My child, listen to what I say,
and treasure my commands.
Tune your ears to wisdom,
And concentrate on understanding.
Cry out for insight,
and ask for understanding.
Search for them as you would for silver:
Seek them like hidden treasures.
Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord,
And you will gain knowledge of God.
For the Lord grants wisdom!
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
Proverbs 2v1-6 NLT
Proverbs describes 3 different stages of learning; knowledge, understanding and wisdom. They are not the same thing.
Knowledge simply means knowing something. We learn Scripture by memorising it. I remember when I was a child of about 7, I had to memorise Psalm 23 for an end of year performance of all we had done in the Brownies (the junior section of the Girl Guides). I memorised it and it has stayed in my memory since that time, but I didn’t understand it at the time, and so it didn’t make me wise to the things of God.
Many people, adults and children alike, learn The Lord’s Prayer and say it at different times and occasions. But again, many do not understand what it’s purpose and meaning is, and so do not glean the wisdom found within it.
It is the same with every other verse or portion of scripture. Knowing, memorising and quoting what it says is not the same as understanding and applying it to your life in the search for the wisdom found in the promises of Holy Scripture.
One of the most helpful practises that I’ve learned in studying Scripture is to recognise the type of writing that is being used. There is historical narrative, prophetic utterances, poetry, letters, apocalyptic passages and wisdom passages. They all have different purposes. While some of the poetic writings, i.e., Psalms, contain certain promises from God, not every verse is a promise. It is the same with every other passage.
Every word spoken by God is absolute truth, but not every word spoken by God is a personal promise to every Christian believer. Understanding this basic principle is vital when we study the Word of God. God has given us “very great and precious promises” from His Word; promises that apply to every believer in every generation. But there are certain promises that were given to a specific person/people, for a specific purpose, at a specific time. God is the same yesterday, today and forever, but to imply that what He said to a specific person, for a specific purpose, at a specific time is for every person, purpose and time is misunderstanding and misapplying His Word, and can lead to confusion, heartbreak and the abandoning of faith by those who have tried to apply every word spoken by God as a personal promise to them.
God’s purpose in His promises is to show His Character. He is absolutely truthful in what He says about Himself. What He says, He will do. The responsibility on our part is to understand what He is saying in the context of when and where He was saying it, and to whom.
Randomly plucking verses of Scripture out of a box, or book, and claiming them as promises of God is not applying ourselves to understanding and gaining the wisdom that God wants us to seek. If we had a gold mine, we would seek for the hidden seams with all the effort and resources at our disposal. That is what God requires us to do, for where our treasure is, there our hearts will really be. Mathew 6v21-24.
Christianity is not a happy, clappy, easy peasy religion of positive thinking and positive confession. It requires much meditation, study and application. That does not mean it is dull, boring and depressing! On the contrary, it brings deep joy and meaning to life that goes way beyond personal happiness and security that could be wiped out in a moment through illness, war or financial hardship. God wants to bring us into a relationship with Him and His Word that goes beyond the superficial “claiming the promises”, (which usually implies getting what we want from God), to understanding His eternal purposes from the beginning of Creation to the coming of His Kingdom.
There is a verse of Scripture that gives me concern. 2 Timothy 3v7 “always learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” It is my heartfelt desire that as we look at the promises of God and understand their contextual meaning, we will experience His Present Presence and gain the understanding and wisdom that can only come from Him, the ultimate source of Truth.