Value Wisdom

June 14, 2020 Background Scripture: Genesis 39, Proverbs 2 Lesson Passage: Proverbs 2:1 – 11 I believe Jesus had this passage from Proverbs in mind when he taught a crowd from the side of a mountain, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” In other words, whatever people treasure, invariably, will define their character at that point in their life. We sometimes speak of “taking something to heart”, which is to say, we accept it as absolute truth! Whatever we accept as truth, we allow it to inform our decisions and our actions. We treasure the truth and we use it for directions in our lives. So then, what are treasures? A treasure is anything that we place a high value on—and I emphasize “high value”. If we think something has no value, then we don’t tend to think of it as a treasure. Our lesson today centers on wisdom as a true treasure. There is no assumption in the proverb that the reader already knows that wisdom should be valued as a treasure. Therefore, the proverb admonishes the reader (or hearer for that matter) to both receive and seek out wisdom as a treasure. The extent to which men go to find hidden treasures shows how much they value it. Yet, wisdom that is freely received should be valued as highly as the wisdom that is sought as a hidden treasure. Wisdom should be received or sought with the expectation that it is knowledge, discernment, and understanding. It is when the three are all embraced as one that we apply wisdom to our lives. God has wisdom in store for those who are in right standing with Him. God protects, guides, and keeps the upright in all situations of life. I believe God delights in the upright living as a reflection of Himself in the physical world. The wisdom of God within the upright is a moral compass that is used to navigate through the circumstances of this life and bring forth fruit as evidence of its presence. Those who are upright are not conformed to the world around them, but rather, they transform those around them through their character. That is the importance of Genesis 39 as background scripture for this proverb. In that chapter, Joseph is presented in two different situations. In the beginning of the chapter he is a slave in the home of an Egyptian officer and at the end of the chapter he is a prisoner in Egypt. Joseph’s situation went from bad to worse in that one chapter. However, Joseph demonstrated that he had the wisdom of God within him. Joseph remained consistent in his character in both situations and God was with him and blessed him and those around him. Those around Joseph realized that they were blessed by his presence. When the Egyptian officer’s wife attempted to take advantage of Joseph, he fled the scene. This was a demonstration of the wisdom he had in him. Joseph had a sincere loyalty and trust in God. Even in bad situations, he depended on God to take care of him. No doubt, this wisdom came from the knowledge of God that was imparted to him by his God-fearing father, Israel. If Israel taught his son, Joseph, to fear God, then by doing so, he also taught him wisdom. Even in bad situations, Joseph valued wisdom. If we follow Joseph’s example, then we will value wisdom as a treasure. And where our treasure is, there will our heart be also. Robert C. Hudson June 8, 2020