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TH1120: On-Line
Teaching Notes
This evening we begin a new book, a new adventure you might say, as we continue our study through the Word of God. We have seen in our study in the book of Psalms that it was the praise and worship book of the temple. And truly, the book of Proverbs complements it for Proverbs shows us how we as Christians are to conduct ourselves, how we are to walk. We are going to see practical lessons of life through various illustrations.
The word "Proverbs", MASAL in the Hebrew, means "to be like, to be compared with." And what the writer will do is draw from life's experiences, and write down short, concise thoughts, that we can learn from and apply to our lives.
The writer very often uses couplets to show us his point, and this will be done in 3 ways:
1. CONTRASTING COUPLETS - Contrasting thoughts that have been linked together with the word "but". An example of this is found in Proverbs 10:7. We read "The memory of the righteous is blessed, But the name of the wicked will rot."
2. COMPARATIVE COUPLETS - This shows two choices with one being better than the other and the key words that link them are "better," "than," "like," "so". An example of this is found in Proverbs 28:6. We read "Better is the poor who walks in his integrity Than one perverse in his ways, though he be rich." (Also Proverbs 12:9, 11:19).
3. COMPLEMENT COUPLETS - Here the second thought completes the first thought, it expounds on it. The key words used here are "and," "so". An example of this is seen in Proverbs 4:10. We read "Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, And the years of your lifewill be many."
Another reason this book is exciting and perfect to read next is because of the lessons we have just gleaned from the book of Psalms. We saw in Psalms 3 areas that were basically dealt with: praise, prayer and problems. And the book of Psalms got us focused on the Lord through the praise and worship of Him. It got us focused on God through prayer as we were in fellowship with Him, knowing that He not only hears our prayers, but He answers them also. And we were focused on the Lord as we go through the various problems of life and we are able to find comfort, peace, protection, deliverance through Him. You might call this the vertical axis, and it deals with our relationship with God.
Now as we move into the book of Proverbs, once our relationship with the Lord has been established and is in line, we can now deal with our relationship with man or the horizontal axis, you might say. You see, if our relationship with the Lord is askew, so too will be our relationship with man. And if our relationship with man is messed up, you can bet that our relationship with God is messed up also. Thus, we first need to get right with God and then our relationship with man will be on a level course.
For the most part, as we are going to see, Solomon wrote most of the book of Proverbs. The rest are the words from Agur and king Lemuel with Hezekiah's men copying down and arranging some of Solomon's words.
With all that in mind, lets begin reading in Proverbs chapter 1, starting in verse 1.
PROVERBS 1
VERSE 1
1. You might call this book "words of wisdom" for truly that is what we see come flowing from these pages. In fact, the words "wisdom" and "wise" are found some 125 times in this book. As I have said many times before, there are many people who are full of knowledge, they are very intelligent, but they are also very unwise because they have not applied that knowledge properly in their lives. Many people know what is right and what is wrong, but you must take it a step further and apply those truths to your daily life.
2. Now Solomon, who wrote a large portion of this book, was the wisest man in the world. Saul was the first king in Israel, the people's choice, and he was a disaster. Next was David who loved the Lord, worshipped the Lord, and failed from time-to-time, but was a man after God's own heart. In fact David became the standard that God used to judge all future kings in Israel by. The third king in Israel was David's son, Solomon. Now Solomon may have only been 14 or 15 years old when he became king, and can you imagine the pressure on him at this point in his life! One night as Solomon was sleeping in Gibeon, where the tabernacle was located, the Lord spoke to him in a dream and said to Solomon "Ask! What shall I give you?" And Solomon, understanding his youth and inexperience, asks for wisdom to lead the people of God, to knowbetween good an evil. And God granted Solomon his request, his hearts desire, and He also blessed him with riches and honor.
During the reign of Solomon the kingdom's boarders expanded farther than at any other time. The kingdom economically was going gangbusters as gold was so prevalent that if anything was made of silver it was thought of as worthless. Solomon himself had a yearly income of 666 talents of gold which by today's standards would be around 4 billion dollars a year. Not bad!
We read of Solomon's accomplishments in I Kings 4:30-34, "Thus Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five. Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon."
Solomon wrote 3,000 proverbs, and we have some of them in this book of Proverbs. He wrote 1,005 songs, and we only have 1, the Song of Solomon. He studied the following subjects:
1. THE STUDY OF TREES - DENDROLOGIST
2. THE STUDY OF ANIMALS - ZOOLOGIST
3. THE STUDY OF BIRDS - ORNITHOLOGIST
4. THE STUDY OF INSECTS - ENTOMOLOGIST
5. THE STUDY OF FISH - ICHTHYOLOGIST
Solomon's wisdom spread far and wide, so much so that people traveled far distances to hear the wisdom of Solomon. The problem for Solomon was that he didn't listen to what he told others, and because of that, a large portion of his life was lived in a backsliden condition. It was not until the end of his life that he saw the folly of his ways and returned to the Lord. Thus, Solomon is going to speak from his life's experiences, what he has seen, and he wants us to learn those lessons so we won't have to stumble and fall as he did.
VERSES 2-6
1. The primary purpose for this book is to make us wise. And wisdom does not necessarily come with age, but it comes as we apply the truths of God's Word to our lives. As Paul reminded Timothy, "But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." II Timothy 3:14-15.
VERSE 7
1. If the purpose of this book is to make us wise, then the goal of this book is to bring us into a deeper relationship with the Lord, to fear the Lord, to hate evil. You see, all Biblical wisdom must begin with a right relationship with God. It is as Paul said in Ephesians 4:17-19, "This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of theblindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness."
2. The most frequently used Hebrew word used for "wisdom" is HOKMAH, it is used some 45 times and speaks of the "skill of craftsman, sailors, singers, administrators, counselors." Thus, this book is here to give us the skill for everyday living! And thus, the contrasting thought in this verse is if you reject the fear of the Lord, where wisdom begins, then you are a fool. Paul said in Romans 1:22 "Professing to be wise, they became fools." You see, they can profess all they want, because their actions tell us a different story.
VERSES 8-9
1. Solomon had it all. He had money, wives, possessions, intelligence and the list can go on, and he saw it all as empty. It wasn't until the end of his life that he returned to the Lord. And now he is instructing, warning people, primarily the young, not to follow down the path he went. He encourages children to listen to the wisdom of their parents even though you may think it is foolishness, because they are speaking out of experience. If you heed their words, you will be blessed.
VERSES 10-14
1. Things have not changed much in 3,000 years. We still see people entice others towards evil, towards violence. And the mentality of the gangs is that of a family, or so they would like to portray. They will pool their resources and share in all things. The big difference is they steal, murder for their gain. There is a tremendous amount of peer pressure today for kids to do things that are evil. With the help of the Lord we can turn that around. It is always tragic to hear of those random acts of violence that are done upon the innocent. And yet people don't want to be warned of the danger that is out there, that is found in gangs and other evil activities. Think about it, the Surgeon General has been warning us for some 35 years or so that cigarettes are dangerous to our health, and yet many do not heed that warning.
VERSE 15
1. This is an important warning. If you follow down this path it will be very hard to break away from it. These gangs don't let you just walk away, only carried away in a body bag!
VERSES 16-19
1. Solomon is saying that those that travel down this path are bird brains! They see the trap that is set before them, they not only see it, but they set it themselves and they get caught by it.
2. Greed is a monster that is never satisfied! The more you feed into it the more it wants until it consumes your life. It is as Jesus said in Matthew 16:26 "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"
VERSES 20-22
1. Wisdom is personified as a woman. And she is crying out to the people not to continue in their folly but to heed her words, her wisdom. She is calling for them to grow-up and not remain fools. Now Solomon is speaking poetically, but to apply that to us, true wisdom comes from the Lord, for Paul tells us that in Christ "...are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Colossians 2:3.
VERSE 23
1. If you want wisdom what should you do? Come to Christ for He wants to give you wisdom, He wants to pour out His Spirit upon your life.
VERSES 24-28
1. God has given us wisdom but we don't have to listen to it. If we close are ears to His wisdom, if we don't listen to His counsel, we will reap the consequences of our actions. And when we findourselves in trouble it will be too late. You see, there are consequences to our actions. A Proverb for today that helps to illustrate this point is "Don't close the barn door after the animals have escaped." You see, it is too late and you are going to have to deal with the consequences of leaving the door open in the first place. The same is true if we don't heed the wisdom of God.
VERSES 29-30
1. Do you see the choice you have? You don't have to listen to an all-wise, all-knowing God, you can do your own thing if you want. But understand this, God does not forbid us from doing certain things to rob us of fun, to be a kill joy, but to protect us from calamity that will come into our life. It is as Deuteronomy 30:15-16, 19-20 says. We read "See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess...I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; andthat you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."
VERSES 31-33
1. I don't know about you, but I have learned many lessons the hard way. But God wants us to learn the easy way, by heeding His warnings for in that there is safety, peace, no fear of evil.
PROVERBS 2
VERSES 1-5
1. People will spend hours reading romance novels, spend time surfing on the internet, go to the movies, watch television and-so-on, and yet if we would spend more time digging for the treasures found in God's Word, we would gain wisdom, understanding, discernment, we would understand more about who God is and what He wants for our life. Yes there is so much you can gain by just reading the Word, but there is also much treasure that can be gained by digging into the Word of God just as a miner would dig for gold or silver. Extract those treasures that God has for you. James tells us "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him." James 1:5. The things gleanedfrom God's Word can change our life where as the things of this world tend to be useless. One example is that of a body builder. He or she has muscles where many don't even realize muscles existed. But what are they used for? Nothing but standing in front of the mirror or in front of a crowd of people and flexing. Set your priorities to know, to understand the fear of the Lord!
VERSES 6-9
1. God gives us wisdom as He speaks to us through His Word. It is as Psalm 19:7 says "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple."
VERSES 10-13
1. Do you see how important God's wisdom is in our life? You are going to be pulled in many directions and the only way to know the path you should follow is by letting the Word of God light your path as He imparts wisdom into your life. It is as Psalm 119:9-11 says. We read "How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You!"
VERSES 14-15
1. It is truly amazing to me to see how blatantly evil is displayed today. We see shows like Jerry Springer and others, who have guests that freely tell us of their sinful lifestyle with no shame, no remorse about it. Sin is in and righteousness is out. The more gross, vulgar, sickening their actions are the more they are booked on these shows. And the people love it for if they didn't these shows would be off the air because no one would be watching them. But many people do watch them and in doing so they are just as guilty as those doing these acts. It is as Paul said in Romans 1:32, "...knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them."
VERSES 16-19
1. This is not just to put the blame on the woman for it takes two to tango! We are seeing today people who have no commitment to their marriage vows, they flatter or seduce people with their words, and all the fun they think they are having leads to death, not life. Sometimes it is Physical death and it is always spiritual death. And once you begin down this path your life will never be the same. I wish more people would think about that before they begin to lust after others.
VERSES 20-22
1. What does God want for us? The good life! He wants us to walk down the right path. If you refuse you will be cut off and destroyed. Again, it is your choice. If you choose the Lord, you are wise. If you don't you are a fool and the consequences of your folly will be manifest to you.
PROVERBS 3
VERSES 1-2
1. What are the benefits of obeying God's Word? A long and fruitful life that is filled with the peace of God. It is as the Lord told Joshua "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." Joshua 1:8. If you refuse, sin has a way of cutting our life short and fills it with restlessness.
VERSES 3-4
1. As we relate to God we must do so in truth and as His mercy has been extended to us, we too should extend mercy to others. What we see as people have turned from God is a lack of mercy towards others. In fact we see violence with road rage and-so-on. We want to crush those who invade our space, do something wrong to us. Let that not be what flows from our lives.
VERSES 5-6
1. We find it easy to put our trust in many things, except in a all-knowing God, go figure? We trust in our own ways, our own understanding of a situation, and we get burned many times. Things don't always appear as they are. We must trust in Him, lean upon Him, acknowledge Him, and if we do, He will direct our path.
VERSE 7
1. This is a problem for most people. They see themselves bigger than they should. Our wisdom comes from the Lord and not ourselves.
VERSE 8
1. The result of trusting in the Lord is that we may be physically and emotionally healthy. It tends to keep us strong.
VERSES 9-10
1. Giving to the Lord is not like investing in the stock market. We give to the Lord out of a cheerful heart. We don't give out of the Law. Paul said in II Corinthians 9:6-7 "But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity;for God loves a cheerful giver." The blessing of giving back to the Lord is that He does give back to us. Not always in monetary gain, but just in seeing the work of the Lord done through it. And the only time we are told to test God is in Malachi 3:10 which says "'Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,' Says the LORD of hosts, 'If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.'" You can't out give God, He is a debtor to no man.
VERSES 11-12
1. We see this stated again in the book of Hebrews, and the point is this. If you can do things and you are not chastened by God, be concerned. He chastens those that are His children, not in a punitive way, but in a corrective way, because He loves us. It is as Job 5:17-18 says "Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole."
VERSES 13-15
1. Solomon, the wealthiest man in the world, he had everything and he saw it as nothing. What truly matters in life is a relationship with God. That is more precious than anything in the world!
VERSES 16-18
1. Solomon is speaking of following the ways of God, walking down the path He has set before us.
VERSES 19-26
1. A person that is involved with evil can not rest but they are always looking over their shoulder to see if the law is catching up with them. They are sleeping with one eye open to see if another evil person wants to put their life to an end. But there truly is rest in the Lord.
VERSES 27-28
1. If you have the ability to help people out, do so. Don't hold back or make them beg. James tells us "If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,' but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, 'You have faith, and I have works.' Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." James 2:15-18. Let your faith be active and not silent.
VERSES 29-30
1. Don't go out looking for a fight. Live at peace with others.
VERSES 31-32
1. We tend to look up and elevate people that have gained through evil practices. We are not to envy their gain but should pity their end.
VERSES 33-35
1. Wisdom leads to glory for it is based in the truths of God. Folly leads to death for it is based in the wisdom of man.