I think I will blog through Proverbs and comment on my favorite verses. :) This is probably the most important book in the Bible as far as gaining wisdom I think. :)
The Beginning of Knowledge
1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:
(Something to note, Solomon was the son of David and Bathsheba. Interesting huh. Solomon was also the wisest and one of the richest men that ever lived.)
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 perceive the words of understanding,
3 To receive the instruction of wisdom,
Justice, judgment, and equity;
4 To give prudence to the simple,
(Prudence is to be cautious. Fools have no caution. They do whatever they feel like without thinking about the consequences. Prudent people think before they act and think before they speak. Amen :)
To the young man knowledge and discretion—
(Discretion- knowing right from wrong. Being able to judge what the best action to take in every situation is.)
5 A wise man will hear and increase learning,
And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,
(Getting advice is wise. No man is an island. We need each other as well as God. :)
6 To understand a proverb and an enigma,
(An enigma is something mysterious. It can be difficult to understand. Why is wisdom an enigma? Because wisdom goes against our natural bent. We are by nature foolish and selfish. We are born with a sin nature and so naturally do what is foolish. It takes time and years of growing into maturity to become wise and see things in a different way than what is natural. We have to train our minds to become wise and to think wisely.)
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.
(That is why fools remain fools, because they despise wisdom and instruction. Those who need advice the most look for it the least. The wise become wiser and fools become more foolish. As the verse says, "To him who has much more will be given, and to him who has little, the little he has will be taken away from him." This can also refer to wisdom. If you seek wisdom, you will find it. If you do not, you will become more foolish.)
Shun Evil Counsel
8 My son, hear the instruction of your father,
And do not forsake the law of your mother;
And do not forsake the law of your mother;
(Hence the commandment "Honor your mother and father that it may go well with you and that you may live long on the earth." Why listen to them? Because they have been alive longer and so have more wisdom.)
9 For they will be a graceful ornament on your head,
And chains about your neck.
(Any discipline you received as a child was to your benefit. Treasure discipline and correction. Those who get neither end up in prison. :(
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,[a]
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.
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,[a]
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.
("The love of money is the root of all evil." Be wary of anyone who wants to get rich quickly. You cannot love both God and money. Choose God, not money. :)
The Call of Wisdom
20 Wisdom calls aloud outside;
She raises her voice in the open squares.
21 She cries out in the chief concourses,[b]
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.
She raises her voice in the open squares.
21 She cries out in the chief concourses,[b]
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.
(As at Pentecost. The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth as Christians.)
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,
(Wisdom sometimes does come as a rebuke. Wisdom can hurt sometimes, but it is like taking medicine. It is good for us.)
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.”
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.”
(It would seem that wisdom is mean in these statements, but that is just tough love. God IS love but he is also just. He will not enable bad behavior. God is not co-dependent. He does not necessarily need any of us. He is perfectly self-sufficient on his own. God has boundaries, limits, of what he will and will not tolerate.
God will not keep giving to those who do not seek him. He will turn them over to their sin, as Romans 1 talks about. Before the flood God said, "I will not strive with man forever." There is a point where God has had enough. We need to not let it get to that point for ourselves, of course. This is why it is important to "work out your salvation with fear and trembling." Fear God and keep his commandments. That is the beginning of wisdom. Amen :)
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