Proverbs 24:3–4 (NIV)
By wisdom a house is built,
and through understanding it is established;
through knowledge its rooms are filled
with rare and beautiful treasures.
When Solomon said this, he had more in mind than buildings. He understood that wisdom has constructive, life-giving qualities.
This proverb echoes Proverbs 3:19:
By wisdom the Lord laid the earth’s foundations,
by understanding he set the heavens in place;
Wisdom initiates life, produces fruit, and inaugurates creative wonders. Wisdom creates, nurtures, fosters, establishes, and fills a house, whether the “house” is a brick-and-mortar building, a household, a family, an enterprise, a company, an individual reputation, or personal character.
In Proverbs 14:1,
The wise woman builds her house,
but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.
In many places in Proverbs, and elsewhere, the Scriptures personify wisdom as a productive, hardworking woman:
Wisdom has built her house;
she has set up its seven pillars.
She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine;
she has also set her table. (Proverbs 9:1–2).
Although wisdom is an intangible quality, Solomon describes it poetically, as if it were an actual person. In doing so, Solomon vividly communicates the availability of wisdom and the benefits of seeking and finding it.
The “rare and beautiful treasures” that fill the rooms of Proverbs 24:4 could be literal—the wise will handle finances well—but they also symbolize blessings such as harmony, unity, loving family relationships, and a sense of safety, protection, well-being, and stability.
The wise store up choice food and olive oil,
but fools gulp theirs down. (Proverbs 21:20).
The Bible says that believers are “God’s house.” Through wisdom, we, as God’s children, are built into a solid and secure “house” for the Lord:
But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory. (Hebrews 3:6).
Paul taught that we
are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19–22).
As individual members of Christ’s body, we are being built together into one holy temple in the Lord (1 Corinthians 3:17).
The most important stone in any building is the cornerstone. For this reason, Jesus Christ is called the Cornerstone. He is the firm, immovable foundation upon which the entire building is established, undergirded, supported, and constructed. He sets the pattern for the entire structure. Christ is “the power of God and the wisdom of God” upon which we are built (1 Corinthians 1:24).
The Lord’s wisdom is failproof. God’s “house” is built by God’s wisdom and God’s power, and Jesus is the Cornerstone. We can trust that it will never crumble or collapse (Matthew 16:18).
PRAYER
Abba Father, unless you build and furnish the house, we who build it labour in vain. Build our homes by your wisdom and furnish our lives with the treasure of your words. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.
PROMPTS
- Do you have memories of a home you grew up in, or grandparents' home, or maybe a friend's place?
- Consider your own home.
What stories might your children and/or grandchildren tell to future generations? - Consider your own life.
How is your life being built like a home whose rooms are furnished with wisdom and knowledge and treasure?
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