Wisdom and Promise Study Bible by Robert P. Holland

The Bible is a composition of several covenants which the Lord initiated with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses (Old Covenant), David, and Christians (New Covenant). The Wisdom and Promise Study Bible is a color-coding technique for learning the two essential principles in the covenants: wisdom and promises.

A covenant contains both wisdom (the peoples’ responsibilities) and the Lord’s promises. The peoples’ responsibilities are diminutive in comparison to His promises. Consequently, the promises are never earned by fulfilling the responsibilities. The promises are grace—gifts to the people in covenant with Him. Responsibilities are commandments given by the Lord in order for people to live in fellowship with Him—the covenant relationship. Therefore, not only is the promise grace but also the commandment.

Commandments are wisdom (Deut. 4:5, 6; Matt. 7:24-27), and the promises are the life that proceeds from wisdom. The combination of Wisdom + Promise = Covenant.

Trusting in the Lord for the promises without obeying the commandments is a rejection of the covenant; it is a rejection of the grace that comes through obeying the commandments. To trust but not obey is to have faith in the Lord’s faithfulness to do what He said He would do without being faithful to do what He commands us to do. Instead of W + P = C, it is P ≠ C.

Wisdom is both the way the Lord has chosen for us to love Him and instruction for receiving the promises (Deut. 30:15, 16, 19, 20; John 14:15-21, 23; 1 John 4:7, 11, 12; 5:3). That combination helps us to better understand why all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to wisdom (Pr. 8:11). Therefore the goal of the person who loves the Lord is not the promises but wisdom. Wisdom is a gift from the mouth of the Lord (Pr. 2:6), and one of the commandments for receiving wisdom is to search for it as for hidden treasure (Pr. 2:4)—a primary purpose of The Wisdom and Promise Study Bible.

Those who obey the commandments are wise, and those who disobey them are foolish (Matt. 7:24-27). Wisdom and foolishness were the two ways people chose to live in the times of the Old and New Testaments, and we make the same choices today. Proverbs contrasts the life of the wise and the foolish, and throughout the Bible are synonyms for the wise and foolish: righteous and wicked, godly and ungodly, saint and sinner, obedience and disobedience, spirit and flesh, spiritually minded and carnally minded, light and darkness, etc.

The Wisdom and Promise Study Bible illustrates by the technique of color-coding the contrast between Wisdom and Foolishness and the relationship between Wisdom—Promise and Foolishness—Curse. Just as the wise receive the promises and the foolish receive the curses, the person who believes in the Son has everlasting life and the person who doesn’t believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides upon him (Jn. 3:36). The blessed and holy have part in the first resurrection (Rev. 20:6), and death and hell have their part in the second death (Rev. 20:14). The blessed inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world and the cursed go into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:34, 41).

I chose to use the four categories of Wisdom, Promise, Foolishness, and Curse for The Wisdom and Promise Study Bible However, keep in mind that Wisdom is righteousness, godliness, holiness, obedience, etc. Promise is eternal life, resurrection, heaven, the kingdom of God, etc. Foolishness is disobedience, ungodliness, sinner, etc. And Curse is death, hell, second death, etc.

Colors I chose to identify the four categories are green for Wisdom, red for Promise, blue for Foolishness, and plumb for Curse. As you read The Wisdom and Promise Study Bible, instead of seeing black letters on white back ground, you will see green, red, blue, and plumb words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs identifying Wisdom—Promise and Foolishness—Curse. You will probably be as surprised as I was at how much of the Bible is made up of the four categories. You can see this in the following ways: • Exhorting the people to obey the commandments and receive the promises • Warning the people against disobeying the commandments and receiving the curses • Commentary on the people who obeyed the commandments and received the promises • Commentary on people who disobeyed the commandments and received the curses

The Wisdom and Promise Study Bible will help you search for wisdom as for hidden treasure, maintain the proper balance between wisdom and promises, always associate faith with faithfulness, choose the way of wisdom and life, avoid the way of foolishness and death, delight yourself in the Lord (Isa. 58:13, 14), and receive the desires of your heart (Ps. 37:4)—continual fellowship with God our Father and Lord Jesus Christ (John. 14:15-18, 21, 23).