9/17/2023
Turn with me to Proverbs 16:16-19. These are our verses to begin studying and memorizing.
Proverbs 16:16-19 How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver. 17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; He who watches his way preserves his life. 18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling. 19 It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly Than to divide the spoil with the proud.
Introduction
In the first 9 verses of this chapter the focus was on the bedrock truth of God’s sovereign authority over everything. Having laid that out, there was a continuation of that theme in relationship to human government in verses 10-15. We saw both the king’s responsibility to God, as well as the citizens responsibility to their king’s authority.
Having received instruction on the big picture of our responsibility to God and to governmental authorities we now move to considering wisdom for the right pathway of life in our everyday experience. Verses 16-19 forms a four verse introduction to this new section. This introduction is framed at the beginning and end with these two “better” than comparisons between wisdom and gold and humility and pride. In the absence of verse and chapter breaks, those markers help us to see that these verses go together and form the foundational introduction to the coming instruction.
Very similar to what we have seen a number of times before this, the new section starts off in verse 16 with an exhortation on the importance of wisdom. After that, verse 17 focuses on what the highway of the upright is like and what it protects us from when we stay on it. Then verses 18 and 19 highlight the underlying character trait of humility that is necessary for traveling on this highway of the righteous.
As we move past the introduction the big focus of 16:20-16:30 is on the mouth and words. Verses 20-24 picture the words that the people on the way of the upright pursue and have. The middle verse, verse 25, is a repeat of Proverbs 14:12. Its repetition here is very appropriate because it highlights that there is a way of life which can seem right when it reality it is “the way of death.” Verses 26-30 then picture the evil mouths of people on that “way of death.”
Proverbs 16:31 then returns to focusing on the path of the righteous with a set of proverbs that run through Proverbs 17:6. The first and last proverbs of this sub section are set off by a focus on the crown of the elderly who are reaping the blessing of having lived on the pathway of righteousness.
So that is the big picture of where we are at and where we are going. Our focus is now turning to “wisdom for living on the highway of the righteous.”
Let’s now take a look at the first part of this section introduction in verse 16.
16 How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver.
The wisdom of God is more valuable than all the riches of this world.
This verse and the next one are essentially one verse reminders or encapsulations of the wisdom that was taught in Proverbs 4:1-9 and then 4:10-19. In Proverbs 4:1-9 the importance of pursuing and loving wisdom is exalted. The benefits and rewards that wisdom brings are also highlighted.
Proverbs 4:1-9 Hear, O sons, the instruction of a father, And give attention that you may gain understanding, 2 For I give you sound teaching; Do not abandon my instruction. 3 When I was a son to my father, Tender and the only son in the sight of my mother, 4 Then he taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words; Keep my commandments and live; 5 Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding! Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth. 6 “Do not forsake her, and she will guard you; Love her, and she will watch over you. 7 “The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; And with all your acquiring, get understanding. 8 “Prize her, and she will exalt you; She will honor you if you embrace her. 9 “She will place on your head a garland of grace; She will present you with a crown of beauty.”
Proverbs 8:10-11 also expressed a very similar theme. There personified Wisdom said this:
Proverbs 8:10-11 “Take my instruction and not silver, And knowledge rather than choicest gold. 11 “For wisdom is better than jewels; And all desirable things cannot compare with her.
Like the chorus in a beloved hymn our present verse again exalts the value of wisdom. With its repetition the foundational nature of this truth is being highlighted. We really need to get this fact down. It needs to become an inseparable part of us. Any time there is a choice between following wisdom’s way versus money or anything else wisdom ought to immediately win the day. (cf. also Proverbs 3:13-18, 16:8)
Beyond that, its presence here at the beginning of this passage should set the tone for how we are to view the coming proverbs. They are actually of more beneficial use to us than suitcases of gold. Solomon is passing along to his children and us an inheritance that is worth far more than all the gold that he collected throughout his life. If we view these proverbs that way then we will be eager to receive them, memorize them, follow them, and share them. God, through Solomon is telling us that we should treasure them more than we might vast treasures of silver and gold.
If we actually believe this about God’s Word then we will center everything in our lives about knowing and obeying it. We will come to every church service that we can to be able to hear God’s Word explained and applied. We will sincerely miss it if we somehow cannot make it to a service or if we miss one due to teaching our own class. We will make the effort to listen to or watch a recording of it later so that we can still be encouraged, challenged, and helped by its truths which have been carefully studied and prepared for our benefit. If you ever had a TV series or sports team that you followed closely you and you happened to miss an episode or game you made sure to go back and catch up on what happened if you were able to. We should value and desire hearing God’s Word taught even more than that. If we miss a lesson in a series we will value it enough to go back and find out what we missed!
But, we will not just come to every service that we can. If we treasure God’s Wisdom we will also personally read God’s Word, study it, memorize it, and cherish it each and every day as we are able. We will look for other ways to help ourselves meditate on it. We will listen to other faithful preachers. We will listen to music that exalts scriptural truths. It will by no means stop at listening and knowing, though. Knowledge is not wisdom unless we live it out. We must believe it and act on it.
We will take time to think about what Scripture verses practically mean and how their truths should apply to the situations we face. We will take time to examine our lives and make sure we are walking on the path of wisdom. We will look for ways to carry out its precepts in our families, in our work, in our hobbies, in the way we use money, in the way we treat others, in the way we speak, and in the way we think. We will also look for ways to share this valuable wisdom with others. We will not hoard it to ourselves.
Nor will all of this be a task that we begrudge. It will not just be some check box activity that needs to be done before we get to do what we really want to do. The reality is, if we truly believe that wisdom is better than gold then we will not do all those things because we feel like we have to or out of mere duty. We will do them because we want to. We will do them because we truly know and appreciate their value. We will do them because we believe they are truly best and more than worth it. That is why wisdom is pictured as a lady in Proverbs 3 and 4 to be loved, embraced, prized, and not forsaken.
When one is truly in love with their spouse or prospective spouse it is not a begrudging thing to spend time with them! Our relationship with the wisdom of God’s Word should be the same way. We spend our time and thoughts on what we truly treasure. Do you treasure God’s Wisdom more than silver or gold? Do you believe this proverb? Are you experiencing its reality?
If we have bought into the lies of the world, our flesh, or the devil about what is most important, what is most pleasurable, what is most beneficial, what truly brings satisfaction and joy we will not really believe this proverb. We will not cherish and value God’s Word for the treasure that it is. It will become a burden and not a delight to spend time in it. It will become a burden to come to church, to memorize God’s Word, to have personal devotions, and to live out its wisdom. We will just want to get over doing whatever we have to do so that we can get to whatever it is that we have been deceived into thinking is more valuable.
If we are honest, we all have been there. We have all lost our first love for God for a time. We have given in to temptations and allowed other things to become more important to us. We have gotten into patterns of going through the motions of our faith without being whole-heartedly invested. This verse reminds us, before we go any further into our study of this new section of proverbs, to be refreshed and reminded by the truth of what we will be looking at. This is the very wisdom of God. He is the One Who created us. He is the One who made everything for its own purpose. He is the One who is giving us this wisdom. Its truth is true treasure.
So, if you are here and you have lost the love that you used to have for God when you were first saved from your sin and you caught a glimpse of the height of His amazing grace and love for you personally then ask God to forgive you. Ask Him to again guide your heart and mind by His truth in every area of your life. Look back through your heart and mind. See what it is that has supplanted your valuing His Word above everything else. If you have bought into the lie of the primary importance of money and its pursuit, then confess that as sin. If you have bought into the lie of the primary importance of entertainment, movies, TV shows, sports, games, hobbies, food, or the pursuit of other luxuries, then confess that as sin. If you have bought into lies about the primary importance of immoral sexual pleasure through pornography or other sexual activity, then confess that as sin. If you have bought into the lies about the primary importance of the praise of other people, then confess that as sin.
None of these things—or anything else that might have come to your mind—is more valuable than God’s wisdom for your life. Do not let them deceive you and re-enslave you. They will continually attempt to do so both from temptations outside of you in the world, as well as from temptations inside of you through your sinful flesh.
Scriptural Example: In Scripture we see a very interesting, pertinent, and sad example of this proverb in the life of the prophet Balaam when King Balak of Moab sent messengers to get him to curse Israel. Numbers 22:15-18 records his very good response to those messengers which echoes this proverb.
Numbers 22:15-18 Then Balak again sent leaders, more numerous and more distinguished than the former. 16 They came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor, ‘Let nothing, I beg you, hinder you from coming to me; 17 for I will indeed honor you richly, and I will do whatever you say to me. Please come then, curse this people for me.’” 18 Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, either small or great, contrary to the command of the LORD my God.
That is a great response. That is the truth of how we should all think and live! We will not do or say anything contrary to God’s Word. And yet, as we know from what happened with Balaam’s donkey, Balaam was being sorely tempted by that wealth. He did end up being able to go to visit Balak, but God strongly warned him only to speak what God gave him to speak. And that is what he did. In the next two chapters he gave a number of oracles of blessing upon Israel. Needless to say King Balak was not happy. Numbers 24:10-13 record his response.
Numbers 24:10-13 Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have persisted in blessing them these three times! 11 “Therefore, flee to your place now. I said I would honor you greatly, but behold, the LORD has held you back from honor.” 12 Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not tell your messengers whom you had sent to me, saying, 13 ‘Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything contrary to the command of the LORD, either good or bad, of my own accord. What the LORD speaks, that I will speak’?
Yet again, all of the words that were spoken were exactly what one would hope and expect from someone who was truly valuing the wisdom of God’s Words as much better than getting gold or silver. Unfortunately, that was not the end of the story, and was not what was occurring in his heart. Outwardly he obeyed the specific command of God. He went through the motions. But inwardly he was looking for a way around what God said to still be able to get the riches and honor that he wanted. We can do that too when we do not really treasure God’s Word more than anything else. We just go through the motions while really treasuring something else. But that does not turn out well. Nothing can be hidden from God, and our idols have a way of coming out and reaping the whirlwind.
From Numbers 31:16 (and 2 Peter 2:15, Jude 1:11, and Revelation 2:14) we end up finding out that it was Balaam’s counsel which led the Moabites and Midianites to entice Israel into idolatry through sexual immorality at Peor. Because of Israel’s sin God did indeed judge them and send a plague on them like King Balak wanted. Yet, while Balaam may have believed the lie about the importance and value of Balak’s gold and honor the reality is that the all surpassing value of God’s Word remained true. The supposed treasure that he coveted in his heart did not end up being better than the wisdom of God’s Word. Whatever he was given, he was not able to enjoy it for very long. According to Numbers 31:8 and Joshua 13:22 Balaam was killed by Israel’s army in the ensuing war. The gold and silver of this world cannot stand up to God’s justice. It can do nothing about God’s judgment that comes upon our sin.
Nothing is more valuable than the wisdom of God’s Word. Balaam said he believed that, and even for a time spoke in accordance with that. But he still ended up deceived by the temptations of money and believing the lies that something within God’s creation was of more value than God’s Wisdom. We should take warning from Balaam’s sad example and be hyper vigilant not to let ourselves be deceived by anything that would steal our heart from valuing God and His Wisdom more than anything else.
Proverb in Comparison: When we compare this proverb with the rest of Scripture we see the utter powerlessness of silver and gold before God. It actually all belongs to Him. Ultimately He will judge the nations and allocate the gold and silver where He wants it. In Haggai 2:6-9 God’s Word says this:
Haggai 2:6-9 “For thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. 7 ‘I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD of hosts. 8 ‘The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the LORD of hosts. 9 ‘The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘and in this place I will give peace,’ declares the LORD of hosts.”
God is the One who owns everything. All the gold and silver is actually His. We are just temporary stewards of it. Because of this, it is quite foolish to value silver and gold more than God’s wisdom.
The little book of Zephaniah adds to this picture of the extreme foolishness and danger of valuing silver and gold more than God and His wisdom. Chapter 1 is probably one of the most terrifying chapters in all of Scripture. While some of the prophecies of the book may have had a partial “near fulfillment” its final completion is still going to happen. We should take to heart its words that in God’s eyes this judgment is quite near and most certainly coming. Look at what it says and notice how powerless money, and everything else will be before God on this day.
Zephaniah 1:1-18 The word of the LORD which came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah: 2 “I will completely remove all things From the face of the earth,” declares the LORD. 3 “I will remove man and beast; I will remove the birds of the sky And the fish of the sea, And the ruins along with the wicked; And I will cut off man from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD. 4 “So I will stretch out My hand against Judah And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, And the names of the idolatrous priests along with the priests. 5 “And those who bow down on the housetops to the host of heaven, And those who bow down and swear to the LORD and yet swear by Milcom, 6 And those who have turned back from following the LORD, And those who have not sought the LORD or inquired of Him.” 7 Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is near, For the LORD has prepared a sacrifice, He has consecrated His guests. 8 “Then it will come about on the day of the LORD’S sacrifice That I will punish the princes, the king’s sons And all who clothe themselves with foreign garments. 9 “And I will punish on that day all who leap on the temple threshold, Who fill the house of their lord with violence and deceit. 10 “On that day,” declares the LORD, “There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate, A wail from the Second Quarter, And a loud crash from the hills. 11 “Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar, For all the people of Canaan will be silenced; All who weigh out silver will be cut off. 12 “It will come about at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And I will punish the men Who are stagnant in spirit, Who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good or evil!’ 13 “Moreover, their wealth will become plunder And their houses desolate; Yes, they will build houses but not inhabit them, And plant vineyards but not drink their wine.” 14 Near is the great day of the LORD, Near and coming very quickly; Listen, the day of the LORD! In it the warrior cries out bitterly. 15 A day of wrath is that day, A day of trouble and distress, A day of destruction and desolation, A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness, 16 A day of trumpet and battle cry Against the fortified cities And the high corner towers. 17 I will bring distress on men So that they will walk like the blind, Because they have sinned against the LORD; And their blood will be poured out like dust And their flesh like dung. 18 Neither their silver nor their gold Will be able to deliver them On the day of the LORD’S wrath; And all the earth will be devoured In the fire of His jealousy, For He will make a complete end, Indeed a terrifying one, Of all the inhabitants of the earth.
That is frankly staggering to consider. Because of our sin against Him God will make a complete end of all the inhabitants of the earth. Our silver and gold will matter nothing. When the riches of this world, and the allurements of things catch our attention we ought to remember these words.
And yet, just like with Noah during the flood, that is not quite the end of the story. There is hope for those who turn from their sin and to God. The beginning verses of the next chapter express that.
Zephaniah 2:1-3 Gather yourselves together, yes, gather, O nation without shame, 2 Before the decree takes effect—The day passes like the chaff—Before the burning anger of the LORD comes upon you, Before the day of the LORD’S anger comes upon you. 3 Seek the LORD, All you humble of the earth Who have carried out His ordinances; Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will be hidden In the day of the LORD’S anger.
Before God pours out His anger upon all inhabitants of the earth He calls them to seek Him. He is the only way of salvation. It is only if we are hidden in God—through faith in Jesus Christ—that anyone will be preserved from this judgment. Just like Noah and his family were preserved through God’s merciful rescue in the ark, all those who see their sin, realize their impending judgment, and trust in Jesus through what He did on the cross in their behalf will be preserved from this wrath of God. 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 confirms this.
1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.
Unfortunately, most people have ignored and continue to ignore Zephaniah’s warning. They refuse to turn from their sin and trust in God’s way of redemption. Zephaniah 3:1-7 talks about Jerusalem not heeding God’s warnings despite God’s judgment of the nations around them for their wickedness. Instead, as verse 7 says, “they were eager to corrupt all their deeds.” Because of that in verse 8 God reconfirms His plans for the world which He gave in chapter 1:
Zephaniah 3:8 “Therefore wait for Me,” declares the LORD, “For the day when I rise up as a witness. Indeed, My decision is to gather nations, To assemble kingdoms, To pour out on them My indignation, All My burning anger; For all the earth will be devoured By the fire of My zeal.
Nothing will save the wicked and this whole earth from God’s judgment. It does not matter what riches or superficial security one might have. It will be nothing before God’s burning anger.
Yet even with His wrath, destruction, and removing of all things –including man, beast, birds, and fish there is still a glimmer of hope. The last few verses of the book reveal that after all of His judgments He will restore things in His creation and bring back a remnant to Jerusalem. God Himself will be in their midst. Zephaniah 3:17 has these amazing words: “He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.”
God will remove sin and restore a purified, humble, holy people of Israel to the land. They will serve Him there. That is God’s eternal plan. He will carry it out. Our fortresses, our military, and our silver and gold will do nothing to stop the wisdom of God’s perfect plan. He will deal with sin and also show His amazing love and grace to the peoples that He redeems.
It is very much worth noting that the last verse of the book, Zephaniah 3:20 also says this.
Zephaniah 3:20 “At that time I will bring you in, Even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed, I will give you renown and praise Among all the peoples of the earth, When I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” Says the LORD.
There are a number of amazing truths here. From the previous chapters we saw that the whole world will have been judged and destroyed. Yet here we somehow have a remnant of Israel being referred to as having renown and praise among a remnant of all the peoples of the earth. This fits perfectly with what Revelation says with God redeeming people from every nation, tribe, and tongue (cf. Revelation 5:9). In the Millennium God will bring back to His recreated earth all those He has redeemed from every tribe and nation to rule and reign with Him. Interestingly, in light of our proverb’s focus on God’s wisdom being more valuable than gold and silver the last sentence there says that He will restore Israel’s fortunes. God owns everything. We have no lasting authority over it. Neither does Satan. God will give it to His people and we will all be able to enjoy His blessings and creation in the perfect way that He originally intended.
Truth in Connection: Given all that, it is absolute foolishness to value any created thing—whether it is money, things, perverted sinful pleasures or even good aspects of God’s creation—over Him and His wisdom. To see this clearly, we need to have this big picture of God’s sovereignty, of God’s eternal plan for creation, of God’s coming justice, and the reality of the great wickedness of our sin.
We also need to vividly see the reality of God’s great love in Jesus. Only then will we be humbled enough to see through the lies and deceptions tugging at us and be overwhelmed enough by God’s love towards us personally to truly want His wisdom more than anything else. And when we forget, and lose our first love for God and His wisdom, we need to be reminded of these powerful truths. They will be the truth that sets us free from deceptive lies. They will be the truth that renews our minds.
It was into a world already destined for this great wrath, because of our sin, that Jesus willingly came. There was no way that any of us could ever redeem ourselves from our sin and reconcile ourselves to God. Yet, God in His great mercy made a way of salvation at His very own expense. While we were yet sinners, while we were yet His enemies, Jesus came and bore our punishment—death, with God’s full wrath—upon Himself. He did that for all those He would save, all those who would trust in Him.
The money and the things we are experiencing and pursuing now will not last. They will not and cannot truly fulfill us. They are not our purpose. They are not the meaning of life. We need God’s Wisdom for all that. It will last. Do not be deceived by temporary pleasures and the allurements that sin makes. Do not be deceived by what the world values. Let it all go. We must not let the world’s values become our values. God is going to destroy it all and recreate it. He will remove all wickedness. He will judge all unrighteousness.
How then should we live now? Most definitely not valuing gold and silver above God’s wisdom! Rather, we should eagerly seek God’s wisdom for all that it says about how we should live. It has extensive guidance on how we are to be good stewards of all that God gives us as we live for His kingdom. It has extensive guidance on God’s purposes for us on living in a holy way, on making disciples, on being ambassadors of reconciliation, and so much more. We have the privilege of sharing this immense wealth of God’s Wisdom with the world around us. Let’s joyfully immerse ourselves in it so that we are not deceived, so that we value what God values, and so that we can with joy run the race that is set before us.
If you do not know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then that is where you must begin. Do not trust any longer in money or the other things that this world values. Turn from your sin. Trust in Jesus for life, forgiveness, purpose, and true wisdom. As Colossians 2:3 says, in Him “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
For those of us who have trusted in Jesus, let these truths refresh our hearts and minds. If we have been trying to find satisfaction or purpose in any of the things in this world and been deceived by that, let them go. We must confess it to God as the sin it is. We need to trust in God’s wisdom as best and what is truly valuable. We should cry out to Him to take away any hooks of sin that have gotten into our lives so that see His love more clearly, His hatred and judgment of sin more distinctly, and the perfect goodness of His wisdom more vividly. As we know Him better we will desire His wisdom more and more for every area of our lives. So if our desire has waned, if our joy has disappeared, if our peace has fled us, we must urge our souls to look to Jesus, to hold onto His truth, to trust Him in each circumstance.
God does not want us to have lackadaisical, lackluster, lukewarm lives. He wants us to treasure and love His eternal wisdom. He wants us to choose it over silver and gold and any other inferior, fleeting vanity. Will you? Will you choose wisdom?
For some further considerations on wealth and God’s wisdom see: Deuteronomy 7:24-26, 8:10-20, 17:14-20; Joshua 7:20-21; Psalm 19:7-11, 71-72, 119:126-128; Proverbs 3:13-18, 8:10, 19; Ecclesiastes 2:8-14; Isaiah 2:6-12; Ezekiel 7:19; 1 Peter 1:6-9, 17-25; 1 Timothy 6:3-21.
Conclusion
If you have any questions on any of this or want help in coming to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior please come talk with us. We are available. Let’s pray.
© 2023, Kevin A. Dodge, All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB),Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org
English (US) · 