THE GREATEST TREASURE
Susan Murray
Today’s Scripture:
“Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?
She is more precious than rubies.” Proverbs 31:10, NLT
Theme: Virtuous, capable individuals are both rare and precious. But wisdom, the most valuable treasure, is found only in Christ Jesus.
STANDARDS
When I read Proverbs 31:10-31, I cringe! This woman’s “to-do” list leaves me feeling like a failure and a fraud as I compare my life to hers. I could buckle down and try harder to be this woman to prove my worth. I could ignore it and pretend it’s not there. I can rationalize how it doesn’t apply today, given that some of the activities (such as using a spindle to make clothing) are archaic. These are all efforts to avoid shame for not measuring up to a standard.
INTERPRETATIONS
According to 2 Timothy 3:16 (NIV), “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” So, how do I take this scripture into my heart and let it teach me? What is it really saying here, and what is it not saying? So often we take a piece of Scripture and pull it out, isolating it from the rest of the Bible, and then try to understand its meaning. But it’s only within the totality of the Bible story that we can rightfully understand a verse’s meaning. From the beginning to end, the Bible tells us who God is, who we are, and what He has done for us.
Proverbs 31 is not about trying to create a “to-do” list to follow so that we feel good about ourselves. It is an invitation to seek God’s wisdom instead of the world’s so-called wisdom, and to be able to recognize the difference.
The writer provides a list of attributes which include generosity, creativity, responsibility, industriousness, and caring. These attributes do not make the woman (or for that fact, a man) wise, but wisdom does produce good character, expressed in virtuous behaviors, that can be seen as evidence of a wise heart. So, seek wisdom.
FINDING WISDOM
Wisdom is found outside of us. It is a gift from God which can be discovered, like a precious ruby buried beneath the earth. But it only becomes ours if we ask God for it and desire it, placing greater value on it than on many rubies or any other earthly treasure. Where you put your energy is what you value most. Wisdom is gained as we do more than a cursory reading of God’s Word but spend time mining for its jewels.
In 1 Kings, Chapter 3, Solomon (who had just been crowned king), asked God for wisdom instead of riches and power (the world’s values). Solomon recognized that he was not adequate to do the job of being a king and that he needed God’s gifts of knowledge and wisdom for the benefit of the people in his kingdom. God answered his prayer, and he became known as the wisest person in the known world, with people far and near seeking his counsel.
King Solomon wrote most of the book of Proverbs. In it he writes, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10, NIV). This fear is not a cringing posture of waiting to be punished for doing wrong or not measuring up to a standard. “Fear” in the Hebrew has to do with awe and recognition of the power and supremacy of God Himself. This fear defines the posture of humility, accepting that God knows what is best and we don’t, and is an admission of our weakness and our need for Him, just like Solomon.
GREATEST WISDOM
Now we have Someone greater and wiser than Solomon: “and behold, something greater than Solomon is here” (Luke 11:31b, ESV). Proverbs 31 is meant to point us to Jesus, who is the personification of all wisdom. “God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin” (I Corinthians 1:30, NLT).
When we see Jesus, we are looking at true wisdom. Jesus is the true and better King who gave up His crown and heavenly throne for a crown of thorns and an earthly cross, paying the debt of our foolishness so we can become pure, holy, and wise.
Make It Personal: Do you feel inadequate, especially after reading Proverbs 31:10-31? Good, you are already gaining wisdom by seeing your need. Repent of the foolishness of your self-reliance. Seek wisdom in the Bible and from others who demonstrate a heart of wisdom by the way they live. Believe that Jesus is faithful and out of His grace, He will give you what you need to live wisely with humility marked by repentance, grace, faith, joy, and goodness. The evidence will follow.
Pray: I praise You, Father God, for You possess all knowledge, power, and wisdom. In Your grace, You see my foolishness and yet You love me. Because of Jesus, forgiveness is possible. Because of Jesus, I can become wise. I need You to give me a heart of wisdom, benefiting those around me. Amen
Read: 1 Kings 3:7-9, 10: 24; James 1:5, 3:17; Proverbs 2:4; Ephesians 1:16-18, Matthew 7:7-11
Weekly Memory Verse:
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10, NIV