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If you are interested in learning more about wisdom in the Bible, North Wake offered a Lifechange study a few years ago on the Proverbs. Here are some insights from the first lesson that help us think about biblical wisdom. We called these the ingredients of Wisdom from the Bible.

  1. Wisdom is an attribute of God that he freely shares with his people. (Daniel 2:20-21, 1 Cor 1:24) Like Solomon, we can ask God to give us wisdom.

  2. Wisdom begins with and is grounded in the fear of the Lord. (Proverbs 1:7 and 9:10) Michael Reeves has produced some resources that are very helpful in understanding what this fear looks like and how it leads us to God instead of away from Him. There is a hard-back book called, Rejoice and Tremble. He also made a shorter paperback book distilled from the same material titled, What Does it Mean to Fear the Lord? He has also produced a roughly 20-minute video with Ligonier on Fearing God, and an hour-long video of his discussing Our Fears and the Fear of the Lord for Grace Community Church.

  3. Wisdom is concerned with discerning the order that the Lord has built into creation. Proverbs 6:6–11, regarding the ant, is a great example. Wisdom is not merely intellectual understanding and it is not only gained from experiences even though these contribute to one gaining wisdom. Wisdom is built into the order of creation. Understanding how God has ordered and built the world is the stuff of Wisdom.

  4. Wisdom focuses on discerning God’s ways in particular circumstances. Proverbs 26:4-5 is a good example of this. Sometimes we answer the fool, and sometimes we do not. Wisdom asks is this the time and place for this? This is the point made by the Teacher in Ecclesiastes 3.

  5. Wisdom is passed down. Proverbs 1:8 and 4:1-4 (note grandparents in the second passage). There is a deep appreciation for the father and mother’s teachings. We must value wisdom in our families and places of influence–both our influence on others and our mentor’s influence on us.

Resources:

Michael Reeves