Seeking After God and His Wisdom

The book of Proverbs is all about wisdom.  Over and over, the book can be summarized by the repeating phrase, "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."  This is a challenging concept in a world that thinks of fear in a negative sense.  Luckily, Solomon gives us clear and inspired instruction about how a person may learn about what is the fear of the Lord and what it means.

For this, one need not look much further than Proverbs 2:1-5.  In this sequence of verses, Solomon, the wisest man aside from Christ Jesus to ever live, lays out the path for a person to learn about the fear of the Lord.  Proverbs 2:1-5 reads as such:

"My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandment with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise you voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God."

The words have been italicized to emphasize the point of this passage.  There are preconditions that need to be met in the reception of wisdom from God.  Although there are multiple facets to these preconditions, they can be summarized in a single phrase: intentional pursuit.  The prominent word in these verses is then, for it indicates that what has been called for previously must be fulfilled in order for anyone to understand the fear of the Lord and to find the knowledge of God.

If we understand this as such, then what these verses say is astounding.  Basically, God does not reveal Himself to people who do not seek Him and He does not reveal Himself to latent, static, or passive observers.  Instead, God reveals His self, bestowing His infinites wisdom and knowledge, to those who treasure His commands, who listen attentively and incline their hearts to understanding, who cry out for insight and understanding, and who seek after it as if seeking buried treasure.  These are the necessary preconditions for knowing God that must be met before God reveals Himself.  Let us then take seriously our pursuit of the Lord God Almighty!