What Does Proverbs 3:20 Mean?

By the knowledge of God the deeps were broken open and the clouds drop down the dew. This verse describes the ongoing maintenance of the world's hydrological cycles as an act of divine knowledge. The mind that founded the earth in verse 19 is the same mind that governs the water in the world today. This claim brings God's wisdom into the most ordinary natural processes. Dew on the grass is not just a physical event but is an expression of the sustained care of the Creator for his work.

The deeps (tehomot) refer to the waters mentioned at the start of creation in [Genesis 1:2]. The breaking open of these waters also recalls the flood story in [Genesis 7:11] when the fountains of the great deep burst. God's knowledge governs both the original breaking and the daily condensation of dew. This shows that the world is not a machine that runs on its own. It is a living creation that requires the constant attention and knowledge of God to provide the water that sustained life needs to continue.

Jesus uses the image of water to describe his own gift in [John 4:14] when he speaks to The woman at the well. He offers living water that becomes a spring within the person leading to eternal life. This gift is the renewal of the sustaining power mentioned in verse 20. The same God who causes the clouds to drop dew offers to satisfy the deepest thirst of the human soul. The wisdom that manages the waters of the earth is the same wisdom that provides the water of life in Christ.