Proverbs Chapter 4:

Proverbs Chapter 4:

5 Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.

6 Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.

7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

8 Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.

9 She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee...

13 Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.

This is a more serious passage of scripture than what may first appear. Upon close inspection it is apparent that being at a loss for divine understanding and divine wisdom will prove to be most costly. If these virtues preserve us and keep us, as verse 6 says, then that can only mean that we will not be preserved or kept if we are lacking them. Also if these divine elements are what will give us an "ornament of grace," and deliver to us "a crown of glory," then that pointedly means that we cannot be saved without possessing wisdom and understanding of divine things. For it is grace alone that saves us, and a crown of glory is synonymous with b eternal life. That assessment is supported by the parable of the ten virgins which was told by Jesus in Matthew Chapter 25. The five wise virgins in the parable were saved, but the five virgins who were lacking wisdom were ultimately lost, though they continued till the end of the journey to meet the bridegroom (Mat. 25:10-12). This sobering reality is also supported by the report of the angel of the Lord to Daniel: "And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand" (Dan. 12:9,10). That angel, and Jesus we're both speaking of people living in the end time, and Jesus was definitively speaking of God's own people in the end time.

So merely being in Christ does not assure anyone of having the wisdom and the understanding needed to be able to "endure unto the end, [and be] saved" (Mat. 24:13). So the question is, how do we attain unto these all-important virtues that our text passage speaks of? The same writer, meaning Solomon, gave us the answer on that as well: "Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding" (Prov. 2:3-6). That is in perfect agreement with a saying of Jesus: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Mat. 4:4). Jesus was talking about more than reading the Bible here, and he confirmed that in his letter sent by John to the messengers of the congregations in Asia: "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the [congregations]" (Rev. 2:7). So we must be in tune with the Lord's actual voice in order to obtain needed understanding and wisdom from him. The main key to wisdom is mentioned in verse 13 of our text passage, that's says, "Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life." This simply means that if we expect to be saved in the end we must have and maintain the ability to be taught. If we are of a humble spirit, that should not be a problem. God bless.