Gaining Wisdom, Step 2: Study & Observe God’s Law

Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ Deuteronomy 4:6

Wisdom and understanding were highly prized in the ancient Near East, both in the social and political areas. In Deuteronomy 4:1-6, Moses instructs the people of Israel to study and observe God’s Law. If the people did so, the nation of Israel would be known as a great nation because its people had wisdom and understanding.

A person who takes the time to study God’s law, learn from it, and obey it will be known as a wise person. James echoes the connection between learning and observing God’s law with the exhortation to “be doers of the Word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22). James continues, saying the person who “is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does” (1:25).