Ecclesiastes 7:19
Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.

The five Old Testament books of wisdom literature address the way life works in real-time. Life—these books explain—is a roller coaster of highs and lows, can be confusing, is filled with unanswered questions, and doesn’t always make sense. This leads some people, tainted with an under the sun perspective, to throw their hands up and say, “What’s the use? Eat, drink, and be merry. Tomorrow we will die.” Some people eat, drink, are merry, and live until two or three days after tomorrow. As one football legend Bobby Layne once said, “If I’d known I was gonna live this long, I’d have taken a lot better care of myself.” 

Sometimes wisdom literature speaks in figures of speech and word pictures. And sometimes, like today’s passage, in direct statements. Solomon says that wisdom provides strength. Just because we can’t know all the answers to life’s questions doesn’t mean we should ignore the answers we have. 

Solomon devoted an entire section to the value of wisdom in the book of Proverbs. Here are five key takeaways from Proverbs 2. 

• Wisdom is so valuable that you should search for it like silver and hidden treasures (Prov. 2:1-4). 
• Wisdom allows a person to understand the fear of the Lord and live a life of worship honoring the heavenly Father (Prov. 2:5).
• Wisdom comes from God’s Word. It is a shield of protection for those who follow God’s instructions (Prov. 2:8).
• Wisdom is pleasant to our souls and will help us understand righteousness, justice, equity, and discretion (Prov. 2:9-11).
• Wisdom will provide the discernment to stay away from evil people who will bring you down (Prov. 2:12-22).

Solomon’s teaching on wisdom always leads us back to God’s Word—the source of spiritual wisdom and understanding. There we learn of a God who loves us with unconditional love and embraces us through the sacrificial work of Jesus on the cross. Our union with Jesus changes everything. In Jesus, we learn about our spiritual blessings that provide significance and security. We understand that he accepts us as his children and allows us to call him Father, even Abba, Father! Without Jesus, there is no place to put our sin and guilt, but in Scripture, we come to grips with an amazing truth—Jesus took our sins in his body on the cross. The wisdom of the Word teaches us that we are empowered by the Holy Spirit. Solomon says it well— “Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.” 

Father, thank you for the wisdom of your Word. Give me the desire to be in your Word daily. Help me to absorb your wisdom and put it into action. Thank you for loving me with unconditional love. In Jesus’ name. Amen.