HIDDEN TREASURE
Opening Prayer
Thank you, Father, that there is never a time I seek you that you are not waiting to listen and ready to answer my prayer.
Read PROVERBS 2
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Moral Benefits of Wisdom
2 My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
2 turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding—
3 indeed, if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
4 and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He holds success in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
8 for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.
9 Then you will understand what is right and just
and fair—every good path.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
11 Discretion will protect you,
and understanding will guard you.
12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,
from men whose words are perverse,
13 who have left the straight paths
to walk in dark ways,
14 who delight in doing wrong
and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,
15 whose paths are crooked
and who are devious in their ways.
16 Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman,
from the wayward woman with her seductive words,
17 who has left the partner of her youth
and ignored the covenant she made before God.[a]
18 Surely her house leads down to death
and her paths to the spirits of the dead.
19 None who go to her return
or attain the paths of life.
20 Thus you will walk in the ways of the good
and keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright will live in the land,
and the blameless will remain in it;
22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
and the unfaithful will be torn from it.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 2:17 Or covenant of her God
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What do you consider to be your most valuable or treasured possessions? Do they have any connection to the wisdom that comes from God?
Wisdom, says Proverbs, is like silver, or hidden treasure (v. 4). For me, this has at least two connotations. First, wisdom is extremely valuable. Essential for making beneficial choices or knowing what to do in perplexing situations, it is a treasure of inestimable worth. Second, hidden treasure does not give up its rewards unless we search for it diligently. We all know that mining can be an extremely perilous and difficult enterprise in our own day. It was even more so in ancient times. Just imagine trying to dig without any of the tools and technologies of the modern world! Wisdom, then, like silver or hidden treasure, is of great value and is worthy of our very best efforts to attain it.
Perhaps this would be true for any kind of wisdom. However, the wisdom of the book of Proverbs is a certain kind of wisdom. Though it may encompass common sense, scientific knowledge, and emotional intelligence, it also has a moral quality. It involves ‘what is right and just and fair’ (v. 9). This wisdom comes from God (v. 6), from seeking God, and following in God’s ways. Thus, the greatest scientists in the world, were they to lack kindness or compassion, though possessing all the knowledge it were possible to know, still would not possess the wisdom of Proverbs. The wisdom taught by Proverbs issues in a ‘good life’, made known by ‘deeds done in…humility’.1 According to James, this ‘wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere’.2 This may look to all the world like foolishness, but it is ‘wiser than human wisdom’3 and is worth seeking with every fiber of our being.
Apply
In what ways do you think you have grown in Godly wisdom since you have been invested in his Word?
Closing prayer
I am grateful for the wisdom offered to me in your Word, Lord God. Holy Spirit, help me to grow in my understanding and be eager to apply it in ways that benefit others.
1 James 3:13 2 James 3:17 3 1 Cor 1:25
Book and Author Intros
Extras
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2025 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Encounter with God is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.