Proverbs 4:5-7

Proverbs 4:5-7 (KJV) 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.

Proverbs 4:5-7 (NIV) 5 Get wisdom, get understanding;
do not forget my words or turn away from them.
6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;
love her, and she will watch over you.
7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get a wisdom.
Though it cost all you have, get understanding.

Proverbs 4:5-7 (NAS) 5 Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding! Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
6 “Do not forsake her, and she will guard you;
Love her, and she will watch over you.
7 “The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom;
And with all your acquiring, get understanding.

5 Get wisdom; develop good judgment.
Don’t forget my words or turn away from them.
6 Don’t turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you.
Love her, and she will guard you.
7 Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do!
And whatever else you do, develop good judgment.

If you have followed along from my last lesson on Proverbs (Proverbs 4:1-4), you know this is a father talking to his child about how important it is to obtain godly wisdom. King David taught his son, King Solomon, who now wants to pass along words of advice to his son.

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Get - קְנֵ֣ה (qanah, qə·nêh) - Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew 7069: To erect, create, to procure, by purchase, to own

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon
get, acquire wisdom, knowledge

You will notice the first word in this verse is a verb, an action word. We are to "get wisdom"! We are to acquire it, procure it. If you were to build a house, you start one board at a time, one block, rock or brick at a time. You have to start somewhere when you are creating or erecting something. With a building, it's a foundation you start with. You don't just throw a board up in the air and toss a nail at the same time and expect a house to appear. You start with a foundation and built it up one block, rock, brick, board at a time. This is the idea that I'm getting from this action word. If I want godly wisdom, I must start somewhere and build my godly wisdom and knowledge one piece at a time. Eventually it will begin to look like something and then actually become something I can inhabit and dwell in.

So godly wisdom requires you to do something to gain it and acquire it. There is no substitution for your own effort.

When you begin a project you have to make a plan, make a schedule and set aside time to do it, you have to acquire the materials for it and you have to corral the tools necessary to do it. Then you go out and begin the work.

Plan and Goals:

• Memorize the books of the Bible
• Read the Bible all the way through from Genesis to Exodus
• Pray daily even if it's just a few minutes
• Each time you pray, ask the Holy Spirit to help you gain godly wisdom and to be able to understand what you are reading
• Go to church, take advantage of all the free teaching and training they offer
• Read at least one Christian self help book per year
• Once you've read the Bible all the way through, try focusing on studying each book of the Bible to understand when, where, why, how, what. Knowing who wrote it, when it was written, where it was written, why it was written, how Jesus is present in that book, what the theme is.
• Begin to keep a journal and write down any questions you have as you read. There will be a lot but, believe me when I tell you, there are ways to understand and gain insight. You aren't the first person with a question and there are many who studied it deeply and have insights about it that you might not have thought of.

As you have questions, you can begin to tailor a study plan to try to find out answers. There are topical studies, character studies, verse-by-verse studies, book studies, etc. that you can take advantage of. For instance, if you come have questions about Heaven and Hell, you can do topical studies on Heaven and Hell. If you don't understand why King David prayed in his Psalms to destroy every wicked person (doesn't sound very Christian does it?) then do a character study on King David or a book study on the book of Psalms. Do you wonder why Jacob did something that seemed so unfair? Do a character study on Jacob.

Make a schedule and set aside time to prepare and to study. You have to have time to actually read the Bible, read Christian books, go to church. If you fill up your schedule so that every minute of every day is crammed and you have no time for acquiring godly wisdom, then you need to re-prioritize and make some drastic changes. You may think your children need those sports and dance classes, or they need those music lessons and field trips. But if they are on the go from sunup to sundown and have no time for God and gaining godly wisdom from you, then it's time to make some changes. As for you, maybe getting up earlier, or taking a quiet, solitary walk after work, or in the car between work and home or transporting children are good times to set aside. I have read books as I walked (safely, not in the road), or listened to them being read in the car as I drive. I have kept a Bible and notebook in my car for those wait times where I pull it out and read and journal while I wait to pick up children or while they are in a class. I try to use my time wisely and not waste it.

Acquire the material and tools you need. You have to have a Bible, but did you know there are many different translations and paraphrased Bibles? You don't have to read King James (although there are some churches who dispute that, but I disagree as the KJV is a translation from the original Hebrew and Greek just like the other translations). There are Bibles written in modern day English which make it easier for us to understand. There are also study Bibles that have notes in the margins or along the bottom that can help you with understanding. There are Bibles with different emphases such as Bibles for Busy Women, Bibles for the Alcoholic, Bibles for Men, Bibles for Leaders. It's the same Bible but their notes and devotions inserted inside have a common theme. I would advise you start with a paraphrase Bible like the Living Bible, New Living Translations, Contemporary English Bible or The Message. These are not word for word translations but they give the same meaning. For instance, in our verses today you will see King James Version says, "Forsake her not" and the New Living Translation uses a more common phrase of, "Don’t turn your back on wisdom". After reading a paraphrase Bible, then look for another translation and begin reading it through. Are you afraid you can't afford a Bible? Pray and ask God for one. If you ask a Christian for a Bible, most would give you one for free. Or look at yard sales. Personally I don't like the idea of selling a Bible, but I have given them away at my own yard sales and I have bought Bibles at yard sales. Also check your library book store. Your library should have a Bible you can check out to read. There is a discount store I go to called Ollie's that always has all kinds of brand new Bibles for sale at great prices. Then there is the online shopping where you could buy whatever you want, probably used at a good price. As for Christian books, you can get them for your Kindle, used, discounted, etc. I rely on Amazon a lot. If you aren't sure which book to try, ask your pastor or a trusted and mature Christian friend. And, as for study resources, there are free resources at Biblehub.com and some other places. The old Bible dictionaries, commentaries, concordances, topical studies and lexicons are free in the public domain so you can access them. Because they are old, their wording can be old timey and a little hard, but persevere. You can also google topics too but be careful you are going to websites that aren't kooky, off the wall sites. GotQuestions.org is a good place.

Taking your first steps to reach your goals means you've got a plan and goals, you've got a Bible, you've got a Bible believing church and you are ready to begin building your godly wisdom. Take advantage of whatever your church offers: preaching, Sunday School, Bible studies, Women's and Men's groups, etc. If you think you aren't getting anything out of your church activities (and there are churches who practise more entertainment, fellowship and programs than teaching the Word), then re-think where you are going. I'm not saying fellowship and programs can't be good, but not in place of good teaching from the Bible. Not "feel good" sermonettes, little one-verse devotions, or dry readings. You want to feel like you've dug deep and come up with nuggets of godly wisdom with lots of scripture backing up what is taught. You want your church to be building in corporate godly wisdom. Learning together, acquiring godly wisdom with all the resources within your church.

In previous lessons on wisdom in Proverbs, we've discussed what kind of wisdom (not just knowledge, facts and data), who is the true Wisdom, why we need godly wisdom and how important it is. Today we emphasize the verb, "get" or "acquire". I.e. how do we start the action of getting and acquiring godly wisdom?

"Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding." It's not just facts and figures, but grasping and understanding what the Bible teaches. It starts with saying a prayer and asking the Holy Spirit to teach you and give you a teachable heart. Then it requires sitting under good teaching and preaching. It requires reading the Word but also meditating on it, studying about what it says. Remember, we all start at the same place. You may be 60 years old, but you are just starting. That's OK, we all start at the same place when we begin our spiritual growth. We all grow at different rates but we all start the same and have the same goals in mind.

• Where are you on the godly wisdom scale of 1-10? None of us are at 10 yet, we will be when we get to Heaven but none of us have a perfect grasp of godly wisdom.
• Do you feel like you are sadly lacking in godly wisdom and understanding? What are your plans and goals to begin growing spiritually?
• Do you feel like you are growing in godly wisdom on your current spiritual walk or do you feel stalled? How can you re-adjust, re-prioritize to get jumpstarted again?
• Are you excited about the spiritual growth, godly wisdom and understanding in your life right now? Does it seem to be fresh and flowing? Do you feel like you are grasping deep truths? Is it exhilarating and making you want more? Remember you will never plumb the depths of God's wisdom and reach a bottom. There is no end.

Click here for all my studies on Proverbs.