Proverbs 1 (Fear God, Love Wisdom)
Notes
Transcript
Opening:
It is a beautiful thing to open the Word of God on the Lord’s Day.
Introduction of the Text:
This morning we are taking a quick break from 1 Peter to study the first chapter of the book of Proverbs. Proverbs is a beautiful book. It is designed to teach wisdom. And wisdom is something that is sorely lacking in our day and age. We are a people surrounded by so much knowledge. We have access to the world wide web in our pockets 24 hours a day. We have news stations that play all day long. We get instant updates about things happening all over the world within minutes of it happening. We are inundated with knowledge all day long, every day.
With this incredible knowledge, something interesting has happened. For a people who are so well informed with information, we have a surprising lack of wisdom. We have somehow traded wisdom for knowledge. And this has led modern people to be very susceptible to manipulation. We are surrounded by emotional manipulation every day. There are so many parties and factions vying for our attention and allegiance. So how are we to know what is right or wrong? And the need for this is obvious. We are in the midst of an election year. And likely, the need will grow more and more as we approach November. So many narratives flying around.
So what are we to do? Well, the Word of God is our guide. We are to stand firm on the Word of God. And God has not left us unprepared. He has given us an entire section of the Bible to teach us wisdom. And this is one of the central books dedicated entirely to wisdom.
King Solomon wrote this book to his son. His goal was to teach the prince how to be a wise and good king. Now we know Solomon’s sons did not take this to heart. But perhaps we may succeed where the crown princes failed. Solomon wrote this late in his life. He has wandered from God, but at the end of his life, he returned to the Lord and to faithfulness. Solomon was touched by God with supernatural wisdom. Now, he did not always live this out. But God said that Solomon was wiser than any man who lived. And in the end of his life, he returned to faithfulness.
So the book of Proverbs is a road-map for wise living. It is a field guide for living wise. It is as one author titled it, “Wisdom for Kings and Queens.” As one pastor said, “You wouldn’t be surprised to find instruction in Proverbs to change your oil every 3,500 miles and rotate your tires.” Doug Wilson. It is earthy wisdom. And we have a desperate need for this in our day. In the midst of such a confused age, may we find wisdom for kings and queens.
So with this in mind, I would ask you to stand with me for the reading of God’s Word.
Reading of the Text:
Proverbs 1.
1 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know wisdom and instruction,
to understand words of insight,
3 to receive instruction in wise dealing,
in righteousness, justice, and equity;
4 to give prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the youth—
5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning,
and the one who understands obtain guidance,
6 to understand a proverb and a saying,
the words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.
The Enticement of Sinners
8 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction,
and forsake not your mother’s teaching,
9 for they are a graceful garland for your head
and pendants for your neck.
10 My son, if sinners entice you,
do not consent.
11 If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;
let us ambush the innocent without reason;
12 like Sheol let us swallow them alive,
and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
13 we shall find all precious goods,
we shall fill our houses with plunder;
14 throw in your lot among us;
we will all have one purse”—
15 my son, do not walk in the way with them;
hold back your foot from their paths,
16 for their feet run to evil,
and they make haste to shed blood.
17 For in vain is a net spread
in the sight of any bird,
18 but these men lie in wait for their own blood;
they set an ambush for their own lives.
19 Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain;
it takes away the life of its possessors.
The Call of Wisdom
20 Wisdom cries aloud in the street,
in the markets she raises her voice;
21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
22 “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
and fools hate knowledge?
23 If you turn at my reproof,
behold, I will pour out my spirit to you;
I will make my words known to you.
24 Because I have called and you refused to listen,
have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,
25 because you have ignored all my counsel
and would have none of my reproof,
26 I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when terror strikes you,
27 when terror strikes you like a storm
and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you.
28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently but will not find me.
29 Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the LORD,
30 would have none of my counsel
and despised all my reproof,
31 therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way,
and have their fill of their own devices.
32 For the simple are killed by their turning away,
and the complacency of fools destroys them;
33 but whoever listens to me will dwell secure
and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”
Behold, the Word of God. Let’s Pray.
Prayer:
Our gracious Heavenly Father, we ask for your blessing on this time. May we seek wisdom and find her. Through your Spirit, may you make us wise in the midst of such a confused and foolish age. We ask this in Jesus name. Amen.
Transition:
Transition:
Solomon opens this first proverb with the purpose. And it is a 3 fold purpose.
The Purpose of Proverbs.
The Purpose of Proverbs.
Proverbs 1:1–6“1 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel: 2 To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, 3 to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; 4 to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth— 5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, 6 to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles.”
Explanation:
Solomon, writing to his son, says that the purpose of this book is to know wisdom and instruction, to understand insight, and to receive instruction. So let’s briefly look at that first one.
To Know Wisdom and Instruction.
To Know Wisdom and Instruction.
What does it mean to know wisdom and instruction? Well this is the bedrock of learning. We are not to simply know facts or truth. We are to know wisdom. We are to be familiar with it. We are to know wisdom as a close friend. Proverbs will portray wisdom as a woman. Lady wisdom is to be dearly loved by us. She is to be as dear to us as a wife.
We are to know what is wise and what is foolish. That is the purpose of this book. We are also to know instruction. Sadly, many people reject instruction. We have an incredible flaw as humans. We are proud and we often take instruction as a personal attack.
But we must be humble we must learn to know wisdom and learn godly instruction.
But Solomon continues. The second purpose of Proverbs is to understand words of insight.
To Understand Words of Insight.
To Understand Words of Insight.
The book of Proverbs is filled with words and saying of insight. Insight is to look into something. It is to gain understanding. But it is not just Proverbs. All of scripture is filled with insight. So how do we understand this? Well, part of the purpose of the book of Proverbs is to help us understand confusing things. To help us understand confusing sayings and words of wisdom. So if we find ourselves confused, we should go to the Word of God. God gave us this book to help us understand. He has given us the key to understanding. This is a gift. We should rejoice and
But there is one more overarching purpose. To receive instruction is wise living.
To Receive Instruction in Wise Living.
To Receive Instruction in Wise Living.
This really encompass a lot of what Proverbs does practically. It is a book of instruction. Is teaches how wisdom it to be applied in daily life. And this is so beautiful because we so desperately need this. We need that earthy wisdom. And it is a gift from God that He has given it to us. We have a divinely inspired field book on wise living. We should study it and learn from it.
To receive instruction on wise dealing is really a summary statement. And everything that comes after this in verses 3-6 is encompassed here. What does this instruction deal with? Well a lot.
Solomon says this instruction in wise living teaches us about righteousness, justice, and equity. We hear so much about these in our day. What does it mean to wisely pursue righteousness? We have answers here in the Word of God. What about justice? What does justice look like? It is answered in the Word of God. What about equity? There is a good buzz word used often in our day. Well, equity is taught correctly in the Word of God, not on MSNBC.
But it more than this. Proverbs teaches us to be prudent or cautious even if we are simple. It educated the foolish. I know I often need this. It gives discretion to the young. It lets even those who are wise increase in their wisdom. There is truly something here for everyone. It gives guidance. It helps us understand the confusing saying within Scripture.
Argumentation:
To summarize, Proverbs teaches us wisdom. It gives us a blueprint for wise living. And we still need these things. We need them now more than ever. In the midst of such confusion in our world, may we as Christians have the wisdom needed to engage such things. So let us learn from this first Proverb.
Transition:
So let’s dive into the meat of this. Solomon gave us the purpose, but what is the theme? The entire theme of Proverbs is summed up in verse seven.
The Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Knowledge.
The Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Knowledge.
Proverbs 1:7“7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
Explanation:
The fear of the Lord is a common theme in Scripture. And it is one that is largely lost in our day. What does it mean to fear the Lord? Well, often many from the pulpit try to water this down. It is often said that the word “fear” in that commonly used Biblical phrase means only reverence. While the idea of reverence is present, it is the minority reading. That Hebrew word for fear is directly translated as terror. The word itself holds the idea of literally quaking or trembling in abject terror. It’s sister word literally means to tremble.
What does this mean for us then? It means that the wise person trembles before the Lord of creation. It means the wise person understands that the wrath of God is utterly horrifying. As Hebrews 10:31 says “31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” The wise person understands who God is. God is all powerful, all just, all wrath. And this is the beginning of wisdom.
Our confession, the Heidelberg Catechism opens this way.
Question 2. How many things are necessary for thee to know, that thou, enjoying this comfort, mayest live and die happily?
Three; the first, how great my sins and miseries are; the second, how I may be delivered from all my sins and miseries; the third, how I shall express my gratitude to God for such deliverance.
That first part is to know the depth of our sin and misery. How is one truly happy in this life? The first step is to know our state as sinners before God. Only in seeing our sin before a holy God do we understand the depth of our redemption. That is what the fear of the Lord means. Only in truly seeing the horror of who God is, do we find true peace and joy and wisdom. Remember Isaiah standing before the throne of God in Isaiah 6. He is in utter terror. He is literally wishing that he was dead or even never alive. This is what seeing God does. It terrifies us.
The first step in becoming wise is seeing God as He is. Altogether holy. Altogether perfect. Altogether just. And seeing ourselves. Altogether sinful. Altogether wretched. And this causes real fear. Real, genuine fear. In seeing God, we instantly know we deserve hell. And this should shake us to the core.
But here is the beauty. Once you understand the depth our sinful state and how we rightly deserve hell, you instantly understand the beauty of our redemption. This God who in justice sends sinners to everlasting torment, has sent His son to redeem us. This all-powerful God who by rights ought to send us to hell the instant we sin, has given us mercy. He took the punishment we deserve. He has given us grace and brought us to knew life.
Outside of the true fear of the Lord, there is no wisdom. Any who do not fear God are fools. And Solomon says this.
Fools Despise Wisdom and Instruction.
Fools Despise Wisdom and Instruction.
The wise person fears the Lord. The fool says in his heart there is no God. Outside of the fear of the Lord, there is no true wisdom. Outside of the fear of the Lord, there is only darkness and vanity. To quote Solomon in Ecclesiastes 12:13–14“13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”
There is no wisdom outside of God and truly seeing Him. This is the truth. Fear God, then fear nothing else. When we see who God is, the true fearfulness of God, and we understand we belong to Him, what else can we fear? Once we fear God, there is no other thing in all of creation that can cause us to fear.
Do you want to know how to be bold in your life and faith? Fear God. If you fear God, you will stand before employers, governors, kings, emperors, mobs screaming for your death and you will not quiver. You will boldly defend your faith to the face of death itself. For you have seen God and you have seen that He is stronger far. Come what may, our God is stronger far. If the combined powers all the universe were to come against us, we who fear the Lord would boldly say, “I fear you not. My God is stronger far.” There is no fear of anything else when one fears the Lord.
“Deny Christ or face pain and imprisonment!” “Do your worst, I only fear God.” “We will take away your job, your family, your life!” “Do your worst, I only fear God.” In fearing God, all other fear leaves your life. Fear God, never fear again. We must recapture the true fear of the Lord. The fool is not terrified of God. The wise know the fear of God. And it shapes their lives into wisdom and righteousness.
Transition:
But now Solomon transitions into commands. The central theme is to Fear God above all else. But now he gives commands. And his first command is this. Honor you Father and Mother, and Avoid Going With Sinners.
Honor Your Father and Mother, and Avoid Going With Sinners.
Honor Your Father and Mother, and Avoid Going With Sinners.
Proverbs 1:8–19“8 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, 9 for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck. 10 My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. 11 If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood; let us ambush the innocent without reason; 12 like Sheol let us swallow them alive, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; 13 we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with plunder; 14 throw in your lot among us; we will all have one purse”— 15 my son, do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths, 16 for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood. 17 For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird, 18 but these men lie in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives. 19 Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors.”
Explanation:
Let’s tackle that first bit first. This is a constant theme of Scripture. We must honor our parents. This one of the ten commandments. Exodus 20:12“12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” We must understand and honor our parents. Our parents know more than we give them credit for. It is the sin of children to treat their parents as fools. And this is damning. Children are to reverence and honor their parents. We must see the beauty of godly parents. If you have godly parents, God has blessed you beyond words. Hear them. They will not be perfect, but they are a gift.
But it is more than this. We are to honor those who have gone before us. Here is a shocking statement. Did you know that we can learn from those who have gone before us? This idea seems to be lost in our day. In our culture we are obsessed with the newest and best. But often the newest is not the best. Sometimes it is, but not always. In many cases, we need to slow down and learn from those who have gone before us. But this is lost in much of our culture.
In our society, we have this audacious idea that we have it all figured out. Anyone before us was merely antiquated and backwards. This is patently wrong and backwards of the entirety of human history. All of humanity knew it had to learn from those who went before. Now, the idea is that we are so far beyond them that they have nothing to teach us. Yeah right. Good luck with that. In your limited years, you know more than the entirety of the human conversation? Good luck.
I often say we are building on the shoulders of giants. Just look at the legacy of church history. We are building on the backs of heroes. Faithful men and women laid down their lives to study the Word of God and to pass on the faith. Wise men of eons past laid down wisdom for us to follow. We are blessed. We should look to the past and see the beauty of the godly heritage we have. I think of intellectual men like Calvin, Luther, De Bres, and others who spent their lives to study the Word and pass on a legacy. I think of warriors like Jan Sobieski who physically stood in the gap as a king to protect his people. He fought impossible battles to defend Christians from the invading Turks.
We would likely not even be here without these men. We should love the legacy of faith we have and we should honor the men who went before. Honoring your parents is like a beautiful garland around your head. Learn from those who have gone before.
But now we must get to that second part. Avoid going with sinners.
Solomon says we must not consent to the enticement of sinners. Solomon captures well the temptations we will face. Many will try to entice us. They will try to lead us astray. And they will sound so good. Solomon gives us a list of the desire of the wicked.
They lie in wait for blood. They long to ambush the innocent without cause. They long to swallow the innocent alive like death itself. And they do this all for riches and earthly gain. And this really is the motivation. How many evil things have been done in the name of seeking wealth and power? The evil say, “join us and we will find wealth and spoil!”
This was the allure of the viking raiders. They were cowards who attacked unarmed women and children. They would wait until the men left and then attack. They targeted monks and women. They were cowards, but they did this because they sought power and money.
And we still find these wicked in our midst today. How many evil schemes are plotted saying, “if we only do this, we will be rich!” And often it is subtle. How many young men and women have been pulled into unspeakable evil with this?
Do Not Walk With Them.
Solomon tells us not to walk with them. Do now walk in their way. Do not throw your lot in with people who are willing to break God’s Law in order to find gain. Remember 1 Corinthians 15:33“33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”” Scripture again and again warns us against being in the company of those who seek evil. Examine your lives. Who do you spend time with? There are those who run toward evil. Do not follow them!
Listen to Isaiah 59:7 Their feet run to evil,
And they are quick to shed innocent blood;
Their thoughts are thoughts of wickedness;
Devastation and destruction are in their highways.
Or Romans 3:15-16 “Their feet are swift to shed blood, 16 Destruction and misery are in their paths,
The evil pursue evil. Who is it that influences your life? In Proverbs 1, Solomon gives us two types of evil people to avoid.
Avoid those who shed innocent blood and those who seek dishonest gain.
Avoid those who shed innocent blood and those who seek dishonest gain.
Avoid those who shed innocent blood. We may think that in our civilized day this problem is done away with. But it is not. There are still those who hunger for the blood of the innocent. Planned Parenthood is evidence of this.
Do not go with them. Do not support those who support them. But also flee from those who seek dishonest gain. This is so common in our day. I worked construction for many years. One of the most common practices is to inflate the price of material. But I was blessed. I worked for Christian men who abhorred this practice. But it was so common. That 2x4 wasn’t $10.95. It was $15.00. Instant $2.05 pocketed. Christians must hate any lying or cheating to make money.
We are to love life and love honesty. So how do we avoid those who seek to shed innocent blood or make dishonest gain? Do not be part of their group. Do not be numbered among them.
Never be part of them. Christians should never say, “I know this group I’m part of does tons of good. Sure they kill babies, but they really do a lot of good social programming!” I mean imagine an ancient Israelite trying to say this. “Sure I’m part of Moloch worship on Friday nights. I know we sacrifice babies there, but they also offer really good employee benefits and give large portions of the profits to charity. Plus they are just really nice.” It’s ridiculous. A Christian cannot be part of that. The Psalmist captures this well
Psalm 1:1–2 “1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”
Do not be in their council. Do not love their ways. Love the Word of God. Love the commands of God. Then you’ll be fine.
But Solomon closes this proverb out with a beautiful poetic dialogue. He gives the call of lady Wisdom.
The Call of Lady Wisdom.
The Call of Lady Wisdom.
Proverbs 1:20–33 20 Wisdom cries aloud in the street,
in the markets she raises her voice;
21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
22 “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
and fools hate knowledge?
23 If you turn at my reproof,
behold, I will pour out my spirit to you;
I will make my words known to you.
24 Because I have called and you refused to listen,
have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,
25 because you have ignored all my counsel
and would have none of my reproof,
26 I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when terror strikes you,
27 when terror strikes you like a storm
and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you.
28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently but will not find me.
29 Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the LORD,
30 would have none of my counsel
and despised all my reproof,
31 therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way,
and have their fill of their own devices.
32 For the simple are killed by their turning away,
and the complacency of fools destroys them;
33 but whoever listens to me will dwell secure
and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”
Explanation:
This is beautiful poetry. Solomon picture wisdom as a woman crying out in the street. She stands in the marketplace, at the noisy street corner and cries out. And her cry is this. “How long will the naive love being simple minded?” This means, “How long with the fools love being foolish?” This is such a good question. We as humans often love being fools. We enjoy stupidity. But ought not be so.
Wisdom continues. She cries out asking, “How long will the scoffers delight in scoffing and the fools hate knowledge?” In short, the cry of wisdom is this. How long will we love our pride and sin? How long will we enjoy being arrogant? How long will we hate the truth?
But the beautiful lady wisdom offers hope. If we hear her and obey her, she will pour out her spirit on us and teach us. If we listen to the wisdom of God’s Word we will be instructed and receive the spirit of wisdom. Do you wish to be wise? Do you wish to lay aside foolishness and find wisdom? Then turn to the Word of God. Turn away from your foolishness and listen to the wisdom of the Word.
But there is also a warning. If we turn away from wisdom, we will be mocked and cursed. The foolish mock the wisdom of God. They reject wise counsel. They rebuke God’s wisdom. And because of this, wisdom mocks them. Those who reject God’s wisdom will face tragedy. When the day of pain and tragedy comes, wisdom is seen to be mocking the wicked.
And this is a hard truth. Many seek wisdom too late. Many endure pain and difficulty because of their own foolish choices. And they seek wisdom too late. This is evidenced by the all too common phrase, “If I only knew then what I know now.” And in Solomon’s poetry he says that in that day, wisdom will no longer answer. Why?
Because they hated knowledge, and they did not fear the Lord. The wicked rejected lady wisdom and they reap the due reward. Solomon says that they will “eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill in their own devices.” The old adage is true. “You sleep in the bed you make.” But sadly, it does not get better. Those who reject wisdom are doomed to die in their own foolishness and complacency. This is a stark warning. Especially when we remember that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. Those who do not fear the Lord are deaf to wisdom’s call.
Argumentation:
But this proverb ends in glorious hope. Those who hear Wisdom’s call dwell secure and will be at ease without dread. The righteous and wise hear the call and even the rebuke of wisdom and they love her. And I hope to make this clear. This does not mean that if you fear God and love wisdom all will magically go well for you. But it means you have nothing else to fear. The righteous can rest easy at night. They fear the Lord and they are humble before Him. They listen to the wisdom of the Lord and they trust Him.
Primary Application:
This is my desire for you. I desire that we all would fear God and love wisdom.
Fear God and Love Wisdom.
Fear God and Love Wisdom.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Fear God, then fear nothing else. And love wisdom. Love the fact that God has given us an entire book on wisdom. Love the call of wisdom. The righteous embrace wise rebuke. The righteous love to learn, even if that learning comes through correction.
But second, I desire you to learn this.
Obey God, and Do Not Walk in the Way of the Wicked.
Obey God, and Do Not Walk in the Way of the Wicked.
In life, this is so central. There will be many who attempt to lead us astray. But we must always keep this central in our minds. Obey God. And do not walk in the way of the wicked.
Let’s Pray.
Prayer:
Offering Hymn:
Offering Prayer:
Benediction:
Psalm 1:1–2“1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”
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