Proverbs - Don't Neglect

Proverbs 1:24-28

Because I have called, and ye refused;

I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;

            But ye have set at nought all my counsel,

and would none of my reproof:

             I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

            When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.

             Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer;

 they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:

                        Sometimes we cry out to the Lord for help in situations our own foolishness got us into and we even remember the Lord trying to give us the wise way to do things in the first place.  He loves us so much that when we do call out to Him in our affliction He hears us and loves to deliver His children.  In some cases, though, it will be hard to hear the wise way out, because of our own stubbornness and refusal to hear.  We must humble ourselves when we get into those messes and be quiet before the Lord that we might receive the wisdom we need to get through such calamity.

Proverbs - An Introduction

Proverbs 1:1-6

 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;

 To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;

 To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;

 To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.

 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning;

and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:

 To understand a proverb, and the interpretation;

the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

                        These proverbs are given to us that we might know wisdom instruction.  This would lead us to conclude that we tend to not have wisdom nor be instructed in the right way in and of our own reasoning and conclusion finding.

           

                        They are also given that we might perceive the words of understanding.  This helps us know that we could have words of understanding given by others or even enter our minds and yet we might not perceive them as wise or valuable.  The proverbs will help us assess words that make sense to our lives.

                        Also they are written to give us knowledge and discretion.  Sometimes we just don’t know what to do and the proverbs were written to give us such knowledge; knowledge about money, relationships, work, child-rearing, sleep, our words and a myriad of other subjects.   Discretion is great for a woman because Titus 2:5 instructs us that young women need to be discreet.

             

                        If we are that ‘wise woman’ who builds her house rather than tearing it down we will be careful to listen to these warnings and instructions and increase in our learning that our lives would truly be built upon the rock of the Lord’s counsel and wisdom

Proverbs - Wisdom Admits Sin

Proverbs 30:20

Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

An adulterous woman is involved with a man who is not her husband and is able to walk away and proclaim with her mouth that she has done nothing wrong.  This should not surprise us.  In order to avoid the voice of the Holy Spirit people will often try to speak louder than Him.  Unrepentant sin requires lies and false justification.  To protect ourselves from ever becoming like this gal, we should confess our sins to the Lord and make no excuses when we walk outside of His boundaries.  Admitting we have sinned keeps us humble and allows the grace of God to come heal and repair.  Let us not be as this adulterous woman.  Let us not cover our tracks or speak such boastings.  Let us rather agree with God on His evaluation of our lives and receive the grace and help in time of need. 

Proverbs - Do You Know Him?

Proverbs 30:4

Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?

The author of this chapter goes from his own inadequacies to the complete adequacy of God.  The most important truths we can hold on to involve who we know we are and who we know God to be.  We see that the Lord is in the heights of life and the lows of life.  We see that He can handle the wind as well as the sea.  We see that He knows all boundaries and determined them.  His name is Jehovah and His Son is Jesus Christ.  How wonderful to see the wisdom of God, Jesus Christ, exalted in the midst of the proverbs even before he came in the flesh!  Truly as we learn these wise sayings, it is absolutely important that we remember that Christ Himself was made unto us the wisdom of God.  

Proverbs - The Humility of Wisdom

Proverbs 30:1-3

The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal, Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man. I neither learned wisdom,

nor have the knowledge of the holy.

As this gentleman begins to give counsel he places himself in a place of humility.  He establishes that he is not going to draw on any inner conclusions he himself has come up with because, in his own nature, he has nothing to give.  It is always good to establish the fact that the advice we would give someone else is not from our own resources but derived from the Lord and His word.  This is not false humility.  It is a statement that helps the person listening to turn their attention to the Lord and not depend on the counsel of man.

Knowing God - There Are Treasures in Christ

Col 2:3

In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

God has hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Christ.  This is not a hide-and-seek game.   To those who are in Christ, the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are no longer hidden.  If I were to hide your birthday presents in a room and I told you that ALL of your presents are hidden in a room you haven’t been in, those gifts would be unknown and mysterious.  If I opened the door and you came into that room and had access to that room, the gifts would be plainly available and obvious to you.  If you are in Christ, look around!  There are treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Him.  Enjoy discovering them and having them available to you.  God has put these treasures in Christ and if you are in Christ, you can enjoy wisdom and knowledge for they are found in Him.

Proverbs - Just Joking

Proverbs 26:18-19

As a mad man who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death,

So is the man that deceiveth his neighbour, and saith, Am not I in sport?

Our culture enjoys teasing and joking.  Sometimes these can be very funny.  For example:

First Person:  Knock, knock

Second Person:  Who’s there?

First Person:  Control Freak.  Now you say “Control freak who?”

Jokes can really lighten things up and bring joy to our days, but teasing someone else has its inherent dangers.  We are told in this verse that saying something in jest is like a crazy person throwing hot coals, arrows and death.  When a crazy person throws something it could go anywhere.  It could hit something and it might not.  This is how it is with jesting and tricking another person.  It might wound them and it might not.  People come with a lot of baggage and previous wounds.  If our teasing hits them in a tender spot, they will be wounded.  Every time we joke around and then have to tell someone that we were kidding, we risk injuring someone.  Is it worth it?