Proverbs 6:1-19; Warnings From Heaven

There is wisdom from God for everyone – redeemed or not. Bridges: “So graciously has our God made his book, not only our guide to heaven, but the directory of our common life.” Those who know not the redeeming love of God will find their lives better if they heed the wisdom presented in Proverbs and the rest of the Bible. That will not save their souls, but it will make this life better and it may make them wise unto salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus. For us who are children of God, our desire should be to walk as children of the light – according to the wisdom revealed to us in Proverbs and the rest of the Bible. This won’t reduce time in Purgatory – that being a fictional place – but it be pleasing to our Father. And what child doesn’t want to please his Father? 

Proverbs 4:1-13, The Way of Life

Mere academic studies with no eternal focus will wear a person out. The sum of man’s duty is to fear God and keep His commandments. Are we teaching this to ourselves and to our children? We need wisdom from God to do this. Are we asking Him for this? He delights in giving wisdom to His children. Let’s seek to delight our Father and humbly ask Him for wisdom, day-by-day.

Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; Keep her, for she is your life. Wisdom from God is the way of life. Seek out the Lord of wisdom, embrace Him, exalt Him. This is the way – walk in it.

Proverbs 3:1-12; Before God and Man.

In this passage, we see there is a horizontal as well as a vertical aspect of how we live. Coram Deo is a Latin phrase that means to live one’s life before God, aware that nothing is hidden from Him, for the glory of His name; this is the vertical aspect. 1 Corinthians 10:31 is the classic passage on this: whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. We are told in many places that all who name Christ as Lord are to also to live honorably before men; this is the horizontal aspect. In Matthew 5:16, Jesus commands us, Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. In 1 Peter 2:12, we are told to have our conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. By living for the glory of God, some people will come to glorify Him. This is our aim, whether we see the results of our obedience or not.

The Gospel in Hebrews

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Proverbs 2:1-9; God's Wisdom for the Humble

In some ways, this short passage sums up the bulk of chapter 1 – counsel to a beloved son about the value of wisdom. A big difference is the change in tone. In chapter 1, Wisdom mainly addressed stiff-necked fools, with much warning and rebuke. Here, Wisdom addresses the humble, who desire to know what Wisdom has to say. Proverbs will have a lot to say to us about wisdom. We need to listen. 

Proverbs 1:20-33, Wisdom for Life

If you hear wisdom calling out, know this is God Himself calling. See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. Listen to wisdom, consider the Word of Life spoken to you. For, It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. All things are ready, come! God gives wisdom for life – He gives eternal life!

 

Proverbs 1:1-7, The Right Fear of God

The last verse in this passage is the foundational idea for the whole book of Proverbs. This is why I titled this lesson, The Right Fear of God; we must know why and how to fear Him. In Matthew 10:28, Jesus told His disciples, do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Same Greek word (from we derive “phobia”) in both places; context reveals meaning. That Greek word can mean great awe and reverence as well as terror. We will look into later in this lesson.