WISDOM PROTECTS YOUR PATH
PROVERBS: WISDOM THAT WORKS • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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WISDOM PROTECTS YOUR PATH
“Take my teaching seriously” is what every dedicated teacher asks of a student. No talking, no sleeping, no gazing out of the window, no snapping the notebook shut before the bell rings.
WISDOM PROTECTS YOUR PATH
The entire flow of the argument in 2:1–9 is designed to evoke that sense of seriousness." The key verse in chapter 2 is verse 8:
for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.
The repetition of the phrase “my son” reminds us that the Book of Proverbs records a loving father’s wise counsel to his family.
WISDOM PROTECTS YOUR PATH
Life is dangerous. It is wise to listen to the counsel of godly people who have walked the path before us.
WISDOM PROTECTS YOUR PATH
This wise father wants his son to know how wisdom protects by showing him the path and purpose of wisdom.
THE PATH OF WISDOM
Chapters 2–4 all begin with an admonition to listen to God’s words and take them to heart, because that’s the only way we can walk with God and live skillfully.
THE PATH OF WISDOM
Eight imperatives in this paragraph reveal our responsibilities toward God’s truth:
My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you,
RECEIVE
The idea is readily, willingly receive. The son is to put the "welcome mat" out so to speak so that his father's words can come into his ears, his mind, his heart.
RECEIVE
We welcome His Word (and Him) as our Teacher and Friend as one would warmly welcome a guest into one's home, readily receiving His Truths with open arms, minds, and hearts.
RECEIVE
May God grant us grace to welcome His Word as an honored guest, giving it the special attention it deserves.
TREASURE UP
means primarily to hide, to keep secret, to conceal something often of great value with a definite purpose.
Collect and store up something of value for future use.
My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside.
HELD FAST
Job held to God's ways because he held fast to God's Words which in turn held him fast!
HELD FAST
CHURCH, this dynamic is still valid today! It begs the question - are you holding fast His faithful, trustworthy Word? Be honest - are you setting aside time to savor the Scriptures?
HELD FAST
I did not say scan them or speed read them. To suck on the pure honey from one verse is better than to superficially sample an entire chapter or book.
And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.
What a great picture of how firmly all believers should grip the Word of Life!
HELD FAST
Job declares that he took hold of God's steps, and thus secured a firm footing. He was like David in . . .
I cling to your testimonies, O Lord; let me not be put to shame!
One scholar renders the passage, "in His steps will I rivet my feet."
KEPT
The first use of in Ge 2:15 is notable, for God clearly instructed Adam and Eve to "keep" (guard, watch over) the garden of Eden and we see the consequences of their failure to obey God's instruction.
KEEPING TO THE WAY
signifies not simply adherence, but continuance and progress in it. Job had gone on in the ways of God year after year.
KEEPING TO THE WAY
He had not grown tired of holiness, nor weary of devotion, neither had he grown sick of what men call straight-laced piety.
KEEPING TO THE WAY
Job rests his confidence in a redemptive outcome to his trial solidly on his faithful obedience to God. He has directed his feet to follow the steps God has laid out for him without any deviation.
TURNED ASIDE
Job had not declined from the way of holiness, nor declined in the way. Oh, beware of a decline.
I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.
I HAVE NOT DEPARTED
This could be paraphrased something like "no, never have I departed." Clearly, Job was not sinless, but he was zealous to follow the Lord and to not deviate from what he knew God had commanded
I HAVE NOT DEPARTED
It is my personal belief that because Job treasured God's Word, he knew God's character and it grew not only his trust (faith) but also in his endurance.
My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you;
The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near.
I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
Here is the best thing, “your word;” hidden in the best place, “your heart” for the best of purposes, “that I might not sin against you.
Walked from Hyde Park Corner repeating the 119th Psalm in great comfort.
Are you hiding this "hidden treasure" in your heart daily?
Not as a "work" of the flesh to impress all the saints how much Scripture you have memorized, but as a labor of love.
What you spend time doing usually is a reflection of what you really love.
Many people store the Bible on the shelf
instead of in their heart.
making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;
MAKE YOUR EAR ATTENTIVE
This is how we are to prepare our heart and mind to receive divine instruction. The idea is not just to hear ("in one ear and out the other"), but to hear and heed. (James 1:22)
MAKE YOUR EAR ATTENTIVE
It literally means to listen under, implying to listen with attentiveness and to respond positively to what is heard.
MAKE YOUR EAR ATTENTIVE
The sense is that one understands and responds accordingly. Obedience consists in listening and is coupled with the willingness to surrender and respond as exemplified by Abraham's unflinching obedience in Genesis 22
After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
INCLINE YOUR HEART
Incline means to spread out, to stretch out, to extend; to pay attention. It means to incline one’s heart to God and His commands.
He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.”
Joshua with his dying words exhorted Israel to "put away (a command to turn aside from ~ equivalent to repent) the foreign gods which are in your midst, and incline (a command) your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.”
INCLINE YOUR HEART
If you sense your heart is not inclined toward God's understanding, consider praying
The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. May he not leave us or forsake us,
that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers.
Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!
Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies!
CALL OUT
yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,
CALL OUT
The implication is that we have to desire discernment with a sense of desperation, of earnestness, of passion. wisdom does not drop out of the sky but requires us to make a choice to diligently pursue it.
The most mature Christian will continue to the end of his life to call out for discernment and for more understanding.
CALL OUT
Read the prayers of the psalmist in Psalm 119. How informative, that he repeatedly cries out for understanding! Should we do any less?
CALL OUT
Consider praying these prayers as part of your morning, noon and evening devotionals, and be eager and ready for God's Spirit to answer!
Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.
Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.
Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments.
I am your servant; give me understanding, that I may know your testimonies!
Let my cry come before you, O Lord; give me understanding according to your word!
RAISE YOUR VOICE
If [understanding] does not come at your first call, raise your voice to a higher pitch, put forth greater efforts.
if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,
SEEK IT
Temporal treasures are transient and futile when compared with treasure of wisdom which yields both temporal and eternal rewards.
the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches.
The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
Therefore I love your commandments above gold, above fine gold.
SEARCH FOR IT
Describes a searching out or digging deeper; to mine out - searching that is set on arriving at the ultimate objective; a plan to uncover and discover.
SEARCH FOR IT
Wisdom is not automatic for us. Wisdom is not our default setting. We will never get there by drifting.
SEARCH FOR IT
You cannot become a significant person by being neutral and cute and safely unchanged. That is complacency.
SEARCH FOR IT
God is offering you a treasure infinitely worth seeking—more of himself entering into you, renewing you, safeguarding you.
SEARCH FOR IT
We do not lazily drift into the bountiful sea of wisdom. Getting wisdom requires a conscious choice, a deliberate decision to pursue it all the days of our life.
SEARCH FOR IT
But when we are willing to meet God's "if" conditions, we can count on Him blessing us with the "then" benefits! And they are truly priceless!
If you want wisdom, you must listen to God attentively (Matt. 13:9), obey Him humbly (John 7:17), ask Him sincerely (James 1:5), and seek Him diligently (Isa. 55:6–7), the way a miner searches for silver and gold.
SEARCH FOR IT
Obtaining spiritual wisdom isn’t a once-a-week hobby, it is the daily discipline of a lifetime.
SEARCH FOR IT
People are willing to work diligently in their jobs because they know they’ll earn a paycheck,
SEARCH FOR IT
but what about applying themselves diligently to God’s Word in order to gain spiritual riches that are more valuable than gold and silver and jewels, riches that will last forever?
SEARCH FOR IT
There’s a price to pay if we would gain spiritual wisdom, but there’s an even greater price to pay if we don’t gain it. We must walk with God through the study of His Word.
SEARCH FOR IT
But in this age of microwave ovens, fast foods, digests, and numerous “made easy” books, many people are out of the habit of daily investing time and energy in digging deep into Scripture and learning wisdom from the Lord.
SEARCH FOR IT
Thanks to television, their attention span is brief; thanks to religious entertainment that passes for worship, their spiritual appetite is feeble and spiritual knowledge isn’t “pleasant to [their] soul”.
SEARCH FOR IT
It’s no wonder fewer and fewer people “take time to be holy” and more and more people fall prey to the enemies that lurk along the way.
PURPOSE OF WISDOM
PROTECTS US FROM EVIL
If we do our part, God will protect us from the enemy:
He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.
I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
PROTECTS US FROM EVIL
Here we meet “the evil man” and “the strange woman,” two people who are dangerous because they want to lead God’s children away from the path of life.
delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech,
who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness,
who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil,
men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways.
PROTECTS US FROM EVIL
The evil man is known for his perverse words.
PROTECTS US FROM EVIL
He walks on the dark path of disobedience and enjoys doing that which is evil. He belongs to the crowd Solomon warns us about in 1:10–19.
PROTECTS US FROM EVIL
The person who walks in the way of wisdom would immediately detect his deceit and avoid him.
So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words,
who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God;
for her house sinks down to death, and her paths to the departed;
none who go to her come back, nor do they regain the paths of life.
PROTECTS US FROM EVIL
The “strange woman” is the adulteress, the wayward wife described so vividly in 7:1–27.
PROTECTS US FROM EVIL
If the evil man uses perverse words to snare the unwary, the adulteress uses flattering words.
PROTECTS US FROM EVIL
Someone has said that flattery isn’t communication, it is manipulation; it’s people telling us things about ourselves that we enjoy hearing and wish were true.
PROTECTS US FROM EVIL
Anyone who listens to her words and follows her path is heading for the cemetery. Not only does it protect us from evil; but it guides us into the way of good.
So you will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous.
For the upright will inhabit the land, and those with integrity will remain in it,
but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.
PRODUCES IN US LIFE
Note the argument that Solomon gives in this chapter that begins with the “if” of verse 1 and continues with the “then” of verse 9 and the “so” of verse 20.
PRODUCES IN US LIFE
If we receive God’s words and obey them, then we will have wisdom to make wise decisions, and thus God will keep His promise and protect us from the evil man and the strange woman.
PRODUCES IN US LIFE
When you obey God, you have the privilege to “walk in the way of the good” (v. 20).
PRODUCES IN US LIFE
The wicked may appear to be succeeding, but their end is destruction (Ps. 37). The godly will be rooted in the place of God’s blessing (Ps. 1:3), but the ungodly will be uprooted from the land.
The safest and most satisfying path is the path of wisdom, it is the path of life.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
Two paths this morning. You must decide which you will take.
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Grace is opposed to earning but not effort.
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
The wide gate is easier than the narrow and building on sand is easier than building on rock.
Listen to the Father’s offer in closing....
Thus says the Lord: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.