What is Wisdom?
The word wisdom is used 183 times in the Bible, 47 of those are found in the Book of Proverbs. The Hebrew words that are translated as wisdom in the Proverbs mean: skillful, insight, and understanding.
Job 28:28 says, “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom.” Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” After reading those two passages, one might ask, “Which is it, wisdom or knowledge?” The answer to that question is, both. The simplest definition of wisdom that I know is, wisdom in is knowledge that has been tempered and shaped by life experience. In regard to these passages, it would be biblical knowledge, knowledge of God and His ways, that has been proven by life experience.
My personal understanding of wisdom has increased greatly beyond my 60th birthday. Over the past ten years, I have been awakened to truths of scripture that I had never perceived before. At such a time, my question has been, “Why did I not see that at 30 or 40 years of age?” The answer that seems to come, echoes these words from Oswald Chambers, “You could not understand it before, you were not in the place or the disposition where it could be borne.”
This explains why there are times that we may have read a particular passage 100 times, and for some reason, there is illumination on the 101st reading. What obscured the meaning of the passage was that it needed to be coupled with a certain life experience. When the two converged, the core meaning of the passage then came to light.
In the past, when such an event occurred in my life, I would often find myself chastising myself for not having studied harder so that I would have seen the revealed truths earlier. Now, I know that I did not see them because I could not see them. The verse may have been in my head, but a particular life experience coupled it with my heart.
I have now read through the Book of Proverbs once a month for over 20 years. Verses that have been obscured from my sight in past readings are now coming to light. Why? Because, as I close in on my 70th birthday, I now have the life experience under my belt that was necessary to open these wonderful truths to my understanding.
Keep on seeking! Keep on studying! Fill your mind with the truths of God’s Word. God will then make them real to your heart as you experience life, day by day, month by month, year by year. In Proverbs 1:23, wisdom says, “Turn to my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit upon you; I will make my words known to you.”