By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.

Proverbs 24:3-4 NIV

By wisdom a house is built

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10) The fear of the LORD means to be in awe, reverence, respect, devoted. Meaning when we walk in the fear of the LORD, we are walking in awe, respect, devotion, and reverence of Him. And that is the beginning of wisdom. The words in this verse highlights that the house is built on wisdom. In Matthew 7:24, the WORD says, TPT version, Everyone who hears my teaching and applies it to his life can be compared to a wise man who built his house on an unshakable foundation.This tells us that the one that listens and applies the teachings of the LORD is like a house built on a rock. 

We are the house, as Jesus is the rock, the rock eternal. So going back to main bible verse, a house built on wisdom, is us built on Christ. Remember the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, then that means that Christ leads us to the fear of the LORD, because no one comes to the Father except through Him. 

[The WORD, who is also Jesus Christ is telling us to hear/listen to the WORD. When you hear something, it is an automatic response to a sound. But when you listen, it is a conscious act of giving that sound attention. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing the WORD of GOD (Romans 10:17). And how do you do that? You do this by meditating on the WORD. The word Meditate in Hebrew means to study, utter, and speak. So this means that we ought to speak and utter and study the WORD, because that’s how we hear and receive the WORD by faith.Thus, leading us to walk in faith. That must be why in the time of Moses and moving forward, the priests would speak out loud the WORD of the LORD, the commandments to the people so that they are aware of the law and follow it. They had to hear and listen to the WORD. And in their own time, they would speak the WORD to themselves or their children/family/friends.]

So the rock, the unshakeable foundation, is Jesus Christ and we are the house that is built on Him. So now we know that we are the house being built on the rock. But what sort of materials do we need to build a firm house that will stand on the rock?

It would be the WORD. The WORD is the number one material, containing several materials that will helps build the house firm and strong. In Psalm 1:3, the WORD says, TPT version:  “He will be standing firm like a flourishing tree planted  by God’s design, deeply rooted by the brooks of bliss, bearing fruit in every season of life. He is never dry, never fainting, ever blessed, ever prosperous.”

So even in this verse, we are told that when we delight in the WORD, the law of the LORD, as a tree we flourish, are deeply rooted, bearing fruit, never dry, and ever prosperous. In Mathew 7:24-25, the WORD says, TPT version:“Everyone who hears my teaching and applies it to his life can be compared to a wise man who built his house on an unshakable foundation.When the rains fell and the floodcame, with fierce winds beating upon his house, it stood firm because of its strong foundation.”

So you see that the WORD has that effect on us when we are in and walk in the WORD. We can either be a tree, deeply rooted, or we can be a house that has an unshakeable foundation, built on the fear of the LORD. There’s another bible verse that I wanted to point out, which is Zechariah 4:6, NIV version, “So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” What is this telling us? Zerubbabel and the people of the LORD were building the house of the LORD. But they could not do it alone, therefore, mentioning that it will not be by their might nor their power, but by the Spirit. 

We need the Holy Spirit to help us build our house. He is the one that leads us into all truth; He’s our Helper, Counselor, Standby. When we have the Holy Spirit, we can firmly build our house, with the right materials, on the rock, our foundation.

Let’s go to the next one.

And through understanding it is established

When I think of understanding, I also think of sound mind. In 2 Timothy 1:7, The WORD says, NIV, “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” The Hebrew word for sound mind is self-control or sound discipline. The definition of discipline  means to restraint/willpower. So therefore, we are called to self-control, we are called to restraint ourself from certain things. Even the fruit of the Spirit contains self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

When the WORD says that we are not given a spirit of fear, but of  power, love and sound mind, I believe that fear is the opposite of these three. When you walk in power, there is authority, unlike when you are in fear, you don’t have power, you allow something to dominate you. Love, which is bearing and enduring all things, also means going forward. When something happens in your life, and this may not sound kind, we ought to still move forward. It may be difficult, but it is better to keep going even slowly than being stagnant. Because if you choose to stay where you are, this means that fear is your portion, keeping you bound. 

Lastly, sound mind, is all about being steady, having peace, focused. Isaiah 26:3, the WORD says, NIV version: “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” Even Philippians 4:7, the WORD says, NIV version: “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” These two bible verses contain words that tells us that the mind is guarded, steady, and protected. This tells us that the mind is supposed to be at peace and focused on Christ. When you walk in fear, there’s no love, there’s no power, true power, and there’s no sound mind. 

Going back to the house built. So through understanding, it means that our house is to be built on steadiness, focus, and protection that is only in Christ Jesus. Because the foundation of the house is Christ Jesus, the materials used to built the house needs to also contain a sense of protection, steadiness to keep the house standing. Remember, fear has no power, love nor sound mind. Therefore, if we build our house on fear, with Jesus Christ as our foundation, that would not make sense. So therefore, we need the Holy Spirit to reveal to us, in the WORD, how are we to built our house, steady, focused, and protected. 

Psalm 84:7, The WORD tells us, “They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.” In this verse, you see that the lives of the people of the LORD went only up, from one strength to another strength. A similar verse is found in 1 Corinthians 3:18, the WORD says, NIV version: “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” Those who are in Christ will also go from one glory to another, increasing glory. 

This is to fully tell you, that building our house a certain way is important. In order for us to go from strength to strength, glory to glory, our house has to be built right, by the power of the Spirit. 

Through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures

When your house is built, firmly, with the right material, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can now settle in. We will fully experience all that the LORD has for us. I believe that the way we build our house, even if there are some hays, sticks in it, will not allow us to fully experience the LORD the way we ought to experience Him as we live on earth. What I mean by that and there are several examples, it could be speaking in tongues. Some speak in tongues while others don’t, not saying that those who do not experience speaking in tongues are not fully walking in the LORD but they’re not experiencing the LORD in His fullness, in the Spirit. 

I don’t believe all of us have experienced the fullness of GOD, but being filled with rare and beautiful treasures is the things of GOD that we should engage with GOD on a daily basis. Some others are healing, deliverance, prophesying, that is for all the body of Christ to encourage, strengthens and comforts each other, apart from the prophets. Experiencing the supernatural, as we worship the LORD in Spirit and in truth. 

Surrendering is the essential drive to fully experience GOD, where His power is at work within us so that our light will shine. Smith Wigglesworth once said, “the human spirit must come to an end, but the Spirit of the Christ must be alive and active.” The WORD of the LORD should make our house alive and active, from the inside out. But we have to come to the end of self, and Christ begins. It is not I that live but Christ that lives within me (Galatians 2:20).