Okay, here is Proverbs 1 with my thoughts on verse 5. Please edify the church by commenting on verses each day!
Proverbs 1 (New King James Version)
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, judgment, and equity;
4 To give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion—
5 A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,
I like verse 5 because it suggests that I have a choice. I can choose to be wise and increase in learning. I can ask for an understanding heart and go after wise counsel. That is the part of Solomon's heart that pleased God. His son Rehoboam did not have this heart. When he became the king, he would not listen to wise counsel. He chose the advice of foolish companions.
1 Kings 12:6-11 (New King James Version)
6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, and he said, “How do you advise me to answer these people?” 7 And they spoke to him, saying, “If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.” 8 But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him. 9 And he said to them, “What advice do you give? How should we answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?” 10 Then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you should speak to this people who have spoken to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us’—thus you shall say to them: ‘My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s waist! 11 And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!’” (The result was a civil war and the destruction of Israel).
Any judgmental, cynical, or bitter roots have to go in order to have a wise and understanding heart. That's the kind of Church family that we can be. As we read through Proverbs together, let's look for heart change, not just head knowledge. This is going to be a great Bible Study, let's take a big step forward!
6 To understand a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
8 My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother;
9 For they will be a graceful ornament on your head, And chains about your neck.
10 My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent.
11 If they say, “Come with us, Let us lie in wait to shed blood; Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause;
12 Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, And whole, like those who go down to the Pit;
13 We shall find all kinds of precious possessions, We shall fill our houses with spoil;
14 Cast in your lot among us, Let us all have one purse”—
15 My son, do not walk in the way with them, Keep your foot from their path;
16 For their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed blood.
17 Surely, in vain the net is spread In the sight of any bird;
18 But they lie in wait for their own blood, They lurk secretly for their own lives.
19 So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; It takes away the life of its owners.
20 Wisdom calls aloud outside; She raises her voice in the open squares.
21 She cries out in the chief concourses, At the openings of the gates in the city She speaks her words:
22 “ How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, And fools hate knowledge.
23 Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.
24 Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, 25 Because you disdained all my counsel, And would have none of my rebuke,
26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes,
27 When your terror comes like a storm, And your destruction 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 have none of my counsel And despised my every rebuke.
31 Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, And be filled to the full with their own fancies.
32 For the turning away of the simple will slay them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them;
33 But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil.”
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12 comments:
Verses 20 – 22 particularly caught my attention.
20 Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares;
21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out, in the gateways of the city she makes her speech:
Wisdom is out and about, even in the most public places. In fact, she is at the gateway of the city, which means that every person who enters or leaves the city must pass her. For us to assume that wisdom is not attainable is foolish, for the Bible makes it clear that we can find wisdom.
22 How long will you simple ones love your simple ways?
This question challenges me. If wisdom is available to me, then why am I content with continuing on in ignorance? God has made His presence and His Word available to me on a daily basis, yet I miss so many opportunities to improve my relationship with Him. Too often I am content with simplicity and a relationship on the surface when God desires all of me.
My “simple ways” don’t seem so attractive when I look at them in this light. My flesh may desire to take the easy road and to blend in with the crowd. But what price must I pay to remain in a state of simplicity? Verse 32 answers this question.
32 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them;
I refuse to allow simplicity or complacency to destroy my relationship with God. I must pursue Him with no reservations or restrictions. What will I inherit if I choose to pursue Him with total surrender?
33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.
Praise Him! This is my promise!
I agree with you about verse 5, Mr. Weir. I am glad that God gave us the free will to either accept wisdom and prosperity or to act a fool and try to do things our own way. It really makes life unique.
I love verse 33!
Pastor Dave, I am looking forward to July's study of Proverbs. Verse 33 stood out to me today, But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be secure, withough fear of evil. In this day of so much uncertainty, what a comfort to know that we have the victory if we will just listen to God and walk in the wisdom He gives us. We can abide in the shadow of the Almighty!
I left the comment about verse 33 anonymously by accident. New to this.
Verses 8 & 9 were interesting to me!
8 My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother;
9 For they will be a graceful ornament on your head, And chains about your neck.
There are several pieces of jewelry that have special meaning to me because of WHO gave them to me. Such as, rings from my parents and necklaces and bracelets from my children. Of course, my most treasured pieces of jewelry are my engagement ring and wedding band from my husband. At any time I can look down at my left hand and see these material symbols of his affection, trust, friendship, and amazing love for me. Others can look at my wedding set and see that I am set apart for someone.
When I read these verses in Proverbs, I think about my jewelry. All the Godly wisdom given to me by the Lord through my natural parents, spiritual family, and friends is like my wedding set, and other treasured pieces. Just as accepting my engagement and wedding rings from my husband, wisdom is something I have to make a choice to accept and make a part of my life as well.
When wisdom from the Lord is accepted and made a part of my life, I will then be covered by the Lord, set apart for Him and His will, and dwell safely in His presence.
Verse 19 stuck out to me:
"So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; It takes away the life of its owners." Being greedy for worldly gain focuses the mind on the things of this world's system, and the things of this world bring death. But God gives us the choice to follow Him, to choose life and seek Him. He promises us in His Word that He will meet all of our needs!
Proverbs 1:17
17 Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird,
This verse gives plenty of incentive to pursue wisdom. It implies that as we gain God's insight, we gain the ability to recognize the enemy's deception. We don't have to blindly stumble through life, stepping into every trap he lays for us. We have a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our paths!
I love Carlie's analogy...I want to adorn myself with wisdom of the Lord. I, too, love the promise in verse 33. The desire of my heart is to live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.
Verse 7 is one of my favorites in the Bible. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." Understanding that we must have reverence for God and his ways is important to me. Also, it never says that receiving wisdom and instruction will be easy, but it does say that it is foolish to despise them.
Ok I'm trying to be more "social" so I'm giving this a try at speaking my mind about this.
Verse 8 really stood out to me the most.
"Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching"
Tonight when Pastor Weir was saying that each generation depends on the other, that really applies to my generation. We need to seek instruction from the generation above us. Not only do we need to listen to our parents but also our spirtual parents. It just really spoke to me that even if we don't like what our parents tell us about life or anything, we need to really listen to it because it might be God trying to pass wisdom from them to you. And after the Forward conference,I know that I need to seek God's will more in my life and if i just blow off some advice that a parent (spirtual or biological) is giving i might be missing something that God was trying to tell me. So it just really made me realize that we always need to listen to our parents even if we think they are wrong or stupid because God might be trying to tell us something.
I found this on someone else's blog, not mine, and I had posted it in one of my older posts. It is more lengthy than this, but you can get the just of it from this tidbit. I thought it fit our study.
So many of us Christians are very knowledgeable of God’s Word, few of us have attained wisdom. In case, you are not aware, there is a huge difference between KNOWLEDGE and WISDOM. Knowledge means we have the facts. For instance, know the books of the Bible and some of the main characters, can quote a few scriptures ("what thus said the Lord"), recite the commandants ("the thou shalt nots"), and is fluent in church jargon (Blessed & highly favored in the Lord); however, WISDOM is when you apply those facts to our daily life. In other words, not just talking about it but being about it and/or practicing what we preach.
Solomon summarizes in Chapter 1 the purpose of the Proverbs, which are to teach people wisdom, discipline and understanding so we will do what’s right, just and fair.
Solomon also tells us of the benefits of being wise (Proverbs 3-4)-
Long, prosperous life-
Favor with God & Man-
Good Judgment-
Success-
Health & Vitality-
Wealth, Honor-
Peace & Protection
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