Wisdom is susceptible of cultivation. It is a mine that needs to be worked with patient toil. Compare Proverbs 3:13-15 with Job 28:18. It is comparable to a noble woman, who approaches us with full-handed beneficence, Proverbs 3:16-17. It may be described as a tree, requiring careful tendance and bearing fruit for the patient cultivator, Proverbs 3:18. And we may turn from our own little lives to see the mighty results of divine wisdom in Creation and Providence. We are made in the image of God, our minds are able to appreciate His mind, and we think over again, as Kepler said, the thoughts of God, Proverbs 3:19-20.
Learn the security of the life which is built on the eternal principles of this book. It has no fear. Its repose is unbroken by alarm. It is at peace with itself, with man, and with God. This is not the result of our calculating prudence, but because we exercise ourselves to have consciences void of offense toward God and man; and because the God of patience, of hope, and of peace is with us. See Romans 15:5; Romans 15:13; Romans 15:33. [source]
Chapter Summary: Proverbs 3
1various exhortations 13The gain of wisdom 27Exhortation to goodness 33the different state of the wicked and upright
What do the individual words in Proverbs 3:13 mean?
Blessed[is] the man[who] findswisdomand the man[who] gainsunderstanding