The Benefits of Wisdom
[Proverbs 2:10-22]
As we go through life, there are countless questions we ask ourselves. For example, "What is the purpose of my life?", "What is God's will for me?", "How can I live in a way that brings glory to God?" and many more. We live each day asking these numerous questions. Among these many questions, there is one question that we must not overlook, which is taught to us in Ecclesiastes 1:3: "What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?" The question of "Is this truly beneficial for me?" or "Does this have no benefit for me?" is important. We must live with spiritual discernment, taking what is beneficial and discarding what is not. For this, we need heavenly wisdom. Only with the wisdom that God gives can we live with spiritual discernment, taking what is beneficial and discarding what is unfruitful.
Lately, every time I meditate on the book of Proverbs during Wednesday night prayer meetings, I feel an increasing sense of the necessity of wisdom. God is exposing the foolishness in my heart, leading me to seek His wisdom. In this process, during last week's Wednesday prayer meeting, we reflected on Proverbs 2:1-9 under the theme "Let us seek wisdom," learning why and how we should pursue wisdom. Why should we seek wisdom? The reason is to know and understand. In other words, we pursue wisdom not only to know God but also to understand the good paths that God desires for us to walk. So how should we pursue wisdom? We must not only ask God for wisdom but also seek it as if we are searching for hidden treasures. We must open our hearts and listen attentively to God’s Word, keeping the words we hear deeply in our hearts. Why should we do this? I believe the answer can be found in today’s passage, Proverbs 2:10-22. In short, it is because of the benefits of wisdom. Let us reflect on three benefits of wisdom as we receive the teachings God has for us.
First, the benefit of wisdom is that it brings joy to our soul.
Look at Proverbs 2:10: "For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul." What brings you joy these days? Do you have joy in your heart? When I reflect on the teaching I received from Ecclesiastes 7:11 last year, I learned that the benefit of wisdom is that it gives us an eternal perspective. In other words, the Bible teaches that wisdom leads us to live for the eternal, guiding us to live forever for that which is eternal. Therefore, wisdom is good, beneficial, and beautiful. Specifically, as King Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 3:11, God has given us a heart that longs for eternity, and wisdom satisfies that longing for eternity, making wisdom good, beneficial, and beautiful.
Brothers and sisters, there is happiness in the life of those who understand the truth (Park Yoon-sun). This happiness is the deep joy that those who understand God’s truth experience in their souls. Look at 1 Corinthians 13:6: "It does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth." Our souls rejoice in the truth. In other words, our souls were recreated in Christ to long for eternity, and when that recreated soul understands God's eternal truth, there is joy. Truly, our souls are filled with joy when we hear the voice of the Lord (Hymn 500). And when we hear and understand the voice of His truth, and we obey His words, our souls rejoice, and our hearts are filled with peace (Proverbs 2:10) (Park Yoon-sun). How is this possible? The reason is that the living God works in us with His Word (Park Yoon-sun). Wisdom is what brings this peace and joy to you and me, making wisdom truly beneficial to us.
Second, the benefit of wisdom is that it protects and saves us.
Look at Proverbs 2:11-12: “Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you. It will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse.” In Proverbs 2:8, we see that the Bible tells us, “For he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.” In other words, God gives wisdom to those who seek and search for it (verses 3-4), and through that wisdom, He protects and guards us. Furthermore, wisdom not only protects us but also saves us when we are in danger. So, who does the Bible say wisdom protects us from and saves us from? The Bible addresses this in two ways in today's passage:
(1) From wicked people and those who speak perversely.
Look at Proverbs 2:12: “It will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse.” In verses 13-14 of this passage, it explains that these wicked people "leave the straight paths to walk in dark ways, who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perversity of evil." These individuals hate wisdom (knowledge) and love foolishness, and they are unwilling to receive instruction about how to act wisely, righteously, justly, and honestly (Proverbs 1:3). Therefore, they leave the straight path and walk crooked paths (Proverbs 2:15). These are people with twisted hearts and minds who cannot walk in the right way. As a result, these wicked and perverse people despise those of us who walk in the straight and honest path. Therefore, those who walk in darkness not only tempt us, the children of light, but when we refuse to be tempted, they often lead us into danger. A clear example of this is found in the story of Joseph in Genesis. While Joseph was diligently serving in Potiphar's house, Potiphar's wife constantly tempted him, and when he resisted, she falsely accused him and had him thrown into prison (Genesis 39). Those who enjoy perverse and wicked behavior will mock and trap us, the ones who walk in honesty and fear God, and place us in dangerous situations. But God, like He did for Joseph when He gave him wisdom to interpret dreams and delivered him from prison, will give us wisdom to save us from danger and even raise us up (Genesis 40-41).
(2) Wisdom protects us from immoral women and saves us from their temptations.
Look at Proverbs 2:16: “It will save you also from the adulterous woman, from the wayward woman with her seductive words.” The Bible provides two explanations about these immoral women (Park Yoon-sun):
(a) First, they seduce with their words.
In Proverbs 5:3-4, it says, “For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword.” What a dangerous temptation this is! It is a temptation so powerful that it can take away our lives and faith. When I reflect on this passage, I am reminded of Proverbs 7:6-23. A foolish young man, lacking wisdom, enters the immoral woman's street in the dark of night and approaches her house, where a crafty woman dressed in seductive attire grabs him and kisses him, shamelessly saying to him: “I have fellowship offerings at home; today I fulfilled my vows. So I came out to meet you; I looked for you and have found you. I have covered my bed with colored linens from Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let’s drink deeply of love till morning; let’s enjoy ourselves with love. My husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey. He took his purse filled with money and will not be home till full moon.” This seductive woman tempts the young man with many flattering words and persuasive speech, and he follows her right away (Proverbs 7:21-22). The Bible compares him to a *“bull going to the slaughter” and a “fool who is bound to a punishment” (Proverbs 7:22). How can we resist such a temptation and overcome it like Joseph did? How can we be protected and saved from these seductive women who speak with flattering words? Proverbs 7:1-5 provides the answer: “My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you. Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom, ‘You are my sister,’ and to insight, ‘You are my relative.’ They will keep you from the adulterous woman, from the wayward woman with her seductive words.” Only with the wisdom that God gives can we avoid being led astray by the seductive words of these immoral women. Wisdom alone can protect us, guard us, and save us from them.
(b) Secondly, the immoral women have no chastity.
Look at Proverbs 2:17: “Who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God.” Immoral women abandon their husbands, the partners in their marriage, and break the marital covenant they made with God (Genesis 2:24). In short, immoral women have no chastity. These women discard their purity as if it were an old, useless thing, sleeping with different men. The house of these immoral women, as mentioned in Proverbs 2:18, is inclined toward death, and their paths lead to the grave. What does this mean? Let’s look at verse 19: “None who go to her return, nor do they regain the paths of life.”
How does wisdom protect and save us from the wicked and from immoral women? God’s wisdom keeps us from joining the paths of the wicked and immoral women, thereby protecting and saving us (v. 12) (Park Yun-seon). The wicked and immoral women around us constantly try to lead us off the right path and onto a twisted, evil road. Their temptations can seem appealing, pleasant to the eyes, good for food, and wise to the flesh (Genesis 3:6). However, wisdom allows us to see with spiritual eyes the paths of the wicked and the immoral women. As a result, wisdom helps us recognize that the way of the wicked and immoral women leads to destruction, and it not only prevents us from participating in their paths, but also from walking with them. This is the second benefit of wisdom.
Finally, thirdly, the benefit of wisdom is that it leads us to walk in the way of the good.
Look at Proverbs 2:20: “So you will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous.” Wisdom leads us to walk in the way of the wise, the righteous way, the fair way, the honest way, in short, all good paths (v. 9). In other words, wisdom makes us walk on a straight path, not a crooked one. That straight path is the “way of the good” or the “way of the righteous” (v. 20). Those who pursue wisdom do not associate with the wicked or immoral women. Rather, those who pursue wisdom avoid such wicked and immoral people, leaving them behind and seeking proper fellowship. That proper fellowship means that wise people associate with the good and the righteous (Walvoord). Therefore, a wise person seeks fellowship with the good and the righteous while pursuing uprightness and blamelessness. Why does a wise person pursue uprightness and blamelessness? The reason is because they desire to remain in the land of God’s promises forever. Look at Proverbs 2:21: “For the upright will dwell in the land, and the blameless will remain in it.” But the wicked, by leaving the path of uprightness and walking on dark and perverse roads (vv. 13-14), will “be cut off from the earth... and be uprooted from it” (v. 22), according to the Bible.
What should we do?
We must seek wisdom. We must search for God’s wisdom. Let us remember the “benefits of wisdom” that are given to us in Proverbs 2:10-22 and ask God for the wisdom that will be beneficial to us. Let us keep in mind: wisdom brings joy to our souls. Wisdom protects and rescues us from danger. Moreover, wisdom leads us to walk in the path of the good, the righteous path, the path that Jesus walked. I hope that by walking the path that the Lord walked, all of us may reach the promised land, the kingdom of heaven, and dwell there with the Lord forever.