Lecture 5 - Wisdom Literature Proverbs Introduction Cont...

Lecture 5 - Wisdom Literature Proverbs Introduction Cont...

(CITE CLIFFORD HURST and WARREN WIERSBE)

THE NATURE OF THE PROVERB

Proverbs are figures of speech expressing…

· Practical rules and regulations that can be employed for successful, responsible living. These are made from observations of life.

· Advisory pithy statement for a parent to guide the growth of a child in his char acter: So the child is acceptable to himself and society So the child is successful

· Brief, particular expressions of truth, not absolute expressions of truth.

· Generalizations about life not Absolute laws about life.

· Observations not promises.

o Ill) Haste makes waste; always?

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

Proverbs 3:9 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

There are those who give liberally and consistently yet they do not ever seem to get ahead financially. They barely make it.

There are others who give nothing to God and yet are filthy rich.

Is the Scripture wrong?

Proverbs are general truths. That means these things are the way things generally happen, but other things must be taken into account.

EXAMPLE: Proverbs 3:9-10 9 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

There are some who pay their tithes that do not materially prosper:

Why? Another principle is at work.

1. Unwise spending habits.

2. Sickness.

3. Discipline.

4. God knows they cannot handle it.

5. They’re giving or caring for others.

6. They’re suffering because of the choices of others.

7. God is teaching faith and trust.

8. Don’t know.

Without God fail miserably or succeed even more miserably.

God showed blessing chiefly in a materially way in these times. Since Christ, God blesses also in a spiritual way. Riches of Christ.

There are people who have held on to every penny, never given a lead cent to the church, and are wealthy, who are miserable. Their children don’t serve God.

There are people who have tithed faithfully and don’t have much materially. But, they have the joy of the Lord. Their children serve God. They have a happy marriage.

The prosperity may be accumulating in heaven instead of on earth.

Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth…

Truths metaphorically expressed:

Ill) A stitch in time saves nine

Really nine?

A penny saved is a penny earned.

Who cares about a penny?

Just weights

Truths phrased to be learnable

ill) In Adam’s fall we sin all

We weren’t there. We weren’t made to sin

Truths phrased to be learnable Illustration: Look before you leap

V.s.

Before committing yourself to a certain course of action be sure to consider carefully your circumstances, options, and the probable outcome of such.

THE CHARACTERISTIC OF PROVERBS: They contrast the life of wisdom with a life of folly

They make little use of religious language

Not everything must be religious to be godly and moral.

Proverbs are for practical living not theological teaching.

They are the shortest way of saying all that could be said.

THE USE OF PROVERBS

Realize they are not meant to state universal truths

Their meaning isn’t in their literal but their metaphorical meaning

They point to a truth, illustrate a truth, rather than sate the total truth with all its aspects.

They must be qualified with other spiritual truth.

They are no promises but observations about the generalizations of life.

Realize they are written in figurative language

The Heading Over This Group of Verses is “The Way of Folly:”

Proverbs 9:13-18 13 A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing. 14 For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city, 15 To call passengers who go right on their ways: 16 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, 17 Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. 18 But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.

Realize that they are to be read as a collection and have context in that collection.

Proverbs 9:17 Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.

Life Application Notes: “Something is hypnotic and intoxicating about wickedness. One sin leads to another; sinful behavior seems more exciting than the Christian life. That is why many people put aside all thought of Wisdom's sumptuous banquet (Pro_9:1-5) in order to eat the stolen food of Folly. Don't be deceived—sin is dangerous. Before reaching for forbidden fruit, take a long look at what happens to those who eat it.”

Warren Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines

Proverbs 1-9

In this lesson we want to consider Wisdom and Folly, the two “women” who are out to woo and win the hearts of people. You will note in the suggested outline of Proverbs that there are three calls from Wisdom and three from Folly. Wisdom calls us to God and life; Folly calls us to sin and judgment. We want to study these six important invitations and contrast them.

I. Wisdom’s First Call — Salvation (Pro_1:20-33)

This is an open call out in the streets where people can see and hear. God’s call to hearts is not a secret matter; His Spirit invites people openly to come to Christ. Note that Wisdom invites all three classes: the simple, the scorner, and the fool (Pro_1:22). Wisdom can see judgment coming and she wants sinners to escape it. What a wonderful offer she makes to those who will hear: the gift of the Spirit of God and the Word of God (Pro_1:23).

How do sinners respond to this call? It seems that they totally reject it. Pro_1:24-25 indicate their responses: they refused to heed; they did not regard God’s outstretched hand; they even made light of it. What will the result be? Destruction. And God will laugh at them just as they laughed at Wisdom. “Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer” (Pro_1:28). They will reap just what they have sown (Pro_1:31).

Why did they refuse God’s gracious offer? Pro_1:32 indicates that the “ease” (turning away) of the simple and the prosperity of the fools gave them a false assurance; they thought they would never see judgment.

Following Wisdom’s first call we have three chapters that present the path of wisdom. The words “path” and “way” are each used thirteen times in these chapters. The message of Pro_2:1-22 is that Wisdom protects our paths (Pro_2:8), of Pro_3:1-35 that Wisdom directs our paths (Pro_3:5-6), and of Pro_4:1-27that Wisdom perfects our paths (Pro_4:18).

Wisdom offers people salvation, but in Pro_5:1-23we see Folly offering them condemnation. Wherever God gives His gracious invitation, Satan is there with an alluring offer of his own. Read this description of the wicked woman and see how Satan tries to make sin appear attractive. But note Pro_5:5 — “Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.” God warns us not even to come near her door (Pro_5:7-8). Sin is always a costly thing: you can lose your reputation (Pro_5:9), your possessions (Pro_5:10), your health (Pro_5:11), and your very life (Pro_5:22-23). The “cords of sins” bind slowly, but they bind surely, until one day the sinner discovers escape is impossible.

II. Wisdom’s Second Call — Wealth (Pro_8:1-36)

Wisdom is back in the streets again, calling sinners to follow God’s path. In Pro_8:5 she calls the simple and the fools, but not the scorner. He was the one who laughed and mocked (Pro_1:25-26), so God now passes him by. How solemn to think that hearts can be so hard that they no longer hear the voice of God.

The invitation is to true wealth, the wisdom that is far above silver, gold, and precious jewels (Pro_8:10-11). See Pro_4:1-10 for a similar exhortation. In fact, to know God’s wisdom is to reign like a king (Pro_8:15-16). Pro_8:18-19affirm again that wisdom and godly living are greater in value than all worldly wealth. After all, to know the Lord and obey Him is to have all the wealth of heaven and earth at your disposal. In Pro_8:22-31, Solomon introduces an OT picture of Jesus Christ, the Wisdom of God (1Co_1:24, 1Co_1:30). As you read this description, you see Christ, the beloved Son of God, the Creator of the universe. To know Him is to have true wisdom. (Of course, Christ was not “brought forth” [Pro_8:24-25] in the sense of being created by the Father, since the Son existed from all eternity. This is symbolic language.)

Wisdom invites us to wealth, but in Pro_6:1-35, Folly invites us to poverty (Pro_6:20-35). Here is the “strange woman” again, all painted up, flattering the young man, tempting him to sin. In Pro_6:26, we see that sin leads to poverty; see also Pro_6:31. True, many ungodly people today seem prosperous, but their wealth will not last.

III. Wisdom’s Third Call — Life (Pro_9:1-18)

Wisdom’s first invitation was to the fool, the scorner, and the simple; her second invitation was only to the fool and the simple (Pro_8:5); but her third invitation is only to the simple (Pro_9:4). The fool decided to follow Folly, and in Pro_8:36 he experienced death (see Pro_1:22). Alas, the simple too will reject Wisdom’s gracious call and end up in the depths of hell (Pro_9:1-18).

Here are the results of these invitations:

(1) The scorner rejected Wisdom and met destruction (Pro_1:24-27); he listened to Folly and received destruction (Pro_6:32)

(2) The fool rejected Wisdom and was led to death (Pro_8:36); he listened to Folly and received death (Pro_5:22-23)

(3) The simple rejected Wisdom and went to hell (Pro_9:18); he listened to Folly and ended up in hell (Pro_7:27)

The lesson is obvious: to reject Wisdom is to accept Folly. There is no middle ground. “He that is not with Me is against Me,” said Jesus. “No man can serve two masters,” and nobody can live without having some master. We either follow Wisdom or Folly, Christ or sin.

Pro_9:1-6 picture Wisdom preparing a wonderful banquet. This reminds us of the several “banquet” parables of Christ, especially Luk_14:15-24. Salvation is not a funeral; it is a feast. “Forsake the foolish, and live,” Wisdom calls, for receiving Christ is the only way to receive life (1Jn_5:11-13). “By me your days will be multiplied,” Wisdom promises in Pro 9:11 4 (NKJV).

But Folly is busy inviting people to her banquet (Pro_7:1-27). It takes little imagination to see the foolish young man as he toys with temptation and finally listens to Folly and goes to her feast. But he goes like an ox to the slaughter (Pro_7:22). When you yield to this particular temptation, you become like a dumb animal. Wisdom is offering life, but Folly offers death (Pro_7:26-27). Temptation looks fascinating and enjoyable, and there are pleasures in sin “for a season” (Heb_11:25), but in the end, sin leads to death and hell. See Jas_1:13-15.

These, then, are the invitations we face in this life. We can listen to Wisdom and enjoy salvation, true wealth, and life; or we can listen to Folly (temptation and sin) and experience condemnation, poverty, and death.

There are several practical lessons that we ought to note before closing this study.

A. We cannot avoid decisions

“Decision determines destiny.” We choose either the path of Wisdom or the path of Folly; we cannot postpone this decision or avoid it. To choose one is to reject the other; to reject one is to choose the other. What decision have you made?

B. Sin is always alluring

Folly does everything she can to make sin attractive. She never reveals her true nature; she never tells people that her house is the way to hell. The only way to detect Folly is to walk with Wisdom; read Pro_2:10-22carefully. Those who walk with Wisdom, obeying the Word of God, will not easily be tricked by Folly.

C. It takes time for judgment to fall

The simple, the fool, and the scorner all thought they “had it made” when they rejected Wisdom, because nothing disastrous immediately happened. But judgment eventually caught up with them. “Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Gal 6:7 4, NKJV).

D. Satan appeals to the flesh

It is clear in these chapters that the “wicked woman” (or “strange woman”) is appealing to the young man’s appetites. She tells him he can use his body as he pleases and not suffer for it. But Pro_5:1-14makes it clear that sexual sin leads to tragic results, both in body and soul. In these days of flagrant immorality (in movies, TV, music, advertising, etc.), it is important that young and old people keep their hearts and minds pure.

E. God continues to call

So long as people will hear, God’s Spirit continues to call. But when sinners refuse to obey, their ears become deaf to the Word of God. Beware! “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Heb 3:7 4, NKJV).