Treasure Hunting

Proverbs 2

My wife, Cheryl, and I enjoy exploring antique shops and gift stores looking at all of the treasures they hold.  Each person walks through the store and identifies with something that they find valuable.  It doesn’t necessarily need to be the most expensive thing in the store, but it provokes an emotional trigger, encouraging us to inspect the item further.

We are told in Proverbs 2 that we should seek out wisdom as a hidden treasure.  The more we seek it out the more we will find it.  When we find wisdom, it enters our hearts and our souls, and preserves us, keeping us from evil.  The author goes on to describe the path of the wicked, and the results of going in that direction…not a pretty picture!

In James 4 we are told that wars come from our desires for pleasure and seeking after the wrong treasures.  The harmony of Proverbs 2 and James 4 resides in knowing that we can find the greatest fortune in seeking wisdom and submitting ourselves to God.

The result of following those instructions is found in verses 21 & 22 of our text:

For the upright will dwell in the land, and the blameless will remain in it; but the wicked will be cut off from the earth, and the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.