The Bible's Definition Of A Good Education: Part 1 - Knowledge

By Jason, M.Ed., M.A.R., Headmaster

“I have called by name Bezalel… And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship.” (Exodus 31:2-3, NKJV)

“For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” (Proverbs 2:6, NKJV)

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10, NKJV)

“Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.” (Proverbs 24:3-4, NKJV)

“The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.” (Prophecy of the Messiah in Isaiah 11:2, NKJV)

“He [God] changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.” (Daniel 2:21, NKJV)

“For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” (Colossians 1:9, NKJV)

I have previously shared with you an overview of the proper course of education as outlined by the Bible.  The Book of Proverbs, which is the Bible’s main book on education, charges the student to heed instruction, which means that there must be an instructor who is presenting material in an authoritative sense that the student must heed.  Those who will become wise will heed the instruction of their parents (and those who represent or speak for their parents), while fools will despise and reject sound instruction.  Yet what is the content of the instruction that is to be given?  What must a student be taught in order to be considered educated?

The above verses are just a sampling of the myriad times throughout the whole Bible that God uses the three terms knowledge, understanding and wisdom together.  These verses, and many others, make it clear that the student who is educated as the Bible defines it possesses three things: knowledge, understanding and wisdom.  

Though they come in different order in various verses and passages of Scripture, I will discuss them in the order of knowledge first, then understanding and then wisdom.  As I unfold each of these and then bring them back together, I think you will see why I am doing it in this order.

Knowledge: “Specific information about something.” (from the American Heritage Dictionary) When we begin educating a student about anything, we must begin with knowledge, with the information we can know about the thing we are studying.  To have knowledge of something is to know information about it at some level, and the Bible uses the term knowledge and the verb to know in both a superficial, cursory sense as well as in a deeper and more intimate sense.    

Biblically-speaking “to know” someone can refer to the most intimate and close relationship, as when God says to Moses in Exodus 33:17, “I know you by name,” He is speaking of a deeper and intimate knowledge.  It is much more profound than a Hebrew child who might see Moses walking by one day and say, “Hey, that’s Moses!”  Or in Psalm 1 when God says, “The LORD knows the way of the righteous,” He means that He knows us intimately, personally, relationally.  It is the knowledge of a covenant relationship and the closest human analogy is the intimate knowledge a husband and wife have of each other. 

It is this deeper and more intimate knowledge that the Bible has in mind when it says “knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”  If we truly know God, not just know a few things about Him, we have understanding of how things work together because we know the One who holds all things together (more on this next month, as we look at “understanding” in more detail).

Yet knowledge does not have to be this deep and intimate.  The Bible uses the word in more superficial ways, too.  In education, to impart knowledge is to teach someone to know something, and that can legitimately be at a superficial level (just knowing about something or knowing that something is true or that it did happen).  Because not everything in life is equally important, we do not take our children or students to the same level of depth of knowledge in everything.  Imagine if we did!  We certainly would not be able to cover much ground if we insisted that children have a deep and intimate knowledge of everything they learn.

Part of the challenge for a teacher/parent/educator is to know when to take children deeper and when to be satisfied with a cursory knowledge.  I know that William of Normandy won the Battle of Hastings and conquered England in 1066, thus becoming William the Conqueror.  I also know that this event changed the course of English history and thus American history and that its impact is still felt today in our culture, our language and our customs.  Secondly, I know that a hummingbird’s heart beats between 250 and 1,220 times per minute.  Thirdly, I know that the Bible is the Word of God.  Now, these things I know are not of equal importance and all three of them are not worthy of equal study. 

The wise teacher will guide the student to properly and proportionately gather knowledge in a way that keeps things in their proper perspective.  Education does not end with the accumulation of knowledge, but it does need to begin here before it can proceed to understanding and then to wisdom, which we will discuss in the coming months.  May God bless you this summer as you give sustained, careful, prayerful thought to your children’s education.