Devotion and Wisdom

Proverbs 3:1 – 12.

Devotion to God and devotion to Wisdom are inseparable. For the scholar, who may be tempted to seek knowledge without having first submitted to God, this means that the search will be futile and the wisdom gained will be distorted if one has not first oriented oneself to the Creator in faith, humility, and obedience. For the religious person, this means that one’s alleged piety is hollow if it does not embrace the simple and indeed very earthy precepts of wisdom. Basic axioms of moral integrity, matters as ordinary as being a decent neighbor (vv. 28–29), must adorn the life of anyone who would claim to possess the fear of the Lord. In this time, when there are far too many examples of Christians and especially of ministers who seem to have forgotten that right living is essential for those who would claim to know God, this lesson cannot be proclaimed loudly enough.

This chapter engages in a kind of evangelism, but it is an evangelism of a most profound nature. It is neither formulaic nor facile. Instead, it calls the reader to the full richness of the life of faith. This includes the submission of the intellectual life and of material things to God, respect for other persons, and above all an eagerness to embrace the right way of living (i.e., wisdom) in this, God’s world. It offers the promise of personal wholesomeness and of confidence in the face of an uncertain future.

Garrett, D. A. (1993). Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of songs (Vol. 14, p. 79). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.