Proverbs 2 Devotional
By Pastor Lawrence

This is a father’s earnest plea to his son both to humbly receive and to zealously seek out the wisdom of heaven. Growing up in a believing home is not only a privilege but often also a challenge, for the worldview that is taught in a Christian home can be radically different than that which is taught by unbelieving or half-heartedly professing Christian parents. And when the child is old enough to clearly distinguish between the good and the evil and is given opportunities to branch out on his own, he will necessarily embrace either the worldview of heaven or the worldview of the earth. So any wise father will seek to warn his children against the dangers that they will face and to remind them of the good path so that when they are on their own, they will still hear the voice of their father in their ears saying to them, “This is the way, walk in it!”

So Solomon exhorts his son first to heed his father’s words, to treasure up all of his commands and to give ear to his wisdom, for the father is merely passing on to his son what he himself has received from God. But the pursuit of wisdom doesn’t end at the feet of his father, for the boy is still called to incline his heart to wisdom, to cry out for insight, to raise his voice for understanding, to seek it like silver, and to search for it like hidden treasure. Notice, that this is no passive endeavor, but one that takes great effort and desire to grasp. Although it is a gift from God rather than a work of man, it is a gift that God only gives to those who earnestly seek it.

Foolishness is not hard to come by; it is readily dispensed on every street corner, in every convenience store and on every form of media known unto man. Wisdom, on the other hand, is a rare commodity on earth, more like fine gold. There are many counterfeits and knock-offs in society that are touted as wisdom, but they are mere fool’s gold pursued and collected by the naïve and simpletons of this world. Foolishness is not hard but easy, like the smooth speech of the harlot and the proud ease of the wicked who either won’t work or else steal the fruit of the labor of others. These are two of the dangers that Solomon warns against in this passage and that wisdom protects one from.

The reason wisdom is so hard to come by is due to the natural folly bound up in the heart of a child along with the pervasive folly ruling over all the culture of youth. Given the false advertisements of this world and the ongoing deceit of the devil and the dark forces of the spiritual realm, the deck is clearly stacked against any young person seeking to walk in the path of the upright. For the believing child to survive in such a culture and to thrive, he or she must cry out for wisdom and stop the ears to all folly, which is no easy task.

This can only come through the fear of the Lord by faith in His Word. In other words, this can only come through Christ. If there is a simple trust in Jesus and his promises, the faith of the child will begin to develop a taste for wisdom. If there is not, then only folly seems right to him or her, which only leads to death. There is a stark difference between the path of righteousness and the path of wickedness, between walking in the light and walking in the darkness. Only God’s wisdom will guide the believer on the right path and shield him from the evils of the adulteress woman and the corrupt influence of those whose minds are set on crooked ambitions. If the child of a believer fears the Lord and embraces this gift of wisdom, he or she will inhabit the Promised Land, but the wicked will be cut off and excluded from all the promises of God.