Proverbs 3:1- 10 "On Living Wisely!" - Appropriate Words for the Beginning of the Year 2015

I wish  you all a very happy  and fruitful new year, filled with God’s choicest  blessings  for you  that trust in Him with all your heart!

Last week, at the end of  the old year 2014,  we  considered  Proverbs chapter  2  which  speaks  about  the blessings that  God given wisdom brings into our lives.  Here Solomon  speaks  to his son (1:8,10,15 ;2:1; 3:1,11,21 etc.) – perhaps  Rehoboam,  who became his successor. Solomon himself  was privileged to  have received  an unusual  measure  of  the gift  of  knowledge and wisdom from God (2 Chronicles 1: 12).  Thus,  under the supervision of the Holy Spirit he was  able  to write down  such  wisdom from God also  for our benefit.  I remind you then  that this  is not  Solomon’s  own wisdom that is  dispensed here. No!  He  speaks of   a wisdom that is given to Him  from God, and as such it is absolutely true,   infallible, and  profound. This godly wisdom is a  precious gift. It is  the ability  to see life as God sees it.

As  we face   the year of our Lord 2015  I can think of  no  greater desire on the part of any Christian but  to  walk in wisdom, making  one wise  decision  after another , and reaping the benefits of wise living  as we walk through this year and through  this  life  on our way  to the heavenly city. Sadly, sin often gets in the way , and for this reason we ought  to be all the more glad  that we have a  Saviour who not only forgives us all our sin and foolishness, but who calls and enables us to walk  by the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:16), whom He has sent  to be  with us and in us (Jn. 14:17)  and to help  us  by means of His inspired Word  - such as this book of Proverbs.

The  contrast  to the wise man  in Proverbs is  the “fool”. We want to avoid his company. Proverbs 13:20 says:  “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” The Bible helps us to stay out of harm’s way, if we are  willing to embrace  and live by its wisdom.  Wisdom  doesn’t come easy.  From chapter 2   we understood that godly wisdom (2:6)  comes from the diligent and  prayerful searching  of the Word of God (the image here is derived from  mining – 2:4). May the LORD give you a heart  in 2015  to desire the company of the wise, and  may you  have a heart to diligently  follow His  teaching  and His commandments. The Bible is a book full of wonderful promises.

With  this in mind let us consider  Proverbs 3 :1-12

In this section we find  5 great promises.  

Just a brief word about  promises.  

An unconditional  promise says, “I promise  to  give you a thousand dollars  for your birthday!”  

A conditional promise  says, “I will give you a thousand  dollars  for  your birthday, if you do  well in  your school  exams!” 

So, note firstly  that   Bible promises  generally have  conditions (if… then)  attached to them. This is the case also with our text. There are  5 wonderful promises here for you, but they are all attached to conditions. 

Secondly,  we need to remember that what is promised may not come exactly in those terms. There may be exceptions.  However   the  spiritual reality  that lies  behind the wonderful things such as  long life (3:1,2),  the promise of  a good reputation and success  (3:3,4), the promise of guidance and blessing  (3:5,6), the promise of health and strength  (3:7,8)  and  the promise of wealth and abundance (3: 9,10)   will generally  come to   those    that obey  the Lord Jesus  Christ.  God is  known to be generous.  This is the promise even of Christ in the gospels   in Matthew  19: 29  where He  promises His disciples  who have forsaken everything to follow Him: “you will receive  a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life”. Notice  however,  that there is a condition attached to their rewards   - they  leave houses, brothers, sisters, parents, lands for Christ’s sake.  

Thirdly,  we need to remember  that a   believer may experience  a time of ‘leanness’  or apparent lack of blessing . This may be due to sin or disobedience , in which case God withholds  His blessings  for the purpose of chastisement, or  there may be (as in Job’s case)  a time   of divine testing when God intends to teach us  profound lessons. This  may be a time  when the believer is sorely afflicted , His life appears to be totally ‘unblessed’ , but not  for reason of  personal  sin,  but for the sake  of God’s greater glory  ( e.g.  John 9:3 – the man born blind)

                                

We have established  the fact   then  that  God  generally makes  conditional  promises. He   attaches His promises  to our  obedience. John Calvin   said it  like this, 

“As God  gives Himself to us in His promises, we must give ourselves to Him in duties”.[1]   

As we  seek  God’s wisdom and  God’s blessings for ourselves and our families   in 2015,  I pray that we may  understand this and take it to heart. 

And so we note  firstly  that the  wise son   does not forget the teaching of his father. He listens.  [3:1] My son, do not forget my teaching (“torah”), but let your heart keep my commandments,[2] for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.  To  such a son is promised length of days … and peace (“shalom” – a sense of rounded wellbeing).  Obedience  to parental teaching that is based on the Word of God leads to blessing.  This fact is even  entrenched in the 10 commandments: “Honour  your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.” (Ex. 20:12). God’s Word is given to us fallen people  to give us hope and a future. Ultimately it points us forward to eternal life ( life without end) in heaven. The condition is that we need to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ  with all our heart.  

May  your year  be filled with obedience to God’s Word, and  may you be of long service and blessing to this earth  and  God’s to  church.  

Secondly, Solomon  says:  “Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. [4] So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man” (3:3).   The wise son  is furthermore exhorted  not to let  steadfast love  and faithfulness forsake him. These are two keywords  in the OT  vocabulary  of the Bible.

Steadfast love (Heb. hesed) and  faithfulness (Heb. 'emet)  are  both attributes  of God. This is how God deals with  His children. Now  if we  understand this, and if  we   make this  a way of life  (wear this as a symbol around our neck ; better still  - have this truth engraved upon the tablet of our hearts)  then we must not be surprised   that we find ourselves loved by God and man on this account. This  unstable, unfaithful world  sits up and takes notice  when they see a steadfastly loving  and faithful man and woman. Such people are shelters  to a hurting society. We miss them sorely when they are taken from us. 

May  we be committed to  a life of steadfast  (principled, consistent) and faithful love in 2015, and may the LORD be pleased  to bless many other through  your consistent life!

Thirdly, [5] Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. [6] In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. The wise son  learns to trust in the Lord , by  listening  to  his father’s  sound teaching , embracing this teaching   for life, always remembering  and imitating the character of God.  To  “trust in God”   and to  "not lean  on your own understanding"  is  an important  distinction.  The one is the wisdom of God and the other is the wisdom of man.   

To trust God with all your heart  means firstly   that  there must be  personal  faith in God. Faith  is the key to the fulfilment of every promise - Jesus was always looking for faith when He healed people. Secondly,  to  trust God means  that we  are not to lean on our own understanding. We are  not to live by  our own conventional wisdom. Thirdly we are  to acknowledge Him in all our ways  - in every way (all  the details of our life). Be consistent  with all  your life. What you are on Sunday at church you ought to be at home and at work in the week.  The promise here  in Proverbs 3:6b  is that He will direct your path. One of the  wonderful facts of the Christian life is that even though it is not always easy to be a Christian, it is generally  straight forward path.  God’s ways are straight and clear. “The steps of a  man are ordered by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.” (Psalm 37:23,24). 

May your walk with God in  2015 be characterized by clarity and not  by confusion  as you actively trust the Lord with all your heart. 

Fourthly , [7] Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.[8] It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. Here we learn that the wise son  understands three things: humility (a correct  concept of the character of God),  the fear of the Lord  (a pervasive sense of the presence of God)  and holiness (obedience - a constant awareness of our  obligation to God). The promise  connected to this  act of obedience and understanding  is  that  of healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. It is true of course that Christians  will become ill  and die at some stage, but the point here  is that a humble Christian, who fears the Lord  and obeys him, will have  a settled and quiet heart. Therefore they will be less prone  to stress, high blood pressure  and all the stress related diseases  that come upon us  when  we ignore these three  things . I pray  that 2015   will have less health issues for you,   as you  make your theology  (what you believe about God)  count. There can be no  doubt that  our modern society  is stressed out  and over medicated. Could it be that  reviewing your life according to God’s Word would bring healing to your bones? 

Fifthly, [9] honour the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; [10] then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with  wine.” The principle of honouring the Lord with our material  substance is  well established in the Bible (e.g.  Prov. 11:25; 19:17;22:9; 28:27 ; Malachi 3:10ff ; 2 Corinthians  8  & 9) . It is one great way in which we  firstly acknowledge in thankfulness  all our belongings as from His hand and  secondly  we  invest  that which we give  in  His kingdom . The more  people become true Christians  the  more livable and prosperous our society becomes.  The application  of this is   what we read in Matthew 6:33. 

May  you be enabled to be generous  in your giving in 2015, and in turn be not surprised  when God  prospers you  in turn.

We have  seen then that God’s blessings are attached to  obedient living . As you prepare for this year  resolved to obey God  (and this means spending  much time in His presence) my prayer  is that you will be able to sense that you are engaged in wise living! Secondly, my prayer  is  that as we live wisely so  our society  will  benefit  from our God given  wisdom. We desperately need a reformation of morals and manners  in our day. 

May God be pleased to do this through you wherever  you live and work. Amen !

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[1] Gary Brady : Heavenly Wisdom , p. 75 ,  EP Press 

Proverbs 2:1-22 “On Living Wisely!” - Appropriate Words for the End of the Year”

Never has our world  been more in need of wisdom, and  never has  it been more foolish  than now. I say this  as  we have now more people inhabiting this planet than ever  before in history.  The night before last as I was writing this   the world clock on the internet  stood at over 7.2 billion people [1].  Roughly 360 000 people were born  on that day and  roughly 148 000  died on that day.

The Industrial Revolution of the 1800’s brought about a tremendous change  in world  population. Whereas it had taken all of human history until 1800 for  the world population to reach one billion, the second billion was achieved in only 130 years (1930), the third billion in less than 30 years later (1959), the fourth billion in 15 years (1974), and the fifth billion in only 13 years (1987).  During the 20th century alone, the population in the world has grown from 1.65 billion to 6 billion!  In 1970, there were roughly half as many people in the world as there are now. 

From  these statistics we see that as  more and more sinners are born,  the potential  for more and more foolishness  exists!  Crowds are not known  to be wise. We see it in the Bible. In Jesus’ day fickle crowds shout  “Hallelujah” at the beginning of the week and “crucify Him” at the end of the week.  We see it  in our own day, as  crowds are manipulated. We see  that  dictators (i.e. one man!) hold entire nations captive. We see  how  ungodly role models  in the  film and music industry  hold the minds of many  people captive. We have eyes  to see, but we do not see; we have ears to hear, but we do not hear. We need  God given wisdom in these  days. We  need to be careful to come to right conclusions  as to what we observe. We need to  be careful  as to   who we uncritically  listen to.  We need God’s wisdom for these days   and for such  wisdom we must turn to  God’s word , and especially   we must  turn  to the book of Proverbs, which  is classified as  ‘wisdom literature’  of the Bible .[2]  

The theme of Proverbs is found in  Proverbs 1:7:  “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction.“

A proverb is a timeless truth in the form of a simple illustration that exposes a fundamental reality of life.  The book  of  Proverbs is probably  the most practical book in the Old Testament  teaching  us to think and act  wisely in all sorts of situations .   This  includes  instruction on wisdom and folly, the nature  of righteousness  and wickedness ; it deals with the use of  the tongue, with  pride and humility, with marital relations and  family, with  laziness and work, poverty and wealth, friends and neighbors, anger and strife,  life and death and so on . Proverbs touches upon every facet of human relationships, and its principles transcend the boundaries  of time and culture. 

Wisdom as a Treasure

Chapter 2 speaks  about  the blessings that wisdom brings into our life. Here Solomon  speaks  to “his son” – perhaps  Rehoboam who became his successor. Solomon was privileged to  have received a heart and mind and understanding of knowledge and wisdom from God (2 Chronicles 1). He was able to write down  God’s thoughts for our benefit under the supervision of the Holy Spirit , and  so when he writes to his son,  by way of   application   we know that  God also  speaks to us here as  His children[3]. It is not Solomon’s  own wisdom that is  dispensed here . No!  He  speaks of   a wisdom that is from God , and as such it is   absolutely true,   infallible , and precious,  profound,  leaving  us  to search  and meditate  and mine into its depths.

The difficulty of obtaining wisdom 2:1-5

But here is the problem. Wisdom does not come  easy or naturally. Even though wisdom shouts at us from  every street corner (1:20), by nature (i.e  our sinful nature  fuelled by pride and self- centeredness)    we are not inclined to listen to  wisdom (1: 24). By nature  we are  inclined  to folly.  By nature we  are inclined to  be  simple  (see  1:22) .

The person who wants  wisdom  has to work hard  to obtain  it,    in  the same  way in which  a miner searches for silver and gold (2:4). The ear has  to be trained to hear and distinguish  true wisdom. The heart  must be  inclined to understanding (2:2).  This takes discipline . We must never assume  that what  we hear and see is  truth . It needs to be analyzed in the light of the wisdom from God -  the Word of God. In this regard  we note that  wisdom requires prayerfulness – “yes , if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding  …” – that is prayer ! Wisdom  does not come through common sense  or through academic pursuit. There are many ‘educated fools’   that have a technical understanding of things, but who are not truly wise.   True wisdom begins with   an understanding of God’s revelation to us,  prayerfully digested –  studying that  which the Bible reveals, and then praying over that truth, seeking  true  understanding.   

Charles Bridges in his commentary on Proverbs says [4] 

“Without this spirit of prayer, there may be attention and earnestness, yet not one spiritual impression upon the conscience, not one ray of Divine light in the soul. Earthly wisdom is gained by study; heavenly wisdom by prayer. Study may form a Biblical scholar; prayer puts the heart under a heavenly tutorage, and therefore forms the wise and spiritual Christian. The Word first comes into the ears; then it enters into the heart; there it is safely hid; thence rises the cry, the lifting up of the voice….  We look for no other inspiration than Divine grace to make His Word clear and impressive. Every verse read and meditated on furnishes material for prayer. Every text prayed over opens a mine of “unsearchable riches,” with a light from above, more  clear and full than the most intelligent exposition.

But prayer must not stand in the stead of diligence.[5] Let it rather give energy to it. The miner’s indefatigable pains; his invincible resolution; his untiring perseverance; seeking, searching for hidden treasures—such must be our searching into the sacred storehouse. To read instead of “searching the Scriptures,” is only to skim the surface, and gather up a few superficial notions. The rule of success is—Dig up and down the field; and if the search be discouraging, dig again. The patient industry of perusal and re-perusal will open the embosomed treasure ….Thus let us daily explore “the length, and the breadth, and the depth” of our boundless stores, until we be “filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:18, 19).  This habit of living in the element of Scripture is invaluable. To be filled from this Divine treasury; to have large portions of the Word daily passing through the mind; gives us a firmer grasp and a more suitable and diversified application of it…

The mere reader often scarcely knows where to begin, and he performs the routine without any definite object. His knowledge therefore must be scanty and ineffective. Nor is the neglect of this habit less hurtful to the Church. All fundamental errors and heresies in the Church may be traced to this source—“Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures” (Matt. 22:29). They are mostly based on partial or disjointed statements of truth. Truth separated from truth becomes error. But the mind prayerfully occupied in the search of Divine truth, crying and lifting up the voice, will never fail to discern the two great principles of godliness: the fear and the knowledge of God. There is no … disappointment in this search.... Never has apostasy from the faith been connected with a prayerful and diligent study of the Word of God.

The Giver of wisdom 2:6-8

When  you search after wisdom , you need to understand that it is only God that  can give you true wisdom: “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding…” (2:6)  Those who seek Him  to them He gives sound wisdom (2:7). He   protects those that seek to  walk in integrity (2:7). Those that seek  and fear the LORD (i.e. the saints - Heb. hasidim, loyal sons of the covenant) are guarded  and watched over (2:8).    The bottomline is this : Only through an intimate relationship with  the LORD  can a person be truly wise and experience the true blessings of wisdom.

The Fruit of  Wisdom  2: 9 -22

Wisdom safeguards a person morally. When a person submits him or herself to God,  the ways of the wicked will lose some of their attractiveness.  The wise person will be able to understand   the way of evil and where it leads to  (2:12); the wise person will avoid   men that engage in perverted speech (2:12). They will learn to avoid  those  that forsake the paths of uprightness  and who walk in the paths of darkness (2:13). They will avoid those  that  who rejoice in doing evil  or rejoice in the perverseness of evil  (2:14) . They will avoid   crooked and devious men. (2:15)

Verses  16-19  deal with  a frequent theme in Proverbs -  that of the ‘forbidden  woman’  - the adulteress (2:16) who uses smooth  or flattering words (see also  5:3). Nowhere is caution thrown  to the wind more than in this area. How many young people  are trapped in this moral  swamp , and   who have to go on living with regrets .  Solomon  clearly sees that this  woman is  outside the circle of his  proper relations. The truth about  this woman  is that  from God’s perspective she has  left  her  “covenant companion” (2:17). She has  forsaken her own marriage covenant (Mal. 2:14). Entering into a relationship  with such a woman has devastating spiritual consequences.  Parents do  well to instruct their young ones  in the danger  of these  devastating relationships (e.g.  the letter from a pastor  to his daughter  as  she enters into courtship)  and pray regularly for them that they may not fall into temptation !

This chapter ends by contrasting the ends of the wicked and the righteous (see 2:21-22).

This then is  a call from the Word of God  to  examine ourselves at the end of 2014. Which kind of wisdom do you choose to live by ?  Do you live by your own sense of  moral right and wrong? Do you live by instinct or gut feeling? Do you listen to  others  uncritically ? Do you perhaps not listen to anyone at all?

The Word of God has been given to you as a source of true wisdom. But remember  that reading  the Bible   is not enough. You must meditate upon the Word and  make sure that you digest  those truths and that you ensure  that you  live by them. Living by the truth is not  easy, but it certainly ultimately pays handsome rewards  as we are assured in the Scriptures  that the upright  will inhabit the land.  The upright are those that  fear the Lord.  

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[1] ww.worldometers.info/world-population/

[2] Wisdom  books of the Bible : Job , Psalms , Proverbs, Ecclesiastes  and Song of songs

[3] See Hebrews 12

[4] Charles Bridges : Geneva Series of Commentaries  ( Banner of Truth) p.  14

[5] Ora et labora (Latin)  - i.e. pray and work!