Clean Transcript

The Knowledge of Wisdom

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• Proverbs 24. Proverbs 24, and we're going to be reading verses 13 and 14. Proverbs 24, verses 13 and 14. The title of the message is "The Knowledge of Wisdom." The knowledge of wisdom. So if you look in Proverbs 24, verse 13, the Scripture says, "My son, eat thou honey, because it is good, and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste. So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul. When thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off." I was reading this passage—actually, verse 14 jumped out at me when it spoke about the knowledge of wisdom. So I could begin by asking, do you have the knowledge of wisdom? Do you even know the difference between knowledge, understanding, and wisdom? Many possess knowledge. Few possess understanding, and even fewer possess wisdom.

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• I can give you several illustrations. First of all, I know electricity works, and I know how to use it, but I do not understand how it flows through the lines. I know that electricity can be beneficial, but it can also be deadly. Likewise, I know how to drive a car, but I do not understand all the component parts that make that car run. But I understand also that a car can be beneficial, but it can also be deadly as well. And so the point I'm trying to make is that we often see that knowledge and understanding flow together. I know enough about electricity to use it, although I do not thoroughly understand it. I know enough and understand enough not to touch a raw wire. Okay, same thing with a car.

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• Now, someone has humorously stated that knowledge is knowing that tomatoes are a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put a tomato in a fruit salad. Well, that may be true, but there are many truths in the Bible concerning knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. And we need to grasp those if we're going to be walking and pleasing to our Heavenly Father.

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• Now, before I begin today, I want to give you some basic definitions of these words. And these basic definitions are found in the Old Testament. They are some of the main root words. And so let me begin with knowledge. In fact, the word knowledge, the most common Hebrew word is the word yada, which literally means to know, to have knowledge, to perceive, to know by experience, and also to be able to discriminate and to distinguish, to find out, and to discern.

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• And let me just put it to you very plainly. Knowledge is foundational. Without knowledge, you cannot function. That is why we train our children when they're little, because they have no knowledge of certain things, and they have to have that knowledge just simply to operate. So it's impossible then to function without knowledge. The second word is understanding. One of the most basic words used for understanding in the Old Testament is the Hebrew word tabun. It is translated as understanding, discretion, and reason.

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• It is also intelligence, but it is even more than that because it refers to insight, comprehension, and the ability to explain. A good illustration is I have known men that have earned doctorates that cannot teach their way out of a wet paper bag.

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• Now, do they have knowledge? And the answer is yes. They have knowledge, but they lack the understanding in the sense that they could not explain, transfer, or communicate the knowledge that they possessed. So just because someone has knowledge does not necessarily mean that he has the understanding to explain that knowledge as well.

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• Thirdly, we have to understand the definition of wisdom. The main Hebrew word is the word chokmah, and it's used over and over in the Bible. In fact, it is translated as wisdom 145 times in the Bible. It refers to skill, prudence, and shrewdness in any area such as war, business, administration, and religion, and I'm using the word religion very broadly to mean that which is moral, right, and ethical. Now, to begin with, let me show you how the word wisdom is used in the Old Testament. Please understand that originally and initially, this word speaks of skill, ability. So if you'll hold Proverbs 24, but turn in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 28. Exodus chapter 28, and look if you would please beginning there in verse 2, because you're going to find the word wisdom used over and over, especially in regard to the garments which were made for Aaron and for the tabernacle and to the vessels in the tabernacle and everything that related to it. So notice Exodus chapter 28, verse 2. God says, "And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty. And thou

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• shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office." So here then, God has given wisdom to certain individuals to make these garments.

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• Now, if you would turn right over to Exodus chapter 31. Exodus chapter 31, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Watch carefully about Bezalel. Look what the Bible says, "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, See, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom and in understanding, and in knowledge and in all manner of

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• workmanship, to devise cunning works to work in gold and in silver and in brass, and in cutting of stones to set them, and in carving of timber to work in all manner of workmanship." So God now has given Bezalel all this wisdom, all this understanding, all this knowledge to know how to work with silver and gold and precious stones and wood. It's, you know, it's absolutely mind-boggling.

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• Many of you remember Melvin Stringer. He was a dear friend of mine for many, many years. And I used to lovingly tell Melvin, "I hate you." And he would just smile. And the reason I would say that is Melvin could take a car apart and put it back together. He could build a house. He could plumb. He could wire. Just nothing that he couldn't do, you know. It's just like Roy who does our videos.

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• And he's been a photographer, he's owned his own camera shop, and he is an excellent finish carpenter. And, I mean, some of his jobs, just his molding would be $50,000, $60,000. I mean, you know, he'd do churches and Hilton hotels. So I asked him one day, I said, "Roy, where did you go to school to learn how to do all this precision carpentry?" He said, "I didn't." I said, "What do you mean you didn't?" He said, "Well, I just knew I could do it and I just started doing it."

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• I said, "I hate you." Well, I mean, I can't even cut a straight board and here he can just start doing it. Well, that's exactly what God did to Bezalel. God gave him all the wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. But that's not all. Look in verse 6. He said, "And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, and in the hearts of all that are wisehearted I have put wisdom that they may make all that I have commanded thee." So God now has given all these people the ability and the skill. Look if you would please in Exodus chapter 35. Exodus chapter 35, and note if you would please verse 26. Exodus 35, verse 26: "And all the women whose hearts stirred them up in wisdom spun goats' hair." And then if you'll skip down to verse 31, God says it like this, "And he has filled him"—Bezalel again—"and he has filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship."

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• Now, when we think of the word wisdom, we think in very broad terms. However, initially and originally, in the Scripture, it dealt with skill, precision, and knowing how to apply knowledge in every area. By the way, let me point out the fact that sometimes we say that wisdom is far more than these things, but do you realize in the New Testament, in the New Testament, God still refers to skill in teaching the Word of God.

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• For instance, if you will turn to the book of Hebrews chapter 5. Hebrews chapter 5, and let's begin reading there with verse 11. Hebrews 5 and verse 11. Here the Apostle is talking about two different groups of people, and I want you to watch what he says. Hebrews 5, verse 11: "Of whom we have many things to say and hard to be uttered, seeing you are dull of hearing.

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• For when for the time you ought to be teachers, you need that one teach you again, which be the first principles of the oracles of God and are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat." So now he's talking about these people who should have been teachers, but they needed someone to teach them again. So they need milk and not meat.

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• Now look in verse 13. He says, "For everyone that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." Now, if you will notice in verse 13, the man that useth milk is unskillful. But that means then the man who useth meat is skillful. Why? Because he's the man by reason of use has had his senses exercised to discern both good and evil. So there is a skill that God gives in wisdom in teaching the Word of God as well.

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• Now, there are several books in the Bible—five, in fact—that are known as the poetical books. We talk about Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon.

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• Now, the reason they're referred to as the poetical books, obviously, is because you have a great deal of Hebrew poetry in these books. But that is not all these books have in common. These five books are also referred to as wisdom literature. And the reason they're called wisdom literature is because in each of these books, you are being taught knowledge, understanding, and wisdom and how to live and how to apply those things to your life in every area. So it teaches us then not only wisdom with God, but also wisdom with one another as well. If you would understand wisdom literature, you have to understand one sense of the word that all of the Bible is wisdom literature, because everything that God says is wise, because God is the only wise God.

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• And if you'd really like to understand wisdom, then you need to really master Proverbs chapter 8, because in that passage, Jesus Christ is wisdom personified. And when you get to the New Testament, in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 30, the Bible says this, "But of him"—that is God the Father—"but of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption." So Jesus Christ is wisdom incarnate.

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• Before we proceed any further, I want you to look in your Bibles to Job 28:28. You might as well mark that passage because we're going to come back to it just a little bit later. But I do want you to see it in Job 28 and verse 28, please. Remember that we're talking about knowledge, wisdom, and also understanding. Job 28 and verse 28. You want to know what wisdom is? You want to know what understanding is? Here it is. Watch. "And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding." Note, if you would, you have wisdom and you have understanding. What is not mentioned is knowledge, but obviously it is implied. Why? Because you have to know what the fear of the Lord is, and you have to know what is evil in order to depart from it. So he says very clearly then, "Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding." Now, I want you to understand something about knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.

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• When you study through the Scripture, you will find that these three things usually flow together. If you have true biblical knowledge, to some extent, you're going to have true biblical understanding. And to some extent, you're going to have true biblical wisdom. They just simply come together. However, when you try to divide these and separate them, then you're going to run into problems. For instance, if you will turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 8, look, if you would please, at verses 1 and 2. There are some people who will take knowledge just for knowledge's sake.

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• They want to be smart. They want to appear intelligent. They want to be able to argue. They want to be able to prove a point. And so here's what the Apostle Paul says about knowledge just for knowledge's sake. In 1 Corinthians 8, in verse 1, he says, "Now touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge." And then he makes this statement: "Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth." Now look at verse 2: "And if any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know." So he says, when you think that you know everything, you don't know anything. I was talking to someone today, and the lady said, "I thought I knew some things a long time ago, but the older I get, the more I realize I don't know anything."

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• And I said, "Well, that's usually the way it goes. And the man who learns realizes that he doesn't know." Now direct your attention, if you would please, to verse 1 again, because here the Apostle Paul says, "Knowledge puffeth up." The word "puffeth up" in the Greek is physioō, and it literally means to puff up, to make proud, to bear oneself loftily. So when someone wants knowledge just for knowledge's sake, he turns out to be an arrogant upstart, someone who is haughty and high-minded and thinks that he knows everything. I know men like that. I'm sure you know people like that. In fact, Job also knew men like that. He knew his three friends were like that because in Job chapter 12 and verse 2, he said this, "No doubt, ye are the people and wisdom shall die with you." In other words, when you're dead, it's all over because nobody else knows what you know. Well, you know, our knowledge must be tempered with understanding and that will lead to wisdom.

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• I want you to put two things together in your mind. The first one is this, that wisdom, knowledge, and understanding are the gifts of God. God must actually give those gifts. So if you will turn in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 2, look if you would please at verse 6. Proverbs 2 and verse 6. In Proverbs 2 and verse 6, the Word of God says this, "For the Lord giveth wisdom. Out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding." So where does wisdom come from? It comes from God. Where does knowledge and understanding come from? They come from God as well. Now, you don't have to turn there, but let me just quote it. In Daniel 2 and verse 21, the Bible says, "And he"—that is God—"changeth the times and the seasons.

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• He removeth kings, and he setteth up kings. He giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding." So he giveth wisdom to the wise and knowledge to them that know understanding.

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• Now, let me tell you what got me started. When I was reading in Proverbs 24, and I read about the knowledge of wisdom, and I thought to myself, "Who can know wisdom? Who has the knowledge of wisdom?" And then I began to find out that wisdom not only has knowledge as its foundation basis, but it can also be learned. And without it, man is nothing more than a brute. So if you look in Proverbs chapter 30, Proverbs 30, and look, if you would please, beginning there with verse 1, then we'll turn back to Psalm 49. But look in Proverbs 30, look at verse 1: "The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy, the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal. Surely I am more brutish than any man and have not the understanding of a man. I neither learned wisdom, nor have I the knowledge of the holy." Now, I want to call your attention to things. First of all, in verse 2, he said, "Surely I am more brutish than any man."

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• Why? "And have not the understanding of a man. I neither learned wisdom nor have the knowledge of the holy." So he says, when I don't have wisdom, when I don't have understanding, when I don't have the knowledge of the holy, I'm nothing more than a brute. I'm nothing more than a dumb beast. So if you'll go back to Psalm 49 and look, if you would please, at verse 20, note what the Scripture says concerning someone who is in honor and does not understand. Watch carefully. Psalm 49, verse 20: "Man that is in honor and understandeth not is like the beasts that perish." So without wisdom, without understanding, without knowledge, we are nothing more than beasts that perish. Now, here's the thing. We're commanded to get wisdom. We're commanded to get understanding.

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• So if you will go in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 4, and let's begin reading there with verse 5. Proverbs chapter 4, verse 5. Watch, if you would please, this command. Proverbs 4, verse 5: "Get wisdom." That's a command. "Get understanding. Forget it not. Neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee. Love her, and she shall keep thee. Wisdom is the principal thing. Therefore, get wisdom, and with all thy getting, get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee. She shall bring thee to honor when thou dost embrace her." So note, God says, "Get wisdom. Get understanding." And then he says that wisdom is the principal thing. But in all thy getting, you better get understanding as well.

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• Now, how do we explain what I've just told you? Because I've just showed you from Scripture how that wisdom, knowledge, and understanding are the gifts of God. And yet now I've showed you from Scripture also where we can learn wisdom. We can seek after wisdom and understanding. We evidently have been commanded to get it. So how in the world do we work this out if all of these things are God's gifts? Well, the answer, I believe, is much like that which is found in 2 Timothy 2, verse 7, where the Apostle Paul told Timothy, "Consider what I say, and the Lord give thee understanding in all things." Now notice if you would, "Consider what I say, and the Lord give thee understanding in all things." So understanding is the gift of God. God has to give it. But God does not give understanding willy-nilly.

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• You don't go to bed dumb and wake up smart. You don't go to bed ignorant and wake up brilliant. You don't go to bed stupid and wake up understanding everything. No, no, no. He said, "Consider what I say and the Lord give thee understanding." You have to be considering, that is studying and thinking and meditating. And as you study, think, and meditate, then God gives you the gift of understanding. So obviously, we have then responsibility to seek God for those gifts and to use the means that God has ordained to basically acquire those gifts. Now let me show you something. If we are going to have wisdom, if we're going to have understanding, then we have to be increasing in the knowledge of Him, His Word, and His ways. Now we just read Job 28, and we found out that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, okay?

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• Let me quote Proverbs 1 and verse 7: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." So the fear of the Lord is not only the beginning of wisdom, the fear of the Lord is also the beginning of knowledge.

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• Now, here's what I'm trying to share with you. There has to be a starting point. You cannot go anywhere or do anything without a starting point. If you start out wrong, you're going to end up wrong. So if Brother Bill wants to go to North Carolina and he starts going south on 75, he's not going to make it. You start out wrong, you end up wrong. Everybody has to have a starting point. The point I'm trying to emphasize right now is this: we have to have a theological starting point and not a humanistic starting point. If you start with man, you're going to end up wrong. If you start with God, you're going to end up right, because it has to be done from a theological perspective.

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• So true wisdom—listen carefully now, we're talking about wisdom—true wisdom is knowing God, fearing Him, but more than that, it is also abhorring everything that is contrary to Him. I'm only even increasing on that just momentarily. But listen again to Job 28 in verse 28: "And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. And to depart from evil is understanding." So, in other words, if we want wisdom, we have to understand the fear of the Lord. If we want understanding, we have to learn to depart from evil. Now, what I want you to do is this.

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• Look in Proverbs chapter 8. Let's add to it. Look in Proverbs chapter 8, and let's begin reading there with verses 13 and 14. Remember now, the fear of the Lord, that's the beginning of wisdom. And to depart from evil is understanding. Oh, but look at this. Proverbs 8, verse 13. The Bible says this: "The fear of the Lord"—doesn't say anything about wisdom, does it? Doesn't say anything about knowledge, does it? It says, "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth do I hate. Counsel is mine and sound wisdom, I am understanding, I have strength." Now, I want you to understand what true wisdom is. True wisdom is not just fearing God. It is that. It is not just understanding. It is that. It is not just having knowledge. It is that. But it is also departing from anything and everything that's contrary to God.

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• Let me show you something else. Since we're on this, look in your Bibles to Psalm 111 and verse 10. Psalm 111 and verse 10. Watch this.

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• Now, please remember, he said, "The fear of the Lord, that's the beginning of wisdom. To depart from evil, that is understanding." Now we found out that the fear of the Lord is to hate evil. Watch this, Psalm 111 and verse 10: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. A good understanding have all they that do his commandments. His praise endureth forever." So if you have biblical wisdom, it's going to lead you and guide you into biblical attitudes and biblical actions as well. It will lead you and guide you to depart from that which is evil, wicked, and contrary to God. There are plenty of individuals today that claim to be wise that are as wicked as they can be. They're not wise. There are plenty of men that claim to have understanding that are vile and reprobate. They do not have biblical understanding at all. No.

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• Now, let's go back in our Bibles to Proverbs chapter 24, because I gave you this as an introduction that I could explain these two verses. So watch, if you would please, verse 13 of Proverbs 24. Solomon says, "My son, eat thou honey, because it is good, and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste. So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul. When thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off." Now, when you look at verse 13, and Solomon says, "My son, eat thou honey, because it's good," it's almost as if he's recommending a diet.

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• You know, here's something you can enjoy, and here's something you can enjoy eating. But I want you to understand that verse 13 is foundational to verse 14, and you really cannot understand verse 13 unless you understand verse 14. Moreover, look at verse 13. Watch this carefully. He says, "My son, eat thou honey, because it is good, and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste." And then you see a colon. You know what a colon is in the English? A colon means pause. Wait for it.

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• The best is yet to come. The most important thing is that which follows. And so he then finishes what he actually means by saying, "So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul. And when thou hast found it, there shall be a reward."

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• Now, when you talk about honey, honey entered largely into the diet of the Hebrews. And honey, of course, would be a natural emblem for the purest and simplest wisdom. Just like in the New Testament, the apostles said that we are to desire the sincere milk of the word. So in the New Testament, we're talking about the milk of the word. In the Old Testament, we're talking about honey.

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• Canaan land was a land flowing with what? Milk and honey. You remember John the Baptist? It's Matthew 3 and verse 4, "And the same John had a raiment of camel's hair and a leathern girdle about his loins, and his meat was what? Locusts and wild honey." So plenty of individuals in the Bible ate honey. Honey was an emblem of purity. By the way, did you know that honey was also used in reference to the Lord Jesus Christ? Butter and honey. Look in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah chapter 7. Isaiah 7 at verses 14 and 15. Watch. Isaiah 7, verses 14 and 15. Scripture says, "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel,

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• which, of course, being interpreted is God with us." Now watch. "So a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel. Verse 15: Butter and honey shall he eat that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good." So Solomon is telling us that honey is good for food. That is true. It was used over and over in the Old Testament, but it is also medicinal.

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• It not only strengthens you, it not only nourishes you, it not only refreshes you. And if you want examples, look at Jonathan. You remember how he stuck the end of his staff into the honey and tasted it and his eyes were enlightened. Look at Samson. Look at John the Baptist. But here's something that a lot of people do not know: that honey is not only good food, it's also good medicine. Did you know that the Roman soldiers used honey on their sword cuts and also for infection? And if you really want to see how medicinal honey really is, order yourself some Manuka honey. And you're going to find that Manuka honey is very, very expensive, especially the higher the grade of the medicinal usage of it. It's obvious that here, Solomon is saying you eat honey. It's good for you. You eat the honeycomb. It's sweet to your taste. So everything about honey then is a fit symbol for wisdom. So as honey is to the mouth and to the body, so likewise, he says, wisdom is to the soul.

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• And if you find wisdom, you're going to find a great reward, just like if you find a beehive, you find a reward for your mouth and for your stomach as well. I want to give you a quote. Listen to what Matthew Henry said in light of Proverbs 24 in verse 13. He said this: "Those that have tasted the honey need no further proof that it is sweet, nor can they by any argument be convinced of the contrary. So those that have experienced the power of truth and

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• godliness are abundantly satisfied with the pleasure of both. They have tasted the sweetness of them and all the atheists in the world with all their sophistry and profane with their banter cannot alter their sentiments." So he says just like you've tasted honey and no one is going to convince you that honey is bitter. You know better. You've tasted it. And as Peter said, "If so be that ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious," you've known the power of truth. You know the power of grace, you know the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, you know the power of salvation, no atheist, no wicked person is going to change your opinion. So here's my question.

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• Where do we look to find the knowledge of wisdom? Now, the text in Proverbs 24 and verse 14 talks about the knowledge of wisdom. Where do we look to find the knowledge of wisdom? Well, let me ask you another question. Where do we look to find honey? And the answer is, we find it in the beehive. Obviously. It's not anywhere else. Where do we find the knowledge of wisdom? We find it in the Word of God, the Bible. Solomon wrote the book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. But if you look back in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 1, I want to show you why Solomon wrote the book of Proverbs. I want you to watch this. Proverbs chapter 1, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Proverbs 1 and verse 1: "The proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel, to know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice and judgment and equity, to give subtlety to the simple and to the young man knowledge and discretion.

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• A wise man will hear and will increase learning, and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels. To understand a proverb and the interpretation, the words of the wise and their dark sayings. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." Note if you would, Solomon says, "I wrote this book for you that you might receive the instruction of wisdom. That you might know knowledge and you might know discretion, and if you have any understanding, you're going to listen and hear and you're going to increase." But I want you to know the latter part of verse 7. He says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." So God describes those that despise wisdom and instruction as fools. You know what a fool is? He is someone that is scripturally ignorant.

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• He's not necessarily mentally off balance. It's scripturally off balance. A fool is going to look for honey in a wasp nest. It's not there. Look at the fools we have today that are looking for wisdom in Eastern religions, Eastern philosophies, Greek philosophies, Marxist dialectics. It's not there. Never has been there, never will be there. No. The only source that you're ever going to find wisdom and understanding is from God, because God alone is the source and the substance of wisdom and understanding.

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• I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Job 28. Job 28. I want you to see this entire chapter. It is to me one of the most wonderful chapters in the book of Job. There are many great chapters there. But this one is particularly talking about wisdom and understanding. And I want you to look at it. And in this passage, God is saying that, you know, there's a place basically for everything. But if you really want to know wisdom, understanding, you've got to seek it from Him. Watch verse 1, Job 28: "Surely there is a vein for the silver and a place for gold where they find it.

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• Iron is taken out of the earth and brass is molten out of the stone. He setteth an end to darkness and searcheth out all perfection, the stones of darkness and the shadow of death. The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant, even the waters forgotten of the foot. They are dried up, they are gone away from men. As for the earth, out of it cometh bread and under it is turned up as it were fire. The stones of it are the place of sapphires, and it hath the dust of gold.

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• There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen. So in the air it has not been discovered. Verse 8: "The lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it." It's not on earth. "He putteth forth his hand upon the rock. He overturneth the mountains by the roots. He cutteth out rivers among the rocks and his eye seeth every precious thing. He bindeth the floods from overflowing and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light." Ah, but look at verse 12.

  #53 | 39:53 to 40:25 | cleaned

• "But where shall wisdom be found?" You know where to look for gold. You know where to look for silver. You know where to look for precious stones. "But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof, neither is it found in the land of the living." It is not in man by nature. "The depth saith it is not in me, and the sea saith it is not with me. It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx or the sapphire. The gold and the crystal cannot equal it, and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral or pearls, for the price of wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold. Whence then cometh wisdom, and where is the place of understanding?

  #54 | 40:25 to 41:24 | cleaned

• Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air. Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears. God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof." Notice God alone. "For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heavens, to make the weight for the winds, and he weigheth the waters by measure. When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder, then did he see it, and declare it." God is the one that declared it.

  #55 | 41:25 to 41:57 | cleaned

• "He prepared it, yea, he searched it out. And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. And to depart from evil is understanding." God is the source and the substance of wisdom and understanding. The Bible says in Proverbs 15 in verse 33, "The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom. And before honor is humility." If one really and truly desires to learn wisdom and to possess the knowledge of wisdom, then he needs to know and understand and comprehend the fear of the Lord. Oftentimes, when we talk about the fear of the Lord—and I think I have nine messages on that subject—but when we think of fear of the Lord, most people think of nothing more than God's anger, God's justice, and God's wrath, and how powerful God is, and, "Oh, I don't want God to have to smite me."

  #56 | 41:58 to 43:00 | cleaned

• Anyone with one eye and a half sense would be fearful of someone who is omnipotent or someone who is much stronger. Obviously, and of course, there is a truth to that. But usually when you read about the fear of the Lord, it is not referring just to God's righteous justice. It deals more with reverence, awe, and respect for the Holy One of Israel, which will lead us to submission and obedience. It will also lead us to a filial, a loving relationship, not only with Him as our Heavenly Father, but with one another as well. It extends to all of God's children.

  #57 | 43:02 to 43:47 | cleaned

• Wisdom, according to the Bible, may be sought. It may be learned. It may be listened to. It may be applied as well as despised and rejected, refused and ridiculed. We're admonished in Scripture to get wisdom and to get understanding. We will be the gainers, whatever the cost, if we do that.

  #58 | 43:48 to 44:09 | cleaned

• Now, if you'll look again at Proverbs 24 and verse 14, look at what he says. After he tells you about honey again, he says this: "So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul," just like honey is to your mouth, just like honey is to your body. "So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul. When thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward and thy expectation shall not be cut off." So God is saying that when we get real biblical wisdom and understanding, there are so many rewards, and our expectation will never, ever be cut off. Seeking the Lord in His Word is wisdom, and he that hath the Lord Jesus Christ shall certainly abide satisfied. Solomon said in Proverbs 5 in verse 1, "My son, attend unto wisdom and bow down thine ear to my understanding." Then in Proverbs 19 in verse 8, he said, "He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul. And he that keepeth understanding shall find good." So knowledge, understanding, and wisdom all flow together. They all come from God, who is the source and substance of each one.

  #59 | 44:10 to 45:31 | cleaned

• Now, let me make a couple of applications. The first one is this. I believe the very first aspect of real wisdom is to comprehend that it is absolutely useless to resist, rebel, and fight against the Lord God. Pitting the finite against the infinite is absolute foolishness. God cannot be overcome, outwitted, outsmarted, overruled, overthrown, or defeated. Resistance is futile. It's futile. You can't fight against God and win. That's why the Bible says in Proverbs 21 in verse 30, "There is no wisdom nor understanding or counsel against the Lord." So the man who has wisdom knows it's useless to fight against God. I believe that's why we submit. That's why we bow down and worship, because we know that we cannot possibly win. Secondly, there is a price to pay for wisdom. There is a price to pay for understanding. There is a price to pay for knowledge. It requires study, meditation, listening, receiving counsel, renouncing our own understanding. You know, one of the saddest things to me is when you get to the average professing Christian, you get to the average church member, you ask a Baptist, "Why are you a Baptist?"

  #60 | 45:32 to 47:04 | cleaned

• "Well, my mother and father were Baptist. My grandparents were Baptist." "Why are you Presbyterian?" "Well, that's the way I was raised." "Well, why do you believe such and such?" "Well, I was told that's what I'm supposed to believe." Really? Where? Have you searched from the Word to find out what the truth is and you've come to convictions based upon the study of the Word of God? You follow what I'm saying?

  #61 | 47:05 to 47:37 | cleaned

• There has to be a price to pay. And the Scripture tells us wisdom is far better than rubies and all the things that can be desired is not to be compared to wisdom. And the Bible says in Proverbs 16 in verse 16, "How much better is it to get wisdom than gold and to get understanding than choice silver?" One of my favorite verses is found in Proverbs 23 in verse 23, because there God exhorts us to get truth and sell it not. He said, "Buy the truth and sell it not. Also wisdom and instruction and understanding." Buy the truth and sell it not. Whatever it costs you, he said, get the truth. And once you get it, don't ever sell it. Don't ever depart with truth. So there is a price to pay.

  #62 | 47:39 to 48:24 | cleaned

• Thirdly, I want you to understand that a lack of wisdom brings judgment and destruction. The Bible says in Proverbs 10 in verse 13, "In the lips of him that hath understanding, wisdom is found, but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding." You don't have understanding, you don't have wisdom, inevitably, you're going to suffer. The Bible says in Proverbs 23 in verse 9, "Speak not in the ears of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of thy word." And that's true. There's another application, that's this. Another aspect of wisdom is to know how to conduct our lives and how to number our days and make the most of our lives. It was Moses, the man of God, who prayed in Psalm 90 and verse 12 and said, "So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom." Teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.

  #63 | 48:24 to 49:34 | cleaned

• I've discovered and I've seen it not only in my life, but in the lives of many others. Young people think somehow they're going to live forever. They're never going to die. And you really don't begin to think about death so much until you start really getting older. And you realize all of a sudden, "Hey, I may not have many years left. I may not have many months left. I don't know. But I know this. Whatever time I have left, I want to use it wisely for God's honor and for God's glory. I will wisdom to know how to number my days." I remember hearing an illustration—or actually reading it many years ago—Dwight L.

  #64 | 49:36 to 50:25 | cleaned

• Moody was preaching and his wife was sick and was unable to go to the service that night. And when Dwight L. Moody came home, she asked him, "Were there any converted?" He replied, "Yes." She asked, "How many?" He said, "Two and a half." "Oh," she says, "You mean two adults and one child?" "No." He said, "I mean two children, one adult. The adult's life is already half gone." And that's the truth, you know. Ecclesiastes 12 and verse 1, "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not." God commands us to use wisdom in numbering our days. Knowledge, understanding, and wisdom should flow together. And when we stop and think, there is a knowledge of wisdom, there is an instruction of wisdom, according to the Bible. And if we're going to live accurately, biblically, scripturally, we have to have knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. They must flow together and they come from the same source, that is the one true and the living God, who's revealed Himself in Jesus Christ.

  #65 | 50:25 to 51:56 | cleaned

• So we should be praying as we read our Scriptures, "Lord, give me knowledge, give me understanding, give me wisdom, that I may know how to number my days and live for Thee." Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. We thank You, Father, that You have given us knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. And Lord, we confess and acknowledge we need all three. And we ask You, Father, to be pleased to open our eyes and to teach us and instruct us and build us up in the most holy faith. Help us to love Thee and honor Thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, we ask and pray. Amen.

  #66 | 51:58 to 53:23 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T14:59:50Z