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In
Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy
word.
The proverbs of Solomon son of David,
king of Israel:
for gaining wisdom and instruction; for
understanding words of insight; for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing
what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge
and discretion to the young—let the wise listen and add to their learning, and
let the discerning get guidance—for understanding proverbs and parables, the
sayings and riddles of the wise.
Proverbs 1:1-6
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to
God.
Today marks the start of a journey
through the Book of Proverbs, a book that the very first verse tells us is
attributed to Solomon, the son of King David who succeeded him as the leader of
Israel.
But why do we need this book? Why do we
need a collection of proverbs in the middle of the Old Testament and the
historical story of mankind from the creation through the coming of Jesus
Christ and the new covenant He brought?
Well, we could try and come up with our
own explanation but the truth of the matter is that God’s word takes away any
guess work as we continue to look at the opening verses of the book that break
down why we need this book of proverbs in our lives. Look again at these five
important verses which serve as a summation of what we can hope to learn in the
days and weeks ahead:
For gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words
of insight; for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right
and just and fair; for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge
and discretion to the young—let the wise listen and add to their learning, and
let the discerning get guidance—for understanding proverbs and parables, the
sayings and riddles of the wise.
Why do we need the Book of Proverbs?
Because it will provide us the following
benefits:
1. To attain wisdom and instruction.
This is really at the crux of God’s
word no matter where we study but in the proverbs, we find a laser focus on the
matter of wisdom and godly instruction on living life. Other parts of the Bible
may touch on these things but in Proverbs, we’ll find ourselves immersed in it
and that’s something to look forward to with eager anticipation and open hearts
and minds.
2. To understand words of insight.
The power of interpretation is critical
to gaining a full comprehension of the word of God and what it is trying to
impart to us. The Proverbs will provide us an ability to not just read and
receive words of insight but also know what they mean. This is critical not
only to our own lives but to the lives of those we know and potentially
minister to.
3. To acquire a disciplined and prudent
life, knowing what is right, just, and fair.
Want to live spiritually disciplined
life, careful and cautious so that all you do will be pleasing to the Lord with
all your actions right, fair, and just? Then you need to study the proverbs as
they will help direct your life attitude and the path you walk toward God’s will
and His righteousness.
4. To give prudence to the simple.
The Hebrew word for simple is
translated as someone who is gullible and vulnerable to being influenced by
evil and sin. I guess that could describe all of us at one point or another.
And so with the proverbs we can find words that provide us caution and ability
to make sound judgments on the matters of life, particularly in discerning God’s
will over the enticements of the world.
5. To provide knowledge and discretion
to the young.
How many of you have youth that you
work with? It can be a challenge right? Well, in the proverbs, we have a
perfect tool to support us in teaching our young people about how to live with
discretion, to make the right choices when faced with a multitude of options in
life. Through the proverbs, we can teach our youth that there is only one true
option and that is doing what God wills for them to do. And come to think of
it, even those of us who are older could use a reminder of this from time to
time.
6. To let the wise listen and add to
their learning.
Many people think wisdom comes
naturally as one ages. They would see wisdom as coming from experience but the
truth of the matter is that there are people who are older and lack wisdom
where we can find younger people wise beyond their years. So the age theory
doesn’t pass the sanity check. Wisdom must come from something other than age.
As we are told in the opening verses of
proverbs, the wise becomes wiser through the proverbs. The book then becomes an
extension of the wisdom they have already gained from elsewhere in the Bible,
wisdom enhanced and expanded through the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit.
You can not only discover wisdom in the
proverbs but have it improved even more if you already possess it.
7. To provide guidance to the
discerning.
I can’t tell you how many times I have
faced matters of life that left me trying to figure out what I should do. Maybe
you can relate.
It can be hard sometimes to see the
forest for the trees, difficult to decide which way you should go. It’s in
times like this that we hunger and thirst for discernment, for the ability to
know the proper choice to make without reservation.
As we can see, through the proverbs we
can find the guidance we yearn for as receive the light of discernment which
shines down on the path we need to travel to find our way through the
difficulties that life can bring.
8. To understand proverbs and parables
which are the sayings and riddles of the wise.
When it comes to parables, we need go
no further than Jesus who used them over and over again to try and instruct His
followers. Here’s what He had to say about the parables He used:
The disciples came to Him and asked, “Why do you speak to
the people in parables?”
He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the
kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be
given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what
they have will be taken from them. This is why I speak to them in parables:
“Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not
hear or understand.”
“In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah”:
‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will
be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become
calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise
they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their
hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’
“But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears
because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people
longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but
did not hear it. Matthew 13:10-17
Do you wish to be counted in the number
of those who will receive and understand the words of Jesus? Do you desire to
know the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, having an abundance
of spiritual and knowledge over those who choose to not seek these things?
If so, then you need the proverbs which
will help you to understand the words of the wise and there was no one wiser than
Jesus who was the perfect personification of wisdom.
Want to draw closer to your Lord and
Savior? Want to attain wisdom and spiritual discipline for living life? Want to
understand words of insight and be counted in the number of the discerning?
Then welcome to the Book of Proverbs.
Now you know why we need it and I pray you will be blessed by the coming
journey we’re embarking on together, a journey sure to bring us the fullest riches
of God’s wisdom as He speaks through His servant and appointed king, Solomon.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you
feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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