Want Wisdom?

Proverbs 3:1–10 NIV

My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

Introduction: From Funny Words of Wisdom: If you're too open minded, your brains will fall out.If you look like your passport picture, you probably need the trip.A conscience is what hurts when all your other parts feel so good.Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognise a mistake when you make it again.Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused.

While not always as funny, the Bible has a type of literature called the Wisdom Literature..

17 - What is Biblical Wisdom?

18- The Bible Project Video - The Books of Solomon....

19 - These books over-lay the entire narrative of scripture.

Of the part of the Bible that you can call Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth it is these books.

Wisdom is Applied Knowledge and it is intended to be applied so that we can live the “Good life.”

The Wisdom Literature is mostly poetry, with some prose narrative. So there is going to be a lot of imagry, literary devices, memorable ryhme and meter. (in the Hebrew).

Proverbs - Is like the introduction - It is like a Parent telling their child how to live the good life. If you do these things, life will go well for you, if you do these other things it will not.

Story of Lady Wisdom and the importance of accepting her.

Proverbs/Axioms - Short pithy statements that are intended to be rules of thumb to help us make wise decisions.

Poor Richard’s Almanac: Fish and visitors really do stink after three days. To err is human; to repent really is divine. He who makes haste does in fact make waste. And I learned through bitter experience that when pride climbed into my coach, shame had a tendency to clamber in right behind it.

Collin Powell’s 13 Axioms for Leadership

Life will Go well if we follow the Wisdom of Proverbs.

Ecclesiastes - Well, not so fast. Life is not a set of gaurantees. Generally life will go well if we follow God’s Wisdom, but that is not always the case. So it calls us to embrace the complexity of life. Continue to follow Wisdom, but also don’t make a formula out of it. It is not a get rich quick scheme.

Job - We explored That ultimately, we need to let God be God and trust him for the very complex big picture of running the world.

Song of Songs - In the meantime, Wisdom is pursuing us.

Why should we study the Wisdom Literature?

Walking with Wisdom.

20 - Walking with Wisdom Results in Wholeness.

It will generally produce the Good Life - Instruction (Torah). Wisdom is applying God’s Instruction (this father’s showing how through his instruction) to day to day life. “The Torah” ie the first 5 books of the Bible was about applying God’s instruction (10 commandments) to the nation of Israel as a whole (God’s covenant people). But if you want to apply God’s instruction to your daily life, the Wisdom literature is a great place to Go.

It focuses on business, managing finances, dealing with relationships (spouse, friends, enemies, children, parents), all facets of an individuals life.

We have often thought of this passage about God giving us answers in our prayers to how to live (which he does), but the main focus of this passage is scripture. Applying scripture to our daily lives. So we might do well to lean more on these proverbs than our own understanding.

Notice the Benefits that are a general result of applying God’s Wisdom.

Long life of Shalom and prosperity.

Favor among God and other people - Love God and Neighbor.

Direction in life.

Vs. 8 - The word for healing = (recovery; remedy, medicine) The word that is translated flesh actually means - navel, navel cord, umbillecal cord, organs., The word for refreshsment can also mean drink; and the word for body also means bones or skeleton - This is clearly poetic imagry - that just as food, and medicine help us recover our strength and energy, and just as a good drink refreshes a parched body, good wisdom will bring healing/refreshment to our lives.

Verse 5 proclaims the heart behind any wise decision that we can make: to trust God with your whole heart and “lean not on your own understanding.” Our day-to-day experiences in life are tied to our ability to make decisions and assess the consequences of those decisions. When we trust in the Lord fully, it allows us to lean into him and not our own understanding or interpretation of things. This was key in the book of Job, where we hear the story of a man who experienced much strife, loss, and anxiety within a very short period of time. The only way he was able to mentally and emotionally handle these events was to trust that God had an ultimate plan other than what he and his friends could see or fathom, or “lean” into.

1. Verse 5 proclaims the heart behind any wise decision that we can make: to trust God with your whole heart and “lean not on your own understanding.” Our day-to-day experiences in life are tied to our ability to make decisions and assess the consequences of those decisions. When we trust in the Lord fully, it allows us to lean into him and not our own understanding or interpretation of things. This was key in the book of Job, where we hear the story of a man who experienced much strife, loss, and anxiety within a very short period of time. The only way he was able to mentally and emotionally handle these events was to trust that God had an ultimate plan other than what he and his friends could see or fathom, or “lean” into.

Obbject Lesson - What would you rather lean against - yourself, or something stronger?

What this also means is that Wisdom will bring you wholeness in your relationship with God.

This Chapter reminds us that Wisdom is about loving God and Loving Others.

My Youth Pastor - Everyone should read 1 proverb a day over a year. 375 sayings from .

This also a great way to mentor others new in the faith who want to learn how to live the faith. - Notice this is a Father instructing His Son, but pointing him to learn from God. In chapter 4, the Father admits that it was his Father who instructed him in Wisdom.

Life and Leadership Series:

Application Point: Use the Wisdom Literature as a guide for practical and blessed living.

That Wisdom begins by Trusting God as the source of all and the best wisdom.

Read a Parable a day.

Conclusion: