Proverbs 2:1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
In our last post we saw together that chapter 2 gives us a wonderful outline for the book of Proverbs. We noticed also that this outline begins with the heart; first with God's heart as revealed through the opening, "My son" and then with our hearts as God invites us to say yes to receiving His words from Him.
Today we will draw our attention to the fact that God wants us to RECEIVE His Words. In other words, He wants to give us His Words. Everything from God is a gift for us. There are those who feel the need to earn what God would give them. There are even many who preach that we must earn what God would give us. If we could earn what God wants us to have, He would let us do so. It is our arrogance that causes us to even believe that we could ever, in our own strength, earn what God desires to freely give us. Throughout this book of Wisdom we will find that the key to wisdom is humility and the fear of the Lord. Here, at the outset of this Book, God makes it clear that He wants us to receive His Word. Our relationship with God's Word begins with a willingness to receive what He wants to hand us. "If thou wilt receive my words…", demonstrates that there is a condition to having the Word of God in our hearts and lives, and that this condition is simply the willingness to acknowledge our need coupled with the willingness to allow God to give this to us.
This sounds very simple, and it is meant to be. The only difficulty lies in pride. You see most of us either do not feel we need God's Word or we say "I will get it for myself through my intellect". But God does not begin this way. He begins by saying, "Let me give you my Word." This is not semantics, this is the difference between a humble reception and a proud grasping. Without humility beginning our journey in the Word of God, everything after that will fall short! This is why so many are weak and yet so arrogant. This is why churches have so little joy and so many experts. If the preachers and teachers will receive the Word of God in humility, and feed the flock of God in selfless love, we can all grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ together bountifully. God help us all to do so!