Pro 4:7 | KingComments | STEP | The father urges his son to acquire “wisdom” and “understanding” at all costs, whatever effort must be made to do so ( ). He must make every effort and sacrifice for it. Solomon was already wise, but wisdom can and must increase. He who is wise will want to increase in wisdom. Wisdom and understanding do not come naturally to us; they must be acquired. You can want all kinds of things, but remember that acquiring wisdom and understanding is the most important thing. Acquiring wisdom means getting to know Christ better. That is what life is about, just for that reason. The son must not forget the words spoken by the father. He must think about them, meditate on them, and keep them in mind. This keeps the memory alive of what God’s Word says. He must not turn away from it. In , wisdom is presented as a person who gives safeguard and protection. The condition for experiencing that safeguard and protection is that the son does not forsake wisdom (negative), but loves her (positive). Forsaking wisdom – or Christ – is a great evil, with evil consequences. Then he is at the mercy of all the evil elements in the world. It is important to love wisdom, that is Christ. That is the surest protection against all temptations to sin. The first step, the beginning, to acquire wisdom is to make the decision to acquire it ( ). Here we are given the key to acquire wisdom. Acquiring wisdom takes time, money, effort. It’s not about our intellect or the opportunity we have or don’t have, but about decisiveness, whether we want it. Those who see the superior value of wisdom will want to acquire it at any cost. The same is true of understanding, which is fathoming and discerning the nature of things or people, whether they are good or evil, whether they have good or evil intentions. Wisdom and understanding belong together. Wisdom emerges from understanding. One who has understanding sees through certain situations and knows how to act; he also knows how to approach or assess certain people. One of the main differences between the wise and the fool is the awareness that each has of his need. Those who believe they have no problem have the biggest problem. If we realize what our biggest problem is, we will do everything we can to solve it. Here we are talking about our lack of wisdom. If we are aware of the lack of it, we will do everything and use every means to get it. For example, we can think of time for Bible study, time for prayer, time for attending church meetings, time for meetings where God’s Word is explained, speaking with or reading books of believers who have had extensive experience with the Lord to learn from them. Paul speaks of ‘gaining’ Christ ( ). That indicates commitment, as if to win a prize in a contest. He wanted to know Him. Of course Christ was in him and of course he knew Him. But instead of being content with that, it prompted Paul to ‘gain Him’, that is, to become more and more like Him, to know Him better and better. Wisdom must be held high, as a banner is held up ( ). We must have high thoughts of wisdom. There should be nothing that has a higher place in our thinking. As a result, it exalts us. One who holds up wisdom is held in esteem by others. Wisdom is compared to the woman you love and embrace. This is contrasted with embracing the strange woman. The inexperienced youth may give his full dedication and love to wisdom. Again, we can relate this to Christ, the wisdom of God. Our life is about exalting and honoring Him. Embracing Him means being very close to Him and letting Him feel our love. We do that when He is above everything and everyone for us. We worship Him when we tell Him what qualities we have discovered in Him and praise Him for them. Then those qualities will also become visible in us, which finds appreciation with God. He says: “Those who honor Me I will honor” ( ). The honor that wisdom bestows on those who love her is compared with “a graceful wreath” and “a graceful crown” on the head ( ). A wreath and a crown are bestowed as a clearly visible token of appreciation for the choice of wisdom. They are the tribute to an overcomer. Love of wisdom requires sacrifice. Those who make those sacrifices are rewarded for them by wisdom (Christ) (cf. ; ; ; ; ).

‏ Proverbs 4:7

Acquire Wisdom, Acquire Understanding!

The father urges his son to acquire “wisdom” and “understanding” at all costs, whatever effort must be made to do so (Pro 4:5). He must make every effort and sacrifice for it. Solomon was already wise, but wisdom can and must increase. He who is wise will want to increase in wisdom. Wisdom and understanding do not come naturally to us; they must be acquired. You can want all kinds of things, but remember that acquiring wisdom and understanding is the most important thing.

Acquiring wisdom means getting to know Christ better. That is what life is about, just for that reason. The son must not forget the words spoken by the father. He must think about them, meditate on them, and keep them in mind. This keeps the memory alive of what God’s Word says. He must not turn away from it.

In Pro 4:6, wisdom is presented as a person who gives safeguard and protection. The condition for experiencing that safeguard and protection is that the son does not forsake wisdom (negative), but loves her (positive). Forsaking wisdom – or Christ – is a great evil, with evil consequences. Then he is at the mercy of all the evil elements in the world. It is important to love wisdom, that is Christ. That is the surest protection against all temptations to sin.

The first step, the beginning, to acquire wisdom is to make the decision to acquire it (Pro 4:7). Here we are given the key to acquire wisdom. Acquiring wisdom takes time, money, effort. It’s not about our intellect or the opportunity we have or don’t have, but about decisiveness, whether we want it. Those who see the superior value of wisdom will want to acquire it at any cost.

The same is true of understanding, which is fathoming and discerning the nature of things or people, whether they are good or evil, whether they have good or evil intentions. Wisdom and understanding belong together. Wisdom emerges from understanding. One who has understanding sees through certain situations and knows how to act; he also knows how to approach or assess certain people.

One of the main differences between the wise and the fool is the awareness that each has of his need. Those who believe they have no problem have the biggest problem. If we realize what our biggest problem is, we will do everything we can to solve it. Here we are talking about our lack of wisdom. If we are aware of the lack of it, we will do everything and use every means to get it. For example, we can think of time for Bible study, time for prayer, time for attending church meetings, time for meetings where God’s Word is explained, speaking with or reading books of believers who have had extensive experience with the Lord to learn from them.

Paul speaks of ‘gaining’ Christ (Phil 3:8). That indicates commitment, as if to win a prize in a contest. He wanted to know Him. Of course Christ was in him and of course he knew Him. But instead of being content with that, it prompted Paul to ‘gain Him’, that is, to become more and more like Him, to know Him better and better.

Wisdom must be held high, as a banner is held up (Pro 4:8). We must have high thoughts of wisdom. There should be nothing that has a higher place in our thinking. As a result, it exalts us. One who holds up wisdom is held in esteem by others. Wisdom is compared to the woman you love and embrace. This is contrasted with embracing the strange woman. The inexperienced youth may give his full dedication and love to wisdom.

Again, we can relate this to Christ, the wisdom of God. Our life is about exalting and honoring Him. Embracing Him means being very close to Him and letting Him feel our love. We do that when He is above everything and everyone for us. We worship Him when we tell Him what qualities we have discovered in Him and praise Him for them. Then those qualities will also become visible in us, which finds appreciation with God. He says: “Those who honor Me I will honor” (1Sam 2:30).

The honor that wisdom bestows on those who love her is compared with “a graceful wreath” and “a graceful crown” on the head (Pro 4:9). A wreath and a crown are bestowed as a clearly visible token of appreciation for the choice of wisdom. They are the tribute to an overcomer. Love of wisdom requires sacrifice. Those who make those sacrifices are rewarded for them by wisdom (Christ) (cf. 1Cor 9:25; 2Tim 4:8; Jam 1:12; 1Pet 5:4; Rev 2:10).