PROVERBS: WISDOM FOR LIFE 1. The Heart and Soul of Wisdom Proverbs 1:1-7 We live in a world packed with information and facts. We’re living in the information age. The world’s knowledge is increasing at exponential rates, as is our technology. According to CTIA — the International Association for the Wireless Telecommunications — there were 2 trillion text messages sent in 2018
But that’s not the whole story —
If my math is correct (145 billion x 365) that is just south of 53 trillion messages sent per year! According to Google they receive over 63,000 search requests per second on any given day which translates into 3.8 million searches per minute, 228 million searches per hour, and 5.6 billion searches per day, or at least 2 trillion searches per year. Here’s a crazy statistic — Over 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created every single day. 90 % of the world's data has been created in the last two years I say all of that to ask this — How can we have so much access to so much information — and the ability to disseminate it at such a staggering rate and in such staggering volume — and still be more broken than ever? Here’s why. We don't live life based on facts. We need truth from outside of ourselves to make sense of life. We need God and His Word and His Wisdom to interpret the facts of our existence. In Genesis 3 we have the record of man’s original sin (See CREDO series Study 5).
QUOTE: Paul Tripp — “Satan was not just selling Eve the best fruit in the garden….. He was telling her that if she ate the fruit she would be independently wise. The promise was autonomous personal wisdom, without any need for God or his revelation. This was the attraction that led to the Fall.” (Instruments in the Hands of the Redeemer p.47-48)
The lie of the devil is that man could have wisdom that didn’t have to bow before and submit to the Word of God and the Wisdom of God — in other words, man doesn’t have to worship his loving Creator God. METRO — We are surrounded by a cacophony of voices telling us from every direction, in every medium of communication, that we can inform our own lives; we can interpret life by the wisdom we derive from our own fallen minds and desires, and the wisdom of fallen and broken created things.
We are desperate for God to cut through all of that. Here’s the great news! God WANTS to inform our lives and interpret our lives. He made us unique from the rest of creation with the capacity to be informed by Him. Having made us with that capacity, He SPEAKS. We are going to see time and again in this amazing book of Scripture that God is crying out to us; pleading with us to allow His Word and His wisdom to inform our lives, and interpret our own thoughts and desires, and life in the broken world. The Book of Proverbs belongs to what scholars call the “wisdom literature” of the Old Testament, which also includes Jo, Psalms, Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes.1 The writers of these Wisdom Books wrestled with difficult issues — with the big questions of life. Think about the book of Job. The very name “Job” is synonymous with suffering and hardship. The guy’s life was ONE BIG STRUGGLE. Sometimes when we come to the book of Job in our Bible Bus readings I just sigh! The whole book of Job is about Job wrestling with God — and with his so-called “friends” about WHY people suffer. Why do bad things happen to Good people? If bad things happen to you, is it because you’re not really good? The biggest questions of life were being asked and everybody was giving their “interpretation” of the “facts” surrounding Job’s life. It’s so great when God finally shows up at the end of the Book and says, “You know nothing. I made you. I know you. I am God. Where were you when I established the foundations of the earth? Which of you could instruct me when I set the stars in their orbits? God essentially tells them that everything they DON’T know about suffering is the very reason why they need HIM to inform them; define them; direct them and interpret life for them. The Bible tells us that we’re to walk by faith, not by just by what we see. The Bible says that those who have been justified by faith are to live by faith. The Christian life begins by faith and is lived by faith! Living by faith, walking by faith doesn’t mean that we put our mind on the shelf and stop thinking. God wants us to thoughtfully and critically look at life in a macroscopic way (big picture - general analysis), in microscopic way (personal level – small details) and in a teleological way (looking out to the end — life in the scope of eternity). He wants us to process all of that thoughtfully, and prayerfully through the lens of this BOOK; the Bible — and specifically in this book of Proverbs.
1 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be skillful. An Old Testament study. (9). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.
We’ll take a macroscopic, big picture, general analysis look at wisdom: “What is wisdom? What is foolishness?” That’s where we’re starting this morning — looking at the heart and soul of wisdom. Then we’ll look at it in microscopic way (personal level – small details) — zeroing in on this thing that the Bible calls “the heart.” He wants us to analyze our own desires, our own attitudes and actions regarding the various spheres of life (marriage, sex, parenting, money, power and justice) through the lens of scripture — and then trust Him. . Choosing to let God’s Wisdom inform me, even when it is counter to all that I feel and think is what real faith is
QUOTE: Oswald Chambers — "Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time."
THAT is also the essence of real worship. Worship isn’t singing songs in church. Worship happens when I am bowed before God as the all-wise and all loving creator, redeemer, God! The great theme of Proverbs is WISDOM. The words wise and wisdom are used at least 125 times. Why? Because the aim of the book is to help us acquire and apply God’s wisdom to the decisions and activities of our daily life.
James 1:22 NLT But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.
I’m pretty sure that most of us this morning don’t profess to be atheists. If you are a professing atheist or agnostic, we are so glad to have you with us. We trust you’ve been loved on during your visit, and we want you to know that we’re available to try answer questions. Most of us here this morning are not professing atheists — but there might be a number of practical atheists. You go to church and you possess a lot of Biblical knowledge — you nod in theological agreement — but all of that is merely the veneer on a life that is self-absorbed, self- informed and self-directed. The wisdom of God is not what defines you; not what directs you.
PROVERBS IS IMPORTANT FOR LIVING ON MISSION! The world is looking for answers and one of the easiest ways to be a witness for Christ is for the world around us to see how our lives are informed by God, defined and directed by God; see someone interpreting life by a wisdom outside of themselves. When that happens there will be men and women who will look at you and think, “Wow! Somebody is living like they know what’s up.” The world that’s organizing itself without God doesn’t know what’s up. People are beating their heads up against brick walls trying to figure out the secret to life. When they talk to you about it you can say — “I’m no different than you. I don’t know what’s up — but I know someone who does — Jesus!” Some time ago I read something interesting in the question and answer section of Info World. There in that section was an interview with a man named George Morrow of Morrow Systems — a computer firm. He referenced an article in the Harvard Business Review called Market Microbia and how the author of that piece was pointing out how some people didn’t understand what business they were in. For Example: The railroad people didn’t realize they were in the transportation business; they thought they were in the railroad business. Had they realized they were in the transportation business they would have invested the decelopment of the airplane. The telegraph people thought they were in the telegraph business instead of the communications business. In 1886 or so they could have bought all the telephone patents for $40,000. So obviously these people didn’t know what business they were in. HERE’S THE DEAL — Despite all the information mankind possesses mankind doesn’t know what business they’re in. Mankind is in the business of Knowing God; being informed by God; being defined and directed by God. Our business is to KNOW God.
Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
QUOTE: Paul Tripp — Real knowledge begins with knowing Him. Wisdom is the fruit of worship received on bended knee (the reverence/fear of the Lord). It is the product of a life lived in submission to the One who IS wisdom, Jesus Christ!
Colossians 2:3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 1 Corinthians 1:24; 30 Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God…. 30 ….whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
I love this passage from the book of Jeremiah
Jeremiah 9:23–24 Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me. that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”
In this book of Proverbs we see how God defines steadfast love, justice and righteousness. In this book of Proverbs we God lets us know what steadfast love, justice and righteousness look like. God is calling us in the Book of Proverbs to receive His wisdom and to be skillful so that we can make a life that will glorify Him. God’s Word informs us that the important thing for man is not the length of our lives, but the depth of our lives. Is your life, my life, rooted in eternity? Are our lives rooted in the Wisdom of God? Proverbs 1:1 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel: 2 To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, 3 to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; 4 to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth — 5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, 6 to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles.
Here in these first 6 verses we have laid out for us the purpose of the Book of Proverbs. The NLT reads v.1-2 as
These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel. 2 Their purpose is to teach people
There are a number of words used in this section that seem to be synonymous. They are for sure closely related, but they are not the same (SEE ADDITIONAL NOTES). Right off the bat the Holy Spirit states the divine purpose of these proverbs. They are written so we might know wisdom and instruction and perceive the words of understanding. TO KNOW WISDOM — We spent a lot of time laying the groundwork of how man was made to be informed and defined by God’s wisdom. THE FIRST PRIORITY for you is wisdom. Time and again Solomon is going to speak of the surpassing value of wisdom. He’s going to challenge us to exert ourselves — apply our hearts to wisdom. We are going to see in the Book of Proverbs that this Wisdom is personified. Wisdom is depicted as a person crying out to us — pleading with us for our attention. All of the wisdom that Solomon is going to talk about is wrapped up in Jesus.
1 Corinthians 1:24; 30 Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God…. 30 ….whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Colossians 2:3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
JESUS is wisdom for you and me today. Foolishness is anything that you don’t find in Christ. You’re never going to play the fool if you know Jesus — listen to Jesus — follow Jesus
QUOTE: Tim Keller — Follow Jesus. He’ll give you what you need. He’s a wonderful counselor. One guy comes and says, ‘I’m ready to follow you wherever you go.’ Jesus says, ‘Go home and think about it.’ Another guy says, ‘I want to go home and think about it.’ Jesus says, ‘Follow me.’ What? Because he’s the perfect counselor. All other counseling theories look flat next to his, because he never gives you a template. He gives you exactly what you need. Follow him, and he will give you exactly what you need. He will love you singularly. He will love the real you. He will love you into a whole new identity.
That’s why Paul said the great ambition for his life was to know Jesus.
Philippians 3:8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish
When the great ambition of our lives is to lay hold of Jesus and to know Jesus we’ll see the grand purpose of Proverbs fulfilled in our lives. 3 to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity Instruction carries the idea of discipline, a parent’s correction that results in the building of the child’s character. How many of you would like to have a disciplined life? Keep your hands up. Of those who have your hands up, how many of you would say that presently you have a disciplined life — A life open to and welcoming discipline? The life of the disciple is a life that knows discipline — a life that is willing to be corrected and spanked by God’s Word and God’s Wisdom. This book was written for the purpose of developing a life that is open to correction, developing a corrected and correctable life. Timothy Keller gives an insight that connects the heart and soul of wisdom with what should be an integral part of real community. He points out that the word instruction means training with strong accountability. It means being drilled under an instructor who often gets up in your face. So, wisdom often comes through the pain of personal confrontation by friends and brothers and sisters in Jesus.
Proverbs 27:5 NLT An open rebuke is better than hidden love! Proverbs 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend….
The purpose of this book of the Bible is to develop a life that is willing to be informed by God when we are misinformed by the wisdom of fallen culture that is living without and against the Word and Wisdom of its creator. I believe that our study of this book of Proverbs is a great way to begin a life that is correctable and corrected. I believe that by reading a portion of it daily (Bible Bus) is a great start to it. I believe that reading a chapter of Proverbs a day is a great start to a live of discipline! 4 to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth— Prudence to the simple — Prudence means being able to look at complex matters or situations and see what lies behind them. Have you ever met that kind of a person who can look at a problem, a situation, and seems to be able to see right through it — get to the heart of it — bypass everything and grab it by the throat? God does not want us to be shipwrecked by the complexities of life in a fallen world. He wants us to be able to look at the complexity of life — the things that are so problematic — and be able to get to the heart of it by way of His Word and His Wisdom. Solomon says that in the matters of life and eternity such prudence is not a matter of IQ, intellect and education. God’s Word and Wisdom enables “the simple” to deal with the difficulties of his or her own brokenness in the midst of a broken world.
Psalm 119:130 The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.
5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, Let the wise hear — THIS IS A RECURRING THEME throughout this book. If you don’t listen, you won’t learn. A wise man listens. Three hundred years before Christ, the Greek philosopher Zeno said
“The reason why we have two ears and only one mouth is that we may listen the more and talk the less.”
A wise man listens — that requires talking less. It’s also important that when we listen, we be found listening to the right voice. As we work through this book we will see both Wisdom and Folly personified — both crying out to people as they walk through everyday life. 7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. This is the KEY VERSE — the verse that helps unlock the book of Proverbs. It could be read as — the fear of the Lord is the chief part of wisdom
The primary meaning of this root is “head.” ….usage of the root for both “head stone” (Zech 4:7) and “chief corner stone” (Ps 118:22). The root appears in many passages in the sense of “sum” or “total”2
The fear of the Lord is the headstone — the chief cornerstone of wisdom The fear of the Lord is the sum or total of wisdom is
FEAR OF THE LORD — The average Christian is a bit put off by the phrase because they look at the word fear and read into it everything that word means in a broken world. There are at least 18 references in the Book of Proverbs to the fear of the Lord. If we read these verses carefully we’ll get a good idea of what this important Biblical phrase means. I want to quote a man named Charles Bridges. His commentary on the Book of Proverbs is incredibly rich. I want to get it for our resource table. It’s a hardback book but it’s one of those ones you’ll want to have in your library.
QUOTE: Charles Bridges — “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 is so sweet so hence springs an earnest desire to please Him
2 Harris, R. L., Harris, R. L., Archer, G. L., & Waltke, B. K. (1999). Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed.) (825). Chicago: Moody Press.
and because the danger of becoming short from his weaknesses and temptations a holy watchfulness and fear that he might not sin against Him.”
There’s an amazing, an even beautiful blending, of God’s wrath and His love evoking the response — “I love you but I reverence you.” “Because I know who you are I reverence You — worship You — And because I worship You I have a fear of ever offending You!” For many philosophers self-knowledge is thought to be the greatest knowledge that you can possess. The phrase “Know Thyself” is attributed to a hand full of Greek philosophers, including Socrates. It was even inscribed at the entrance of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. Here’s a great example of how the wisdom of fallen man seeks to inform us and define us. Self-knowledge is not the most important knowledge. You can only truly know yourself when you finally truly get to know God. A classic example of this in the Old Testament is a man named Isaiah. Isaiah was a prophet of God. He was an instrument of God to bring forth the word of God. He was pronouncing a lot of “WOES” on the people of Israel. “Woe to you” and “Woe to you.” Listen to what he wrote —
Isaiah 6:1-5 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” 4And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
“Oh, I was a prophet. I was speaking the forth word of the Lord but I understand what I really am. I’m a nothing. God is holy. I’m sinful and I live amongst sinful people.” It is who the Lord is that informs me of who I am.
There is no way that you’ll ever understand this finite world and your finite existence until you live it in light of the infinite God. So, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. DON’T MISS THE CONTRAST HERE — 7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. In the old Scofield Bible, there’s an interesting note on this passage.
“Fool in scripture does not denote a mentally deficient person but rather one that is arrogant and self sufficient. One who orders his life as if there were no God.”
That’s the fool of scripture. He also adds —
“A man is not a fool because he is mentally deficient but because he’s so proud to think that he has all the answers.” “Don’t teach me, I have nothing to learn. I know all that I need to know.”
Now in light of that — I think every adult here can say, “Boy was I a fool growing up”. I’ll speak for myself; whenever parents would say anything I would think to myself, “What do they know. They don’t know anything. What can that man know? — he’s wearing a polyester leisure suit? I turned 68 on Friday. After 68 years here’s what I do know! I don’t know what I need to know! I know that I need to know Jesus more! I know that I need to know God’s Word more! QUOTE: Peterson p. 14 bottom
