Proverbs
Nine One Five
#69
Proverbs 3:14 For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
Wisdom and understanding are better than gold or silver, that is a clear message in the Bible. However, we must pay closer attention to the phrasing of the verse. Solomon’s argument is not just that they are better than riches, but that their merchandise it better. By merchandise he means what they afford you, or what you can buy with them. The term simply speaks to the commercial value of something such as what profit it can bring to you. Perhaps that he phrases it as “the gain thereof” in the second half of the verse, already explains that; yet many simply read it as saying they are better than gold.
Now, bear in mind that God led the wealthiest man who ever lived to write those words. If there were a man who knew what gold and silver could buy, it was Solomon. He gathered so much silver that he devalued it, and according to the Bible, in 1st Kings 10:27, it became worth the same as simple “stones”. Solomon knew what riches silver could afford, but he also knew first hand just how easily it could lose its value.
When Solomon says that wisdom can profit you more than riches, it should mean something to you. However, when the God who created those richest says wisdom is worth more, that should mean even more to you. God owns the earth and the fullness there of, and He tells us that wisdom is more profitable than gold or silver. So today if you want to be rich, listen to God and seek wisdom.
Now, bear in mind that God led the wealthiest man who ever lived to write those words. If there were a man who knew what gold and silver could buy, it was Solomon. He gathered so much silver that he devalued it, and according to the Bible, in 1st Kings 10:27, it became worth the same as simple “stones”. Solomon knew what riches silver could afford, but he also knew first hand just how easily it could lose its value.
When Solomon says that wisdom can profit you more than riches, it should mean something to you. However, when the God who created those richest says wisdom is worth more, that should mean even more to you. God owns the earth and the fullness there of, and He tells us that wisdom is more profitable than gold or silver. So today if you want to be rich, listen to God and seek wisdom.