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.
A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
Chapter 24 opens with a warning not to envy evil men, whose hearts plan destruction. Against them it sets the person who builds a house by wisdom — and verse 5 says where the real strength lies.
The strength here is not physical force. One writer sets it against the strength of Samson.
A wise man is full of strength, we are told. It is moral strength. Samson had the opposite: physical strength joined to moral weakness and folly. So too a man of knowledge increases strength. He does not lose its advantage through carelessness. As wisdom prospers in peace, so wise counsel carries the greatest weight in war (v. 6). As danger grows, safety lies in many counsellors, not in self-confidence.
The wisdom praised in verse 5 is the same wisdom that built the house in verses 3 and 4 — and that wisdom has a definite starting point.
The wisdom that begins with fearing the Lord is completely different. Instead of active mischief, it builds up a house for the family to use, and establishes it by understanding. And as He prospered the wise in their plans, so He gave knowledge to furnish it richly and pleasantly.
The verse ties strength to a rising scale: more knowledge, more strength. That growth is for the day of trouble, and no one has to carry it alone.
This wisdom also involves strength (v. 5), which increases as wisdom increases. So whatever troubles (or warfare) may come, God gives strength to withstand and defeat the enemy. A wise man will also build friendship with others who are wise, for many wise counselors will ensure safety (v. 6). How important this fellowship of believers is!
If knowledge increases strength, then knowing God matters most. One writer says this of Daniel and his friends.
But their obedience did not only bring reward, it prepared them for the days ahead. In trials and testing they would learn the character of their God. "But the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action" (Dan. 11:32) and so it was.
Older translations render Daniel 11:32 as "shall be strong, and do exploits" — the wording the writer had in view.
Elsewhere Proverbs pictures the wise man taking a fortified city. The same writer shows what wisdom does when danger comes.
The home of the wise not only has a desirable treasure in it. If danger threatens, a wise man overcomes everything set against him. He scales the city of the mighty and cuts down the strength it trusted in. What can force do against wisdom (v. 22)?
Wisdom and strength meet in one Person, so that the Christian's supply of each is the same supply.
Now, to us who are called, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God; the knowing how and the power of being able. So Christians are equipped in Him for everything. Perhaps some think our circumstances today are unique in their difficulties. There has never been any other kind of circumstances, as everyone has found until they turned to Christ.
We do not work that wisdom up by our own effort:
Can we guide ourselves through the ten thousand difficulties and details of our Christian life by our own wisdom or discernment? Surely not. Should we make an effort? By no means. Why not? Because God has made Christ to be our "wisdom."
- Source. The strength of verse 5 belongs to wisdom that begins with fearing the Lord. That wisdom builds and establishes a house instead of plotting mischief.
- Kind. It is moral strength. Samson was the reverse: great physical power joined to weakness and folly.
- Growth. Strength rises as wisdom rises. Those who know God stand firm and take action when trials come.
- Reach. This strength is not private only. Wisdom scales the city of the mighty and cuts down the very thing the enemy trusted. Force is no answer to it.
- Supply. Christ is both the wisdom of God and the power of God — the knowing how and the being able. The wise man draws his strength; he does not make it himself. Wise counsellors keep it safe.
For with good advice shalt thou make thy war; and in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.
Proverbs 24:6 follows a set of sayings on what wisdom does for a person, including making him strong. Here it is sent into a war, and the question is practical: trust your own judgment, or gather counsel?
The verse before it says the wise man is strong, and the strength in view is not physical. One writer contrasts him with Samson, the strong man of Israel who had muscle but poor judgment. (Older translations end this verse with "safety" rather than "victory," which is why the writers quoted here use that word.)
A wise man is strong, we are told. That strength is moral. It is the reverse of Samson, whose physical strength went with moral weakness and folly. In the same way a man of knowledge grows stronger, instead of losing that advantage through carelessness. Wisdom brings success in peace, and wise counsel carries the greatest weight in war. There, as danger grows, safety lies in many counsellors, not in self-confidence.
Wisdom gives strength for the fight. It also draws a person into the company of other wise people.
This wisdom also involves strength, and that strength grows as wisdom grows. So whatever hardship or warfare may come, God gives strength to withstand and defeat the enemy. A wise man will also cultivate the fellowship of others who are wise, for many wise counsellors will ensure safety. This fellowship of believers is vitally important!
A similar saying appears earlier in Proverbs. One commentator reads it as a blow to the instinct to go it alone. Note what he says the Spirit produces instead.
"Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety." Whatever the proud spirit of independence may aim at, there are leading men, or guides, among God's people. No one can ignore or belittle them without loss to himself. The Holy Spirit does not lead to self-conceit, but to genuine humility and a warm value for fellowship.
Another writer applies this to Christians, who receive the Lord's help through one another.
Much sorrow and many grave mistakes arise among Christians who are not subject to the Lord in using His help through His members. One has "the word of wisdom," and another "the word of knowledge by the same Spirit." Scripture said long ago, "in an abundance of counselors there is safety." How much more now.
Counsel taken after the decision is already made is not counsel at all. One writer says this about Israel's turn to Egypt for help. He ends with a warning about advice.
If they had asked counsel, they knew well that God would never send them down to Egypt, out of which He had brought them. But they did not seek counsel; they act before they ask, and may have prayed about it afterwards. What is it to pray for God to bless what we are doing in self-will? Let us ask Him what He would have us do before we act. It may be that God would have us do nothing, or possibly give us counsel through one of His children. For God does not intend us to be so many independent lines that never meet... The danger is of putting another in the place of God.
The proverb praises many counsellors, but numbers alone settle nothing. One commentator writes about the church in Laodicea, a place that felt well supplied.
Christ presents Himself as the great Counsellor. In our days there are many counsellors. They often mean well (but not always), and they bring in man's remedies, which will fail. The people in Laodicea had plenty of resources, and our day is like theirs. In such a day it is easy to become self-satisfied, self-sufficient and self-righteous. So it is vital to be open to the resources God makes available to us. Even in the apostle Paul's day, people had to tell two kinds of resource apart: man's wisdom and God's wisdom.
One writer puts advice in its place, under Scripture. The servant of Christ does well to take counsel from others and weigh their judgment, "yet even so he must not in the last resort be guided by their opinions but by the Word of God" (F. B. Hole).
- Wisdom — the strength that wins wars here is moral, not physical; Samson had the muscle and lacked the wisdom.
- Counsel — safety lies in many counsellors, not in self-confidence.
- Fellowship — the wise man seeks out other wise people. God did not make His children separate lines that never meet.
- Timing — ask before you act. Praying over a decision already taken in self-will is not seeking counsel.
- Testing — many counsellors is not the same as good counsel. Weigh every voice by God's wisdom, and let Scripture have the last word.