Last time we met I said the use of the word merchandise in this passage is the same as if the word profit were used.

We saw that the first occurrence in the Bible of the word profit was when Esau sold his birthright to twin brother Jacob, thus providing a turning point in history.

Presidents and world leaders scurry around the world today because of the results of this transaction between Esau and Jacob.

Isn't it amazing how little things can affect history.

It reminds me of the children's song that cautions little children of little things.

Be careful little mouth what you say, Be careful little hands what you do!

James said it this way: Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

And the fire of Esau's desire for the profit of this world kindles a fire that still rages today.

Gen 25:29-34,  And Jacob sod (boiled) pottage (soup): and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom (Red). And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.

Esau saw no profit in the birthright as he only saw profit in that which he could see with his eyes.

Bread and soup were profit to him because they satisfied the immediate hunger of his body.

He easily sacrificed the permanent on the altar of the immediate.

We are told that he sold his birthright unto Jacob but the meaning of the word sold in this case is ruin, desolation, or destruction.

He despised the birthright counting it nothing and therefore easily saw fit to bring it to ruin.

The writer of Hebrews records the spiritual desolation brought about by his careless act.

Heb 12:16,17, Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

But Esau is not alone. Millions follow his example!

Solomon wrote of the birthright of Man in Ecclesiastics 12:13 when he said

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."

But does not man despise this birthright and in despising this birthright go after the pottage of this world?

Preach loudly and clearly this message that it is the birthright of every man to fear God and keep his commandments and this will reveal by the millions the Esaus of the world.

The Esaus of the world will rise up in unison and exclaim "I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?"

I am only interested in that which simply satisfies this life.

And without the eyesight that faith brings there is only this life isn't there?

This father tells his son that this is the way of a faithless world.

Profit in that which is material, that which can be seen.

But the profit that this son is to invest in is the profit that comes from the pursuit of wisdom.

For the (profit) of it is better than the (profit) of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.

What does this profit bring, Father, the son asks?

Proverbs 3:16-18,  Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

The profit of the merchandise of this world provides no such thing as length of days and the riches and honour of God.

The profits which this world brings are not ways of pleasantness and paths of peace for they simply cater to the flesh in which no good thing dwells.

Truly good things are eternal things and the flesh does not concern itself with eternal things.

The profit that wisdom brings is freely offered in her right hand.

The right hand of God, the hand that is extended, the same hand that seeks the sinner.

The right hand of God of which Moses sang in:

Exodus 15:6,  Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.

The writers of the Psalms depended upon that right hand of power:

Psalm 20:6,  Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.

Psalm 89:13,  Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.

Psalm 98:1,  O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.

Psalm 118:16,  The right hand of the LORD is exalted: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.

Psalm 138:7,  Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.

And not only is their refuge in God's right hand but we are told that in God's left hand are riches and honour.

David wrote of this in 1 Chronicles 29:12,  Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.

The "hands of God" then refer to the supreme and almighty power and authority of God.

The creative work of God involved the use of His hands to make the heavens and the earth.

In Exodus, God delivered Israel from Egypt by His "strong hand."

In Isaiah God's hand is described as mighty.

God uses His hand to uphold and guide the righteous.

Punishment and affliction come from the hand of God.

So length of days is in wisdom's right hand, and riches and honor are in her left hand, the hands that deliver the supreme and almighty power and authority of God.

Should not we then be fully confident that wisdom will deliver what wisdom says?

So wisdom's ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

Notice this father's word to his son.

She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her.

Again he reminds his son to seek wisdom as though wisdom were a precious jewel hidden from all but the most diligent seeker.

Lay hold upon her son, fasten yourself to her, bind her, restrain her to you as if she would leave you unless you cleave strongly to her.

Seek her as you would seek the woman who is the fairest of the fairest.

Solomon captured this "laying hold upon her" when in the Song of Solomon he wrote of the Bridegroom whom we know as Christ, Wisdom personified.

Song of Solomon 5:9-16,  (This question is asked of the bride!) What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us? (Look how the questioner uses the word "more". In other words "What profit is thy beloved more than another beloved?")

She immediately replies:  My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven. His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set. His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.

Would you not agree that this bride knows her bridegroom?

Her love for him in this description of him literally cries loudly of her intense love for him.

This is the attitude that the bride ought to have in seeking the bridegroom.

She has an intimate knowledge of him and his infinite worth.

This is the attitude that this father desires that his son have in seeking wisdom.

For wisdom is the tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

Seize her and be strong and courageous.

God loves his children to have this attitude about wisdom.

He desires to give wisdom but he also desires to give it to those who must have it, those who cry for it, those who are obstinate (adamant, implacable, inflexible, obdurate, resolute, stubborn, intractable, unyielding) about it.

This father has spoken of the rich blessings of wisdom to man, its provision of length of days, riches and honor and pleasant ways and peaceful paths.

He has spoken of what wisdom does personally and he now speaks of the majesty of wisdom that is displayed by his works.

Last week we said the use of the word merchandise in this passage is the same as if the word profit were used.

The first occurrence of the word profit in the Bible is in:

Genesis 25:32.33,  And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.

Esau saw no profit in the birthright but he saw profit in bread and soup which satisfied the immediate hunger of his body.

And so it goes. This is the way of the world.

Profit in that which is material, is the motivating factor of the world system but we are not to love the world system.

God's children are not to operate by the world system.

As Jesus was sent from the father and said in:

Mark 8:36,37,  For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Jesus knew that man was motivated by profit.

He knew that this was what drove men to do what they do.

But Solomon in Eccl 2:11 concluded,  Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.

Solomon concluded that the labor that man expends on things that are under the sun, material things that can be touched and handled, things on which the sun can cast its shadow bring no true profit.

Look at the most ambitious men and women of the world and see the intensity of effort to gain the profit that perishes.

Are not the people of this world ambitious toward accumulation?

Laying up stores beyond what any man would need in many lifetimes and refusing to part with it so that God's work prospers.

Laying up stores for many lifetimes as if he is laying up things for eternity.

Should not those who seek the profit that is eternal have at least that same intensity of ambition as they seek the wisdom from above.

This Wisdom is the Lord Jesus Christ and his salvation which leads to God's power to comform us to his Son, wisdom personified.

The Son who said in the 8th chapter of the book of Mark:

Whosoever will come after me (Wisdom), let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

What shall it profit a man who invests his life in the pursuit of merchandise and can take none of it with him to his eternal destination.

But the man who invests his life in the quest of wisdom fully takes all profit with him to his eternal home.

Trust in the Lord, who will to all his sons make sore, but who bindeth up, the Lord who wounds, but his hands make whole.

Are not the wounds of a friend faithful for "The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly."

Doesn't God wound because he loves his sons and his daughters and he by doing so, cleanseth away evil?

Don't we do the same as we love our sons and daughters?

Is not taking up his cross the same as sitting at his feet and learning of him?

Is not losing your own life so that you may be like God's son, the greater profit?

I have yet to look in the casket of those who have departed this life and see any of the things for which they have invested their life, with them in the casket.

Remember the packed tombs of the Pharaohs who thought to take their treasures with them but those treasures have long since been robbed by others who also thought they could take it with them.

Many of those who have died have counted their lives equal to what they have accumulated.

I am what I own, they say. They have estates named after them.

Look at my estate, this is me!

They have attempted to save all that they have accumulated but in the end they lose everything.

For whosoever will save his life shall lose it.

For whosoever counts all that they see the same as life, will lose all that they see and therefore lose their life.

For there is no eternal profit in anything but denying oneself and taking up the cross of Jesus Christ and following him.

But: Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.

Wisdom is the merchandise in which our lives are to be invested.