Proverbs 2

Introduction

The Proverbs are divided into sections:

Chapters 1-9 the didactic discourses

Chapters 10-29 - The proverbs for everyone

Proverbs from Solomon

Proverbs from wise men

Proverbs by Solomon that were collected by Hezekiah

Chapters 30-31 - Personal notes to the Proverbs

Chapters 1-9 establishes the framework needed to understand the following sections in the Proverbs

Fear the Lord

Pursue wisdom and not folly

The need to have our character transformed by the choices called for in these chapters

Four concepts we need to grasp:

Fear of the LORD

Respect God as God

Treat God as God

Knowledge - facts gained by intellectual and experiential means

Understanding - ability to translate meaning from facts

Wisdom - Knowing what to do next, given an understanding of the facts

The relationship between wisdom, knowledge and understanding

Knowledge - people die

Understanding - they die becasue of sin

Wisdom - Therefore, we must turn to God!

Warning!

There are two kinds of wisdom

James 3:16-17 “For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”

We can get all the information we need online but right wisdom comes from on high.

Wisdom allows God’s truth to govern our lives.

Proposition

Proverbs 2:1-5 “My son, if thou wilt receive my words, And hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, And apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, And liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, And searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, And find the knowledge of God.”

v. 1-4 contain a pair of parallel expressions

There are three “if’s” - v. 1, 3, 4

Two “Then” (v.5,9) that marks the conclusions to the three “if’s”.

Relationship - from a father to a son

A father who wants the best from his son

His focus is not on occupation but attributes

Ephesians 6:4 “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: And when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

“Train” means to dedicate.

It is sad becasue the Old Testament has plenty of bad dads

Request

Receive my words

Hide my commands with thee

Hide speaks of value or treasuring

Solomon’s words would have been wisdom from God - 1 Kings 4:29-34 “And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about. And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.”

For us it would be to receive the words and hide the commands of the Lord

It is valuing God’s word and insight above everything else.

The idea is embracing them.

Proverbs 7:1 “My son, keep my words, And lay up my commandments with thee.”

Reasons

Incline thine ear to wisdom

Apply thine heart to understanding

How to achieve his:

This must be actively pursued

Wisdom is not automatic for us. Wisdom is not our default setting. We will never get there by drifting.

Cry after knowledge

Lift up your voice for understanding

Seek her as silver

Search for her as hid treasures

When Betty Goldstein of Staten Island, New York, entered the hospital, her husband Ron wrapped her 3.5-carat diamond ring in a napkin for safekeeping. But in a forgetful moment, the 63-year-old Goldstein threw the napkin in the trash. When he realized his mistake, he dashed outside, only to see the garbage truck rumbling down the street. So he called the local sanitation department and got permission to follow the truck to a transfer station. Workers began sorting through hundreds of garbage bags and recovered the ring an hour later.

The writer of Proverbs urges us to search diligently for something far more precious—wisdom. In Pr 2, a father encourages his son to do whatever is necessary to get insight and wisdom. This strenuous search for wisdom is actually a search for God Himself (Pr 2:3-5).

These verbs describe desire!

Then

Thou shalt understand the fear of the LORD

You will see the significance of fearing the LORD!

Jehovah

Israel’s name for God

Desires to be known personally

Fearing the LORD has two seismic implications

Fearing the LORD should be viewed in terms of relationship.

Whether we are afraid, honoring, reverencing or valuing Him!

Fearing the LORD is when our eyes are open to the wonders and amazement of being in a relationship with God on His terms.

Fearing the LORD is the first step in gaining - Knowledge Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: But fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Supreme Court Justice Jackson - “No, I can’t,” she eventually said. “Not in this context. I’m not a biologist.”

Racism exist becasue people do not fear God!

Injustices occur becasue people do not fear God

vandalism and looting occur becasue people do not fear God!

sexual perversity exist becasue people do not fear God!

Find knowledge of God

Math, science and history are all important subjects to know. But the most important subject to know is God!

I have wondered how much more could be accomplished if our doctors, scientist, politicians, lawyers, inventors, sociologist and engineers knew the Lord.

Find - speaks of discovering God.

The name for God changes from Yahweh to Elohim

Elohim speaks of superior and set apart God is discoverable

God, who is infinitely greater than His creation is discoverable

If you seek me, you will find me, for all that I am worth.

The love of God.

The justice of God

Power

Presence

Intellect

Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: But fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Proverbs 1:29 “For that they hated knowledge, And did not choose the fear of the Lord:”

He is the source of wisdom and sustainer of the wise

“For” - In this context, the father is explaining to his son why he must fear the LORD and know (discover the knowledge of) the LORD.

The source of wisdom

Proverbs 2:6 “For the LORD giveth wisdom: Out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.”

He gives wisdom from above.

We can contrast the differences between horizontal and vertical wisdom in a multi-volume set.

Horizontal wisdom - James 3:15-16 “This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.”

Horizontal wisdom can be read in the Newspaper or watched on the news everyday.

Former Columbus officer indicted in shooting death of Donovan Lewis

Enjoy the sun now. Storms return to the region on Sunday

Scammers tried to take $1,200 from a family planning a 6-year-old's funeral

Phone records, unlikely discovery offer insight into NKY teen's fate

Vertical wisdom - James 3:17 “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”

Pure - Holy and without fault

Peaceable - loves peace

Gentle

Easy to be intreated - approachable

Full of mercy

Full of good fruits

Without hypocrisy

Out of His mouth comes knowledge and understanding. Wisdom needs both to operate.

The LORD reveals knowledge, understanding, and wisdom from His words.

He reveals this to those who fear and know Him!

We need more than information and understanding - We need wisdom from God!

Psalms 119:98 “Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: For they are ever with me.”

Psalms 19:7 “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.”

2 Timothy 3:15 “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

Sustainer of the wise

Not only does He give wisdom but sustains the wise!

Proverbs 2:7-8“He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: He is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, And preserveth the way of his saints.”

He reserves sound wisdom for the righteous

“Sound wisdom” - wisdom being worked out in our daily lives.

God has reserved workable wisdom for the righteous.

He is a shield to those who walk upright

Walk - speaks of lifestyle

Upright - blameless - integrity

He guards the path of judgment

Preserves the way of saints

This implies we need preserving

Preserve - God watches over us

Psalms 121 “A Song of degrees. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, From whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, Which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: He that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper: The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, Nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: He shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in From this time forth, and even for evermore.”

Living

Proverbs 2:9 “Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, And equity; yea, every good path.”

Why do we need God to protect us from the horizontal wisdom that can so easily penetrate out mental and affection faculties?

Understand righteousness

What is right, just and normal

Proverbs 1:3 “To receive the instruction of wisdom, Justice, and judgment, and equity;”

Understand judgment

Understand Equity

Understand every good path

“Track (magal; see Pro_2:15) refers to ‘cart tracks,’ ‘wagon ruts.’ While the earth is soft, wagon wheels press the trails that others are obliged to follow after it dries and hardens.” (Waltke) We will make tracks, ruts, paths for our life – wisdom helps us to make good and useful “ruts” or habits.

Conclusion

We know that we won’t find headings in our Bible like “Social Media” or “Paul & Public Schools” or “Jesus’s Sermon on MMA.” And we’ll search in vain for specific answers to questions like “Whom should I marry?” or “Where, how long, with whom, and in what specific ways should I engage in Jesus’s Great Commission?”

Does the Bible have everything we need for life and godliness? Absolutely. But it doesn’t give us a line-by-line script. Instead, it asks us to improvise, to develop what theologian Kevin Vanhoozer calls “improvisatory reasoning” (The Drama of Doctrine, 336). That’s how God has designed the Christian life to work. He wants us to develop the skill needed to extend his never-changing word into our ever-changing world. He simply calls it wisdom, and, in one place — Proverbs 2 — he tells us not only where to get it but also why.