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The Second Greatest Commandment
Searching for Wisdom
| Bro Sylvester Tembo (Mzuzu, Malawi)
M
ost people go out to search for precious
stones and gold and silver to gain some
wealth. To do that, much energy and dedica-
tion is required. And yet any wealth that is
gained is only for a limited time.
A good picture of what I am saying is in the
book of Job, 28:1-11. In that passage, Job has
shown us what happens when mines of gold
and silver are being constructed in order to
acquire these precious metals. All the mining
processes are done by the wisdom that is in
man and not in wild beasts. Man’s wisdom has
proved to us where gold and silver can be
extracted. That is from underneath the
earth, and yet Job continues to pose a ques-
tion for us: “But where shall wisdom be
found? And where is the place of under-
standing?”
Have men bothered to search for wisdom as
they do for gold and silver? What we ought to
know in the first place is that wisdom is more
valuable than gold and silver, because the
man who gains wisdom gains life and favour
from the Lord (Proverbs 8:35). Again, “Where
is wisdom from?” Is wisdom in the deep as
gold and silver? “The deep says, ‘It is not in
me’ and the sea says, ‘It is not in me’” (Job
28:14).
In Proverbs 2:1-4, we read of the Father’s
instructions to the son. It is therefore the
duty of the son to take up every word and
commandment that the Father gives us. In
that passage there is mention of the ear and
the heart. The function of the ear is listening,
and that of the heart to do what has been
listened to. Our heavenly Father has some
instructions and commandments for us as His
sons and daughters for the taking. Who is the
wise son and daughter? The fact is that God’s
instructions and commandments are indeed
wisdom for our taking. Therefore if any of us
is looking for wisdom, the place to turn to is
not in the depth of the earth or the sea, but
in God’s Word.
As it is said many times, the fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom. Job echoes the
same, “And he said to man, ‘Behold the fear
of the Lord, that is wisdom and to turn away
from evil is understanding’” (28:20).
There has been only one person who has
appeared to be our role model in this: “And
the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the
spirit of wisdom and understanding, the
spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of
knowledge and the fear of the Lord” (Isaiah
11:2-3). These words of Isaiah refer to no
other man than Jesus Christ. If we want to
achieve our goal of searching for wisdom, let
us imitate Jesus who is at the same time both
the author and finisher of our faith.
... continued ~
Notice unlike the Priest and Levite, the
extent to which compassion moved the
Samaritan – he went to him, bound up his
wounds, pouring in oil and wine, setting him
on his own beast, so that he had to walk
instead, to take him to an inn to be cared for.
He still proceeded on his business but after
ensuring the required comfort of the victim.
Our Heavenly Father wants us to make this
kind of effort to take care of our suffering
brethren, because he loves them enough too,
to sacrifice his only begotten Son for us all.
Just as compassion for us moved him to the
extent of sacrificing His own son, we must be
similarly motivated to make the required
effort in resettling our brethren out of those
camps, seeking for them, I suggest, a stable
environment in their own country, if possible
close to established ecclesias. In this way,
we express the first and two greatest
commandments.