Where The Wise Go

Introduction When Little Johnny's mother found out she was pregnant, she told the good news to anyone who would listen. But Little Johnny overheard some of his parents' private conversations. One day, when Johnny and his mother were shopping, a woman asked the little boy if he was excited about the new baby. "Yes!" Johnny answered, "And I know what we're gonna name it, too. If it's a girl, we're going to call her Joanne, and if it's another boy we're going to call it quits!"  In Martin Scorcese’s film Cape Fear, a released convict wants to take his revenge on the lawyer who fudged facts and flaunted procedures to send this wrongly accused man to prison when he was a DA. The ex-con makes the lawyer suffer, not by physically attacking him or his family but by making them afraid. He pretends to befriend his daughter and turns her against her parents, telling her that they set limits on her freedom to keep her from growing up; he tells her there is a world to explore where she can test out her own ideas and make her own choices. Sadly, much of what the ex-con says about the parents become true, and as they become more and more afraid, they try to exert more and more control, telling their daughter not to have anything to do with him. This, of course, alienates her even more. Yet the daughter cannot see that parents must set limits as she learns how to handle her freedom, while the parents cannot see that they have failed to encourage her in that growth. The tender balance of restraint and freedom has been upset, and the crisis of the vengeful ex-con and his seductive words only make it worse culminating in violence and death.

In chapter 2 of Proverbs, the parental teachers are well aware that their son is susceptible to voices that call him to cast off the wisdom of their teaching. But these teachers do not say “no” for the young man; instead, they give him reasons and resources to enable him to say “no” for himself. In addition, they teach him to say “yes” to the way that leads to life instead of death. Through chapter two of Proverbs, we can learn where the wise go when the world seductively calls to us. Bible Passage Proverbs 2:1-15 (ESV - English Standard Version) 1 My son, if you receive my words  and treasure up my commandments with you, 2 making your ear attentive to wisdom  and inclining your heart to understanding; 3 yes, if you call out for insight  and raise your voice for understanding, 4 if you seek it like silver  and search for it as for hidden treasures, 5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord  and find the knowledge of God. 6 For the Lord gives wisdom;  from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; 7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;  he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, 8 guarding the paths of justice  and watching over the way of his saints. 9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice  and equity, every good path; 10 for wisdom will come into your heart,  and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; 11 discretion will watch over you,  understanding will guard you, 12 delivering you from the way of evil,  from men of perverted speech, 13 who forsake the paths of uprightness  to walk in the ways of darkness, 14 who rejoice in doing evil  and delight in the perverseness of evil, 15 men whose paths are crooked,  and who are devious in their ways. Scriptural Analysis Proverbs explains that God grants wisdom by means of a process. In order to gain this treasure, you must exert effort in digging deep for it.

V1-4 First, the student should listen attentively to the teacher (vv. 1–2). That is, he must accept the teachings as valid, commit them to memory, and focus all his attention on them. Second, he must yearn for Wisdom in a way analogous to that of the supplicant pleading to God or the king for deliverance from trouble (v. 3). Third, he must seek it as one seeks lost money or hidden treasure. The stress is on the young man's active role in his education, calling out as if his life depends on it, searching as if the wealth of the world will be his, turning his ear and leaning his heart to it. The three “if you” phrases work together to portray this search for wisdom as strenuous, requiring all the strength one has. This is the first in a series of conditional clauses that combine together in meaning and emphasize the necessity of discipline in the pursuit of wisdom.

V5-8 The quest for wisdom, understanding, and insight (2:3) brings one to “the fear of the Lord” (2:5). The theological discernment of vv. 5–8 is specifically the ability to see God’s care for his people. The fool sees no evidence of this, but the one who is wise understands that God gives success and protection to His people. An alternative translation of vv. 7–8 is possible: “He will treasure up success for the upright. He will be a shield for those who walk in integrity, for the one who keeps the paths of justice. And the way of the pious ones he will guard.” In sum, the search for wisdom brings wonderful gifts of knowledge, especially knowledge of God, and as a result, the protection one needs to walk on the way. At least part of that knowledge is that of God as our guardian. God is the One who gives wisdom, and it begins in a relationship with him.

V9-11 A person who strives for wisdom (vv. 1–4) will find that it will enter his heart (v. 10). Obtaining wisdom requires diligence on man’s part in pursuing God’s will, yet wisdom is a gift from God (cf. v. 6). Having such knowledge from God gives inner joy or pleasure. That search gives wisdom and knowledge and discretion and understanding. Knowledge of God is inseparable from ethical knowledge. Righteousness, justice, and equity are theological terms that speak of a right relationship with God as the basis for the right relationship with one’s neighbor. If we get into proper alignment with God then we can find proper alignment with others.

V12-15 What is new in this chapter is the idea of protection. Wisdom and its accompanying virtues are God’s means to protect one assailed by wicked men and women. The Wisdom in Chapter 1 is followed by promises of protection from such dangers in Chapter 2. In other words, wisdom protects the one who learns it. Notice that the young man is to be saved from the “ways” of the wicked men. The danger lies not in what the men will do to the young man but in their invitation to join them in their evil way. The six descriptions of their way not only repeat the idea of leaving the straight path to walk the crooked one, but they also stress the fact that they love doing it because that is their selfish nature. By implication, internalized wisdom leaves the young man rejoicing in what is just, right, and fair; wisdom provides protection from seduction.

Wisdom “will save you from the way of evil, from those who speak perversely, 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; those whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways” (Proverbs 2:12-15). In other words, “if” you chose to “forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness” (v. 13), “then” you will end up like those who speak perversely and end up in “topsy-turvy" world. In other words, without wisdom, we can’t tell nonsense from good advice and we will be fooled by those who are good at fooling themselves. We become wise not only by learning what is right but by avoiding what is evil.

TODAY'S KEY TRUTH The Wise go to God's Word. Application Here, in Proverbs 2, Solomon, speaking to us as a father would speak to his son, tells us to do the same thing to “cry out” for insight to “raise” our voices for understanding, to seek out Wisdom. The image of Wisdom crying out for us and us crying out for Wisdom paints a beautiful picture. God’s heart desires that our hearts would seek Him and desire him like a hidden treasure.  “If” we seek His wisdom, says Solomon, He will not only give us “sound wisdom” but will shield those who walk blamelessly. He will guard the paths of justice. As long as we accept God’s words, so long as we treasure God’s commandments, so long as our ears are attentive to wisdom, so long as we incline our hearts to understand, so long as we seek wisdom like silver and search for it as we search for hidden treasure, so long as we continue to do that, the LORD will give us “sound” wisdom, He will shield us so long as we continue to walk blamelessly, He will guard the paths of justice and preserve the way of His faithful ones. So long as we continue to seek wisdom, He will make it possible for us to understand righteousness and justice and equity and we will be able to clearly see every good path … and, as we continue to seek wisdom and travel down every good path, wisdom will come into our hearts, knowledge will be pleasant to our souls, prudence will watch over us, and understanding will guard us (Proverbs 2:10-11).

The Wise go to God's Word.

There are more voices today in the information age than in other time in history. Amid the noise of all of these voices, what if God wanted to speak? Not just to anyone, but to you? Would you be able to hear Him with all the information noise around? He wants to reach you without background noise, static, and distractions. And He provided an opportunity to speak with you through His Word.

The Bible has stood the test of time, the test of criticism, and the test of attacks. And even though it has withstood time, criticism, and attacks, still people ignore it. They claim it doesn’t speak to today’s time, it’s outdated, it's factual wrong, and it’s irrelevant. Its critics, who claimed it to be filled with forgery, fiction, and unfulfilled promises, are finding that the difficulties lie with themselves, and not the Bible. More significant and more careful scholarship has shown that alleged contradictions were caused by incorrect translations instead of divine inconsistencies. It was man and not the Bible that needed correcting. It is the blueprint of the Master Architect. Those who hold to the Word of God seem to have something. The old saying goes: A Bible falling apart probably belongs to someone who isn't. The Bible can not only withstand the test of life but those who read it also can too.

The Wise go to God's Word.

Even our culture verifies the validity of the Bible. That sounds crazy, right? Our culture attacks the Bible at every opportunity. Even in those attacks, our culture demonstrates the validity of the Bible. Here's what I mean: I find it strange that when our culture (or an individual) tries to dismiss the Bible as Truth & authoritative and say it's wrong, it’s always on topics like sin, sexuality, hell, or politics. Odd no one dismisses “Love your neighbor,” “Be merciful as your father is merciful,” & “Be kind to one another, forgiving one another.” Everyone believes these ideas. The problem is when our culture or an individual dismisses the Bible as truth on any topic then all of its words can be disregarded as “wrong.” It’s either the truth or it’s just a suggestion, which means even the parts culture approves of can rightly be dismissed. And what a mess this world would be if that happened.

Even the most anti-, aggressive, non-Christian out there wouldn't dismiss “Love your neighbor,” “Be merciful as your father is merciful,” & “Be kind to one another, forgiving one another.” Even the world knows that the Bible contains the truth. The Wise go to God's Word. Conclusion God’s Word, the Scripture teaches us how to lead a life worth leading. The Scripture helps us see our path clearly. The Scripture teaches us how to live a life that is pleasing to the one who loves us so much that He gave us Jesus to be our Savior. We need to feed ourselves on God’s Word every day because the Scriptures show us the path of life. God wants us to live a meaningful and significant life. God wants us to live justly and lovingly. God wants us to make a world of difference in our homes, communities, and around the world. The scripture teaches us how to live a life pleasing to God and meaningful to us. God's Word teaches what is true. There's a message found in the Bible that is not taught anywhere in the world. It teaches that God loves you, that Jesus died for you, that you can be forgiven, that God's mercy is greater than any sin, that there is life and power, and healing in the name of Jesus. It teaches that if you give your life to him, you will be filled with the presence of God and you will experience peace that passes all understanding. It teaches that this world belongs to him, and the future belongs to him, that he is Lord over all creation and someday every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. The Bible teaches us what is true. It makes us realize what is wrong in our lives. I decided long ago that I would not let the world define my concept of right and wrong. Or anyone, for that matter. Because other people will, on the one hand, try to make you feel guilty for the craziest things, and on the other hand, will make excuses for destructive behavior. The world has no clue about right and wrong: Save the trees but disregard the unborn. The Bible puts an end to that confusion. It tells us where we're wrong. It convicts us of sin. We can look to it for guidance. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It teaches us to turn our back on sin; it teaches us how to love; it teaches us how to give; it teaches us how to forgive; it teaches how to treat others; it teaches us to raise our children; it teaches us how to walk with Christ.

The Wise go to God's Word.

Like many of you, it has been my goal to live according to the principle of this book. Through a ton of personal mistakes, I have learned a simple truth: when I live according to the teachings of the Bible, my life works. That doesn't mean that my life has always been easy—because sometimes obedience is the hardest path to follow—but when I live according to the principles taught in scripture, I experience the presence and power of God in my life.

I believe God's Word works. When it says...Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7) That verse really works! When the Bible says...Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6). That verse really works! When the Bible says...Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. (Matthew 7:7) This verse really works! The most powerful proof of the reliability of the New Testament can be found in the fact that it works. It delivers what it promises. Thousands of faithful Christians over a period of hundreds of years attested to the authority of these writings. This is a book that many people have given their lives for. Why? Because it works. If you read it, believe it, and apply it to your life, you will never be the same.

The Wise go to God's Word. It is complete. It is true. It works. And most importantly, it shows us what is right. The Wise go to God's Word.