Wisdom's Call to Salvation PT-2 (Pr. 1:11-14, 20-33)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/31/2012 10:43 AM

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  Wisdom’s Call to Salvation PT-2

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference: Pr. 1:11-14 & 20-33

            Message of the verses:  I want to try and finish this first main section from the outline in Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary on Proverbs.  We looked at the first of three sub-points in yesterday’s SD and will now begin to look at the second sub-point.

            The voice of Temptation (Pr. 1:11-14):  “11  If they say, "Come with us, Let us lie in wait for blood, Let us ambush the innocent without cause; 12  Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, Even whole, as those who go down to the pit; 13  We will find all kinds of precious wealth, We will fill our houses with spoil; 14  Throw in your lot with us, We shall all have one purse.” (NASB)  “11  They may say, “Come and join us.  Let’s hide and kill someone!  Just for fun, let’s ambush the innocent! 12  Let’s swallow them alive, like the grave;  let’s swallow them whole, like those who go down to the pit of death. 13  Think of the great things we’ll get!  We’ll fill our houses with all the stuff we take. 14  Come, throw in your lot with us;  we’ll all share the loot.”  (NLT)

            We have in this section a father talking to his son about what he should avoid.  We see in this section the voice of temptation trying to tempt those who will listen to it.  We can read something similar in the third chapter of Genesis when Satan is tempting Eve with the lie that he keeps on spreading for if it worked then it will still work now.  He tried it on our Lord, but failed as we can see in the fourth chapter Mark.

            If anybody tries to tempt us with things like are seen in this section of Scripture then believe me they are not a friend, but an enemy.  People who want to get rich fast in this kind of way are trading material wealth for an eternity in hell if they keep on doing things like are described here.  There have been people who have been saved from this type of lifestyle, for the grace of God is greater than all sin.

            The voice of Salvation (vv. 20-33):  20 ¶  Wisdom shouts in the street, She lifts her voice in the square; 21  At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings: 22  "How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools hate knowledge? 23  "Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. 24 "Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention; 25  And you neglected all my counsel And did not want my reproof; 26  I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes, 27  When your dread comes like a storm And your calamity comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you. 28  "Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but they will not find me, 29  Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD. 30  "They would not accept my counsel, They spurned all my reproof. 31  "So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way And be satiated with their own devices. 32  "For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them. 33  "But he who listens to me shall live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil."

            This section of Proverbs speaks of wisdom calling sinners to repentance, it is the gospel being spoken to three different types of people and it seems that not many will respond but we know that there will be some that will respond.

            How does wisdom speak?  Verse twenty says in a loud voice, “Wisdom is crying out in the street; her voice is loud in the open places.” (BBE)  Wisdom does this so that all can hear her, (Remember that the word “wisdom” is in the feminine voice).  Wisdom speaks through the creation that God created “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. 2  Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. 3  There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. 4  Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun, 5  Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; It rejoices as a strong man to run his course. 6  Its rising is from one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.” (Psalm 19:1-6)  Wisdom speaks as conscience, “14  For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, 15  in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, 16  on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.” (Romans 2:14-16)

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “To whom does Wisdom speak?  To three classes of sinners:  the simple ones, the scorners (scoffers, mockers, NIV), and the fools (v.22).  The simple are naïve people who believe anything (24:15) but examine nothing.  They’re gullible and easily led astray.  Scorners think they know everything (21:24) and laugh at the things that are really important.  While the simple one has a blak look on his face, the scorner wears a sneer.  Fools are people who are ignorant of truth because they’re dull and stubborn.  Their problem isn’t a low IQ or poor education; their problem is a lack of spiritual desire to seek and find God’s wisdom.  Fools enjoy their foolishness but don’t know how foolish they are!  The outlook of fools is purely materialistic and humanistic.  They hate knowledge and have no interest in things eternal.” 

            Here is the endnote quotation on the word “fool” as written by Dr. Wiersbe:  “In Proverbs, three Hebrew words are translated ‘fool’: kesyl, the dull, stupid fool; ewiyl, the corrupt fool who is morally perverted; nabal, the stubborn brutish fool whose ind is made up and won’t be convinced.  For a vivid example of this third variety of fool, see 1Samuel 25.”  In 1Samuel 25 we see the story of a man named Nabal (fool), a story worth reading.  In the story this man has a very wise wife named Abigail who is one of my favorite women in all the Bible.

            We can’t leave this section without finding out what wisdom has to say to these three classes of sinners.  Verse 22 we find that wisdom brings an indictment against them. “How long” is the question that wisdom asks them will they remain the way that they are.  Verse 23 “About face! I can revise your life. Look, I’m ready to pour out my spirit on you; I’m ready to tell you all I know.” (Message)  We see an invitation in this verse.  They are being called to repent and be saved.  Wisdom will change the hearts of these people, the three classes of sinners if they will but allow her to do so.  We have to ask how they respond to wisdom, and the answer is that they refuse to obey her voice.  In verse 26 we see the word “also,” “I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes.”  We see here that because these three types of sinners laughed at wisdom’s calls one day wisdom will also laugh at them.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Wisdom see a storm of judgment coming that will bring distress and anguish to all who reject God’s invitation.  In contrast to the judgment promised to unbelievers, wisdom promises security and peace to those who will listen to her and believe.”  “"But he who listens to me shall live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil." (Proverbs 1:33)

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It soon will be thirty-nine years ago that wisdom called me and I am thankful that the call was one that I could not have refused.  The call came on the 26^th of January in 1974, and believe me I did not see the call coming to me, but when it did I gladly accepted that call. 

            There may be someone reading this who is being given the call from wisdom to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  Accept that call for the Scriptures says, “Ro 10:13  for ‘WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’”

My Steps of Faith for Today:  “1Pe 3:15  but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.”

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 121:1-3

            1 I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where will my help come?  2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.  3 He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber.

12/31/2012 11:57 AM

Wisdom's Call to Salvation PT-1 (Pr. 1:8-10; 15-19)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/30/2012 8:37 AM

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  Wisdom’s Call to Salvation PT-1

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Proverbs 1:8-10, 15-19

            Message of the verses:  The voice of instruction (vv. 8-10, 15-19):  “8  Hear, my son, your father’s instruction And do not forsake your mother’s teaching; 9  Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head And ornaments about your neck.  10 My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent.  15 My son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their path, 16  For their feet run to evil And they hasten to shed blood. 17  Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net In the sight of any bird; 18  But they lie in wait for their own blood; They ambush their own lives. 19  So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence; It takes away the life of its possessors.”

            I want to quote the last paragraph of Dr. Wiersbe’s introductory commentary from this chapter in which he entitles, “Is Anybody Listening?”  If you’ll refer to the suggested outline of Proverbs, you’ll see that the first nine chapters present two women—Wisdom and Folly personified—as they seek to win the attention and obedience of people in the city streets and squares.  In this chapter, I want to focus on Wisdom’s calls, and then in the next chapter we’ll listen to Folly and learn what she has to offer.”

            The main section we are looking at is entitled “Wisdom’s Call to Salvation which covers Proverbs 1:8-33 and we will see that this paragraph will record three voices that the person reading Proverbs needs to indentify, and the first voice is  that of instruction which comes from the verses written above.

            We read the following in Deuteronomy 6:4-9, but will focus in on verses 6-9:  “4 ¶  "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! 5  "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6  "These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7  You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8  "You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 9  "You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”  The parents in this section of Proverbs were taking these verses in Deuteronomy very seriously.

            As we look at Proverbs 1:8-9 we see it is the desire of the parents to teach their son the Word of God so that it would become a “graceful wreath to your head And ornaments about your neck.”  What does this mean exactly?  Paul writes to Titus these words, “that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.”  Peter writes the following to his readers in 1Peter 3:3-4, “3  Your adornment must not be merely external-braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; 4  but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.”  All of these authors are telling their readers that obeying the Word of God, living out the truths in the Word of God is a beautiful thing that others can see.

            12/30/2012 9:15 AM  

            12/30/2012 8:23 PM

            How to avoid yielding to temptation as seen in verses 15-19:  First we are to avoid hanging around with the wrong crowd.  Let’s look at the first part of the first Psalm:  “1 ¶  How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!”  We see in this verse that there is a progression in falling into temptation that must be avoided.  Don’t walk, don’t stand, and don’t sit with those who are wicked.  Paul tells the Corinthians something similar, “14  Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15  Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? 16  Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, "I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE. 17  "Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE," says the Lord. "AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you. 18  "And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me," Says the Lord Almighty.”  (2Cor. 6:14-18)  In our sermon today at church the Pastor was giving us a sermon on what we should be doing in the coming New Year, and one of the things that we are suppose to do is not get too close to sin.  It is kind of like the saying that says if you get to close to the fire you are going to get burnt.  The father in this section of Proverbs is telling his son these same principles that we have just gone over. 

            Second the father tells the son not to play with temptation because as we see in Proverbs 1:17 it always will led to a trap.  If a bird sees at trap that has bait in it they will stay away from it, however if they can’t see the trap, and only see the bait then they will be trapped. Dr. Wiersbe says in an endnote “Temptation is the bait, and Satan wants us to think we can grab the bait and avoid the consequences (Gen. 3:5).  Alas, it never works that way.”

            Third:  In verses 18-19 we see that when we disobey the Lord by hurting others that we are actually hurting ourselves.  I have heard that God is the One who created time, but God does not own a watch.  I suppose that is a pretty good proverb that tells us that eventually we will have to pay the price of our wrong doing.  Dr. Wiersbe puts it this way, “You end up sacrificing the permanent for the immediate, and that’s a bad investment.”

            Spiritual meaning form my life today:  I have been taught or reminded two times today, once in a sermon and once in the lesson from Proverbs today not to get too close to sin or I will fall.  When I became a believer in Jan. of 1974 at the age of twenty-six the Lord cleaned up my mouth as soon as I became a believer and for that I am grateful.  However there are other things that I sometimes wish that He would have taken away from me that He did not.  It is kind of like when the children of Israel came into the Promised Land and through Joshua they defeated many of their enemies, but the rest of the enemies were to be driven out after the major battles with Joshua were done.  In order to defeat the rest of these enemies they were to place their trust in the Lord, however this did not happen for most of the children of Israel.  We do see that Caleb did follow this plan and took control of all of his inheritance.  I believe that God did not take all of my sinful ways away from me so that I could learn to trust in the Lord to give me the wisdom and the help to overcome those temptations.  Paul writes, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”  (1Cor. 10:13)

My Steps of faith for Today:  Remember 1Cor. 10:13; Continue to learn contentment; and continue to memorize God’s Word in order to have my life transformed into His image.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 121:1-3

            1 I will lift up my eyes to the mountains, from where shall my help come?  2 My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.  3 He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber.

12/30/2012 8:53 PM  

 

Our Last Intorduction Material to Proverbs

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/29/2012 11:11 AM

            We will continue to look at the different introductions to the book of Proverbs as prescribed by Warren Wiersbe when he wrote that before he began a study of a book of the Bible that he would ask five questions.  We have already looked at the first four questions and will not look at the fifth question:  “What Must We Do to Get the Most out of This Book?”  This will be the last introductory SD on the book of Proverbs that we will look at and next will be the beginning study from specific chapters and verses from the book of Proverbs.  Most of Warren Wiersbe’s “Be” series books have thirteen chapters in them so that they can be studied in a quarter of the year which is thirteen weeks.  It seems that he has two studies on the book of Proverbs; “Be Skillful” is from the “Be” series, and “God’s Guidebook to Wise Living.”  I may go ahead and purchase this book to help me in this study of Proverbs.

What Must We Do to Get the Most out of This Book?

            What is the first thing we must do in order to understand what is contained in the book of Proverbs?  We see many times that the word’s “my son” are found in this book as Solomon is writing to his son in order to give him wisdom, something that God had given to him.  For us to understand what is contained in this book we must be able to call God Father so that He can teach us through the power of His Holy Spirit what is contained in this book.  This can only happen if we are born into the family of God so that we can call Him our Father.  Jesus Christ the second person of the godhead came to earth in order to become a sacrifice for our sins so that we can have the opportunity to be born into the family of God.  How do we receive this eternal life that is offered to us through Jesus Christ?  “1 ¶  Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2  by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3  For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4  and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5  and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6  After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; 7  then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; 8  and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. 9  For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10  But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. 11  Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed (1Cor. 15:1-11).”  In these verses we see the simple truth of the Gospel, that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, that Jesus died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried and then arose from the grave in victory as God was satisfied with His sacrifice for our sins.  If someone offers you a gift and you do not receive it then the gift does you no good.  Here is a gift that you need to receive.  Once you do that then you can call God your Father, Jesus your Savior and Lord and then have the Holy Spirit come into your life to lead and to guide you and to make known to you what is in the Bible, including the wisdom that is found in the book of Proverbs.

            We must have a serious heart that wants to read and study the Word of God in order to understand it.  F. W. Robertson said “obedience is the organ of spiritual knowledge.”  Dr. Wiersbe writes “The Holy Spirit teaches the serious, not the curious.   

            We see the word “hear” or “hearken” in the book of Proverbs, and example of this is in Proverbs 1:8, “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction And do not forsake your mother’s teaching.”  The Hebrew word for hear is shema.  Deuteronomy 6:4-5 is what is called in the Jewish faith the Shema, “4 ¶  "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! 5 “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”  We see in these two verses that we are to not only hear the Word of God, but to obey the Word of God too.  Solomon also warns his readers no to listen to things that will lead them astray, and there are plenty of things out there today that can lead us astray.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “As you study, keep in mind that Hebrew proverbs are generalized statements of what is usually true in life, and they must not be treated like promises.”  Examples of this are found in Proverbs 17:17, “A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity.”  This statement cannot be seen as a promise, but for the most part friends love each other and who has not fought with their brothers.  One more example from Proverbs 15:1, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.”  This verse is true most of the time, yet not always.  However as believers we are to give a soft answer to someone who is angry in order to calm them down.  I think we get the point of what Dr. Wiersbe speaks of here.

            Dr. Wiersbe finishes his commentary on this section by writing, “God call us to receive His wisdom and be skillful, so that we can make a life that will glorify Hi.  The important thing isn’t how long we live but how we live, not the length but the depth of life.  Fools wade in the shallows, but wise people launch out into the deep and let God give them His very best.”

            It is my prayer and hope that we will all be wise people and launch out into the deep and allow God give us His very best as we study the book of Proverbs.

 

12/29/2012 12:35 PM

 

Seeing Jesus Christ in the book of Proverbs

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/28/2012 7:40 AM

My Worship Time                                       Focus:  What Does Proverbs Say About Jesus Christ?

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference: 

            Message of the verses:  As we continue to look at the introduction of Proverbs through five different questions it must be stated that the format of my Spiritual Diary is different from what it has been, and for that matter will be a bit different throughout the book of Proverbs.  In today’s SD we will seek to see Jesus Christ in the book of Proverbs.  It is good to remember what Jesus said after His resurrection as He was walking on the road to Emmaus.  We are not too sure as to who the disciples were that Jesus was walking with and talking to, but we do know some of the things that He was saying to them, and part of His conversation with them was to go back through the OT Scriptures and show them things in them that pertained to Him, His birth, life, death and resurrection.  Jesus Christ is the main theme of all the Bible and we will take a brief moment to see what the book of Proverbs has to say about Jesus Christ in this SD.

            Let us begin our quest to see Jesus Christ in Proverbs by looking at Col. 2:1-3, “1 ¶  For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face, 2  that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, 3  in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”  I want to focus in on verses two and three and the highlighted part of those verses.  We see here that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ, the second person of the godhead has the very same attributes as the Father and the Holy Spirit, and one of those attributes is having all wisdom.  We have also learned that wisdom is the theme of the book of Proverbs.  First Cor. 1:24 & 30 tell us Jesus Christ is our wisdom, “but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.”  As we study the book of Proverbs we will see many great qualities of wisdom along with knowledge and other important things of which Jesus Christ walked in them while on this earth, and by doing this He has become a pattern for us to follow, “the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked (1John 2:6).”

            In Proverbs 8:22-31 we see a section that speaks of wisdom, wisdom that the Lord used when He created the earth, and this section suggests Jesus Christ as the eternal wisdom of God:  “22 ¶  "The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old. 23  "From everlasting I was established, From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth. 24  "When there were no depths I was brought forth, When there were no springs abounding with water. 25  "Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills I was brought forth; 26  While He had not yet made the earth and the fields, Nor the first dust of the world. 27  "When He established the heavens, I was there, When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep, 28  When He made firm the skies above, When the springs of the deep became fixed, 29  When He set for the sea its boundary So that the water would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth; 30  Then I was beside Him, as a master workman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him, 31  Rejoicing in the world, His earth, And having my delight in the sons of men.”

            We see in the following passages that Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God was with God at the time of creation.  John 1:1-4, “1 ¶  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2  He was in the beginning with God. 3  All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4  In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.”  Hebrews 1:1-4 “1 ¶  God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2  in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. 3  And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.”  Colossians 1:15-17 “15  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16  For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17  He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

12/28/2012 8:31 AM

Key Verses in Proberbs to Help us Unlock the Book

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/27/2012 9:16 AM

My Worship Time                                                               Focus:  Key Verse to Unlock Proverbs

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Proverbs 1:7

            Message of the verses:  In Yesterday’s SD we were looking at who it was that wrote the book of Proverbs and how it was written.  We spoke about how the word wisdom is in the feminine gender and also in chapters 1, 8, and 9 we learned that wisdom calls to both men and women to follow her and enjoy salvation, wealth and life.  There is an end note that helps us to understand what the concept of wealth is all about and I want to give that quote before we proceed to looking at what the key verse in Probers is that will help us to unlock the book.

            “Keep in mind that ‘wealth’ means much more than possessing material things.  The Bible doesn’t promise that obedient Christians will all be healthy, wealthy, and successful.  It does promise that they will have godly character, enjoy their Father’s generous gifts to meet all their needs, and escape many of the physical emotional pains and problems that the ungodly usually suffer.  God’s covenant wit the Jews promised special blessings if they obeyed and chastisement if they disobeyed (see Deut. 27-28), but the book of Proverbs also emphasizes the ‘true riches’ of the spiritual life that are summarized in Christ’s beatitudes.  It has well been said that true happiness lies, not in the greatness of your possessions, but in the ‘fewness’ of your wants.”   

            3. What is the Key Verse That Helps “Unlock” the Book?  We will look at two verses that are similar verses in searching for the key verse of Proverbs.  “7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Pr. 1:7 NASB) “7 The fear of the Lord is the start of knowledge: but the foolish have no use for wisdom and teaching.”  (BBE) “7 ¶  Start with GOD—the first step in learning is bowing down to GOD; only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning.”  (Message)  Now we will look at Proverbs 9:10 for a similar verse.  “10  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” 10  Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.”  (NLT)

            We will look at eighteen verses from the book of Proverbs that reference “The fear of the Lord,” so that we can better understand what this phrase means.  Since we have already looked at two verses we will not repeat Proverbs 1:7 or Proverbs 9:10.

            Pr. 1:29 “Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD.”  Pr. 2:5 “Then you will discern the fear of the LORD And discover the knowledge of God.”  Pr. 3:7 “Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.”  Pr. 8:13 “"The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.”  Pr. 10:27 “The fear of the LORD prolongs life, But the years of the wicked will be shortened.”  Pr. 14:2 “He who walks in his uprightness fears the LORD, But he who is devious in his ways despises Him.”  Pr. 14:26-27 “26 In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And his children will have refuge.  27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, That one may avoid the snares of death.”  Pr. 15:16 “Better is a little with the fear of the LORD Than great treasure and turmoil with it.”  Pr. 15:33 “The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom, And before honor comes humility.”  Pr. 16:6 “By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, And by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil.”  Pr. 19:23 “The fear of the LORD leads to life, So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil.”  Pr. 22:4 “The reward of humility and the fear of the LORD Are riches, honor and life.”  Pr. 23:17 “Do not let your heart envy sinners, But live in the fear of the LORD always.”  Pr. 24:21 “My son, fear the LORD and the king; Do not associate with those who are given to change.”  Pr. 31:30 “Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.”

            I have mentioned in an earlier SD that I am reading “The Knowledge of the Holy” by A. W. Tozer.  The title pretty much tells what the book is about and this to get to know God by looking as some of His attributes.  He has a chapter in the book entitled “The Self-Existence of God,” and in that chapter we see that God is the creator and that man is His creation, and this is one of the things that man needs to learn if he is to have the fear of the Lord.  Tozer writes, “Man is a created being, a derived and contingent self, who of himself possesses nothing but is dependent each moment for his existence upon the One who created him after His own likeness.  The fact of God is necessary to the fact of man.  Think God away and man has no ground of existence.”  

            Dr. Wiersbe writes the following on this subject:  It means to respect God for who He is, to listen carefully to what He says, and to obey His Word, knowing that our disobedience displeases Him, breaks our fellowship with Him, and invites His chastening.  It is not the servile fear of the slave before the master but the reverential and respectful fear of the child before the parent.  Children fear not only because their parents can hurt them, but also because they can hurt their parents. Proverbs 13:13 admonishes us to fear God’s commandments, which suggests that they way we treat our Bible is the way we treat God.”

            Charles Bridges in his book Exposition of the book of Proverbs” writes the following on what it means to fear the Lord.  “It is that affectionate reverence by which the child of God bends himself humbly and carefully to his Father’s law.  His wrath is so bitter, and His love so sweet; that hence springs an earnest desire to pleas Him, and—because of the danger of coming short from his own weakness and temptations—a holy watchfulness and fear, ‘that he might not sin against Him.”

            Let us take a moment to look at the first six verses of the book of Proverbs that will led up to the important seventh verse that first speaks of the fear of the Lord:  “1 ¶  The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; 2  To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; 3  To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; 4  To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. 5  A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: 6  To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.”  (KJV) 

            Louis Goldberg says that “wisdom means exhibiting God’s character in many practical affairs of life.”  Instruction has to do with discipline like a parent correcting their children’s misbehavior thus building character into the child’s life.  The word “subtlety” means prudence and prudence has to do with a kind of intelligence that can reason behind things.  Knowledge is translated from a Hebrew word that has to do with hunting, or sailing or even playing a musical instrument.  The Latin form of the word knowledge gives us our English word for science.  Discretion gives the ability to device wise plans after one understands something, and it can also mean to devise a plot.  I suppose that Sherlock Holmes could be said to have discretion.  When we look at the Hebrew word translated “learning” “1) learning, teaching, insight 1a) instruction (obj) 1b) teaching (thing taught) 1b1) teaching-power 1b2) persuasiveness.”  (Hebrew/English Dictionary from the Online Bible Program)  The word “counsel” means, “1) direction, counsel, guidance, good advice, (wise) counsel  1a) direction, guidance  1b) counsel  1b1) good or wise counsel  1b2) of the wicked.”

            We will see these eight words throughout the book of Proverbs and knowing them will help us in our quest of learning wisdom and also the fear of the Lord.

12/27/2012 10:34 AM