Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, And find the knowledge of God. Proverbs 2:5
2:1-4 These verses begin the second of the my son passages and tie the concepts of wisdom and the knowledge of God more closely together. On the one hand, wisdom is near and available. Yet it is not easy to embrace.
1 My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you, 2 So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; 3 Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, 4 If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures;
2:5-8 When a person seeks wisdom, he or she finds it in the fear of the Lord, or the knowledge of God. Those who know God fear (revere) Him. Verses 6-8 resemble the words of a psalm (compare Ps. 91). Sound wisdom: Here is another word for wisdom, a word that may be translated “abiding success” or “victory.”
5 Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, And find the knowledge of God. 6 For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding; 7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; 8 He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints. 9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path.
2:8-13 The phrase paths of justice (v. 8) contrasts strongly with ways of darkness (v. 13). This contrast introduces one of the dominant themes of Proverbs, the contrast of two roads. Jesus spoke of two roads, one narrow and the other broad (Matthew 7:13, 14). The right road is marked by demands of righteousness, justice, and equity. These demands come from God’s law.
2:10, 11 enters your heart: These words stress the internalization of wisdom. The proverbs do not merely provide knowledge; they provide insight to be learned intimately and practiced.
8 He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints. 9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path. 10 When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul, 11 Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you, 12 To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things, 13 From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness;
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matthew 7:13, 14
2:12-15 The way of evil contrasts directly with the way of wisdom. It is characterized by perverse things, by lies and distortion, by twisting and deception, and by darkness and eviousness.
12 To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things, 13 From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness; 14 Who rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked; 15 Whose ways are crooked, And who are devious in their paths;
** Without wisdom and knowledge, our life would be miserable, like the fate a mouse trapped in a maze. Actually, it’s much worse than that. Satan will be our guide in our paths actively leading us to hell.
Equity (Heb. Meshar)
The verbal root of this word means “to be smooth, straight, or level.” Most of the occurrences of this word are in Psalms and Proverbs. Quite frequently, especially in Psalms, the word for equity appears in legal contexts with “righteousness” and “judgment,” indicating a fair or impartial hearing. Proverbs often associates equity with wisdom. It is used by the biblical writers to describe the speech of a righteous person, wisdom, and even God Himself. God takes pleasure in equity; thus it is one of the bases of a righteous lifestyle.
Then you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path. Proverbs 2:9
2 1 My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you, 2 So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; 3 Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, 4 If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; 5 Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, And find the knowledge of God. 6 For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding; 7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; 8 He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints. 9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path. 10 When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul, 11 Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you, 12 To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things, 13 From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness; 14 Who rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked; 15 Whose ways are crooked, And who are devious in their paths; 16 To deliver you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words, 17 Who forsakes the companion of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God. 18 For her house leads down to death, And her paths to the dead; 19 None who go to her return, Nor do they regain the paths of life– 20 So you may walk in the way of goodness, And keep to the paths of righteousness. 21 For the upright will dwell in the land, And the blameless will remain in it; 22 But the wicked will be cut off from the earth, And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.
