PROVERBS PART 1 PURSUIT OF WISDOM

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1 PROVERBS PART 1 PURSUIT OF WISDOM Solomon wrote 3 books in the Word of God 1) Song of Songs: This was written when he was a young man. He was then called Jedidiah or the beloved of the Lord. It was during this period that the Lord appeared to Solomon twice. 2) Proverbs: This was written in his mid-life, when the Spirit of wisdom was manifested in a very powerful way in his life. 3) Ecclesiastes: Written in the last stage of his life when he had turned away from the Lord because of his many wives. Somebody once said that Solomon was the wisest man in the world who did the dumbest thing in the world. Solomon had a heart that desired and loved wisdom. Because Solomon had such a heart for wisdom, wisdom opened up its many riches and treasures to Solomon: - King Solomon wrote 3000 proverbs, about 800 are contained in the book of Proverbs. - He also wrote 1005 songs, 5 of which are retained in the Songs of Songs. - And the nations flocked to Jerusalem to hear the matchless Wisdom of Solomon. And where did the love for wisdom come from? - It came from his parents. - David and Bathsheba drilled it into him the priceless value of wisdom in his formative years. - In fact, the first 9 chapters of the book of Proverbs are the teachings of Solomon s parents in his growing up years. David constantly exhorted his son to get wisdom and to get understanding so much so that when God appeared to Solomon in a dream and said: - What can I do for you? Solomon s immediate response was: I want wisdom and I want an understanding heart and the consequence of this prayer for wisdom by Solomon is seen in 1 King 4: And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. Thus Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men-- than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. #1. The Book of Proverbs is practical and down to earth. #2. The Book of Proverbs is timeless. Though it was written 3000 years ago, it speaks to us today. #3. The Book of Proverbs is amazingly relevant. 1

2 4 BENEFITS THAT GOD PROMISES FROM STUDYING THIS BOOK Proverbs 1:1-7 1) You will learn the art of skillful living. Wisdom and discipline. - The word for wisdom is hokma in the Hebrew. - It refers not just to head knowledge. - Hokma in the Old Testament was used for anybody who had an unusual skill in any area. - It means to be skilled in some area of life. - For example: o If an artisan was excellent at making something, he was said to have hokma. o A composer who could take notes and put them together and make beautiful music was said to be skilled and to have hokma. o A speaker who could make his ideas clear was said to have hokma. o A counselor who could solve the problems of people, he was said to have hokma. - When apply the definition to Proverbs 1: o Wisdom is the ability to live life skillfully. o It is the ability to make the right choices in life. o It is to know what to do when you don t know what to do. o That is, you ll be good at living your life, at facing the problems of life 2) You ll gain mental alertness. For understanding words of insight. - The word understanding means the ability to discriminate between two different things. - Verse 6, For understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. - By reading this book you ll be sharper mentally than you are right now. 3) You ll develop moral insight. For acquiring a disciplined and prudent life. - The word prudent means shrewd and clever. o Shrewd kind of shade over into the negative area o But in the Hebrew they have a positive sense in this verse o It means street smart. o It means that when you re out on the street you know how to handle yourself. o If you have a problem, you know how to get out of it. 4) You begin to grow up. For giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young. Let the wise listen and add to their learning. Let the discerning get guidance. Notice the two groups in verse 4: THE SIMPLE and THE YOUNG. 2

3 The Simple - Who are the simple? o It does not refer to I.Q. o It does not refer to mental ability in any way at all. o In the Bible, the word simple refers to people who are naive or gullible. - What are the signs that a person is naive or gullible? o They are easily tricked, they are easily conned and scammed. (US$1m Bill ) o And they make the same dumb mistakes over and over again. o Sometimes you talk to people and they ask for help. o You tell them what went wrong and what they need to do. o They agree to do it. But they go out and make the same mistake. o They come back and ask what they did wrong. o You tell them what they did wrong and tell them what they need to do. o They go out and make the same dumb mistake again. o And you go through the process again. They get into the same bad relationships over and over again. They make the same bad investments over and over again. They say the same foolish things over and over. - Maybe you know somebody like that, or maybe you are like that. - Proverbs will teach you how to break the cycle of making the same mistakes over again. - It will teach you how to get on the right path. The Young - The younger you are, the more you need the book - It helps the young know how to grow up morally, ethically, and spiritually. PURSUE WISDOM Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. Proverbs 4:7 1. Wisdom is a prerequisite for leadership. In the early church, they selected men who were full of faith and wisdom. 2. Without wisdom, you cannot build anything lasting. Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established. Proverbs 24:3-4 3

4 3. The payoff is huge when we arrange our lives around wisdom Proverbs 3: In essence, wisdom is the ability to make the right choices and therefore, to live life skillfully. - It is the ability to make the right decisions or the correct application of knowledge. - Our lives are full of decisions! o Should I go or should I stay? o Should I take this job or should I not? o Should I buy this car or should I not? o Should I marry this person or should I not? o Should I make this investment or should I not? o How do we know which is the right decision? What does a person mean when he says, You have made the right decision? - A right decision is a decision that has a good outcome (or a good end-result). - A good outcome is better than a good income! - So the question you need to ask is this: Application: o Would the decision I make result in honor, peace, long-life, blessings, security, health, happiness etc. o Because these are outcomes and the right decisions in life lead to right outcomes. o This is therefore where wisdom has great value. o It is in wisdom that right outcomes come about. Parents are the pride of their children. Proverb 17:6b Do you know any WISE DADS who have their lives in order and raise their children to have their lives in order? - Know when to encourage? - And when to correct forcefully? - When to listen, when to teach and when to let the consequences of life be the teacher? - We know men whose lives is not working very well. o It is not that they aren t smart. o It is not that they aren t trying hard. o Life just isn t working because they had a foolish dad. - On the other hand, I know men who are doing really well. o What is the common denominator? o They will say, I grew up in the home with a great dad. 4

5 The same thing can be said about WISE MUMS. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her. Proverb 31:28 How do parents feel about their CHILDREN when they walk in paths of wisdom? A wise son brings joy to his father, Parents, what is better than that? Proverbs 15:20 Now, let s switch gears but press the same point. Do you know any one who WORKS wisely? Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men. Proverb 22:29 - Generally, people who work skillfully and wisely will eventually be esteemed highly and rewarded richly. - We all know people who have risen in the market place who did not have the best intellect, or resources or skill but they worked wisely while others all around them fell by the wayside. Whether it is about parenting, marriage, working, finances, treat your body, spiritual life wisdom pays. Wisdom pays dividends! 4. The consequences are huge when we arrange our lives around folly. The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble. Proverbs 4: Proverbs refers to the lack of wisdom as Foolishness. - The wise takes this path; but the fool takes this path. Man gets angry with God for the consequences of the choices that he made. I don t think it is fair to blame God for half the stuff you are blaming Him for. - You re in a financial mess: o Did you ever let your spending get out of hand? o Did you ever spend more than you earned? o Did you ever buy anything foolishly or impulsively? - You can t keep a job: o You are frustrated because no one will give you a job. o Were you a model employee? A man's own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the LORD. Proverb 19:3 5

6 5. Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Proverbs 1:7 - This verse is the theme of the book of Proverbs - Here is a two-way test to spot a fool: o #1 A fool doesn t know what he is doing. o #2 He doesn t care. He doesn t know what is going on around him, and he doesn t even care enough to wise up and figure it out. There is nothing wrong with saying, I don t know. The wise man has to say that all the time. I don t know, would you teach me? But the fool says I don t know, I don t care, I don t want to learn anything and you can t teach me anything. - The most important word in this verse is beginning. It has three meanings: o #1 It means that which is first in order of priorities, that which is basic or foundational. o #2 The essence or central truth of something. o #3 The capstone or the ultimate goal of something. What is the fear of the Lord? - It is not cringing terror. It is respecting God for who he is. o Respect for God is where knowledge begins o It is where knowledge continues o It is where all knowledge ends up. - So God must be the centre of all our decision-making. o And when that happens, we are going to make decisions that are right in life o That will result in blessings, long-life, health, prosperity, peace and joy, etc. o Because God is the one who determines the outcome of our decisions. How does one obtain wisdom? 1) It comes by asking James 1:5-8 Eccl 2:26 declares For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight In other words, when our ways please the Lord, He gives to us wisdom. 6

7 2) It can come by association He who walks with wise men shall be wise; but the companion of fools will be destroyed. Proverbs 13:20 Wisdom can be imparted to us by who we associated with. - I want to sound a warning to all of you: be very careful with whom you fellowship. - When you walk with the godly and wise people, you receive wisdom from them. - Opposite is true. When you walk with the ungodly, that is foolishness and destruction. 3) Wisdom comes by reading and meditating upon the Word of God The Word of God is a primary source of wisdom. - Proverbs 1:5 says A wise man will hear and increase learning. - You can add to your wisdom as you study and meditate on the Word of God. - The more you feed on His Word, the more wisdom is increased because you are growing in the knowledge of His Word. 7