“My son, if you receive my words…” (v. 1a). Wisdom doesn’t enter by force; she is given, offered, spoken, and therefore must be received. The posture of wisdom is one of listening, treasuring, inclining the ear, and applying the heart. The soul must be softened to hear, the heart opened to hold what is spoken. Solomon piles up the verbs like a mountain path: receive, treasure, incline, apply, cry out, lift up, seek, and search (vv. 1-4). Though wisdom is passively received, she is not for the passive. She must be pursued like a lover—like treasure buried deep. “If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures…” (v. 4). Wisdom is not a hobby, but a holy pursuit. She is necessary for life, not a luxury to show off.
And what is the treasure at the end of the search? “Then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God” (v. 5). That is the prize—not cleverness, prestige, or self-help—but God Himself. The fear of the Lord is not a reward we earn but a gift we’re given when we hunger for His wisdom. To find the knowledge of God is to know not only facts about Him but to stand in awe before His face, to rejoice in His grace, and to rest in His Word. This is what wisdom leads to: communion with the Holy One of Israel.
“For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding” (v. 6). God does not horde wisdom. He’s not a miser of insight or a gatekeeper of truth. He freely gives it. From His mouth come knowledge and understanding. This wisdom is not invented by man through philosophy (i.e., glorified human beliefs), but revealed by God in His Holy Scriptures. And the mouth from which it flows is the same mouth that spoke light into being, and the same mouth that declared, “It is finished.” Wisdom, then, is not simply moral living—it is cruciform. It flows from the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). If you would be wise, listen not only to Solomon but to the Son of David who is greater than Solomon.
“Then you will understand righteousness and justice, equity and every good path” (v. 9). The fear of the Lord is not a mystical haze; it is profoundly practical. The one who receives wisdom does not float above the world but walks rightly within it. God grants discernment for decisions, clarity for chaos, and stability for storms. In an age where every path is labeled “good,” wisdom shows us the good path—the way of Christ, the way of the cross, the way of peace. To walk this path is to walk in the fear of the Lord, and to know that at the end of all seeking stands the God who first sought us, even after our first Parents’ rebellion (Genesis 3:7-9).
The Lutheran Column 