Through wisdom is a house built, and by understanding it is established;
The verses just before this one warn against envying evil men and their mischief. Here the proverb turns to what wisdom does instead: it builds a house, steadies it and fills it.
The force of the verse comes from what stands right before it. One commentator sets those men beside the house of the wise, and follows that house through to what fills its rooms:
Verses 3 to 6 stand in beautiful contrast to the folly of verses 1 and 2, where we see nothing built at all. But verse 3 speaks of wisdom as the principle by which a house is built, and of understanding as what establishes it. Of course, this does not speak of a material building. It speaks of the building up of family life, as seen, for instance, in "the house of David." The rooms "filled with all precious and pleasant riches" in verse 4 remind us of believers blessed "in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:3).
Cleverness does not build this house. The wisdom that builds it starts in one place, and God supports those who build with it:
It is completely different with the wisdom that begins with fearing the LORD. Instead of active mischief, that wisdom builds up a house for family use, and by understanding establishes it. And as He prospered the wise in their plans, so He gave knowledge to furnish it richly and pleasantly.
Wisdom, understanding and knowledge are not three words for one thing. One writer separates them:
Do not mistake wisdom for knowledge, and do not confuse it with understanding. Those who have knowledge, important as this is, are not always wise. It is good also to have understanding along with what we know, so that we clearly see how one thing relates to another. But wisdom shows itself in the right use and application of the truth, and also in the right way and at the right moment.
Commentators divide the two terms differently. A second writer links applying with understanding, not with wisdom:
Wisdom is no doubt the right perception of knowledge, while understanding is the right use of knowledge.
Either way, a house needs both the seeing and the doing. Facts alone will not raise walls or keep them standing.
A home has a man's part and a woman's part. Even so, one writer warns, human building is not enough to hold it up:
If man has his place in authority and outward activity, the woman's place is no less real. Her place shows above all in the "home" of which she is the chief bond. Yet even there the home needs a better foundation than man can lay, or it will surely fail, and it cannot be the house that a woman's wisdom builds. Keeping at home is good; working at home is still better. And how true it is that folly pulls down the house with her own hands!
If wisdom builds a house, where does a family find that wisdom? One commentator, writing to a young person setting up home, answers:
You have your God-given love for each other. It is a great gift, and life together would be unbearable without it. But that is not enough for a truly successful marriage. You will need to mix wisdom with your love, and not worldly wisdom, which is more often than not sheer folly. You will need the wisdom that is from above, of which James speaks. But how can you secure that wisdom, whose price is above rubies? Listen to this, and engrave the words on your memory and soul: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." "And it will be given him" — what an encouragement that is to pray in the name of the Lord to whom you have given yourself and your home! What a support that word of the Lord will be to you when you are puzzled and in doubt.
- Contrast. The schemers of verses 1 and 2 build nothing. Wisdom is the principle that raises a house.
- Foundation. This wisdom begins with the fear of the LORD, and God Himself prospers the plans of those who build that way.
- Materials. Knowledge gathers. Understanding sees how one thing relates to another. Wisdom applies the truth in the right way and at the right moment. Writers differ on where the line between the last two falls.
- Warning. No home stands on a foundation man lays for himself. Folly can pull down with her hands what took years to raise.
- Supply. You cannot achieve this wisdom. You ask for it, and God gives generously to all without reproach.
and by knowledge are the chambers filled with all precious and pleasant substance.
Verses 3 and 4 move in three steps: wisdom builds a house, understanding makes it stand, and knowledge fills its rooms. Only the last step names treasure — so what do those rooms hold?
Verses 1 and 2 describe men who build nothing at all. One writer sets our verse against them, and reads the house as a home, not a building of stone:
Verses 3 to 6 stand in beautiful contrast to the folly of verses 1 and 2, where we see nothing whatever built. But verse 3 says that wisdom is the principle by which a house is built, and that understanding establishes it. Of course, this does not speak of a material building. It speaks of the building up of family life, as seen, for instance, in "the house of David." The rooms "filled with all precious and pleasant riches" (v. 4) remind us of believers being "blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ" (Eph. 1:3).
This wisdom starts with the fear of the LORD. One writer traces the furnishing of the rooms back to God as the giver:
The wisdom that begins with fearing Jehovah is wholly different. Instead of active mischief, it builds up a house for family use, and establishes it by understanding. And as He prospered the wise in their projects, so He gave knowledge to furnish richly and pleasantly. For this book contemplates His people on earth, not present suffering with Christ and glory on high.
Commentators differ here. Kelly keeps the riches on earth, since Proverbs has God's people on earth in view. L M Grant reads the full rooms as a picture of spiritual blessings in the heavenly places.
Nothing in the verse says the treasure arrives by itself. One writer pairs it with another proverb. God hides treasure, and He rewards those who search for it:
Nature keeps her secrets well. Yet she keeps them, after all, to reward the diligent. As the wise man says, "It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out." (Prov. 25:2.) And "By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches." (Prov. 24:3-4.)
If knowledge fills the rooms, where is that knowledge kept? One writer finds the whole store in what Scripture calls "the mystery of God":
In "the mystery of God" ... "are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." What a mine for exploring! And what a means of enrichment for the diligent saint!
That has a practical edge. There is nowhere else to look:
It is in the mystery that this complete store of wisdom and knowledge is found. God has entrusted it nowhere else. The whole treasury is there — "All the treasures!" So why should God's people turn elsewhere, to philosophies and empty deceptions? Christ is enough. Yes, more than enough for the church.
The next verse ties this full house to strength. Kelly explains what kind of strength that is:
A wise man is strong, we are told. This is moral strength. It is the opposite of Samson, whose physical strength went together with moral weakness and folly. So too a man of knowledge increases strength, instead of losing its advantage through carelessness.
And the filled house pleases God Himself. One writer gathers the proverbs that show it:
He takes pleasure in His children. "A wise son makes a glad father." "My son, if your heart is wise, my heart too will be glad." "A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might." "By knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches." These are true treasures indeed.
- Built — Wisdom raises the house; the men of verses 1–2 raise nothing. A life without wisdom has no structure to fill.
- Established — Understanding makes it stand. The house in view is family life, not brickwork — a household held together, like "the house of David."
- Filled — Knowledge is what furnishes. God gave the wise their success, and He gave the knowledge that stocks the rooms richly and pleasantly.
- Searched — He hides treasure on purpose so the diligent will dig. The whole store is in Christ, so no one needs to go outside Him for it.
- Strong — The filled house makes a strong man. That strength is moral, not muscle. And a wise son still makes a glad father.