Proverbs
#1
Proverbs 1 (Pg. 449) says:
1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of
2 for
attaining wisdom and discipline;
for understanding words of insight;
3 for
acquiring a disciplined and prudent life,
doing what is right and just and fair;
4 for giving
prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the young-
5 let the
wise listen and add to their learning,
and let the discerning get guidance-
6 for
understanding proverbs and parables,
the sayings and riddles of the wise.
7 The fear
of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools [a] despise wisdom and discipline.
8
Listen, my son, to your father's instruction
and do not forsake your mother's teaching.
9 They will
be a garland to grace your head
and a chain to adorn your neck.
10 My son,
if sinners entice you,
do not give in to them.
11 If they
say, "Come along with us;
let's lie in wait for someone's blood,
let's waylay some harmless soul;
12 let's
swallow them alive, like the grave, [b]
and whole, like those who go down to the
pit;
13 we will
get all sorts of valuable things
and fill our houses with plunder;
14 throw in
your lot with us,
and we will share a common purse"-
15 my son,
do not go along with them,
do not set foot on their paths;
16 for their
feet rush into sin,
they are swift to shed blood.
17 How
useless to spread a net
in full view of all the birds!
18 These men
lie in wait for their own blood;
they waylay only themselves!
19 Such is
the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain;
it takes away the lives of those who get
it.
20
Wisdom calls aloud in the street,
she raises her voice in the public
squares;
21 at the
head of the noisy streets [c] she cries out,
in the gateways of the city she makes her
speech:
22 "How
long will you simple ones [d] love your simple ways?
How long will mockers delight in mockery
and fools hate knowledge?
23 If you
had responded to my rebuke,
I would have poured out my heart to you
and made my thoughts known to you.
24 But since
you rejected me when I called
and no one gave heed when I stretched out
my hand,
25 since you
ignored all my advice
and would not accept my rebuke,
26 I in turn
will laugh at your disaster;
I will mock when calamity overtakes you-
27 when
calamity overtakes you like a storm,
when disaster sweeps over you like a
whirlwind,
when distress and trouble overwhelm you.
28
"Then they will call to me but I will not answer;
they will look for me but will not find
me.
29 Since
they hated knowledge
and did not choose to fear the LORD,
30 since
they would not accept my advice
and spurned my rebuke,
31 they will
eat the fruit of their ways
and be filled with the fruit of their
schemes.
32 For the
waywardness of the simple will kill them,
and the complacency of fools will destroy
them;
33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety
and be at ease, without fear of
harm."
·
The author
identifies himself as the son of David, King Solomon of
·
It is
believed that Solomon gathered together many proverbs from other sources.
·
He was the
editor of all and the author of some.
·
And we are
told that he wrote more proverbs than appear in this book.
·
Proverbs is
believed to be written about 700 B.C.
·
Although
these proverbs were written 2700 years ago, they could have been written
yesterday and are still relevant for today.
·
Chapters 1-9
contrast the difference between wisdom and foolishness.
Vs.
1
1
The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of
2 for attaining wisdom and discipline;
for understanding words of insight;
·
The word “wisdom”
in the scriptures means “the ability to _____________(use)
knowledge _____________________(rightly)”.
·
The word,
“Wisdom” occurs in the book of Proverbs 41 times.
·
Wisdom
includes skill in living by following God’s _____________________(design) for ________________(life) as outlined in the
pages of the ___________________(Bible) and thereby avoiding moral ____________________(pitfalls).
Matthew 7:24-28 (pg 686) says:
24"Therefore everyone who hears these words of
mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the
rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the
winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its
foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these
words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who
built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the
streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with
a great crash."
·
Proverbs
urges people to get wisdom for it is ___________________(worth)
more than ___________________(gold) or silver.
·
The New Testament
refers to Christ as “________________________(wisdom)
from God” because the _____________________(Word) of _______________(God) is
________________(Wisdom) and ___________________(Jesus) is the Word.
John 1:1,14 (pg. 750) says:
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the
beginning. 14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling
among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,[d] who came from the Father, full of grace and
truth.
·
The Word of
God ________________(lived) among us in the form of
Jesus ___________________(Christ) and still __________________(lives) among us
today in the form of the ____________________ __________________(Holy Spirit)!
·
Those who are
born again of the Holy Spirit have the ________________(mind)
of _________________(Christ) which has access to God’s
___________________(wisdom).
1 Corinthians 2:10-16 (pg. 807) says:
The Spirit searches all things, even the
deep things of God. 11For who among men knows the
thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one
knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12We
have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that
we may understand what God has freely given us. 13This
is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by
the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.[a] 14The man without
the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for
they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are
spiritually discerned. 15The spiritual man makes
judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's
judgment:
16"For who has known the mind of the Lord
that he may instruct him?"[b] But we have the mind of Christ.
·
The _____________________(thoughts)
you ___________________(think) and the ____________________(words) you ____________________(speak)
are either ______________(truth) and wisdom from _______________(God) or
______________(lies) and deceptions from the ______________(devil).
John 8:31, 43-44 (pg. 758) says:
31To
the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching,
you are really my disciples. 32Then you will know the
truth, and the truth will set you free."
43Why is my
language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry
out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to
the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native
language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
·
Words are like
_____________________(containers) – they _________________(carry) either
_____________(faith) &_______________(truth) from _______________(God) or
they carry ________________(lies) & ___________________(deceptions) from
the ________________(devil) and they produce after their kind.
Matthew 5:21-25 (pg. 684) says:
21"You have heard that it was said to the people
long ago, 'Do not murder,[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to
judgment.' 22But I tell you that anyone who is angry
with his brother[b]will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone
who says to his brother, 'Raca,[c]' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone
who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
23"Therefore,
if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother
has something against you, 24leave your gift there in
front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and
offer your gift.
25"Settle
matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you
are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the
judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have
paid the last penny.[d]
·
The Bible
says that your words can ______________(kill) and if they do, you are know
aligning yourself with the ____________________(devil) who is the father of
_________________(lies), who comes to _______________(kill),
__________________(steal) and ______________________(destroy).
John
0The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I
have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
·
Be careful
about Speaking your ___________________(problems) to others because most people
will ________________(agree) with you and then you will have ________________(more)
of what you agree ____________________(together) on whether you _________________(want)
it or ____________(not).
Matthew 18:18-19 (pg 695) says:
18"I
tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be[c]bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on
earth will be[d] loosed in heaven.
19"Again,
I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it
will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20For where
two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
·
I have always
taken this passage in the positive, but also see how it can work in the
negative.
·
When a person
makes a negative comment like “we are under a curse from the devil” and you
say, “That’s for sure” you just bound yourself with your words.
·
That’s why it
is so important to take ___________________(control)
of every _____________________(thought) and throw it out of our mind before we
____________________(speak) it because after it is spoken it will lead to
________________________(destruction) if is not wisdom from God.
2 Corinthians 10:5 says:
5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets
itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to
make it obedient to Christ.
·
Wisdom from
God confesses __________________(love) in the face of
apparent persecution and ____________________(hatred).
·
Wisdom from
God confesses ___________________(victory) in the face
of apparent ____________________(defeat).
·
Wisdom from
God confesses ____________________(abundance) in the
face of apparent ___________________(lack).
Romans 4:15-25 says:
16Therefore,
the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to
all Abraham's offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those
who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. 17As
it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations."[a] He is our father in the sight of God, in
whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are
not as though they were.
18Against
all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations,
just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be."[b] 19Without weakening
in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was
about a hundred years old—and that Sarah's womb was also dead. 20Yet
he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was
strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21being
fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22This
is why "it was credited to him as righteousness." 23The
words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, 24but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for
us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25He
was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our
justification.
·
Jesus has
told his followers that they can ___________________(have) what they pray and
say in faith, but many professing Christians are ___________________(saying)
and praying what they __________________(have) instead and then thy wonder why
they get ________________(more) of the things the don’t ______________(want).
·
It is because
they are not praying and speaking their wisdom, the world’s wisdom, the devils
wisdom instead of God’s wisdom by faith
Mark 11:22-24 (pg. 717)
says:
22"Have[a] faith in God," Jesus answered. 23"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain,
'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes
that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24Therefore
I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it,
and it will be yours. 25And when you stand praying, if
you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven
may forgive you your sins."[b]
·
Jesus rebuked
his disciples for _______________________(discussing) the
___________________(facts) instead of speaking God’s
___________________(wisdom) and truth by ___________________(faith).
Mark 8:14-21 (pg. 713) says:
14The
disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them
in the boat. 15"Be careful," Jesus warned
them. "Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod."
16They
discussed this with one another and said, "It is because we have no
bread."
17Aware of
their discussion, Jesus asked them: "Why are you talking about having no
bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?
And don't you remember? 19When I broke the five loaves
for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?"
"Twelve," they replied.
20"And
when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of
pieces did you pick up?"
They answered, "Seven."
21He said to them, "Do you still not understand?"
·
From God’s
perspective real wisdom is not just _______________________(discussing) the
____________________(facts) regarding your _______________________(problems) but
instead speaking God’s _____________________(promises) as
___________________(revealed) by the _________________(Word) and the
_________________ ___________________(Holy Spirit).
·
Jesus did not
____________________(call) Lazarus or the young girl
who died, __________________(dead) - instead He said they were only
___________________(asleep). John 11:1-44; Luke 8:41-42, 49-56
·
Jesus was not
lying – he was telling the truth because he knew that they both were going to
________________(live) after he rose them from the dead and he did not want to
____________(say) anything that would ________________________(contradict) that
_____________________(truth).
·
Jesus knows
that words either carry truth or lies and so he always calls “things that are
not as if though they _________________(were) – wisdom
from God does that!
·
·
Simon Peter
acted like a _________________(reed) that blows in the
___________________(wind), but Jesus called him a ___________________(rock) in
which he built his church.
John
1:41-42 says:
41The
first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We
have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). 42And
he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son
of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter[a]).
·
How you see
yourself is how others will eventually see you – what you ___________________(project) to others will be _______________________(mirrored)
back to you.
·
How you see
others will become in time, how they see themselves because life is a
_____________________(mirror) that reflects the ____________________(truth) or
________________(lies) contained in our ____________________(thoughts and
_______________________(words).
·
Over time, we
will __________________(reap) what we ____________________(sow) – if you do not
like the _______________________(Harvest) you are
________________________(reaping), _________________(sow) a better
____________________(seed) of hope faith and love because in life we will reap
the Harvest of the seed you sow.
·
When you
operate in the ___________________(world’s) wisdom you
will read a harvest of ________________________(selfishness).
·
When you operate
in God’s wisdom you reap a harvest of ________________________(righteousness).
·
Real wisdom
from God is not always __________________(seen), but
____________________(invisible) to the physical eye.
·
Real wisdom
from God is only seen through the eyes of _________________(faith).
Hebrews
11:1-2 , 13-16 (Pg. 1871) says:
1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and
certain of what we do not see. 2This is what the
ancients were commended for.
13All these people were still living by faith when they died.
They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them
from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on
earth. 14People who say such things show that they are
looking for a country of their own. 15If they had been
thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to
return. 16Instead, they were longing for a better
country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God,
for he has prepared a city for them.
·
There are a
great many brilliant people who have knowledge; yet they lack wisdom from God.
·
Wisdom in the
Old Testament means Jesus Christ for the believer today.
1
Cor.
It
is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom
from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
·
Christ is the
wisdom for the believer today and to know wisdom is to know Jesus Christ.
Philippians
10I
want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of
sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
·
True Wisdom
is knowing Jesus Christ – _________________(hearing)
and _________________(obeying) His voice!
Vs.
3-4
3
for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life,
doing what is right and just and fair;
4 for giving prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the young-
·
“Prudence”
means good sense.
·
Outside of
Proverbs, the Hebrew word is used in the negative sense of “shrewd” or “crafty”
·
“Simple”
occurs 15 times.
·
Simple
denotes those who are easily persuaded who lack Judgment”, who are immature,
inexperienced and naïve.
·
The word
“instruction” appears 26 times in the book of Proverbs.
·
Sometimes the
same Hebrew word is translated by the word chasten.
Proverbs
24
He who spares the rod hates his son,
but he who loves him is careful to
discipline him.
·
The word “instruction”
means to _______________________(teach) by _______________________(discipline).
·
Instruction
is to teach by discipline.
·
The Bible
says that God ______________________(disciplines)
those whom he ______________________(loves) so they will _______________(grow
_______(up) spiritually becoming more like Jesus and less like the world.
·
“To perceive
the words of understanding”.
·
To perceive
God’s truth, we need the “eyes of our heat” to be _________________(opened) by the Holy Spirit.
·
In V. 3 the
word justice means righteousness – “right behavior”.
·
Right
behavior is not ___________________(relative) and is not determined by our _____________________(cultural)
norms - What is right and wrong is _____________________(declared) by God and
written down in the ________________(Bible).
·
Right and
wrong have become relative terms in our culture today by which the norm is
decided by the culture.
·
The
prevailing feeling in our culture today is that what the average man does
becomes the norm; it becomes the standard.
·
This is one
of the reasons why there is so much dishonesty and gross immorality today.