2 My son, if you receive my words
and treasure up my commandments with you,
2 making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
3 yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
4 if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
The second pair of words, 'incline' and 'apply' speak of responsiveness to what the Word is saying. An attitude of receptiveness to the Word leads to an inclination to re- ceive its teaching more and more. So often our ear is inclined away from the Word by other interests, pursuits, concerns. But true inclination leads to a heart applied to divine wisdom. In the next pair, 'cry' and 'lift up thy voice' we see the progression of thought, with the thought and desire of the heart breaking out vocally. In the last pair, 'seek' and 'search', the desire intensifies. The seeking and searching are as for treasure. One recalls the 'gold rush' in America in the late 19th century, and numerous treasure hunts since these give us some idea and indication of a determination that brooks no denial, and this is what is conveyed in these words as applied to the search for wisdom. If once men are convinced of its inestimable value, this is how they will set about looking for it. 'If with all your hearts ye seek to know Me, ye shall ever truly find Me', thus saith the Lord. The result of this earnest seeking is stated in 5 - fear of the Lord, and knowledge of God: on the one hand, awe and reverence, on the other intimacy of fellowship. And never the one without the other. The biblical revelation has no place for any idea of intimacy of fellowship leading to familiarity. However intimate we may be with the Lord, He is still the Lord God Almighty, the Lawgiver, Maker of heaven and earth, and we His creatures. This must ever set bounds on any tendency to undue familiarity.