Commentary - Proverbs 18:15

Bird's-eye view

This proverb, like many in the book, presents a sharp contrast between the wise and the foolish, not by mentioning the fool, but by describing the insatiable appetite of the wise man. It is a picture of a spiritually and intellectually healthy person. The proverb uses synonymous parallelism, a common feature of Hebrew poetry, where the second line repeats and reinforces the thought of the first. The subject is the nature of true wisdom. It is not a static possession, like a diploma on the wall, but rather an active, ongoing pursuit. A wise man is not someone who knows a lot, but rather someone who is always seeking to know more. This pursuit is not centered in just one faculty, but engages the whole person, the heart and the ear, the center of his being and his organ of reception. This is a description of a man made alive by the grace of God, given a new nature that craves the knowledge of God and His world.

At its core, this verse is about the fundamental disposition of the righteous man. He is not a know-it-all. He is not puffed up. He is humble, teachable, and hungry. The fool, by contrast, is stuffed with his own opinions and has no room for more knowledge. This proverb, then, is a diagnostic tool. If you want to know if you are wise, do not measure the sum of your knowledge. Measure your hunger for it.

Outline

Context In Proverbs

Proverbs 18 is a collection of sayings that largely contrast the righteous and the wicked, the wise and the foolish, particularly in their speech and relationships. The surrounding verses deal with the dangers of a fool's mouth (v. 6-7), the destructiveness of gossip (v. 8), the security of the righteous in God (v. 10), and the false security of the rich in their wealth (v. 11). Verse 15 fits squarely within this context by describing the inner disposition that leads to wise living. A man whose heart and ear are actively seeking knowledge will avoid the verbal and relational follies described all around this verse. His humility and teachability are the antidote to the pride that causes a fool to run his mouth, trust in his riches, and fall into contention. This proverb provides the positive foundation for the negative warnings that surround it. The way to avoid being a fool is to become a voracious seeker of wisdom.

Key Issues

The Appetite of the Wise

In our therapeutic age, we are told to look within, to trust our hearts, to follow our dreams. The assumption is that the human heart is a repository of reliable wisdom, a trustworthy guide. Scripture begs to differ, and does so emphatically. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick (Jer. 17:9). So when Proverbs talks about the heart, it is not giving us sentimental advice. And when it speaks of a certain kind of heart, a heart of understanding, it is describing something that is not native to us. It is describing a supernatural gift.

This proverb describes the engine room of a wise man. What makes him tick? What drives him? The answer is an appetite. He has a holy craving for knowledge. This is not the sterile curiosity of the academic, or the avaricious data-gathering of the tech mogul. This is the hunger of a man who knows that wisdom is the principal thing, and that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of it. He wants knowledge because he wants to know God and how to live faithfully in God's world. This proverb sets before us the image of a man who is spiritually alive and therefore spiritually hungry. The dead have no appetite.

Verse by Verse Commentary

15a The heart of the understanding acquires knowledge...

The first clause gets right to the center of the man. In Hebrew thought, the heart is not primarily the seat of the emotions, but rather the command center of the entire person, the seat of the will, the intellect, and the affections. It is the biblical equivalent of the whole inner man. But this is not just any heart; it is the heart "of the understanding." The word for understanding here means discernment or insight. It is the ability to connect the dots, to distinguish between truth and error, to see the underlying structure of reality. So, a "heart of understanding" is a person whose entire being is oriented toward discernment. This is a man whose fundamental disposition is to make sense of the world God's way.

And what does this kind of heart do? It acquires knowledge. The verb here is active, the same one used for buying a field or getting possessions. This is not a passive openness to information. The wise man hunts knowledge down. He purchases it. He pursues it like a valuable treasure because it is one. He reads, he studies, he asks questions, he observes. He is an active agent in his own instruction. He does this not to be puffed up, but to be built up in the faith. A man with a heart of understanding knows he doesn't have it all figured out, and so he is constantly in the market for more truth.

15b And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.

This second clause is a beautiful parallel to the first. It moves from the internal center, the heart, to the external organ of reception, the ear. The "ear of the wise" is the ear of a man who is teachable. The fool's ears are stopped up with the wax of his own pride. He cannot be told anything. But the wise man is a listener. He actively inclines his ear to instruction. He puts himself in places where knowledge can be found, under the preaching of the Word, in the company of other wise men, at the feet of his elders.

And his ear seeks knowledge. Again, this is an active, diligent pursuit. He is not just waiting for truth to fall into his lap. He is searching for it, asking for it, looking for it. This seeking posture is the very definition of humility. To seek something is to admit that you do not currently possess it. The wise man knows he is not yet wise enough. This is the great paradox of wisdom, the man who has it is the one who is most convinced that he needs more of it. The fool, on the other hand, is quite satisfied with his own meager stock of opinions.

Application

The immediate application of this proverb is a call to self-examination. What is your appetite like? Are you hungry for knowledge, for truth, for wisdom? Or are you content with what you already know? Do you actively acquire and seek out knowledge, or do you passively consume whatever infotainment the world floats in front of your face? A Christian who is not actively learning is a Christian who is not actively growing. Our sanctification is tied to the renewing of our minds, and our minds cannot be renewed without the raw material of truth.

But we must go deeper. Where does this "heart of understanding" come from? It does not come from our parents, and it does not come from a university. It is a gift of God in regeneration. The natural man does not seek the knowledge of God. His heart is hard and his ears are dull of hearing. When God saves a man, He gives him a new heart, a heart of flesh instead of a heart of stone. He opens his ears. He gives him a new nature, and that new nature has new appetites. A hunger for righteousness, a thirst for truth, a craving for wisdom, these are the vital signs of the new birth.

And all true knowledge is ultimately found in one place. Paul tells us that in Christ "are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:3). Therefore, to seek knowledge is to seek Christ. To acquire understanding is to acquire Christ. The wise man of this proverb is the man who has found the pearl of great price and has sold all that he has to acquire it. He wants to know more, not so that he can be the smartest man in the room, but so that he can better know and serve the King who is Wisdom incarnate.