You are the Room

Proverbs 24:3-4. “By wisdom a house is built and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.”

Upon initial observation, this verse looks like an extended metaphor for heaven. The house built by wisdom is located in heaven with God. He’s established it as our heavenly home, made individual rooms for all of us and it’s filled with beautiful rare treasures for us. This is what Jesus describes for the disciples in John 14:2 when he is attempting to explain that He will die and go to heaven ahead of them to be with His Father, “My Father’s house has many rooms, if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?”

What if we the author of Proverbs is not talking about the rooms God is preparing for us like Jesus is referring to in John 14? What if the rooms He wants to fill with rare and beautiful treasures are us once we become followers of Christ? God tells us exactly how we will be filled with these treasures. It is through understanding that we are established and through knowledge, our rooms are filled. What’s the difference between building and establishment?

When I think of building something, there are components that make the house safe, secure, firm and increase its ability to stand the test of time. There’s a beginning and an end to the building process. You start with an empty plot of land, some building materials and with work and perseverance, the result is a beautiful house. To establish something happens after the building process is over. The definition of establish is “to institute something permanently by enactment or agreement; to introduce and cause to grow and multiple.” The author of Proverbs differentiates between these two steps for a reason. From birth to death we are growing, learning, being built, under production. However, spiritually we are established the second we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Once we are established, through the knowledge that we are Sons and Daughters of the most high God, we become filled with rare and beautiful treasures such as the spiritual gifts that are mentioned in 1Corinthians 12: 7-11, “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, a message of knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, speaking in tongues/languages, and interpretation of tongues/languages.” These gifts enhance our calling and mission that we are given from the Lord when we are established and given the Holy Spirit to reside in us.

There’s an additional meaning to Proverbs 24:3-4. We are the rooms. When He chose us out of eternity to be born into this world, He built the room, and is waiting for us to accept him as our Saviors. When we decide, this is the moment we become established in Him. The room is our body, our life and when we are established in Him is when we receive our mission and our calling. The room is ready to be filled. Like 1 Peter 2:5 says, “You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”