The Perpetual Call to Embrace Wisdom

Introduction:

Is there a more sobering phrase in all of Scripture than the words our Lord uttered to the servant entrusted with one talent in the parable of the talents: “Thou wicked and slothful servant”? We have before us today, in the perpetual call to embrace wisdom, a call to stewardship. Stewardship is an awesome responsibility. I can think of no more fearful thing than that we might fail in our divinely assigned task of stewardship, particularly the stewardship of wisdom that we are assigned in today’s passage. For, not only are we assigned the task of being stewards of wisdom, but we are also assigned the task of passing on our stewardship of wisdom to the generations that follow us. So, join with me as we see God’s Plan for Passing on His Truth: The Perpetual Call to Embrace Wisdom.

I. The Divinely Designed Stewardship of Wisdom (Prv 4:1-4)

A. It is a transferable stewardship (Prv 4:1–4)

Explanation: Scripture is full of the concept of passing things that we have received on to others, but Peter expresses the idea very concisely in 1 Peter 4:10: “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

Explanation: Paul applies this concept to the life of Timothy in the beginning of his second letter to his young assistant. “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also” (2 Tim 1:5).

Application: There is no greater responsibility that we could have than to share the truth of the Gospel with those around us, and particularly with our children.

1. Designed to start early (Prv 4:3)

Explanation: Both according to our text and according to biblical example, instruction in wisdom, or we might say, instruction in the ways of the Lord began when the child was still “tender.” In our context, this appears to refer to the young age of the child. In 1 Samuel 1:22–28, we see that Samuel’s instruction under Eli the Priest began when he was weaned, which in Old Testament times was about three years old.

Argumentation: Our Lord Jesus Christ during his earthly ministry reinforced the idea of young children being introduced to the truth in their formative years: “And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein” (Lk 18:15–17).

2. Designed to achieve obedience (Prv 4:3-4)

Explanation: This only makes sense. Notice why the Lord gives commandments, statutes, and judgments in Dt 6:1: “that ye might do them.” Again God repeats this intention in the verses following: “to keep all his statutes and his commandments” (Dt 6:2), “observe to do it” (Dt 6:3), “thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children” (Dt 6:7).

Quotation: “In Hebrew thought,” says J. E. Barrett, “sonship was understood not as a matter of biology but as a matter of obedience.”

Argumentation: More than our physical DNA, it is our spiritual DNA that matters and must be passed on at all costs. Rebellious children are disowned or illegitimate children. Consider Dt 21:18–21, “If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.” Furthermore, the writer to the Hebrews states: “But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons” (Heb 12:8).

B. It is a life-giving stewardship (Prv 4:4)

Explanation: Notice what the Sage says in verse 4: “Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.”

Illustration: It is vital that, whether we are stewarding the gospel with our children or with unrelated, unsaved people, we understand, as Paul Tripp says, “we’re not dealing just with behavior, but with a condition.” Think of it in a medical context. When a person has cancer, they focus on the disease (i.e. condition) more than the symptoms. While they might rejoice in a break from the suffering caused by the cancer, they realize that their real need is not relief from symptoms––their primary need is deliverance from the disease. Likewise, the Sage is not merely seeking to encourage wise decisions by people who are hopelessly, helplessly lost in sin! The Sage is seeking to get spiritually sick people and take them to the one person who can save them from the death that they are living in: the Great Physician, Jesus Christ!

Quotation: As Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees, “They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Mk 2:17).

1. Springing from the written word (Dt 8:3; Mt 4:4)

Explanation: Once again, as the father tells the son to obey his commandments, he uses the same Hebrew word that is used in the Psalms to refer to God’s commandments. The father is not making these things up on his own. He has a stewardship. Remember, a steward uses not his own things, but the things of his master to do his master’s will. The father’s commandments are restatements of God’s commandments. And God’s commandments are revelations of God’s perfect character. So, we may say that a worshipfully respectful knowledge of God is what leads to life.

Quotation: God was trying to teach the Israelites this very lesson in the wilderness. “And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live” (Dt 8:3). Jesus quoted this passage to the Devil during his temptation in Matthew 4:4.

Argumentation: You see the point? Yes, physical life does require bread, but there is so much more to life than the physical alone. Our temporary, earthly life in these physical bodies will come to an end sooner than we realize, and for the rest of our eternal existence we will reap what we sowed during this brief time. If we want to reap good things, then we must sow wisely, and the Sage is telling us that having a relationship with Christ and patterning our lives after his character is the only way to eternally reap good things––or ‘life’ as he calls it here.

2. Springing from the living word (Jn 1:4, 12-14; 14:6)

Explanation: The written word is how we come to find out more about the Living Word and have a relationship with him. This is what we are desperately trying to pass on to future generations.

Quotation: Notice what John writes about Jesus: “In him was life; and the life was the light of men” (Jn 1:4). And again a few verses later, John says, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:12–14). And Jesus reiterates this truth in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

II. The Divinely Designed Superiority of Wisdom (Prv 4:5-9)

A. It results in protection (Prv 4:5-6)

Explanation: As a young child is vulnerable due to inexperience and lack of strength, so the effect of a relationship with Wisdom is that it preserves and keeps the youth from danger and death.

Application: It is important that when we understand this promise, we understand it in its biblical context. Wisdom preserves from death, into life (Prv 4:4). Therefore, we cannot take this solely as a promise for this temporary, earthly existence. It is rather to be an assurance that we will be preserved and kept unto eternal life. That is not to say that Wisdom does not preserve and protect us from physical and emotional harm in some cases in this life, but it rather guarantees that whatever physical or emotional harm God may allow to impact us in this life will be turned to good that will benefit us in the life to come!

B. It radiates worth (Prv 4:7)

Explanation: Wisdom is so valuable that it is to be purchased no matter how high the cost. Jesus’ parables reinforce this concept that there are non-material things that are worth sacrificing everything (material and non-material) that we naturally possess. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it” (Mt 13:44–46).

Quotation: Ray Ortlund puts it so powerfully and concisely when he says, “If you want God’s wisdom, it will cost you. It will cost you all your preconceived ideas about how life is supposed to work. Why pay that price? Because God’s wisdom will make you alive (v. 4), his wisdom will “keep” you and “guard” you (v. 6), his wisdom will “exalt” you and “honor” you and crown you with beauty (vv. 8, 9). That is how life really works, and that is a life worth living! Who else can promise you that?”

Application: This is not only the life that we want for ourselves, but this is the life that we are called to do all that is in our power to pass on to others. It is all important. As the Lord Jesus Christ said, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mt 16:26).

C. It results in honor (Prv 4:8-9)

Explanation: The Sage tells us here that when we highly esteem or prize wisdom, when we are intimately acquainted with wisdom, wisdom will bring us honor and exalt us. Listen to what Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 4:5-6: “Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”

Application: It is as if David is teaching Solomon that the way to “win” the race of life and receive the victor’s crown is to honor wisdom––i.e. Jesus Christ.

Illustration: In the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, Great Britain had a young sprinter competing. His name was Eric Liddell. He was of Scottish extraction, but he had been born in China in 1902 to missionary parents. Eric had earned the right to compete at three sprinting distances: 100 meters, 200 meters, and 400 meters. However, since the 100 meters was scheduled to have a heat contested on Sunday, Eric refused to compete, because in his eyes doing so would dishonor the Lord’s Day. Instead, Eric Liddell won a Gold Medal in the 400 meters, and he set a world record in doing so. The British Newspaper Archive summarizes his time in Paris as follows: “And having stayed true to his Christian beliefs throughout the Olympics in Paris, avoiding racing on the Sunday, it was only appropriate that he celebrated the following Sabbath by conducting the service and preaching a sermon at the Scottish Church in Paris.” The British Newspaper Archive also chronicles his return to Scotland: “Liddell garnered especial accolades upon his return to Edinburgh, where he was set to graduate. On 17 July 1924 the Dundee Courier ran the headline ‘Laurel Wreath for Liddell,’ as that very day Eric Liddell was to graduate from Edinburgh University with a degree in science, capped with a ‘wreath of laurel.’” A well-known Politian of the day, Lord Sands, had this to say as he hosted a dinner to honor Eric Liddell’s accomplishments: “[We] welcome our brilliant young athlete, Mr. Eric H. Liddell, on his return to the city from the Olympic Games in Paris, and to express the widespread admiration for his remarkable athletic achievements, and also for his devotion to principle in this connection as a reverend upholder of the Christian Sabbath.” Eric Liddell went on to show the character that he had gained as a young man by embracing wisdom. “In 1925 he travelled to China to work as a missionary. During the Second World War, when Japan invaded China, Liddell was interned at Weihsien Internment Camp, from where he would never return. Exhausted, and suffering from a brain tumour, the celebrated Scottish sprinter passed away in February 1945, five months before liberation.”

Conclusion:

The theme of the Sage that we have chosen to concentrate on today in this first section of Proverbs 4 can be stated this way. Wisdom comes from the beginning and is meant to be passed down from generation to generation. How then are we, as stewards entrusted with this wisdom, to convince those around us to value it as we do?

It is said that you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. However, I suggest that you could put salt in his feed in order to make him thirsty so that he will make the choice to drink on his own. Likewise, our task is to paint a vivid picture of what we are saying, so that our lives illustrate the glories of a worshipfully submissive relationship with Almighty God through his Son, Jesus Christ.

Does your life make wisdom appear as the hidden treasure in Christ’s parable? Does your life make wisdom appear to those around you as the pearl of great price, which is so attractive as to be purchased at any cost? It will if you have the proper relationship to wisdom, and I hope you leave here today with a determination to follow Proverbs 4:8 in being as intimately loving with wisdom as a man or woman would be intimately loving with their spouse.