Starting this week we take a two-fold approach - review of the Scripture in the order presented and covering topics raised in our workbook on Proverbs by LifeChange.
Proverbs 4-6
Solomon continues his discourse to his "sons", which could be literal children or could be students of Solomon's royal court. Either way, these are instructions to young people designed to allow them to live the best life and to avoid the pitfalls of foolishness. These were lessons that would be taught to Jewish children for centuries. And now, we have access to the wisdom of the world's wisest man, given to him by God. Are we wise enough to take this wisdom? Or will we repeat the same foolish mistakes of people through the ages who resist wisdom and choose their own way?
Chapter 4 ~
As I look at verse 3, I can't help but picture Solomon sitting on David's lap, hearing his words of instruction and seeing Bathsheba nearby, with Solomon feeling her adoration, feeling "tender and precious" to his mother. Solomon remembers the words of his father, and maybe that is why when God asked him what he wanted above all else he responded by saying, "Wisdom." For in vs. 5-9, David had explained to Solomon the value of wisdom over everything else...wisdom is supreme.
Solomon then advises that there are two roads in life and everyone gets to choose which one they will travel down. One is the "Way of Wisdom", the other is the "Path of the Wicked". The first is a walkway of light that gets brighter and brighter, while the second is a path of the darkest gloom, full of pitfalls and stumbling blocks that you can't even see. To stay on the Way of Wisdom we are told we must guard our hearts and keep our eyes looking straight ahead. Don't even consider getting off course.
Chapter 5~
Solomon spends this chapter talking about seduction and marriage. The first half of the chapter is about avoiding seduction, and the ruin that can come from falling into this trap. The world is full of all kinds of seduction, not only sexual. We can be pulled off of the Way of Wisdom by any of Satan's guiles. So whatever your weakness is, you can read 5:1-14 and apply them.
Starting in v. 15, we are told of the blessings of a faithful marriage. And I can't help but stop and think of what a blessing this truly is. I look at couples who have been married 60 years and the history they have built together, the cohesiveness of their family, and the example they are to their children and grandchildren. As my husband and I are a second marriage couple, we envy that. It is something we cannot have due to times that we did not follow the Way of Wisdom, God's way. We listened to the "wisdom" of the 1980s that told us divorce is OK, children recover, and you deserve to be happy. While God has brought us through the error of our ways and through repentance and forgiveness we enjoy His blessings today, the result is still the same. We miss the blessing of a complete, intact family unit. If you have that, understand that it is important and God wants you to value it.
Again, I think these verses can also be applied "spiritually" in that God is calling us to be faithful to HIM. Don't wander off, don't embrace any other.
Chapter 6~
Oh my what a chapter! SO much wisdom! We are told not to get into financial traps with a neighbor or a stranger. When we realize we're in something where someone else has control over us, we need to get out of it. We are also told not to be lazy - to look at our little example, the ant, who prepares or winter. We are told not to be a sneak, making dishonest plans and stirring up trouble.
Then we have the list of things God hates, and this reminds me of a discussion that my son and I had just the other night. We are constantly being bombarded with the idea that "hate" is a very bad virtue, that there is nothing we should hate. Well, God hates.
God hates: arrogant eyes (prideful eyes that look down on anyone), a lying tongue (any falsehood), hands that shed innocent blood (what can be more innocent than a baby in the womb?), a heart that plots wicked schemes (those that work against God and His ways, bringing about destruction), feet eager to run to evil (just can't wait to get there!), a lying witness that gives false testimony (and thereby incriminates an innocent person), and finally the one who stirs up trouble among brothers (those that cause division among families and among God's family, the church).
What do you think about God's hate and does that allow us also to hate?
The remainder of Chapter 6 is a warning against adultery. When you read through these verses, again, apply spiritual meaning. In the Old Testament, God warns Israel about committing adultery against Him. This meant being unfaithful. While we certainly want to be faithful in our marriages, and all the warnings in these verses apply in that context, we supremely want to be faithful to God and not commit adultery with the world, who can be a very seductive lover.
Please Lord, keep our hearts guarded, and keep our love for You burning hot so that we will not be tempted away from You!
OK - not for a quick review of workbook material! I'm just going to list some things that I thought especially noteworthy. PLEASE add your comments as well!!
Page 32 gives us a "bullet list" of wisdom contained in Proverbs 3-4:
Lesson Three (p. 37-45) covers the three kinds of people that follow the path of folly:
1. The Mocker
2. The Simple
3. The Foolish
Of all three, I would least like to be known as a mocker. This is the person that Proverbs 21:24 tells us has the primary trait of pride --- they are the person who always takes someone else down in order to push themselves ahead. The Hebrew word (luwts) brings with it the picture of someone who scorns, talks arrogantly, boasts, derides others. They are the braggart, the showboat, the one who never needs to listen, because they already have all the answers and, besides that, they are smarter than anyone else anyway. They certainly do not need to, or intend to, humble themselves before God. Forgive me, Lord, for ever behaving in this manner...and please, please, keep me from ever being like this again!
The simple are those who are gullible, believing anything anyone tells them. They walk right into danger, not even realizing where they are headed. At first we are prone to feel sorry for this type of person, after all, they can't really help it. But then we have to remember, God has promised us wisdom if we will ask. He has told us that He will guide our steps if we will seek Him. So, the simple may be sweet and gullible and pulled into places by others who have more evil intent, but they are still not seeking the Way of Wisdom. They have been lackadaisical in their focus and they end up on the way of folly.
The last category is the fool. The fool is pictured as one who is undisciplined and unrestrained. They are constantly looking for the easy way out, they are chasing fantasies, waiting for the next best thing, the "pie in the sky". They lose their cool quickly, give full vent to their anger and are hard-headed and resistant to correction. Again, I feel pride is in the heart of the fool --- they feel they are going to figure out a better way to make big money quick because they are smarter than the average bear!
And where do all three of these types of people end up? On the path of folly...it leads to no good end, and then who do they blame? God. The One that they resisted the whole time.
Solomon tells us to be wary of fools...hanging around with foolish people can make you behave foolishly! You put yourself in danger because of their tendencies to overreact. And you are wasting your breath when you argue with a fool...they have no interest in hearing your wisdom.
It makes me consider how I react when people correct me or disagree with me. Am I open to hearing what they have to say, knowing that maybe, just maybe, they may be bringing wisdom into my life? I don't want to be a fool without realizing it.
OK - I've gone on way too long! IT IS YOUR TURN...let me know what you've seen in your study so far!
Thank You Lord for Your wisdom that you are so ready to share with us. Thank You for giving us this day to walk in Your way. Help us to be ready to share You and Your Word with those that come in our path today, knowing that it is the way of light and life. Clear our paths, Lord, so that we can be unhindered in growing more and more into the likeness of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank You, Jesus, for dying for us and providing salvation for us so that we will live in Your presence forever...in an atmosphere of absolute wisdom. Oh, what a glorious place that will be!
Proverbs 4-6
Solomon continues his discourse to his "sons", which could be literal children or could be students of Solomon's royal court. Either way, these are instructions to young people designed to allow them to live the best life and to avoid the pitfalls of foolishness. These were lessons that would be taught to Jewish children for centuries. And now, we have access to the wisdom of the world's wisest man, given to him by God. Are we wise enough to take this wisdom? Or will we repeat the same foolish mistakes of people through the ages who resist wisdom and choose their own way?
Chapter 4 ~
As I look at verse 3, I can't help but picture Solomon sitting on David's lap, hearing his words of instruction and seeing Bathsheba nearby, with Solomon feeling her adoration, feeling "tender and precious" to his mother. Solomon remembers the words of his father, and maybe that is why when God asked him what he wanted above all else he responded by saying, "Wisdom." For in vs. 5-9, David had explained to Solomon the value of wisdom over everything else...wisdom is supreme.
Solomon then advises that there are two roads in life and everyone gets to choose which one they will travel down. One is the "Way of Wisdom", the other is the "Path of the Wicked". The first is a walkway of light that gets brighter and brighter, while the second is a path of the darkest gloom, full of pitfalls and stumbling blocks that you can't even see. To stay on the Way of Wisdom we are told we must guard our hearts and keep our eyes looking straight ahead. Don't even consider getting off course.
Chapter 5~
Solomon spends this chapter talking about seduction and marriage. The first half of the chapter is about avoiding seduction, and the ruin that can come from falling into this trap. The world is full of all kinds of seduction, not only sexual. We can be pulled off of the Way of Wisdom by any of Satan's guiles. So whatever your weakness is, you can read 5:1-14 and apply them.
Starting in v. 15, we are told of the blessings of a faithful marriage. And I can't help but stop and think of what a blessing this truly is. I look at couples who have been married 60 years and the history they have built together, the cohesiveness of their family, and the example they are to their children and grandchildren. As my husband and I are a second marriage couple, we envy that. It is something we cannot have due to times that we did not follow the Way of Wisdom, God's way. We listened to the "wisdom" of the 1980s that told us divorce is OK, children recover, and you deserve to be happy. While God has brought us through the error of our ways and through repentance and forgiveness we enjoy His blessings today, the result is still the same. We miss the blessing of a complete, intact family unit. If you have that, understand that it is important and God wants you to value it.
Again, I think these verses can also be applied "spiritually" in that God is calling us to be faithful to HIM. Don't wander off, don't embrace any other.
Chapter 6~
Oh my what a chapter! SO much wisdom! We are told not to get into financial traps with a neighbor or a stranger. When we realize we're in something where someone else has control over us, we need to get out of it. We are also told not to be lazy - to look at our little example, the ant, who prepares or winter. We are told not to be a sneak, making dishonest plans and stirring up trouble.
Then we have the list of things God hates, and this reminds me of a discussion that my son and I had just the other night. We are constantly being bombarded with the idea that "hate" is a very bad virtue, that there is nothing we should hate. Well, God hates.
God hates: arrogant eyes (prideful eyes that look down on anyone), a lying tongue (any falsehood), hands that shed innocent blood (what can be more innocent than a baby in the womb?), a heart that plots wicked schemes (those that work against God and His ways, bringing about destruction), feet eager to run to evil (just can't wait to get there!), a lying witness that gives false testimony (and thereby incriminates an innocent person), and finally the one who stirs up trouble among brothers (those that cause division among families and among God's family, the church).
What do you think about God's hate and does that allow us also to hate?
The remainder of Chapter 6 is a warning against adultery. When you read through these verses, again, apply spiritual meaning. In the Old Testament, God warns Israel about committing adultery against Him. This meant being unfaithful. While we certainly want to be faithful in our marriages, and all the warnings in these verses apply in that context, we supremely want to be faithful to God and not commit adultery with the world, who can be a very seductive lover.
Please Lord, keep our hearts guarded, and keep our love for You burning hot so that we will not be tempted away from You!
OK - not for a quick review of workbook material! I'm just going to list some things that I thought especially noteworthy. PLEASE add your comments as well!!
Page 32 gives us a "bullet list" of wisdom contained in Proverbs 3-4:
- Importance of Scripture memory
- Trusting God
- Turning from sin
- Proper attitude toward money
- God's discipline
- Living fearlessly
- Love for neighbors
- Humility
- Avoiding bad company
- Disciplining the body
Lesson Three (p. 37-45) covers the three kinds of people that follow the path of folly:
1. The Mocker
2. The Simple
3. The Foolish
Of all three, I would least like to be known as a mocker. This is the person that Proverbs 21:24 tells us has the primary trait of pride --- they are the person who always takes someone else down in order to push themselves ahead. The Hebrew word (luwts) brings with it the picture of someone who scorns, talks arrogantly, boasts, derides others. They are the braggart, the showboat, the one who never needs to listen, because they already have all the answers and, besides that, they are smarter than anyone else anyway. They certainly do not need to, or intend to, humble themselves before God. Forgive me, Lord, for ever behaving in this manner...and please, please, keep me from ever being like this again!
The simple are those who are gullible, believing anything anyone tells them. They walk right into danger, not even realizing where they are headed. At first we are prone to feel sorry for this type of person, after all, they can't really help it. But then we have to remember, God has promised us wisdom if we will ask. He has told us that He will guide our steps if we will seek Him. So, the simple may be sweet and gullible and pulled into places by others who have more evil intent, but they are still not seeking the Way of Wisdom. They have been lackadaisical in their focus and they end up on the way of folly.
The last category is the fool. The fool is pictured as one who is undisciplined and unrestrained. They are constantly looking for the easy way out, they are chasing fantasies, waiting for the next best thing, the "pie in the sky". They lose their cool quickly, give full vent to their anger and are hard-headed and resistant to correction. Again, I feel pride is in the heart of the fool --- they feel they are going to figure out a better way to make big money quick because they are smarter than the average bear!
And where do all three of these types of people end up? On the path of folly...it leads to no good end, and then who do they blame? God. The One that they resisted the whole time.
Solomon tells us to be wary of fools...hanging around with foolish people can make you behave foolishly! You put yourself in danger because of their tendencies to overreact. And you are wasting your breath when you argue with a fool...they have no interest in hearing your wisdom.
It makes me consider how I react when people correct me or disagree with me. Am I open to hearing what they have to say, knowing that maybe, just maybe, they may be bringing wisdom into my life? I don't want to be a fool without realizing it.
OK - I've gone on way too long! IT IS YOUR TURN...let me know what you've seen in your study so far!
Thank You Lord for Your wisdom that you are so ready to share with us. Thank You for giving us this day to walk in Your way. Help us to be ready to share You and Your Word with those that come in our path today, knowing that it is the way of light and life. Clear our paths, Lord, so that we can be unhindered in growing more and more into the likeness of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank You, Jesus, for dying for us and providing salvation for us so that we will live in Your presence forever...in an atmosphere of absolute wisdom. Oh, what a glorious place that will be!
2 comments:
I failed to add what material we would be covering this week! We should be reading Proverbs 7-10, and Lessons 4 & 5 (p. 49-67) in our LifeChange workbook. Please keep going...we are gaining wisdom from the Source of all wisdom!
APOLOGIES!!! I have been delayed posting our lesson---I've been visiting granddaughters in Kansas City! I thought I'd have time to get to computer and get lesson posted, but, fortunately in many ways, our visit was wonderfully full and I just didn't have that opportunity! Add to that a sinus infection that has made me require more sleep, taking away early morning alone time, I will post lesson tomorrow evening when we're back home and work to catch up the miss!! Keep after your studying and let me know how you're doing!
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