My Fruit is Better than Gold Prov. 8:19 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
Wisdom in Prov 8 is personified. In Prov 8:19, she says, My fruit is better than gold. The inference is that you are better off seeking wisdom than you are seeking gold because the fruit of wisdom is better than gold. What is wisdom’s fruit and why is it better than gold, silver and rubies [Prov 8:10-11, 19]?
Durable riches are better than gold – Prov 8:18 – durable riches are riches that last forever – these come from wisdom – wisdom will direct you to the durable riches of God: his life, grace, peace, protection, provision, love, security, power, mind, joy and so forth – these money can’t buy!
Honour is better than gold – Prov 8:18 – there are many men who have accumulated vast amounts of wealth – and if the truth were known about the means they used to acquire their wealth you would often find that unethical or even illegal means were used [Lk 3:13-14; Lk 19:8] – a lot of these men have status in society but they don’t have honor – honor is the high regard and great respect earned by honorable means – a wise man is more honorable than a rich man – and he doesn’t need wealth to be wise – Jesus Christ is the most honorable man to have ever walked this earth and he died with not one penny to his name – nevertheless his wisdom far exceeded the wisdom of the wisest man who ever lived and his honor is above all in the universe.
Righteousness is better than gold – Prov 8:18 – the wisdom of this world will lead you away from God and the wisdom of God will lead you to him – wisdom will lead you to the true righteousness of God in Jesus Christ – of all the things a man needs on this side of glory righteousness is on the top of the list – with righteousness you pass the judgments of God – with righteousness you have eternal life.
Inherited substance is better than gold – Prov 8:21 – wisdom will show you that substance you can keep is more valuable than substance that either flies away or that you must leave behind – inherited substance will be in heaven to meet you when you arrive – the rich young ruler was told to give all that he had to the poor and to follow Jesus – but he was also promised that if he did that he would have treasure in heaven [forever] – inherited substance is better than gold because you get to keep it for eternity.
Life is better than gold – Prov 8:35 – wisdom will lead you to eternal life and it will show you that eternal life is far superior to temporal life – eternal life cost more than any other possession you could possibly own – if the quality of a possession is valued by its price then eternal life should be the most desirable possession on earth – Paul certainly desired to be with Jesus more than he desired to live here.
Favour of the Lord is better than gold – Prov 8:35 – wisdom will teach you that favor with the Lord is of far greater value than favor with men – when you have favor with God then all you will ever need is provided to you by the Lord – he hears and answers your prayers, he gives you your temporal and spiritual provisions and he gives you the wisdom to live within his provisions to you – you can live without the favor of men but you cannot live without the favor of God.
Conclusion: so often men work and live to accumulate gold, silver and precious stones like rubies – with these possessions they can purchase and enjoy the luxuries of life – they can have the best of everything the world has to offer – but wisdom has fruit to offer that is better than gold – hopefully, today you have seen wisdom’s fruit and hopefully you, too, will find it to be better than gold.