Proverbs 2:1-5- My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest he as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.

There are a lot of "ifs" in this passage. The word "if" indicates that it is a conditional statement. What we will get if we do certain things is an understanding of the fear of the Lord as well as a knowledge of God. Both of these things are vitally important. We have seen what happens to a child when they have no fear of their parents. They go haywire, and end up leading destructive lives. This too is the case with the Lord. He is our Father and we must have a healthy fear of him. Although he is good in that he chastises us, we must not look forward to the chastising. If we do, this indicates we have lost a fear of our Father in heaven. If we have lost this fear, it will lead to destruction. As with a child, when you do fear, we gain an understanding of the point that our parents were trying to get across. Yes, we gain knowledge. Often, after we are chastised by the Lord, we gain a greater knowledge of him. Fear and knowledge of God are good things to have.

So what are the conditions in order to receive such? First, receiving the word of God. It is one thing to hear the word of God but it is another thing to open your heart and to let it penetrate your soul. When we allow this, it will bring about true change in our life. Second, hiding his commandments. I'm thankful that today we are in the new testament church. For instead of hiding the hundreds of levitical laws in our hearts, we are only commanded two. Love God with all our heart, soul, and strength, and to love our brother as ourselves. These two should be hidden in our hearts at all times and it will affect every move we make.

Now, even though we must do more than hear, we must hear. Hear wisdom. Not the wisdom of the world but the wisdom of God. Then we are to apply our heart to understanding. Yes, applying takes effort, a great deal of effort. As it's said in business, people do not win accidently; neither will we win with God if we do not apply ourselves. We must read, study, pray, and meditate to gain a further understanding.

We must ask God. Cry out to him. We need understanding, we long for it! Lift up thy voice to the Lord, do not be ashamed to go to him.

When it comes to wisdom we must seek it out. Find where it is! As you would if you had a treasure map. If you had directions of where a great treasure was laid, we would do anything within our power to find it. We must treat the wisdom of the Lord the same way. Thankfully, we know the location, it's in his word! Seek ye out the book of the Lord and read! Read it everyday! Marvel at his wisdom. May we strive to meet these conditions, so that we may understand the fear of the Lord and find knowledge of God.

In Christ