Classic KJV - Proverbs 2:1

Translation: treasure up

The Hebrew word for “treasure up,” צפן (ṣā•pān, pronounced “tsah•fan”), is used thirty-three times in the Bible. It appears first in Exodus 2:2, where Moses’ mother hid baby Moses for three months to protect him from harm. The word means “to conceal with definite purpose,” storing things because of their value. It’s like the Hebrew word מצפון (măz•pôn, pronounced “mats-pōn”), “hidden treasure.”

Something precious is protected. We don’t usually flout our treasures. We’re reluctant to disclose our income or finances. Our love makes the details a private matter. Yet we value more than just financial wealth. We treasure freedom, health, the respect of our communities, our families?

Treasure Good Teaching

This is the second time in “the financial Proverbs” (and fourth time in Proverbs) that the term “my son” is used. It’s first used to warn against “getting ahead” by teaming up with the wicked to rob others (Proverbs 1:10). Now the writer states that his commandments should be treasured like precious riches. The son’s pursuit should be God’s wisdom, understanding, discernment and more understanding.

Off On a Tangent of “Son,” “Daughter,” or “Child”

Why does the text read “my son” instead of “my child”? Does this show a bias toward the male at the expense of the female? Is God sexist?

God has designed the sexes for different roles. Male and female have equal importance but different, complimentary God-given mandates. Equal worth but different roles. Many people confuse equal importance with identical function. Disagreements over the relative worth of male and female is like arguing over the worth of a knife versus a fork. It depends on the job.

When it comes to using “Man” to refer to both sexes, take a lesson from the Creator, the Source of male and female. God himself says, “Male and female he (God) created them, and He blessed them and named them Man (Hebrew: Adam) when they were created” (Genesis 5:2, ESV). God consistently uses the masculine gender to refer to all humanity or the pronoun “he” to refer to a son, daughter or wife (Deuteronomy 13:6-8). Yet importantly, God also refers to groups of people, like the nation of Egypt (Isaiah 19:14), the tribe of Israel (Jeremiah 3:6) or the city of Jerusalem (Zephaniah 3:2) as “she.”

The Gender Hot Button

This tangential topic is controversial, especially now that “gender identity” is trendy and the gender blender, whirling on high. Yet: “In the beginning God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27). Men and women are together in God’s image, equally important but united in different roles and responsibilities. God designed men to lead and women to assist (Genesis 2:18). Men should lovingly provide and protect. Women should lovingly support and nurture. This design was established before the Great Rebellion, what theologians call the Fall. Now the Battle of the Sexes rages in academic circles as a debate between “complementarianism” and “egalitarianism.”

I believe the Bible teaches complementarianism. Given man’s leadership responsibility, God holds men, rather than women, primarily accountable for directing the family and community. God uses the word Man to refer to both men and women, and this was the common linguistic convention for millennia, until the West began to reject the natural and Biblical reality. The convention of naming the collective as female (like “cows” or “ducks”) occurs when the males (bulls or drakes) have harems, instead of united couples. Using the label "man" to refer to humanity does not diminish the natural differences, but celebrates their uniting in a couple.

The Great Rebellion

Unfortunately, our complimentary design differences were contaminated by the Fall, the Great Rebellion against God. Adam, the first male, deliberately violated his leadership responsibility and chose to disobey God. The resulting wound has infected relations between men and women ever since. God hates rebellion and cursed His Creation because of sin. Sin has poisoned all of Adam and Eve’s children – us! The result of this rebellion is death, since a perfectly loving God cannot abide our imperfect pride.

Fortunately, “God so loved the World” (John 3:16) that He sent His son Jesus Christ, who paid the price for us by letting himself be executed on the Cross. (See video below, "What is the Gospel?")

Men display sinful pride by either neglecting their duty to lead lovingly, or being tyrannical and insensitive. Much feminist anger is a reaction to loveless male leadership. Learn more about this at The Danvers Statement 1 (More tab) or visit the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood website.

Jesus Christ Gives Clarity

In Christ there is “neither male nor female” (Galatians 3:28). Yet, when Jesus appointed twelve apostles, He did not choose six men and six women. Likewise, the Spirit of God led the apostle Paul to appoint only males as elders in the churches (1 Corinthians 14:34), though women were often the first followers. He told men they should die for their wives: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25).

Those who reject Jesus as their Saviour have no spiritual insight to apply Proverbs’ lessons for a blessed unity of men and women. They keep women under their thumbs, instead of by their sides, where God created them (Genesis 2:22-24). Self-sacrificing leadership is easy to obey and support. Proverbs is addressed especially to men because of this servant-leadership. So the Hebrew word in the text is properly translated as “son,” not “child.”

Back from the Tangent: Dig For Treasures

People make huge efforts to find hidden treasures, like sunken Spanish galleons. But wisdom and understanding, like gold and silver, do not come easily. Gold may be patiently panned from a stream, and silver requires real mechanical excavation. Gold and silver must be sought, mined, hunted. Rock and dirt must be discarded to find the treasure. The concept of hidden treasure ties into the fuller meaning of the Hebrew word “tsah•fan.”

As my dad used to say, anything worth having takes sweat. Wisdom, understanding, and knowledge are all treasures, so be prepared to make the effort– like right now. They are not inborn like raw intelligence or athletic ability. A sharp mind and a healthy body need training. Without nutrition, exercise and proper rest, minds can become dull and the athlete, a couch potato.

God’s Word is Precious

Why make the effort of mining God’s word like a precious metal? The answer is outlined in the rest of Proverbs 2 in three categories:

1. We receive the perspective of God Almighty (2:5-8), and this guides us in making wise choices and guards us against painful, costly mistakes.
2. God’s word overflows with practical common sense (2:9-19). This will help us to choose the right friends, partners and associations.
3. God’s perspective enables us to enjoy life and be confident about the future (2:20-21); those who disregard these instructions have lives of frustration, dissatisfaction, and anxiety.

Our Maker, Saviour, and Friend

This text from Proverbs speaks of prizing and internalizing the words and wisdom of God Almighty. We then read in the new covenant (John 1:14) that the conversation of God with our world “became flesh and dwelt among us.” The message became a person. God’s thought was born as particular person at a particular time and place. Amazing! If this is true and God is conversing with all humanity through the person of Jesus Christ, then Jesus is more important than the text of Proverbs.

How much do we prize Him? How much effort do we exert in seeking Him and becoming like Him? According to Jesus, unless we become like Him, we are zombies - the walking dead. Read the words for yourself. Are they controversial? Read Jesus' words for yourself: John 6:53.

¹ The “Danvers Statement.” PDF Here.