Wise Heart
The wisdom of a non-Proverbs proverb
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Whoever keeps a command will know no evil thing, and the wise heart will know the proper time and the just way.
Ecclesiastes 8:5 (ESV)
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This one is timely for me today.
I’ve struggled lately with some bigger business & life direction questions. Nothing like a mid-life crisis or anything, just that I’m in a season of transition and I’m having a little trouble picking the direction to go next.
What I need is some wisdom.
The book of James talks about getting wisdom from above by asking God. (There’s a whole other lesson there about not asking & thus not receiving.)
This one is a little slower, and more subtle.
Our obedience is crucial to receiving God’s wisdom.
Which makes sense, why would God give His wisdom if we’re just going to flippantly disobey His commands?
He probably won’t.
Now, because this verse is a proverb, it makes an absolute statement out of a likely outcome. Of course evil things happen to obedient people, but that’s an exception, not the rule.
Likewise, there’s no guarantee that the wise heart always knows the proper time & just way … but that’s going to prove true more often than not.
Thus, we have a proverb.
So, is there a formula here for me to follow?
Kind of.
I can take inventory of my life and see if I’m being obedient. I can ask God for divine wisdom. I can fill my heart with the Word of God, thus building its wisdom so that my heart can quit being deceptive and instead know the proper time & just way.
Not an absolute formula, but a great place to start.
— Ricky Ketchum
Copyright © 2025 by Ricky Ketchum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
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