Chokmah

Proverbs 3:13 Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding.

The Old Testament word for wisdom is ‘chokmah.’ It sounds like something that the Klingons would say on an episode of Star Trek, but it really expresses a skill which is learned through hard experiences. It’s not something that you wake up with one morning or is given to you at birth. Chokmah takes years to develop and requires focus and dedication, devotion and study.

The ability to learn from past mistakes is also an essential requirement, so it’s no surprise that some of the wisest people in the Bible were once sinners and fools. Jacob, Moses, and David are revered as being great leaders, but one was a con-man, the other a murderer, and the third an adulterer, as well as a murderer. They learned things the hard way, but eventually wisdom prevailed.

We all make mistakes and regret our foolish choices. Everyone has something in the past where we have let down or disappointed other people. We cannot change those events or circumstances, but we can decide whether or not we will learn from them, and use those experiential lessons as moments that gave birth to wisdom.

Someone once said (I think it was Einstein) that the definition of madness is doing the same things over and over again, expecting different results. I guess that means that chokmah could be defined as avoiding the same things over and over again, and getting those different results.

Perhaps there’s something in our lives that needs to be changed. Maybe we’re going through a tough time because of habitual mistakes and foolish choices. If we really want things to change for the better, then we have to stop repeating the past in order to reshape the future. And that’s why taking Jesus to be our Savior is so crucially important – the only way He can reshape us for an eternal future is when we allow Him to redeem us from the past and renew us at this present stage in our lives.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are God’s wisdom in our lives and the Holy One who brings us real change. Look over our lives and grant us the blessing of chokmah, so that we can learn from our past mistakes and be strengthened in faith. In Your Precious Name, we pray. Amen.