Today, I’m inviting you to a feast of Scripture describing how biblical wisdom involves knowledge and understanding. Today, I offer food for thought. “We use the phrase food for thought to describe something worth pondering or considering seriously. It’s like a gourmet dish for your brain, a mental snack that nourishes your thoughts and ideas…Feast your eyes on this smorgasbord of synonyms…Brain candy…Cerebral feast…Thought fodder…Intellectual nourishment…Cogitation cuisine…Contemplation chow…” (1) I hope you’ve been enjoying the Bible’s delicious description of godly wisdom that goes way beyond what you might find in a dictionary. However, the Oxford English Dictionary is one of my favorite resources because it includes many historical biblical uses of words. About wisdom, it says, “[the] capacity of judging rightly in matters relating to life and conduct; soundness of judgement in the choice of means and ends; sometimes, less strictly, sound sense, esp. in practical affairs…[and] As one of the manifestations of the divine nature in Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians i. 24, 30, etc.); hence used as a title of the second Person of the Trinity;…also occasionally applied to God or the Trinity.” (2). So, “Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge, for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips. That your trust may be in the Lord, I have made them known to you today, even to you. Have I not written for you thirty sayings of counsel and knowledge, to make you know what is right and true, that you may give a true answer to those who sent you?” (Proverbs 22:17-21) Enjoy the feast until we meet again here.
Wisdom, Knowledge, and Understanding in Proverbs
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (1:7)
“If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.” (1:23)
“Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance.” (1:5)
“My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you.” (Proverbs 2:1-11)
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (3:5-6)
“Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed. The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens; by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew.” (3:13-20)
“Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.” (4:13)
“My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding, that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge.” (5:1-2)
“Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord.” (8:33-35)
“Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” (9:9-10)
“On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense. The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near.” (10:13-14)
“A prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaims folly.” (12:23)
“Good sense wins favor, but the way of the treacherous is their ruin. Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly.” (13:15-16)
“A scoffer seeks wisdom in vain, but knowledge is easy for a man of understanding. Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge. The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving.” (14:6-8)
“The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.” (14:18)
“The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly.” (15:14)
“Folly is a joy to him who lacks sense, but a man of understanding walks straight ahead.” (15:21)
“The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.” (15:33)
“How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.” (16:16)
“Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.” (17:27)
“A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.” (18:2)
“Whoever gets sense loves his own soul; he who keeps understanding will discover good.” (19:8)
“Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence; reprove a man of understanding, and he will gain knowledge.” (19:25)
“A man’s steps are from the Lord; how then can man understand his way?” (20:24)
“When a scoffer is punished, the simple becomes wise; when a wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge. The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge, but he overthrows the words of the traitor.” (21:11-12a)
“By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. A wise man is full of strength,
and a man of knowledge enhances his might, for by wise guidance you can wage your war,
and in abundance of counselors there is victory.” (24:3-6)
“When a land transgresses, it has many rulers, but with a man of understanding and knowledge, its stability will long continue.” (28:2)
“Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it completely.” (28:5)
“A rich man is wise in his own eyes, but a poor man who has understanding will find him out.” (28:11)
Other Passages
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding.” (Psalm 111:10a)
“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.” (Isaiah 11:1-5)
“The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness, and he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.” (Isiah 33:5-6)
“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Romans 11:33)
“I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.” (Ephesians 1:16-21)
“For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:1-3)
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” (Psalm 19:1-4)
Delicious heart food!
Notes:
Osmond, Candace, “Food for Thought – Idiom, Meaning & Origin,” Grammarist, https://grammarist.com/idiom/food-for-thought/
Oxford English Dictionary, https://www.oed.com/dictionary/wisdom_n?tab=meaning_and_use#14117686
March 6, 2025
Divine Wisdom for Daily Living by Joanne Colvin 