God has provided that those who are sincerely disposed to do His will shall have that knowledge and understanding necessary for them.
His wisdom will preserve us from men of corrupt principles whose business it is to debauch lives, and from women of corrupt practices.
Proverbs 2
1 My son, if thou wilt 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 knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.
8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.
9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.
10 ¶ When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:
12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;
13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
14 Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;
15 Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:
16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;
17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
18 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.
19 None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.
20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.
22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.
Proverbs 2:1 – J. Vernon McGee
Proverbs 2:2-4 – J. Vernon McGee
Proverbs 2:5 – J. Vernon McGee
Proverbs 2:6 – J. Vernon McGee
Proverbs 2:6-15 – J. Vernon McGee
Proverbs 2:16-22 – J. Vernon McGee
Proverbs 2 – Wisdom Guards from Evil
Several words are reiterated in this chapter, which will unlock its treasures. Understanding, Proverbs 2:2-3, 5, 9, 11. If wisdom is a moral quality, leading to intuitive knowledge, understanding may be taken to include something of a prophetic strain. Understanding gathers up and makes use of the results of observation and experience, whether of oneself or of others.
Notice also the word walk, Proverbs 2:7, 13; way, Proverbs 2:8, 12-13, 15, 20; paths, Proverbs 2:8, 13,15, 18-20. See how eager the Divine Teacher is (l) to deliver the unwary from the way of the evil man,Proverbs 2:12, and from the way of the evil woman, Proverbs 2:16; and (2) to direct the feet of the young into the ways of the good and into the paths of the righteous, Proverbs 2:20. The path of safety and permanence is that in which we are perpetually conscious of the presence of the Master, Christ. He is the unseen companion of the soul in its difficult and perilous pilgrimage; and we may, in that companionship, appropriate the buckler of Proverbs 2:7, the integrity of Proverbs 2:8, and the stability of Proverbs 2:21. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Proverbs 2:4-5—If thou seek her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures,…
There is a beautiful illustration of the truth of these words in the life of Justin the Martyr, who died for the Gospel in the second century. As a young man he earnestly sought for truth, specially that which would arm him with self-control. He took up one system of philosophy after another, trying them as a man might explore mine after mine for silver. Finally, he found that every effort was futile.
“All at last did faithless prove,
And, late or soon, betrayed my love.”
At length, wandering in despair on the seashore, he met an aged man, a Christian, who spake as none had ever done to his heart, and pointed him to God in Christ. Beneath those words, that afternoon, he understood the fear of the Lord, and found the knowledge of God.
Thomas longed for evidences of the Resurrection, and Christ came to him. The Chamberlain, as he sat in his chariot reading the book of Esaias the Prophet at Isaiah 53, was desirous to know the truth, and Philip was sent to him. To Saul of Tarsus, groping in the midnight, there came fuller revelations than ever Gamaliel gave, through Stephen and Ananias, led by the Spirit of God.
But you must be prepared to sacrifice all. He who seeks diamonds, or pearls, or gold, will leave his native land, and what other men hold dear, and centre his whole attention on his quest. Not otherwise must it be with those who would understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. They must be willing to count all things but loss, to sell all they have, in order to buy the field with its treasure-trove. —Our Daily Homily