The Value of Wisdom: Let's Make A Deal
(1 Kings 3:3-14) Proverbs 2
There abounds stories about people getting to make wishes, or even 3 wish. The old story of finding an ancient bottle on the beach, rubbing it, and a Genie coming out to grant the finder three wishes is a classic. Can you imagine being granted three wishes? I cant. I can't even imagine being granted one wish.
1 Kings 3:3-14 Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places. 4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.
5 At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, "Ask what I shall give you."
6 And Solomon said, "You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. 7 And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. 8 And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. 9 Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?"
10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. 11 And God said to him, "Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, 12 behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. 13 I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days. 14 And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days."
Illus. When I was a boy, my dad asked me if I could have one wish be granted, what would it be? We played that game as a family, and every time my brother or one of my sisters thought of a better wish than I though about, I would change my wish. Then my dad unplugged all the fun by coming up with what we determined to be the greatest wish ever. He said, "I wish that every wish that I wish would come true."
The unending wish! One wish that grants all other wishes! That would be it.
Through the years, I have contemplated how tragic that would have been. For instance, my fifth grade teacher would have exploded in front of all of us students. The school bully would have come upon a tragic end to teach all other bullies.
...and I would have been a murderer. A rich, greedy, spoiled murderer, but I would have, in my anger, wished some people to death.
No wonder James warned us, "You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions." James 4:2-3. Somehow, without the Apostle James meeting me, he knew of the wickedness that lived in my heart.
Solomon, the author of this great book of Proverbs, was given the opportunity to make one wish by God. What is the most valuable thing in the world? What would God consider the most valuable?
Consider God for a moment. What is the value of gold to God? zilch. Money? Fame? Popularity? Oil wells? All of those are nothing to God. Everything you can mention that we value, He could create with the puff of His breath.
What does God say the most valuable thing in the universe is? Wisdom.
We will do a quick survey of Proverbs 2 and pick out what makes wisdom so priceless. Just realize there is far more here in this chapter than we will cover.
Pro 2:1-5 My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, 2 making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; 3 yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, 4 if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, 5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.
Solomon begins with a long, complex sentence that tells us two things.
1. Wisdom is rare.
Illus. For years, there has been a long-running game show on TV called the Let's Make a Deal. It has been around since 1963, hosted originally by Monty Hall, and now, Wayne Brady.
Often times, a contestant will have a choice between a box and a curtain. Sometimes the box is small and the curtained stage is so big. The idea, of course, is that the big prize COULD be more valuable than the small prize. Behind the curtain could be "A New Car", which seems to be the ultimate in games show prizes. But often, the small prize is a super valuable diamond and the big prize is a goat. Literallly.
In Proverbs, God gives us more than a hint to what is in the "small box". He encourages, "choose wisdom". He begins by relaying the benefits of wisdom to those who choose it no matter how many curtains the world offers, and regardless of the cash buyout Satan waves under our nose.
If you stick to wisdom, value it, treasure it, store it, listen to it, seek it, ask for it above all other offers....
you will begin to understand the fear of the Lord and its benefits. Plus, you will also gain an understanding of God.
2) Wisdom must be desired above all things.
You can't have your cake and eat it, so to speak. You must seek it, ask for it and forsake everything else to get it.
Pro 2:6 For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
Of all that God wishes to give you, it must come through wisdom and understanding.
Pro 2:7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
God needs no more wisdom. But look at what He really wants. He wants so badly to give you wisdom. He longs to share it with you. It brings Him great joy to give you wisdom. He is storing it up as precious gifts for those who will walk upright.
A benefit of wisdom is that it protects, or shields those who walk in integrity.
Pro 2:8 guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.
"...guarding the paths of justice" has three elements. First, those who walk in God's wisdom are protected from damage from past actions. Sometimes, what we choose comes back to bite us. Guarding the path includes not being crippled by past decisions and actions.
Secondly, it has a present value. You are currently protected from dangers when you walk in wisdom.
Thirdly, it has a future value. There is no worry about the future for those who walk in wisdom.
The path is guarded behind, below and in front of us. Wisdom guards the entire path.
Pro 2:9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path;
When you seek to understand God's way, in other words, gain wisdom, it comes with other prizes. You understand the value of righteousness. You understand the purpose of justice and equity. And, you understand the nature of every path, so choosing the right path is easy.
Pro 2:10 for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
The theme here is to desire wisdom above all else. If you do, it will come. With it comes great pleasantness, no regrets. It is self-rewarding, bringing its reward with it.
Pro 2:11 discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you,
Solomon is preparing for a transition. He re-emphasizes that in wisdom you are protected and guarded by it. That is what is in the small box, and He highly recommends it. And now He will give us a peak behind curtain number 2 and door number 3.
Pro 2:12-15 delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech, 13 who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness, 14 who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil, 15 men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways.
(Men of perverted speech) The masculine for of evil is used to represent the pursuit of riches and power. If you choose the path of riches and power, you must forsake wisdom. Dishonesty is presented as a perverted tongue. The cruelty of secular power-grabbing and wealth focus is called darkness. Compromise pushes the unwise into all evil-doing and even falsely promises fulfillment in sin. Those who are alien to God's way find delight in the wickedness of evil. They rejoice in their sins and the short-term gains it brings. They justify in their hearts the crooked path and the devious way.
Pro 2:16-19 So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words, 17 who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God; 18 for her house sinks down to death, and her paths to the departed; 19 none who go to her come back, nor do they regain the paths of life.
(Forbidden woman) The feminine form of unrighteous is used for those who live for the pleasure in sin. That is what is behind door number 3. Described to the young son as the forbidden woman, it says her words are smooth, tempting. Pleasure will cause many to forget the promises of their youth. It will make inviting the temptation to put God on the back shelf for a while. But what is lost in surrendering to the god of sinful pleasure is never recoverable. Something dies when you go there. Her path leads to death.
"A slippery slope" is described as a path that, once you begin down, it is more difficult to return from. Living for sinful pleasure is a slippery slope that you cannot control. Solomon emphatically says, "NONE who go that way ever make it all the way back." They never regain the path of righteousness.
Pro 2:20-22 So you will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous. 21 For the upright will inhabit the land, and those with integrity will remain in it, 22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.
Now that you have been told what is in the box, what is behind curtain 2 and door 3, it is your responsibility to choose your path. You can walk in the way of the good and keep the paths of righteousness.
Please notice the end of the race. The upright will inhabit the land. It is those who choose integrity and honesty that will win in the end, despite how the odds look against them at this time. You see, the Almighty Judge, Creator and Sustainer of all things has said, "the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be rooted out of it."
Let me end with two things that I hope make the point.
First, Jesus told a story in Matthew 13. He said, "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it." Matthew 13:45-46.
This is the same way the beloved father in Solomon tells his son to desire wisdom. Forsake all for wisdom, for in wisdom you will find God. In God you will have everything that is eternally good.
Do you know God? How well do you know God? Do you desire to know God more? How much more do you want to know God? When you want to know God more, more than anything else in this life, you will find all. That is the wish that grants all other good things.
You know God by knowing His Son, Jesus Christ. Choose to trust and call upon Jesus today if you never have. That is how you win this life-game.
Illus. Finally, imagine, you are standing in the game show that is more than a game. Before you is a small box. The host, or should I say the Lord of Host, says, "I will tell you what is in the box, but I must have you trust me." He adds, "I will tell you what is behind curtain number 2 and door number 3, but you must put your faith in my words."
You say, "OK, I will take the box."
"OK, let's look behind curtain number 2 and see what you have passed up."
The curtain pulls back and there is a new car. Not just a car, but the car of your dreams. The color you want. The best wheels. Gleaming, sparkling, and it would have been yours if you would have chosen the big curtain. In that moment you feel foolish. The crowd is booing you. All those who would have chosen the curtain are shouting for joy and jeering at you. In that moment of shame, you wonder why you believed the words of the Lord of Host. They seem so empty now and you wonder if the little box is full of air.
Then the stage model (I mean angel) touches the car and it falls over. It wasn't a car, but a cardboard cutout. The crowd cries in anger. "That's not fair," they shout.
The Lord of Host says, "I told you what was behind the curtain: vain promises."
While the crowd boos, your heart senses a ray of hope. Maybe you made the right choice.
"Now, let's see what is behind door number 3," He announces.
The most beautiful person you ever dreamed of is standing behind door 2, with a welcoming, inviting smile. Such splendor, the crowd gasps, and even your breath catches. "I wanted that that person to be mine," the thought crosses your mind, and the sting of regret builds in your chest.
Then the angel pulls off the mask of the prize person, and there is rottenness, corruptness, vile sores and a sickening smell fills the room. Again, the crowd protests. But to no avail.
Again, your eyes fall onto the small box. You chose it. Twice you have briefly doubted your choice. Because of those doubts, the box is smaller than it was before.
Wisdom, seeing things God's way! Believing Him despite the view of worldly riches or the promise of unending pleasures.
If you see things God's way, you would not be tempted to sin. If you could see what God sees, you would understand that He is trying to love you and protect you. If you could grasp the end of the story, you would choose God's way all along the way.
And the beauty of it, God is telling you what is behind the curtain and behind the door. He is begging you to desire what is in the box more than all the world can offer. He knows, and tells you, that what the world offers you is a cardboard fake and an ugly pretender.
Choose wisdom, choose God. Choose life. Seek it with all of your heart and do not trade it for anything. Choose Jesus Christ and stick to Him regardless of the glitter and charm of the doomed world.
