Proverbs 2:1-22
Discussion Questions
● What is something you have always longed to know or experience? What steps must you take to gain that knowledge and or have that experience? Does anything keep you from taking the first steps?
● What is needed on your part in order to accept someone’s words? Should we accept everyone’s words? Why?
Verses
Proverbs 2:1-11 (NIV)
1 My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
2 turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding—
3 indeed, if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
4 and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He holds success in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
8 for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.
9 Then you will understand what is right and just
and fair—every good path.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
11 Discretion will protect you,
and understanding will guard you.
Questions to Ponder
● (Verse 1) What is the first step towards understanding the fear of the Lord and finding the knowledge of God? Why is that the hardest step for some people to take?
● Whose commands should be stored up within you? What does that look like practically for the Christian?
● (Verse 2) When Proverbs refers to the heart, what is it referring to? How much of ourselves should we apply to understanding God’s wisdom and understanding? Why?
● (Verse 3) What is one doing if they are calling out for wisdom and crying aloud for understanding? Who are they crying out to?
● (Verse 4) How does a person search for hidden treasure and silver? Is the process easy? What would it look like if you searched for godly wisdom in this manner?
● (Verse 5) “Then” is a conditional word. What is the needed condition to truly
understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God? Why?
● (Verse 6) Where does wisdom, knowledge, and understanding come from?
● (Verses 7-8) What does God do for those who wholeheartedly seek wisdom,
knowledge, and understanding?
● (Verse 9) What is needed to “understand what is right and just and fair—every good path.” Look back at verse 6.
● (Verse 10-11) What will fill your life, protect you, and be pleasant to you now?
● (Verses 12-19) Describe the two types of people who God-given wisdom and
knowledge protect you from.
● (Verses 20 -22) What are the benefits of God-given wisdom and knowledge? What will happen to those who reject God and what he offers them?
Verses
Proverbs 2:12-22 (NIV)
12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,
from men whose words are perverse,
13 who have left the straight paths
to walk in dark ways,
14 who delight in doing wrong
and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,
15 whose paths are crooked
and who are devious in their ways.
16 Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman,
from the wayward woman with her seductive words,
17 who has left the partner of her youth
and ignored the covenant she made before God.
18 Surely her house leads down to death
and her paths to the spirits of the dead.
19 None who go to her return
or attain the paths of life.
20 Thus you will walk in the ways of the good
and keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright will live in the land,
and the blameless will remain in it;
22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
and the unfaithful will be torn from it.
Concluding Thoughts and Questions
● Reread and meditate on verses 1-5 again. What next steps do you need to take in the pursuit of understanding the fear of the Lord and finding the knowledge of God?