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
No comments:
Post a Comment