4.d. Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors.

Nehemiah 8:13  On the second day the heads of fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the Law.

Proverbs 2:1-6    My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you,  making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;  yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding.  if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,  then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.  For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

Proverbs 8:33-34   Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it.  Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors.

Mark 6:33-34    When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.

Blessed is the one who listens.  I wonder if we truly cherish God’s word.  Are we inching our hearts to understanding?  Are our ears attentive? Are we calling out for understanding?  Are we seeking God’s word for hidden treasures?  Do we hear instruction? Are we watching and waiting to hear and be led? God’s compassion, grace, mercy, purpose, plan, and love are revealed to those who seek it.  It is one thing to desire and seek God’s word and another to just be exposed to it.  There is a difference.  Exposure is not necessarily something that is desired but rather something that just happens.  If we take this approach to God’s word there is no effort, no commitment, no longing, no searching for it like a hidden treasure.

Now is a good time to examine our heart, mind, and soul to see if we are searching God’s word for hidden treasures or are content with complacent exposure.

135. For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

1 Kings 3:3  Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places. 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. At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” 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. 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. 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. 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?”

1 Chronicles 22:12    Only, may the LORD grant you discretion and understanding, that when he gives you charge over Israel you may keep the law of the LORD your God.

Proverbs 16:16     How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.

Proverbs 3:13-18    Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding,  for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold.  She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.  Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.  Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.  She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed.

Proverbs 2:3-9     yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,  if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,  then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.  For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

If I was to ask where do you find understanding, knowledge, and wisdom what would the first answer come to your mind?  Would it be “Alexia” or “Google it?” For sure you might find information enough to give you knowledge (facts) and you might read more about how you might understand these facts (meaning), but how to use this wisely (application) is somewhat evading.

Charles Spurgeon wrote; “Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise.  Many men know a great deal and are all the greater fools for it.  There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool.  But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.”

Those with wisdom know what actions to take next. They do the right thing in the given situation. In contrast, there are many who have great knowledge and understanding but who consistently do the wrong thing.

There is Godly and worldly knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Sadly, with the internet, worldly knowledge and understanding seem to overshadow the need to have Godly knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.  Worldly knowledge and understanding do have a place in our lives but not at the expense of not having Godly knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.  To make sense of the world around us requires more than what it can offer in knowledge and understanding.  It requires knowing the Creator with a desire to seek understanding and wisdom that only He can give and enlighten our souls with.

If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free (John 8:31–32).

R.C. Sproul; Our Lord calls for a continued application of the mind to His Word. A disciple does not dabble in learning. He makes the pursuit of an understanding of God’s Word a chief business of his life.