Wed.'s Devo -The Big Three

Read Pro. 2:1-7
All through Proverbs you see the three words wisdom, knowledge and understanding so let's see if we can define them. Websters says that wisdom is the power to judge rightly. Job said that the fear of the Lord was wisdom (job 28:28). The Psalms say that the fear of the Lord was the beginning of wisdom. Our scripture today says for us to incline our ear to wisdom. Wisdom is mentioned 234 times in the Bible and 53 times in Proverbs. I believe that wisdom comes with maturity. It is experiential knowledge which is why the older you become the more you should have. The only true wisdom comes from God.
The definition of knowledge is all about gaining facts and knowing information and principles. It is learned but not necessarily experienced. Knowledge is what we get at school and through reading our Bible. Wisdom is what we get when we apply that knowledge. Knowledge is mentioned 172 times in the Bible. There was a tree in the garden of Eden called the tree of knowledge of good and evil. If you ate its fruit you knew the facts about what was good and what was evil.
Understanding has to do with intelligence. You can listen to a teacher teach math all day but if you don't understand what she is saying it is unfruitful. Websters defines understanding as your mental quality; the power or ability to think, learn, judge, etc. It is mentioned 160 times in the Bible. Job said that to depart from evil was understanding.
We have different amounts of each of these qualities but reading the Bible and understanding the Proverbs can increase our capacity in each of these areas. With every piece of knowledge we gain God will give us a way to experience it so it will become wisdom. As we grow in knowledge we will gain the ability to understand and develope wisdom.
It is God that gives us wisdom, knowledge and understanding. Our part is to open our eyes to what he has made, observe it and ask questions. He has given us His Word which is the essence of Him so if we incline our spiritual ear to listen He will teach us.
Lord, we put our ear near to your mouth; cause us to hear and understand. We seek your wisdom, knowledge and understanding with all our hearts. May your wisdom be our shield and buckler that we may walk in innocence.