisdom has a value that nothing, and I mean nothing, on earth can ever stand against. Man cannot understand its true value, so we will often fail to see why it is needed.  Google does not give us wisdom, it is a tool that can be used to find out how to accomplish many things, however, it in of itself, is not wisdom.   Wisdom is more than gaining experience doing something, as was defined earlier.  Wisdom has no measurable depths, nor can it be scaled by any device.  Wisdom is more valuable than any precious medal on earth, and has more value than any precious stone.  Job continues to ask what wisdom and understanding V12 &20, this question begs an answer.  Job is patient in his pursuit of digging deeper into this matter.  Job tells us in V 13-14 where it isn’t, he writes V15-19 telling us that nothing equals it value.  What is God telling us through Job about wisdom and understanding?

Job gets to the heart of this matter in V 21-26.  God is setting the stage for His grand appearance.  The moment when Job tell the read that God understands wisdom and has created it.  Behold, in V27 we come to the point of this passage, God, Himself, has established and sought it out.  Wisdom has been achieved by the one who designed it, it is as if, we can now bask in its delight.  But the chapter isn’t finished, God isn’t done with our story yet.  Job completes this passage in V28; ²⁸ “And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.’ ”.  God has allowed man to enter into wisdom and witness understanding.  It appears that wisdom has a creator, it is obtainable by everyone who seeks it, and it is always valuable. This form of wisdom is the product of God’s grace.  Wisdom is not something we accidently stumble upon, rather it is something that we seek from God.  When our eyes turn away from God and His wisdom, we tend to lose sight of what has actual value in God’s eyes.   After all, aren’t we suppose to see the world through His eyes?

So that leads me to the next thought, are you seeking wisdom or worldly knowledge?Are you filling your eyes and heart with things the earth considers precious, or are you seeking wisdom and understanding?  One will lead you to salvation, while the other one will lead to destruction.

This week I would ask you to seek wisdom from its source.  I would also ask that as you spend time with God in prayer, pray for wisdom for yourself, and pray it for others as well.  We ALL know someone who needs the wisdom of God in their lives.  There is no better way of gaining it then by asking our gracious heavenly Father.

As you seek to better understand wisdom, please read the following words found in Proverbs chapter two.

May the Lord of all graciously give you wisdom as you seek Him in all you do!

Blessings