God’s Riches (4)
	When you were growing up, you probably knew someone whose dad was rich. Sometimes having a rich father moves a child to become arrogant. It shouldn’t! Even if you yourself are rich, it’s no cause for arrogance; and certainly a child had nothing to do with his father becoming rich. But regardless of whether your earthly father is, or was, rich, we have a Father who is extremely rich. Of course I’m referring to our Heavenly Father. We certainly benefit from our Father being rich, and we ought to be humbly thankful, but never arrogant.
	Remember that “rich” has to do with possessing an abundance of something that is desirable and useful. In previous devotionals we have seen that our God is rich in goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering. We spent one entire devotional talking about the riches of God’s glory. Then we looked at the riches of God’s grace and mercy. Tonight we finish this mini-series by examining the riches of God’s wisdom and knowledge.
	Paul wrapped up a long & difficult treatment of predestination and election with these words: “Oh, the depth and the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33). Within its context, this passage has to do with God’s rich wisdom and knowledge in planning for the salvation of sinful humanity, and in bringing His plan to fruition.
	Wisdom is not the same thing as knowledge, though they are closely related. Sometimes we speak of wisdom as the proper application of knowledge. There is some merit to that, though it may not cover all the bases. Knowledge is awareness, understanding, and perception. Among us humans, knowledge may arise from experience, education, and observation. Whether our knowledge is great or little, there is always more we can learn. Not so with God. “His understanding is infinite” (Psalm 147:5). “His understanding is unsearchable” (Isaiah 40:28). I think that would qualify as “rich,” don’t you? God’s infinite knowledge is a part of His nature. He did not learn these things by experience or observation. He will not have more knowledge tomorrow than He has today. God does not change (Malachi 3:6). Not even the most knowledgeable person in the world will be able to teach God anything. His infinite knowledge is definitely desirable from our perspective. It assures us that He knows every need, every problem, every pain that we experience. He knows every good work that we do, every good thought we think, and every prayer we pray. On the flip side, He also knows every sin we commit, but that ought to motivate us to repent & change our behavior!
	Wisdom is related to knowledge, but not the same. Wisdom can be defined as “insight into the true nature of things” (Lightfoot, qtd. in Vine). I might have all sorts of knowledge, but not really see how things are. You’ve heard the saying, “things are not always as they appear.” God comprehends perfectly the true nature of everything. He not only knows our needs, but has the necessary insight to supply and do what is necessary to meet those needs. There is also a moral quality to Biblical wisdom – a fool, in Scripture, is not merely someone who isn’t very smart. It’s someone who is a moral failure, even if his IQ is 160. God, of course, is morally good by His very nature, as well as having the insight mentioned earlier. Though no Bible passage specifically says God’s wisdom is infinite, Paul does refer to the “manifold” wisdom of God (Eph. 3:10). Since, as we have seen, God does not change, and since He is wise, we conclude that He cannot become any wiser, thus His wisdom must be infinite. He is, indeed, “rich” in wisdom. This, also, is to our advantage. If we ask Him, He will give us wisdom (James 1:5). Be advised that He doesn’t just pour into your head. He may let you endure trials; or He may bring a wise person into your life to help you. But we can be certain that God sees things the way they really are, and we can have the utmost confidence that His way is best.