Knowing the Word of God is not enough. The devil knows the Word! We must go further and apply it to our lives as well. If the Word says do not gossip, we should not find excuses to gossip. If the Word says do not commit adultery, we should not find excuses to allow ourselves to be in such a position. I had a wise friend once who said he could not find the verse that said, "Except me." There is no such exception. Remember, God already made the rules; we just have to have faith and play by them. Seeking the treasure of His knowledge in our daily lives begins with accepting His Word and storing it up within us and continues with choosing to listen to the things of God over the things of this world and actually applying it to our lives.
Verse three however takes us into the relationship the Father wants to have with us. It says we must call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding. The things of God are discerned by the Holy Spirit:
We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1Corinthians 2: 12: 14
These verses are usually used to explain why the things of
God are foolishness to man but they also explain that it is the Spirit that
discerns for us the things of God. Verse 3 of Proverbs 2
deals with our lives beyond the Word of God. Verses 1 and 2 dealt with
the Word of God and how we need to handle it in our lives if we are truly
seeking the knowledge of God. Verses 3 now deals with our relationship with God
which is prayer. While the Word of God contains all of the answers we ever
need in our lives; finding those answers is sometimes tricky. Seeking
confirmation from God is equally tricky sometimes. God is a personal God. He
doesn't want you to simply read His Word and never be bothered with you again!
He desires a relationship with you, as any father would want to have a
relationship with their child. He spoke of this relational desire to the people
of
I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. Leviticus 26: 11-12
We must not only accept and hide His Word. We must not only choose to listen to the things of God over this world and apply them to our daily lives. We must also have a prayer relationship with Him and cry out to Him for the knowledge that we seek. The usage of calling out and crying aloud indicates the passion with which we should be seeking this relationship. Our prayer life with God needs to be that passionate; crying aloud and calling out for the next step on the treasure map to His knowledge.
Verse four completes the map for us. It speaks to what we value. We must seek this knowledge as we would silver or hidden treasure. His Word and our relationship with God must be the most valuable thing to us. The world offers up treasures that rust and decay (Matthew 6:19). The treasures of God are eternal. Jesus spoke a parable specifically about a hidden treasure:
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Matthew 13: 44
