TRUNEWS with Rick Wiles - Morning Manna - June 11, 2025 - Proverbs 3:13-18 - Happy Is The Man That Finds Wisdom

Episode Date: June 11, 2025

In today’s Morning Manna, Rick and Doc celebrate the unmatched blessing of gaining godly wisdom. Drawing from Proverbs 3:13–18, the discussion highlights that wisdom is not only valuable but life-giving — described as more precious than rubies, better than silver and gold, and as a tree of life to those who lay hold of her.The teaching emphasizes that wisdom is not mere intellect, but divine insight that brings length of days, riches, honor, pleasantness, peace, and eternal reward. These verses challenge us to pursue wisdom above worldly gain and to delight in her paths, knowing that all who embrace her are blessed.This message offers a hopeful and invigorating call to build your life on what truly lasts — the wisdom that flows from God Himself.Rick Wiles, Doc Burkhart. Airdate 6/11/25Join the leading community for Conservative Christians! https://www.FaithandValues.comYou can partner with us by visiting https://www.FaithandValues.com/donate, calling 1-800-576-2116, or by mail at PO Box 399 Vero Beach, FL 32961.Get high-quality emergency preparedness food today from American Reserves!https://www.AmericanReserves.comIt’s the Final Day! The day Jesus Christ bursts into our dimension of time, space, and matter. Now available in eBook and audio formats! Order Final Day from Amazon today!https://www.amazon.com/Final-Day-Characteristics-Second-Coming/dp/0578260816/Apple users, you can download the audio version on Apple Books! https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/final-day-10-characteristics-of-the-second-coming/id1687129858Purchase the 4-part DVD set or start streaming Sacrificing Liberty today. https://www.sacrificingliberty.com/watchThe Fauci Elf is a hilarious gift guaranteed to make your friends laugh! Order yours today! https://tru.news/faucielf

Good morning everybody welcome to morning manna for Wednesday. We are delighted to have you with us here. In this weekday Bible study a ministry of faith and values fellowship Vero Beach Florida wherever you are in the world welcome we're glad to have you part of the family. have you part of the family. And we are working our way through the book of Proverbs in the month of June, we're in the third chapter of Proverbs. And today we're going to be studying verses 13 through 18 Proverbs chapter three verses 13 to 18. I'm going to pray Doc's gonna read the word then both of us are going to jump into this study and extract all the diamonds and pearls and rubies that we can find in the Word of God. Let's pray. Almighty God, our wonderful

Father in heaven, thank you for this beautiful day. And Father, we are delighted to gather together in this online church with brothers and sisters around the world. Father, we are delighted to gather together in this online church with brothers and sisters around the world. Father, we praise you and glorify you and exalt you. We invite your Holy Spirit to lead us in today's Bible study, teaches your word for the glory of your Son Jesus Christ. In His name we pray. Amen.

Amen. And welcome to Morning Man, a ministry of faith and values fellowship. We're so glad to have you here with us today. We are going to be looking at the scriptures in Proverbs chapter three, verses 13 through 18. So if you have your Bibles, go ahead and turn there, please. I'm going to be reading from the King James today. And we welcome those of you from around the world, usually a dozen or so nations represented every single day. We're so privileged to have you here,

plus the thousands that tune in throughout the day. God bless you. Proverbs chapter three, verses 13 through 18. Happy is the man that findeth wisdom and the man that geteth understanding for the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies and all the things that thou canst desire are not to be compared under her. Length of days is in her right hand,

and in her left hand, riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her, and happy is everyone that retaineth there." That's Proverbs chapter three, verses 13 through 18 today. God bless the reading of His word today. Amen. Okay, so if you're new, this is your first time at Morning Manna, the way that I teach is I break up each verse into segments. And we drill down into each segment

and then we put together the entire sentence to get the full meaning, understanding of the verse. So Proverbs chapter three, verse 13, there are three segments to this verse. The entire verse is happy is the man that findeth wisdom and the man that getteth understanding. The first segment is happy is the man. This segment emphasizes the joy of pursuing God's wisdom. Encouraging the saints of God to seek it diligently, trusting that it will bring true happiness because it is rooted in divine truth.

What about this phrase, happy is the man? Again, man is not talking about just males, it's man. God created man, male and female. Happy is the man or woman who finds wisdom. Amen. It's declaring that the wise have a blessed state. They live in a state of blessedness, that there is genuine contentment flowing from living according to God's principles. Right. And Rick, in this modern world today, there's a thousand different religions and beliefs and sex and everything else out there. Christianity is the one that promises happiness.

Yes. You can be happy. What a concept. Think about that. Most religions are burdened. Most doctrines and things like that, they're a yoke to put upon people. But when you have faith in God, you have faith in the Heavenly Father, specifically in this new covenant that we're walking in, which Proverbs just fits right into the new covenant. Happiness is a key tenant of that. You can be happy. Who wants to be happy? Jesus and his beatitudes, his beatitudes sermon, the Sermon on the Mount,

is the constitution of the new kingdom. It's the constitution of the kingdom of God in the new covenant. And the word blessed, he said, blessed are the peacemakers. Blessed are the meek. The word blessed means happy. Happy. He said if you are a peacemaker, you will be happy. If you are merciful, you will be happy. If you are meek, you will be happy.

And so in the Old Testament, which proves that Jesus didn't introduce a brand new religion. He introduced a new revelation of the way God had established for man to know Him. And so God was telling the Jews and the Hebrews in the old covenant day, those who pursue my wisdom, those who go after my understanding, that person will be happy. You have genuine happiness in your life. So this word happy conveys a deep lasting joy. Yes. Not a feel-good emotion. It's contentment. It's happiness. It's a state of blessedness. It's a reward. Again, as I said the other day, you know, if we make a list of all the promises of God, here's the things that if you do this, here's the reward.

So we're being told in verse 13 That if you find wisdom if you get understanding the reward is happiness amen It says the man Again, it could be the woman the male the female happy is the person, the human. Happy is the man. And that it what it means here is that this is a personalized promise. The offer is to the entire human race, but the overwhelming majority of human race will never receive the promise.

Right. Why? Because they will not pursue and find wisdom. Right. But the man... There's a requirement for happiness. But the man, male or female, the man, male or female, woman or man, who does pursue wisdom and understanding will receive happiness. The second part of this verse, so first part is happy as the man that findeth wisdom. Happy is the man that finds wisdom. So this segment emphasizes the active pursuit of wisdom. So this segment emphasizes the active pursuit of wisdom. You can only

find something if you're looking for it. That's right. So you have to search for wisdom. There has to be an active ongoing pursuit of wisdom and understanding. Yes. And the scripture, these proverbs present wisdom and understanding as a treasure. It's a treasure to be sought after, to be discovered. That the joy of seeking,

looking for, searching for this treasure, the joy is when you find it, you receive happiness. As we learned, I think on Monday's lesson, we also receive long life, length of days. We live longer. So happy is the person who finds wisdom. That means there's an intentional effort to discover, to pursue. You only pursue those things that you desire. to pursue. You only pursue those things that you desire. Correct.

You don't pursue things that you don't desire, you pursue things you desire. So you have to, your soul has to desire wisdom and understanding. And then the third segment is, and the man that giddeth understanding. So this segment emphasizes the reward of gaining insight. That insight is understanding, divine understanding.

that insight is understanding, divine understanding. Gets, the man that gets understanding, again, it conveys active attainment, a pursuit and an accomplishment. If you get something, you have obtained that which you were pursuing, that which you were searching for. There's a synergy here of wisdom and understanding. They go hand in hand. Understanding, in my simplistic simplistic definition is that understanding is the practical implication or the practical application of wisdom. It's one thing to have wisdom, but if you don't know how to use it, what good is it?

So you have to have a practical application of wisdom. That's understanding. You know how to use it. I could have a tool in my hand, but if I don't know how to use it, what good is it? I have it, I'm possessing it, but I need knowledge of how to use it. So you have to have understanding with wisdom. So let's look at the whole verse. Happy is the man or woman who finds wisdom. And the man or woman that gets understanding. The reward is happiness.

Right. That's the payoff. Yeah. True happiness is not found in riches, fame, celebrity status, not found in pleasure, but in the discovery and not even in wisdom itself, but in the discovery and pursuit of wisdom. It says find wisdom, pursue understanding, to have a desire.

So there's a discovery process that's there. So it's more than just the wisdom itself, which is valuable. The treasure is valuable. But the Word of God here saying that the pursuit of that treasure is what generates the happiness in the believer's life. Yes. And if you take it another step further, as you pointed out, there has to be the desire to pursue it. Right. So at the heart of it is the desire, the longing for wisdom and understanding. Verse 14, for the merchandise of it is better

than the merchandise of silver and the gain thereof than fine gold. We'll break it down. Part one, for the merchandise of it, for the profit of it, for the profit of it. It's emphasizing the value of wisdom. Yes, it has a real value, not just a value philosophically or spiritually, but a very practical, you could put a dollar amount on wisdom.

Yes. That's what it says. That's a tough thing for some people to receive and accept, Rick. Are you telling me you can buy wisdom? Yes, you can buy wisdom? Yes, you can buy wisdom. Yes, you can. You can obtain it various ways. One way is to attend the daily Bible study. That's right. So this is saying that wisdom has a value and we should pursue it as a treasure. Yes.

And believe that its value exceeds all earthly riches. That phrase for the merchandise of it, it means for the profit of it. It's portraying, just as Doc said, it's portraying wisdom as a profitable commodity. What's a commodity? It's anything that you can trade. There's a value to an item. Gold, silver, precious metals are commodities.

Corn, wheat, olives, those are all commodities. Minerals, aluminum, rare earth minerals, those are commodities. They're traded. They have a value. God is telling us that his wisdom has a monetary value to it. And if you understood it, you would drop everything you're pursuing and pursue wisdom and understanding. Amen. That it yields returns in this life and the life to come. It says that wisdom has an intrinsic value, a worth.

There's a focus on it. So, some translations use her, but it's wisdom personified. It saying right there is something here from God It's a real thing It is a gift from God and You are going to be happy when you Pursue it and receive it and what you will have in your possession is worth more than gold and silver Amen. Now right now,

you know, in this year, June of 2025, gold is selling at an all-time high. Silver, you know, it's fluctuating a few dollars every day, but it's roughly hovering around $3,200 per ounce, all time high. You know, financial experts think it will go to $3, it could be a 5,000 or higher. How many of you wish you had a big old treasure box full of gold? How'd you like to have a treasure chest full of gold coins right now? Would you be happy? Would you do the hot dog? I am wealthy. Open up that treasure box and there are thousands and thousands of one ounce gold coins in it.

And while you're looking at it, it's gaining value. Just looking at it. It's increasing in value while you're looking because there are people pursuing it in the world. What makes gold go up in price? More people pursuing it. Demand, yes. The demand. So it increases in value in terms of human monetary worth.

in value in terms of human monetary worth. God is saying to us, my wisdom that I offer to you is worth more than all the gold and silver in the world. Right. So there's two components to the price of gold. The scarcity of the material and the demand for the material. There's, you know, they're still digging up gold, but, you know, the demand is outpacing the supply. And the same thing can be applied to wisdom here. There's an infinite amount of wisdom that we can gain from the Word of God. The demand, that's the key right there. That's what makes it valuable. Dr. Just a few days ago in Finland, they discovered a massive gold vein. They said this may be

the biggest gold mine in the world. See, people are still pursuing gold. Yes. Now if you were the owner of that land that they found the biggest gold vein in the world, would you be happy? No. You wouldn't be going to work tomorrow. So God is saying, I've got something that's more valuable than all that gold. But do we believe him?

Because I'll tell you, Doc, I've had many conversations with Christians, sincere devout Christians who are active pursuers of gold and silver. But I seldom have conversations with Christians who are active pursuers of wisdom and understanding. Yes. Give them conversations, people tell you about their gold, how much they own, how much they plan to buy, where they're storing it. Yeah, how they're protecting it. How to protect it, you know, but ask them about how much wisdom. How are you pursuing

wisdom God's wisdom? And you just get a glassy stare. You know why? Because they don't believe there's an intrinsic value to the wisdom. They do believe there's gold. Gold has value. Silver has value. Yes, it does. The Bible is telling us that wisdom and understanding is more valuable than gold and silver. Gold and silver? It could be taxed. It could be stolen. It could be lost, it could be taxed, it could be stolen, it could be lost, it could be acquired by the government

by fiat command. I mean, they could just say, give us your gold. It's happened before. There can be a market crash where the price of gold collapses and then has to spend decades climbing back up. Right. But wisdom, wisdom retains value and increases value. I know wisdom changed my life. I've you know what there was a period of time in the early 2000s I'm going through a lot of things in my life. Wisdom turned my life around. I mean, wisdom did it. It was

wisdom getting into the Proverbs and listening to people talk about wisdom. It changed my life. Yes, for me personally, Rick, it was more valuable than gold. It was more valuable than silver in my life. It changed me radically. You were searching for it. That's right. I said I'm going to get wisdom. I'm tired of dealing with these same issues over and over again in my life. I'm going to find the answers and I sought wisdom. And wisdom changed my life. And for me, for my life, gold was not the answer in my life. Silver wasn't the answer in my life. Wisdom was. That's what I needed more than anything else in my life.

So we get, you mentioned silver. So the second part of this verse is better than the merchandise of silver. So same as gold, excuse me, I'm gonna sneeze again. So silver represents wealth and security. And the scripture is telling us that wisdom is more valuable than wealth and security. Yes. It's better than.

It doesn't say that there's no value to gold and silver. It says it's better than silver. Right. It's okay to have silver. There's nothing wrong with owning gold and silver. It's a good, wise thing to do. See? Wise. There is wisdom in owning it. too. See, wise. There is wisdom in owning it. But possessing wisdom and understanding is better than owning the gold and silver. I think where some people think they get this mindset like, well, the Bible says wisdom and understanding are better than gold and silver, so I'm not going to get any gold and silver. I'm just going to get wisdom. That's not what it says. In fact, if you get wisdom and understanding, you're going to end up with gold and silver.

That's right. It says it's better than it. Doesn't say don't acquire gold and silver. It says, once you have your gold and your silver, you're gonna find out that the wisdom is better than the gold and the silver. Amen. You're gonna value it more. Don't let anybody give you that poverty mindset. Well, the Bible says don't get gold and silver.

No, that's not what it says. It's a good thing to have gold and silver, but it's a really good thing to have wisdom and understanding. It's better than, is better than the profit of silver. And the third segment is, and the gain thereof than fine gold. So it's emphasizing wisdom's unmatched worth. Yes. That we should treasure it above even the most precious metals, trusting that it will bring value to our lives in this world

and the world to come. That's right. And the word that jumps out to me there, Rick, is the word gain. The gain. That means in the Hebrew Aramaic, that means yield, income, a return on investment, an ROI. In other words, if you hold gold, you expect it to have to, it really does an increase in value, but that's a perceived increase in value. But with wisdom, there's a genuine yield, there's a genuine ROI, there's a genuine return on that investment. Whatever you invest in pursuing

wisdom, you're going to receive back with interest. Yes. And notice, Doc, it says, fine gold. Yes. Not just gold. Not ordinary gold, fine gold. It's kind of like in the book of Genesis, where God took Adam down to the river and said, I'm going to show you some good gold. It's kind of like in the book of Genesis where God took Adam down to the river and said, I'm going to show you some good gold. I guess, Doc, there was average gold there. Did they just walk past the average gold? And God said, no, Adam, come here. I want to show you the good gold.

Now that always, that's always intrigued me that passage Rick, where was he going to spend gold at? Well, well, God had not yet made Eve. That's right. That's why he was going to need gold. Yes. Like boy, I'm, I'm, I'm about to make a mate for you. And you need to know where this gold is located. Okay. Well, there's a reason. I mean, it's in the Bible. Right. God chose for all of us to know throughout time

that he deliberately showed good gold to Adam in the Garden of Eden, the Garden of Eden representing the paradise. So your paradise will have gold, not only just gold, good gold. What these verses and proverbs are telling us is not only do you have gold in life, good gold, but you got something that's better than fine gold. That's wisdom.

And it will return, there will be a return on your investment. Your investment is the pursuit of wisdom. That's your investment. That's your collateral. That's what you put, that's your investment. The capital that you put down, not collateral, but the capital that you invested is your time

and energy pursuing wisdom yes verse 15 she is more precious than rubies and all the things thou can't desire are not to be compared under her modern English she is more precious than rubies. None of the things you can desire are to be compared to her. Okay, so let's break it down into three parts. Part one, she is more precious. So this emphasizes the supreme value of wisdom that we are to cherish it.

Again, a treasure. Now it's being compared to rubies. She's more precious than rubies. She is more precious. This is personifying wisdom as a priceless gift wisdom as a priceless gift that surpasses the value of any material wealth on earth. Whenever you have the word precious, it conveys rarity and desirability. It's rare, but it's highly sought after. Right. I mean, gravel is not rare and it's not precious.

Right. Rubies are. That's right. Pearls are. Right. And gold nuggets. girls are. Right. And gold nuggets. And mankind has always had a fascination with, you know, like emeralds and rubies for their beauty. So when you think about rubies, you're thinking beauty, you're thinking brightness, you're thinking, wow, look at that. That's the way we should be approaching wisdom, too.

Wisdom is a beautiful thing. It's a lovely thing. I think it's also interesting to Rick that I don't know if you know this, but most lasers that are used today, lasers for various devices and to cut metal and things like that, you have a tiny ruby at the center of it, where the light is generated for the laser for the laser beam to be generated. So even within rubies, there's a power. There's a concentrated power within rubies. The same thing applies to wisdom as well. An interesting point. And this says, this uses the female term, she, wisdom. She is more precious. I don't think this means that wisdom has a feminine embodiment. It's not

like there's a woman named wisdom. And I've heard some embodiment. It's not, it's not like there's, uh, there's a woman named wisdom. And I've heard some people teach that there's a, there's a heavily woman named wisdom. Right. And that's not the case here. No, I think what it's teaching us is that we are to have a relational, um, our, our connection to wisdom should be relational. Yes. We should view wisdom as a companion, like a motherly figure that is seeking to bless us. Right.

So she is more precious than rubies. So now we're talking about wisdom superiority over gems, coveted gems. Stones that people seek after, pursue, willing to pay a high price. But you know, in heaven, they just make walls out of the stuff. That's right. Big gates, doors, giant doors. But it tells us God has an eye for beauty. Right. I mean, he's the Creator.

In heaven they use gold for asphalt, rubies for doors, pearls for doors. God's, the doors, the walls, the fences, the gates, the doors in heaven were not acquired at Home Depot. They didn't go to the hardware store and get a wooden door. A wooden door. Things are made in heaven with fine, precious gems. And yet there's something more valuable. Don't tell me, don't tell me here on earth you get these poverty religious people, you know, who want to put guilt on you and shame and blame and everything if you

acquire anything. It's always, I don't need those things. Well, God does. He likes it. I mean, he builds his walls with gems. He likes this stuff. He made it. And he's, he's made it available to us, but he's saying, but I got something even better. Wisdom and understanding is more precious. Again,

these verses are not teaching us to not pursue and acquire and own and possess precious metals and rubies and gems. It's saying, if you have these things, understand that wisdom and understanding are more valuable than those things you have. Have the right relation, the right position in your mind of physical material wealth.

It's okay to have it, just don't think that's the end. Rubies are precious gems, they're coveted. You have traders that go around the world trying to find the biggest and best gems Yes I'll go to new york city and go to the diamond street A whole street just diamond dealers. That's right, yes. All those are fun to go down.

Just display after display after display, full of diamonds. And what does each shopkeeper desire you to know, Doc? He has the best. Yes. He pursued the best. He's worked with diamond brokers around the world to find the very best diamonds. There's a value to the diamonds. And God says, yes, there is. There's a value to it. I agree. Nowhere here is God saying, no, your stuff's not worth it. That's not what he's saying.

He's saying, my stuff's worth more than the things I made for you. Amen. God made these diamonds and gems and rubies for us, but he says, but I made something else for you that's more valuable. This third segment, and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared under her. None of the things you can desire are to be compared under her. None of the things you can desire are to be compared under her.

So we're to recognize that no earthly desire matches the value of wisdom and understanding. Surpasses every human longing, every possible desire. There's nothing you could desire on earth This is every human longing, every possible desire. There's nothing you could desire on earth that is more valuable than wisdom and understanding. Now, verse 16. Now, this is a repeat of what we learned, let's see, on Monday.

On Monday, yes. Length of days is in her right hand and in her left hand riches and honor. Oh my, now this will mess up the theology of some religious people. religious people. Segment one, length of days is in her hand, her right hand, not her left hand, length of days is in her right hand. The blessing of wisdom, I say this is it's emphasizing that wisdom blesses you with life, length of days, a prolonged existence on this earth. Wisdom promises longevity. promises longevity.

Not only longevity, but a fruitful, extended life in good health, in sound mind. Right. So length of days, as we learned on Monday, signifies both the quantity of days and the quality of life. Right. Her right hand. It's in her right hand. The Lord made a point of telling us it's in her right hand.

The right hand symbolizes strength and prominence. Jesus sits at the right hand of God. When Jesus told the Pharisees, the Sanhedrin, you will see me coming, seated at the right hand of God the Father, they knew what he just said. He said, you're going to see me sitting in the strength of my Father. So the right hand in this is emphasizing that the length of days is in the right hand of wisdom, the strength of wisdom, strength of God, with the authority to extend your life. She's emphasizing the authority to extend your And in her left hand extends wisdom's generosity, teaching that God's guidance provides diverse blessings enriching every aspect of our life. The left hand represents a balanced nature.

It's not just the length of days. What's in her left hand? Oh my, this really can upset super religious people. What's in her left hand? Riches and honor. Riches and honor. Are you telling me, Doug Workhart, that God desires me to have money and property and riches? And honor? Yeah. I'm not telling you that, but the Word of God is. And you believe this? I believe it.

So I'm not supposed to be broke. I'm not supposed to be struggling to pay my bills. Says riches and honor. In her left hand. She balances the gift of long life with riches and honor. Yeah, because what good is long life, Rick? Unless you can enjoy. Right, if you can't pay your bills, you can't pay your property taxes, you can't buy food. You're 98 years old. Yeah, I live long, but you know,

I can't pay my light bill. Yeah, wisdom breaks the broke. I like that, wisdom breaks the broke. So it's not just material financial blessings but social blessings and you know all kinds of your family, all the blessings that come. These are the riches of life. But don't fall into the religious trap either saying that material blessings are excluded from that. No, absolutely.

Material blessings are absolutely part of it. But that's some of the religious mindset that's out there. Well, when you talk about riches and honor, you're only talking about riches inside and honor inside. Well, that's part of it. But what good is that going to do me if I need money to do something, to do a project or to do something for the kingdom of God. And honor just means favor, another word for favor.

And you know what? God grants favor. Sometimes just a minute of favor is all you need in a situation to totally transform it. No money could have changed the situation, but just one moment of favor, one day of favor, is sometimes all you need to turn everything around that you can even buy your way out of. That's how valuable wisdom is. That's right. So verse 16 says, Length of days is in her right hand and in her left hand riches and honor Let's look at verse 17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness

And all her paths are peace, right? Her ways are agreeable, pleasant. Hallelujah. No friction. That word pleasantness in other passages is translated as sweetness, like the pleasantness of honey, the sweetness of honey. Enjoyable. Yes, delightful. Yeah, I'm thinking of, I'm dating myself here, you know, the 1950s comedian Jackie Gleason, his trademark line was how sweet it is.

Yes, how sweet it is. So that's what this is saying, verse 17. Wisdom. Oh, how sweet it is she's pleasant her ways are peaceful she brings happiness and joy and contentment into your life and it's yeah and it doesn't mean a life without trials or things to overcome. That's not what this is. But even when those trials and those tribulations come, wisdom provides a sweetness in the midst of it.

Yes. And a way out. Right. The wisdom will show you the way out You know with wisdom you you you wisdom knows the path When you don't have wisdom you're you're lost you're confused what to do So her ways it it's underscoring wisdom's consistent nature that we are to trust in wisdom's guidance, her ways.

Again, I think of a nurturing mother. That's what I envision. A nurturing mother saying, follow my ways. Daughter, son, I will lead you on pleasant paths. And the second part of this verse is, and all her paths. So all her paths assure us that wisdom's direction is all encompassing. She's got a path. She's got a path for us, for each of us. Every choice guided by God's truth contributes to our well-being. All. That speaks of totality. That we can follow wisdom in every decision And no aspect of wisdom's guidance ever leads us to harm or regret. It also says that these paths have a divine origin.

And so our steps need to align with our Heavenly Father's righteous plan. The third segment of this verse, verse 17, is our peace. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. Praise God. This is the promise of a serene outcome when we follow wisdom's guidance. That it will bring inner tranquility and harmony and peace within our souls and peace between us and God.

It's promising a state of wholeness. Your life won't be fragmented. You won't have a divided personality. There'll be wholeness. There are a lot of people going through life with split personalities. Or their personality, I don't know how to describe this. There are gaps between their soul and their spirit and their body. There's just some gaps.

They haven't been brought together. Something happened in life that separated them. They don't have peace. They don't have peace because there's something going on deep inside of them. Their mind is not connected to their soul. You know, that's at a level I can't comprehend. I just know it happens to people. They're without peace. Verse 18. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her,

and happy is everyone that retaineth her. All right, so break it up into three segments. Segment one. she is a tree of life. Now where we heard that before? In the book of Genesis, in the Garden of Eden. How about that? Now we're told what the tree of life is. The tree of life is wisdom. Yes. And it was the big tree in the Garden of Eden. And guess where it's at now? It's in New Jerusalem. Yes. And where's New Jerusalem? It's in heaven waiting to come down to the new earth. And when it comes down to the new earth, the tree of life comes down with it. And a river. And trees on both sides of the river and the leaves

of the nation, the leaves of the trees are for the healing of the nations. Yes. But the idea is that that tree of life back in the garden, that was eternal life, eternal vitality, divine blessing, everything that is rolled up into that. That's how valuable wisdom is, Rick. That's how valuable wisdom is, Rick. That's right. So wisdom is the source of divine substance. And when you pursue it, acquire it, and consume it, it provides a spiritual nourishment and

communion with God. Yes. And so as Doc mentioned, you know, tree of life in the Garden of Eden. So what does that speak about? It speaks about immortality. Right. The tree of life represents immortality.

And what are we told is the promise in this life, this physical dominion that we're in, if you pursue wisdom, God will extend your days in this earth. Adam and Eve were not meant to die. Adam and Eve were not meant to die. That tree of life was that represented immortality. They were they were supposed to live forever. That tree of life was wisdom.

We're in a broken fallen world right now. But God is saying to us, you can you can still extend your physical life by consuming the fruit of the tree of life. That tree is still working, that fruit still works, still got power in it. Amen. It'll extend your life. You'll get some more out of this whole world. You'll hang in there a few more decades. And then it has the promises of eternal life beyond this one. Yes. Yes. In other words, that wisdom that you're acquiring now, you're going to keep it forever. Mm-hmm. All this gold in the world is going to burn up.

All the silver is going to go by the way. Every ruby will disappear. But wisdom, wisdom will be retained forever. That's right. So, second part is, to them that lay hold upon her. Once again we see this active effort that's required to grasp wisdom. Not only do you have to pursue wisdom, you have to lay hold upon her.

Grab it, grasp it. You've got to grab it. Why would you pursue something if you're not going to grab it? So, the pursuit of wisdom requires a physical effort a mental emotional physical effort to grasp and hold on to wisdom and Once you get it you don't let go it's like hey if I if I put this much effort into chasing something down Why would I let go of it? I? Want to hold it. I want to grab it. Yes

So that that conveys commitment and enduring commitment. I pursued it. I caught it. I grabbed it and I'm going to hold on to it. To them. To them that lay hold upon her. So it means wisdom is available to anyone who pursues it. Yes. To them, who's the them? Anybody seeking wisdom. anybody seeking wisdom. Doesn't say those people with master degrees.

Doesn't say those people born from blue blood families in New England. It says to them. Don't let your ancestry and your upbringing hold you back from pursuing wisdom. Amen. Some of the richest, most blessed people on earth came from poverty, but somewhere they pursued wisdom and overcame all of their handicaps in life. So that phrase, to them, means this is open to everybody. The opportunities for every single person, you can pursue wisdom and lay hold upon her. And the third part is and happy is everyone that retaineth her. Again, not only is there a pursuit, not only is there an acquisition of wisdom,

but the payoff is if you keep her, if you keep wisdom, if you retain wisdom, you're going to be happy. That's right. We started with happiness, the beginning of our passage, and we're ending with happiness here at the end of our passage. Yes. So there's profound joy, contentment, blessedness. There's a universal blessing in the retention of wisdom. And it says everyone, happy is everyone who retains her. Not as happy as everyone, happy is everyone who retains wisdom. In order to retain wisdom, you had to first catch it.

In order to catch it, you had to first pursue it. In order to pursue it, you had to first catch it in order to catch it you had to first pursue it in order to pursue it you had to first desire it yes so you got to put all that together you have to desire wisdom you have to pursue it you have to obtain it and then you have to retain it yes and the payoff is you're happy. And you're eating from the tree of life in this world. And all her paths are peace. And riches and honor are in her left hand. Length of days, old, you know, live long in her right hand.

These are all of the blessings when you understand that wisdom is more valuable than gold and silver, more valuable than rubies. The most precious thing on earth is wisdom and understanding. And when you get that in your head and you pursue wisdom and understanding, you desire it, you pursue it,

you obtain it and you retain it You go to the cash when window and you you cash out you cash out with happiness Amen, you go to the pay window. All right, and the What the payment that you're given is happiness in this life? Alright doc, that's it for me. We're gonna pick back up on this discussion tomorrow with verse 19, and so be prepared for that. Go ahead and read ahead and prepare, and ask the Lord, you know, to help you apply what you learned today in your life. That pursuit of wisdom is so important.

So many members of our class, we encourage you that if you're facing a situation or struggling in your life, seek God's wisdom for your solution to whatever problem it is that you're facing right now. You may be shocked and surprised to find out that God already has a solution available to you. He's just wanting to grant you the wisdom that you need to deal with your particular trial, tribulation, or circumstance. And so join us again tomorrow. Any final words

here before we sign off, Rick? That's it. Just be back tomorrow and tell your friends about Morning Manor. Yes. Introduce them to Morning Manor. And you know I've been encouraging people you know the live feeds that we have at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Eastern Time at True News and the new Morning Manor feed. And I know some of the people in the morning class, in the live classes, I think are confused about what we're saying. But no, we're not asking you to go there. If you are in the live class at 8 a.m.,

we want you to stay here. We're not telling you to transition over to one of these live feeds. No, we want you to stay here in the live class. It's just that there are a lot of people who don't attend the live class at 8 a.m. and they've been watching us at the True News feed on Rumble and X and Facebook and YouTube

and a lot of places. And we're transitioning those feeds to the morning manna feed morning man on the social media platform so we're just telling you at some point we're going to phase out the true news live feed yes but if you if you're coming to morning manna at 8 a.m. at faith and values calm that's where we want you to stay. Please don't leave. All right.

You can't invite people, you know, if they're not members here at Faith and Values, you can't invite them to watch one of the live feeds at 10 a.m. or 3 p.m. Eastern time. And just introduce them to the Bible study. Amen. So what we learned today from wisdom, if we had to ascertain wisdom, obtain wisdom,

and then retain that wisdom. And that's the themes of our passage today. And we're going to continue that pursuit of wisdom tomorrow on the next edition of Maury Manna. God bless you. We love you. And we'll see you then. Take care.

Bye.