Meditationen am Gnadenstuhl: Wednesday, July 6, 2022 - Proverbs 3:13-20

Wednesday, July 6, 2022

Proverbs 3:13-20

[13] Blessed is the one who finds wisdom,

and the one who gets understanding,

[14] for the gain from her is better than gain from silver

and her profit better than gold.

[15] She is more precious than jewels,

and nothing you desire can compare with her.

[16] Long life is in her right hand;

in her left hand are riches and honor.

[17] Her ways are ways of pleasantness,

and all her paths are peace.

[18] She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;

those who hold her fast are called blessed.

[19] The Lord by wisdom founded the earth;

by understanding he established the heavens;

[20] by his knowledge the deeps broke open,

and the clouds drop down the dew. (ESV)

Blessed is the One Who Finds Wisdom

Solomon connects the promises to the commands we read about in yesterday's meditation in these verses. Before we talk about the blessings of Wisdom, we will look at the last two verses of this section of chapter three.

Verse 19 says that the Lord by Wisdom created the universe, giving us the imagery of Genesis 1:1-10. God's act of speaking was the act of creating. The Word spoke the universe into being. As we know from John 1:1-5; 14, The Word was with God at the creation, the Word was God, and the Word was the creator. And the Word became flesh in the person of the God-man Jesus Christ. Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12) who overcame the darkness of our fallen world just as He separated the light from dark at the beginning of all things. Jesus Christ is Wisdom. The Holy Spirit gives knowledge and understanding of Wisdom. All three persons of the Holy Trinity were present before the creation and were active in the creative act. What God creates, He also fills and provides. God created the living things of the earth to fill and cover it, as well as human beings, created male and female in His image, to love God and one another and to steward the creation. God also fills the human with the fear and knowledge of Him and the tools needed to work upon the earth and to worship the creator (Proverbs 9:1-6; Genesis 1:22, 28; Exodus 40:34–35; 1 Kings 8:10–11; 2 Chronicles 5:13–14; 7:2). Wisdom and understanding come only from God.

With this in mind (which we should do throughout our reading of the book of Proverbs), let us return to verse 13. Solomon tells his son that wisdom and understanding are far greater than jewels, silver, or gold. Solomon's accumulation of wealth through trade with neighboring countries was legendary (1 Kings 10:14-29). But remember Solomon's prayer at the beginning of his reign was not for wealth in material things but the far greater wealth of Wisdom and understanding of God. (1 Kings 3:9). The treasures awaiting us in heaven are far greater than mere physical comfort and luxury in this life. Jesus tells us to store up treasure in heaven rather than on earth (Matthew 6:19-21). These treasures, of course, are not accumulated by our own efforts but are stored up for us in Christ, in whom we have the riches of his grace along with wisdom and insight (Ephesians 1:7–8).1

Wisdom is God. By the assumption of the human into God in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ,2 God draws us closer to Himself. Solomon preaches the same by appealing to his son about the high value of Wisdom. Nothing we can desire can compare to the eternal life and salvation available to us in Christ (v.15). Not merely long life, but eternal life. Riches and honor belong to the Christ, victorious over sin, death, and the power of the devil. Those riches and honor are bestowed to us by faith in Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection. While the life of a Christian on this earth may be difficult, it is also fleeting compared to eternal paradise. Therefore his walk is one of pleasantness and peace, knowing the treasures that await him in heaven.

Verse 18 compares Wisdom to a “tree of life.” It is no accident that we think immediately of the tree of life in Eden, access to which our first parents were forbidden after the fall into sin. Knowledge of Jesus Christ’s work on the cross, the cursed tree, is our new tree of life by which God gathers His faithful into a restored relationship with Him. Those who cling to the cross of Christ are blessed indeed, in this world and the next.

1Andrew E. Steinmann, Proverbs, Concordia Commentary (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2009), 118.

2Athanasian Creed, v. 33.