Proverbs 2:1-5 (New International Version)
My child, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding — indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

This is my favorite run-on sentence in the Bible. (And I’m not generally a fan of run-ons.) I like it so much, that, years ago now, I wrote it down on a nice piece of paper and put it in a fancy frame on my desk at home. It forms part of my personal “purpose statement.”

“If you accept my words and store up my commands within you…”

Accept and store up. That sounds kind of mild-mannered and tame, doesn’t it? The original Hebrew is actually stronger. The word translated as accept (lāqaḥ) means to take, seize, lay hold of, acquire. And store up (ṣāpan) means to treasure, to hide away. We could think of it as grabbing hold of God’s truth and embracing it lovingly. That’s why, as much as I love the New International Version translation of today’s passage, I also love The Message version of verse 1: “Good friend, take to heart what I’m telling you; collect my counsels and guard them with your life.”

And what a promise we’re given in verse 5! We’re told that if we do these things — if we seek after God wholeheartedly, if we bend our minds to learning more about our Creator, if we boldly ask questions and cherish the insights we receive, if we consider that pursuit to be life’s most valuable activity — then we will receive a priceless gift: an understanding of the majesty, power, and wisdom of God.

Questions:
What are you most interested in learning about God right now?