by Opal Elaine Moyer

Created on: June 28, 2009   Last Updated: July 06, 2009

"1 My son, if thou will receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
3 Yea, if thou criest after knowlege, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
4 If thou seekest her as silver and searchst for her as for hid treasures;
5 Then thou shalt understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

6 For the Lord giveth wisdom; out of His mouth cometh understanding. " (Proverbs 2:1-6 KJV)

This passage of the bible refers directly to the importance of and pursuit of wisdom, as well as how to obtain it. This is referred to, again, in this same chaper: "13 Happy is the man that findest wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. 14 For the merchandise is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold." God is telling us is that wisdom and knowledege are the greatest treasures that there are to be gotten. We should seek them as many people would search for treasure of gold or silver, except the gain would be greater than either.

In the book of First Kings, Solomon went to give a sacrifice to God at Gibeon. Here God appeared to Solomon in a dream and, pleased with Solomon, God asked him, What shall I give thee?" God was offering Solomon a gift of his own choosing-anything he wanted. Solomon asked God to grant him the gift of wisdom and understanding, so that he could be a better king/judge/ruler for his people; he wanted to be able to make right, just and Godly decisions for his people. God was very pleased with Solomon's request as seen in the following verses: 11 And God said unto him, because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life, neither hast thou asked riches for thyself, neither hast thou asked for the life of thine enemies, but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgement; 12 Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. 13 And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days." (I Kings 3: 11-13 KJV)

God is telling us to follow in the footsteps of Solomon and seek after knowledge and wisdom above all else. It is more important in these troubled times to seek wisdom and knowledge than ever before. Solomon was a king and he knew that he needed great wisdom to rule his people, properly. Today, the average person needs great wisdom to survive in this world and to make the right decisions. It is more important to seek after wisdom and knowledge, to discern between good and evil, than to possess riches; however, we are to seek wisdom as though we were seeking riches. God granted Solomon all of the other things that he could have asked for as well, because he knew that Solomon cared more about being fit to rule his people, than he did about wealth. God was so impressed by his selflessness that he made Solomon the greatest king that had ever lived. Sometimes, the pursuit of wisdom provide us with more than we can possibly imagine. However, wisdom and knowledge are the greatest treasures of all.

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