The Quest for Hidden Treasure

"The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know wisdom and instruction,
To perceive the words of understanding,
3 To receive the instruction of wisdom,
Justice, judgment, and equity;
4 To give prudence to the simple,
To the young man knowledge and discretion—
5 A wise man will hear and increase learning,
And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,
6 To understand a proverb and an enigma,
The words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction." -Proverbs 1:1-7

It is one thing to get older – it is another thing to grow wiser. I have read that the book of Psalms tell us how to get along with God. The book of Proverbs tells us how to get along with people. The book of Psalms helps us know how to worship, while the book of Proverbs helps us know how to walk. This book is filled with the hidden treasures of wisdom – and it is available for any treasure hunter who cares to dig beneath the surface. A proverb is a small statement with great significance. It stands in the place of a longer speech, yet delivers the deep lessons of truth. God, the giver of wisdom who is the personification of wisdom, made this list a part of divine revelation to guide your life and mine. Throughout this treasure hunt, Solomon is going
to give weighty words to all sorts of issues. He is going to reveal wisdom regarding our hearts, our minds, our tongues, and our spirits. Wisdom sets the human apart from any other created being. The intellect and reasoning of human beings has long been a source of debate in the world as to their source. Where did it come from? The Celtic religions believed their goddess
Cerridwen created wisdom. The Romans believed it came from Minerva. The Hindus pointed to their goddess of wisdom known as Saraswati. The Greeks believed that wisdom came from the offspring of Zeus. Evidently, according to their belief, Zeus had heard a prophecy that his wife was going to give birth to a girl who would become the lord of heaven. So he swallowed his pregnant wife whole. However, when it was time for the child to be delivered, Zeus got a terrible headache and through an opening in his head, Athena, his daughter stepped out. Because she came from his head, she became the goddess of wisdom. Athens would be named after her. They built the Parthenon in her honor. She was represented by an owl as her sacred bird. It gave rise to the superstition that lasts to this day that the owl is a wise bird. But we know that wisdom comes from God. It is first
and foremost who He is. He is the all-wise God. His wisdom is in the Bible which is given to us so through it we not only come to know Him personally as Savior, but that His wisdom and knowledge is poured into and is developed as a result of hearing and obeying the scripture. A wise person is not necessarily the smartest person in the church, but is the most submissive person to the scriptures.
Hearing and obeying the scripture leads to wise behavior. If there was ever a lack of wise behavior, it is in
my generation. The older generation that should have been passing along the wisdom of God has abandoned its post. The younger generation is now, one author wrote, living on the moral edge.
Every day in America:
1,000 unwed teenage girls become mothers;
1,106 teenage girls have abortions;
4,219 teenagers contract a sexually transmitted disease;
1,000 teens begin drinking alcohol;
500 teens take their first drugs;
2,200 teens drop out of school;
6 teens commit suicide.
One author wrote, “The government says the solution is better education and job opportunities for graduates; activists say we need to eradicate oppression and injustice; others say we need more police, punishment, prisons, and social programs.” These are dealing only with the symptoms. These are better Kleenexes for life-threatening pneumonia. What we will discover in Proverbs is that the answer is the radical infusion of wisdom from the Word of God.
You see, God's Word is a light, Psalm 119 says that His Word is a lamp for my feet and light for my path. That's wisdom, if we live by it, it will light our way, it will keep us in the boundaries and the right way in which Christ wants us to live. The hidden treasure can be found if we will only apply the Word, stay in the Word. How desperately do we want wisdom? Those
who have ready hands to seize wise counsel find the treasure of wisdom.