Pro 8:12 | KingComments | STEP | When a person accepts the instruction (or teaching) of Wisdom, it makes him richer than he can ever become of silver ( ; cf. ). Accepting instruction leads to “knowledge”. The possession of knowledge is preferable to “choicest gold”. “Wisdom” far exceeds the value of “jewels” ( ). Whatever earthly wealth anyone might desire, it does not compare to Wisdom and what She gives. Because of Wisdom’s value to life, She is more to be desired than anything else. Her dwelling place, where Wisdom is at home, is with “prudence” ( ). This means that She is astute, that She possesses keen and clear insight both into people and into things and events. The right knowledge to act She finds through “discretion” or thoughtfulness. Discretion is the ability to make good plans and thoughtful decisions. She does not let Herself be tempted to act hastily and therefore wrongly. She has the knowledge to know what to do because She is thoughtful. We see these traits – prudence and discretion – perfectly in the Lord Jesus. He always knew what to do at what time. For example, to avoid needless offense, He paid the temple tax even though He was free from it as King and He also declared His disciples as His subjects free from it ( ). As for man, He knew what was in him and did not let Himself be deceived by outward appearances ( ). Here we see some of the many treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden in Him ( ). Prudence and discretion ( ) only function when governed by “the fear of the LORD” ( ). At the same time, the fear of the LORD leads to hating “evil”. Evil is seen in the seduction of the adulterous woman in the previous chapter. More generally, it refers to hating pride, arrogance, an evil way and wrong words. “Pride and arrogance” are in man, in the sinful flesh. If we let these sins run their course and do not judge them when they want to assert themselves, they take us down “the evil way”. On that evil way are people with a “perverted mouth”, a mouth that God hates. Worldly people have a very different view of the things we should hate. They speak of ‘a different way of life’, of making ‘a different choice’, and force us to tolerate their way of life and certainly not call it evil and sinful. Wisdom is expressed in counsel and wisdom, understanding and power ( ). They are present with Wisdom. Understanding is not just present in Her as an attribute, but She is Understanding, it is Her Being. What is present with Her is what characterizes Her. Hers is “counsel” and “wisdom”. Hers is also “power” to do whatever She deems necessary according to Her counsel and wisdom. We see here again that the Wisdom is Christ. One of His Names is “Counselor” ( ). The Spirit Who guides Him is “the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD” ( ). Wisdom is also the source of all earthly power and authority. By Her, kings reign ( ), not because She permits it, but because She determines it ( ). She establishes kings ( ). A king usually has the sense to reign well or bad. To reign well can only be done by the Wisdom. Those who do not seek the Wisdom will reign badly, as we see with the kings of Israel and some kings of Judah. Wisdom allows rulers – possibly provincial, lower authorities – to decree justice. These rulers prescribe things and put them in writing; they are things that serve justice, the law of God. Without Wisdom, they cannot prescribe anything that is consistent with the law of God; by Wisdom they can. As do kings, also princes rule by Wisdom ( ). This also applies to the “nobles”, the distinguished men, if they lead in a beneficent manner. Similarly, all those who exercise their functions as judges anywhere on earth can only do so properly, that is, righteously in accordance with the law of God, by Wisdom. By themselves they cannot do this. How wise and just must Wisdom be if the most powerful people on earth cannot govern justly and beneficently without Her. A person will appreciate Wisdom only if he has love for Her ( ). Then there is connection with Her. What matters is the mind of the heart toward Wisdom. Where there is love for Wisdom, that love is reciprocated by Her with love in return. Love for Wisdom is evidenced by “diligently seeking” Her. This is what Solomon did ( ). The promise for those who do so is that they will find Her, encounter Her, possess Her ( ). Wisdom holds out a rich reward for those who seek Her, for She points out that “riches and honor” are with Her ( ). Thus She does make it very attractive to earnestly seek Her. She adds that also “enduring wealth and righteousness” are with Her. It should be clear that this is not about earthly possessions, for they can be lost to a person just like that ( ). It is about treasures in heaven that no one can take away ( ). Enduring possession, by definition, can only be eternal possession and not temporal possession and is therefore ultimately enjoyed in the life after this life and not in the life here and now. Likewise, righteousness is something that cannot be translated into terms of gold or silver. Gold can be obtained or inherited, wisdom cannot. Wisdom can only be found by those who seek Her. Righteousness too is a quality that is not connected to earth, but to God. It is a characteristic of God in His dealings with people. In the way He deals with people, He is always consistent with His own righteous Being. Those who have found Wisdom will enjoy Her “fruit” ( ). Her fruit is what She brings forth, everything that proceeds from Her. We can think of all the blessings given to us by grace, such as redemption, reconciliation, forgiveness, justification, sonship, eternal life. We can also think of the fruit of the Spirit ( ), which He gives to everyone who is connected to Wisdom. That fruit belongs to Her, but She gives it to all who find Her. That fruit “is better than gold, even pure gold”. Clearly it is not earthly prosperity, but spiritual fruit. The same is true of Her “yield”. Yield is a concept of the market, of commerce, a concept to be applied spiritually here. What Wisdom produces in fruit and yield does not concern material wealth, for Her fruit and yield are better than what gold and silver produce in their purest form (cf. ). The product of wisdom, what comes from wisdom, is better than what can be obtained with gold and silver. Wisdom walks ( ). Her purpose is for us to follow Her as children do their parents, soldiers their general, students their teacher and sheep their shepherd. She leads Her followers “in the way of righteousness”. Those who follow Her walk on the same way. She precedes them “in the midst of the paths of justice” and thereby avoids deviation to the right or to the left. The follower of Wisdom is neither formal nor licentious. He remains far removed from both extremes. He follows neither a dry, dead system nor a whipped, noncommittal principles. What is endowed is the portion of all who love Wisdom ( ). It is an endowed right, however, because it is attached to the Lord Jesus Who acquired this right. The endowment is He Himself. Of those who have Him as their endowment, He also fills the “treasuries” of their heart ( ). What He places of Himself in their heart is not subject to depreciation.

‏ Proverbs 8:12

The Value of Wisdom

When a person accepts the instruction (or teaching) of Wisdom, it makes him richer than he can ever become of silver (Pro 8:10; cf. Psa 119:72). Accepting instruction leads to “knowledge”. The possession of knowledge is preferable to “choicest gold”. “Wisdom” far exceeds the value of “jewels” (Pro 8:11). Whatever earthly wealth anyone might desire, it does not compare to Wisdom and what She gives. Because of Wisdom’s value to life, She is more to be desired than anything else.

Her dwelling place, where Wisdom is at home, is with “prudence” (Pro 8:12). This means that She is astute, that She possesses keen and clear insight both into people and into things and events. The right knowledge to act She finds through “discretion” or thoughtfulness. Discretion is the ability to make good plans and thoughtful decisions. She does not let Herself be tempted to act hastily and therefore wrongly. She has the knowledge to know what to do because She is thoughtful.

We see these traits – prudence and discretion – perfectly in the Lord Jesus. He always knew what to do at what time. For example, to avoid needless offense, He paid the temple tax even though He was free from it as King and He also declared His disciples as His subjects free from it (Mt 17:27). As for man, He knew what was in him and did not let Himself be deceived by outward appearances (Jn 2:23-24). Here we see some of the many treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden in Him (Col 2:3).

Prudence and discretion (Pro 8:12) only function when governed by “the fear of the LORD” (Pro 8:13). At the same time, the fear of the LORD leads to hating “evil”. Evil is seen in the seduction of the adulterous woman in the previous chapter. More generally, it refers to hating pride, arrogance, an evil way and wrong words.

“Pride and arrogance” are in man, in the sinful flesh. If we let these sins run their course and do not judge them when they want to assert themselves, they take us down “the evil way”. On that evil way are people with a “perverted mouth”, a mouth that God hates. Worldly people have a very different view of the things we should hate. They speak of ‘a different way of life’, of making ‘a different choice’, and force us to tolerate their way of life and certainly not call it evil and sinful.

Wisdom is expressed in counsel and wisdom, understanding and power (Pro 8:14). They are present with Wisdom. Understanding is not just present in Her as an attribute, but She is Understanding, it is Her Being. What is present with Her is what characterizes Her. Hers is “counsel” and “wisdom”. Hers is also “power” to do whatever She deems necessary according to Her counsel and wisdom. We see here again that the Wisdom is Christ. One of His Names is “Counselor” (Isa 9:5). The Spirit Who guides Him is “the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD” (Isa 11:2).

Wisdom is also the source of all earthly power and authority. By Her, kings reign (Pro 8:15), not because She permits it, but because She determines it (Rom 13:1-6). She establishes kings (Dan 2:21). A king usually has the sense to reign well or bad. To reign well can only be done by the Wisdom. Those who do not seek the Wisdom will reign badly, as we see with the kings of Israel and some kings of Judah.

Wisdom allows rulers – possibly provincial, lower authorities – to decree justice. These rulers prescribe things and put them in writing; they are things that serve justice, the law of God. Without Wisdom, they cannot prescribe anything that is consistent with the law of God; by Wisdom they can.

As do kings, also princes rule by Wisdom (Pro 8:16). This also applies to the “nobles”, the distinguished men, if they lead in a beneficent manner. Similarly, all those who exercise their functions as judges anywhere on earth can only do so properly, that is, righteously in accordance with the law of God, by Wisdom. By themselves they cannot do this. How wise and just must Wisdom be if the most powerful people on earth cannot govern justly and beneficently without Her.

A person will appreciate Wisdom only if he has love for Her (Pro 8:17). Then there is connection with Her. What matters is the mind of the heart toward Wisdom. Where there is love for Wisdom, that love is reciprocated by Her with love in return. Love for Wisdom is evidenced by “diligently seeking” Her. This is what Solomon did (1Kgs 3:9). The promise for those who do so is that they will find Her, encounter Her, possess Her (Jam 1:5).

Wisdom holds out a rich reward for those who seek Her, for She points out that “riches and honor” are with Her (Pro 8:18). Thus She does make it very attractive to earnestly seek Her. She adds that also “enduring wealth and righteousness” are with Her. It should be clear that this is not about earthly possessions, for they can be lost to a person just like that (Pro 23:5). It is about treasures in heaven that no one can take away (Mt 6:19-20).

Enduring possession, by definition, can only be eternal possession and not temporal possession and is therefore ultimately enjoyed in the life after this life and not in the life here and now. Likewise, righteousness is something that cannot be translated into terms of gold or silver. Gold can be obtained or inherited, wisdom cannot. Wisdom can only be found by those who seek Her. Righteousness too is a quality that is not connected to earth, but to God. It is a characteristic of God in His dealings with people. In the way He deals with people, He is always consistent with His own righteous Being.

Those who have found Wisdom will enjoy Her “fruit” (Pro 8:19). Her fruit is what She brings forth, everything that proceeds from Her. We can think of all the blessings given to us by grace, such as redemption, reconciliation, forgiveness, justification, sonship, eternal life. We can also think of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23), which He gives to everyone who is connected to Wisdom. That fruit belongs to Her, but She gives it to all who find Her. That fruit “is better than gold, even pure gold”. Clearly it is not earthly prosperity, but spiritual fruit.

The same is true of Her “yield”. Yield is a concept of the market, of commerce, a concept to be applied spiritually here. What Wisdom produces in fruit and yield does not concern material wealth, for Her fruit and yield are better than what gold and silver produce in their purest form (cf. Job 28:15). The product of wisdom, what comes from wisdom, is better than what can be obtained with gold and silver.

Wisdom walks (Pro 8:20). Her purpose is for us to follow Her as children do their parents, soldiers their general, students their teacher and sheep their shepherd. She leads Her followers “in the way of righteousness”. Those who follow Her walk on the same way. She precedes them “in the midst of the paths of justice” and thereby avoids deviation to the right or to the left. The follower of Wisdom is neither formal nor licentious. He remains far removed from both extremes. He follows neither a dry, dead system nor a whipped, noncommittal principles.

What is endowed is the portion of all who love Wisdom (Pro 8:21). It is an endowed right, however, because it is attached to the Lord Jesus Who acquired this right. The endowment is He Himself. Of those who have Him as their endowment, He also fills the “treasuries” of their heart (Lk 6:45). What He places of Himself in their heart is not subject to depreciation.