Proverbs: A Person, Not Tips []

This morning we begin a new study in the book of Proverbs. We won’t cover all of the Proverbs, that would take a life time, but we will jump from Proverb to Proverb talk about various subjects. This study will be a little different as it’ll be more topical, when I usually am more expositional…the study will still be expositional but with particular topics from the Proverbs.

This morning we begin a new study in the book of Proverbs. We won’t cover all of the Proverbs, that would take a life time, but we will jump from Proverb to Proverb looking at various subjects. This study will be a little different as it’ll be more topical, when I usually am more expositional…the study will still be expositional but with particular topics from the Proverbs.

Stand for the reading of the word of God []

People desperately want to “win” at life. They want to succeed in everyday life, and Christians are no different. They search frantically for tips from books, from “experts” on TV talk shows, or in magazines, or on the internet. The problem is that many Christians look everywhere but the Bible to learn how to “win” at parenting, finances, marriage, the workplace, and other areas of life. Some people will look to a Dr. Phil or Oprah or Dear Abby or John Tesh…if you have to look to John Tesh for intelligence on life, you’re in trouble.

Even Christians who want a Christian perspective on these topics are more likely to look at a Christian book or personality than to the Bible itself! Too often we don’t want the Word. Instead, we want practical tips and strategies that have been plucked from the world. Sure, we believe the Bible is God’s Word and it’s authoritative, but we somehow buy into the misconception that it doesn’t do a good job of addressing the nitty-gritty details of daily life. So Christians will skim the Word devotionally to get some helpful tips for their day. Yet, the philosophies of the world are what primarily shape and fashion their worldview.

However, the problem doesn’t stop there. The problem is that even if we do look to the Bible, and even if we do pull out some tips for how to live a better life, more often than not we don’t follow what we already know or learned. How often do we know what to do, but we can’t bring ourselves to do it? Just think of how often we mess up.

Think of the hurtful words you’ve said to a friend or your spouse or your parents.

Think of the times you’ve said more than you should have said and couldn’t get your words back.

Think of a time when someone confronted you with something you needed to hear, but you blew them off in anger.

Think of the times you should have confronted someone in love but didn’t.

Think about the person who’s feelings you hurt.

Think about the lie you hoped your parents, spouse, and friends would never find out.

Think about that secret you just couldn’t keep to yourself.

Think about the times you bragged on yourself.

Think about the times you didn’t discipline your children and now their behavior is out of hand.

Think about the grudge you held on to and refused to let go of.

Think about the times you’ve been stingy with your money instead of being generous.

Think of the times you’ve been frivolous with your money and blew it.

Think about the times you didn’t finish your job assignment on time because you got sidetracked by Facebook. {***}

Think about the times you were jealous of someone else, you ignored your spouse.

Think about how you have repeated the same mistakes over and over again and don’t learn from them.

What does this tell us? It tells us we have a major problem that no amount of tips will solve. It tells us that we are not wise and are often fools. It tells us that we are broken and don’t work right. It tells us that we are in desperate need of wisdom to make decisions and navigate our way through life. But we can’t just say that we need wisdom and then go after it. Since we are broken, we don’t even follow the wisdom we already know. We do things we know are hurtful and foolish. We just cant ‘help ourselves.

The Bible says at creation there was perfect harmony between people and God, between people and themselves, and between people and the world around them []. There was an order to things. Human sin-the fall-broke all of that because people sought knowledge and wisdom apart from God [] That messed up everything. Once man’s vertical relationship with God was out of whack, so were his horizontal relationships with others people and the world around them.

Because of sin, there are barriers between God and man, us and others, and between us and the world. We no longer perceive the way the world works rightly, because of sin we cant’ navigate through our daily life the way God intended. God created the world to work with an order, and we are supposed to live according to that order, but in our brokenness and sin we don’t see it God’s way.

The book of Proverbs is all about restoring that harmony through Jesus Christ. Proverbs is all about becoming wise in everyday life through a relationship with Jesus-through the gospel. It’s about the life of the kingdom that God had always meant for mankind to live by. When our vertical relationship with God is right through faith in Jesus, we can be right horizontally with others and the world around us. MI: a relationship with Jesus will make you wise for everyday life.

What is wisdom? []

Proverbs chapters 1-9 are the introduction of the book. It’s a very long introduction-much like many preachers’ sermons. is the preamble, the introduction to the introduction. This section tells us what the book is about and the book’s purpose. These are the proverbs [v. 1]. The proverbs proper are the sentences of wisdom found the book. Primarily what we think of when we think of proverbs are the short wise sayings contained in chapters 10-31. sets those up and shows us how to interpret them. This word for “proverbs” in verse 1 of the LXX [the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the OT] is a word sometimes used for the parables of Jesus. Jesus is the one “greater than Solomon” who instructs us in the wisdom of the kingdom.

These are the proverbs of Solomon [v.1]. Solomon is the main author of Proverbs, which means that he is responsible for the majority of it. There are other authors like Agur and King Lemuel, but the main author is Solomon. Solomon was the wisest man in history because the Lord granted him wisdom. says, “Solomon’s wisdom was greater than all the people of the east…he was wiser than anyone.”

Here in the introduction Solomon tells us what wisdom is...

Wisdom is Royal []: These are the proverbs of Solomon, “son of David, king of Israel.” Wisdom is royal because it’s how kings rule their people. In Solomon asks God for wisdom, which was for him the ability to rule well as king of Israel. He says, “So give your servant a receptive heart to judge your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of yours?”

In Wisdom speaks and states, “it is by me that kings reign and rulers enact just law; by me, princes lead, as do nobles and all righteous judges.” Immediately Proverbs connects wisdom with the kingship and with the Messiah. “Son of David” is a messianic title. The Son of David will establish God’s eternal kingdom on earth, but he can only do it through wisdom-through justice [; ].

In the Proverbs Solomon is training his “son” in wisdom so that he can establish the messianic kingdom. He is also instructing the youth of the nation in wisdom in hopes of producing it in them as well. The king embodies the nation and represents the nation. If the king is wise, the people will be wise, if the king is unwise, the people will be foolish. There is a need for a wise king who can produce a wise nation-a wise kingdom. Throughout the history of Israel, it’s typically…as the king goes so the nation goes…when lead by a foolish king the people act foolishly and vice versa.

What does this mean for us? We need to see that the Son of David-Jesus of Nazareth-has established the Messianic kingdom by fulfilling the wisdom of Proverbs. Jesus is the wise Messiah promised in who will reestablish the harmony forfeited at the fall. We need to submit to his loving and wise rule so that he can produce wisdom in us.

That’s our only true path to wisdom…through Jesus. Proverbs is laying out how kingdom citizens should live and what the wise King will produce in them, when we follow Him. clearly states the purpose of the book.

Wisdom is correction and understanding [] The purpose the Proverbs is to know wisdom and disciple, or understanding and correction. Wisdom is the kind of knowledge that helps you know what is going on around you. Are you able to read situations and people rightly? If not, you need discipline. This requires the humility to recognize that you don’t know everything and to receive counsel from another. How do you respond to correction, to teaching, to counsel? That has a lot to do with if you are wise. The know-it-all is not as wise as he thinks; the Bible says he’s a fool.

The word correction or discipline entails a discipleship type relationship where you can be warned about going in the wrong direction, rebuked when needed, corrected to go in different way or to think differently, and punished if you don’t listen. Do you have any relationships in your life where someone can correct you? Do you have any relationships in your life where someone can call you to account and say, “what are you doing?” We all need those people in our life, be it Pastor, parent, or peer that can correct us in Christ…that’s wisdom. If you do not have those people in your life you are not surrounded by wise people.

Wisdom is the knowledge of good and evil [] Solomon says that wisdom is ethical. He says the purpose of the book is for you as the reader to receive correction in order to be wise in righteousness, justice, and integrity. Therefore, biblical wisdom is not intelligence or a high IQ; it’s knowledge of good and evil. A wise person can tell the difference between right and wrong in the situations in which they find themselves.

The problem for us is the even in the church we so often think of foolishness and wisdom as morally neutral. For example, if I break my hand by slamming it on the floor after my favorite football team blows a big lead costing them a spot in the playoffs, we’d say that’s foolish. Not necessarily a sin but just stupid. That is not what the bible is talking about when it comes to foolishness and wisdom. Foolishness is the lack of discernment in judging good from evil, right from wrong.

We are to depend on God for the knowledge of what is right and wrong, God determines what is good and what is evil, that’s not for us to decide. Yet man lives as if they know best, Adam and Eve sought wisdom apart from God and His Word…and we all know what happened there…that’s foolishness. Wisdom comes from the mouth of God [] so to submit to God’s word is wisdom, to do what we think is right is foolishness.

The chaos and confusion in our society today is due to mankind doing what is right in our own eyes rather than doing what God has revealed in His Word to be right. And that is not just for those ‘outsiders’ who reject the sanctity of human life or try to redefine marriage. Many in the church fail to submit to God’s ways. We agree God’s wisdom is found in His word yet make exceptions when it comes to our cases. When we know what is right, according to God’s word, and make excuses when we don’t do it…that is foolishness.

Wisdom is Discernment [] verse 4 says that wisdom is discernment. Wisdom is the ability to read a situation and make a right decision. That’s the point of Proverbs. Solomon wants to give discernment to the inexperienced and the youth. Proverbs gives categories of people [inexperienced, mocking, foolish, wise, etc. Inexperienced people are not foolish or wise yet; instead, they are open to instruction in wisdom or folly. They are gullible and usually believe the most recent thing they hear. They’re usually easily enticed or persuaded. This is the audience Solomon is targeting because there is still hope. This is why a lot of Solomon’s focus is on parents teaching their children…they need help discerning what’s right and what’s wrong according to God’s word.

Wisdom is Obtaining Guidance [] Solomon says wise men will listen and increase in learning; a wise man will acquire direction and guidance. Interesting Solomon says a wise man will hear and increase in learning and get direction??? Doesn’t being a wise man mean you’ve arrived to the place of no longer needing to learn, where you no longer need directing??? Not at all, a wise man continues to learn from God to guide their life. To think I’m wise, I don’t need to learn from this or that person is foolishness. The truly wise person knows they need to listen and learn all of there life. Arrogance doesn’t listen or learn.

We all need to hear the wisdom of proverbs over and over throughout our lives. Wisdom is not a goal to attain; it’s a pursuit that you spend you life on. So wisdom is being corrected, understanding situations, discerning right and wrong. Wisdom is listening and learning all our life and obtaining God’s guidance for our lives. Now that we know what wisdom is biblically, the question is… how do we get wisdom?

How do we get Wisdom? []

How can we be wise like this? How can we learn to read situations and make wise decisions? How do you get this multifaceted wisdom? Solomon says that all wisdom is “religious” or spiritual in nature because it’s only through a relationship with the Lord that one can truly be wise. Verse 7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, Fools despise wisdom and instruction. Fools despise wisdom and discipline, but the wise person is the one who fears, trusts, and revers God. This is the first step and essential component in gaining wisdom-the fear of the Lord.

You get wisdom by reverent fear and trust in the Lord [] Proverbs is quite clear on how to obtain wisdom, depend on God rather than yourself. The everyday nitty-gritty details of your life are to be lived out in fear and reverence of the Lord. There is no sacred and secular divide in the Christians life…every thing is sacred! We tend to think that “going to church” or missions work, or quite devotion time with God are the godly things we do in life. While other things like, work or sports, hobbies, or how we spend our money, etc. are secular or neutral points in our life.

Solomon crushes that thinking by pointing out that every detail of our lives is to be done in fear and reverence for the Lord. Everything from how you eat dinner, to how you do your homework, to how you perform at work, how you act at ball games…every detail of our lives are His and should be lived wisely…in fear of God.

We all view the world in a certain way-through a certain lens, so to speak. However, since the fall of man, sin has tainted our vision and one thing is true…we do not see the world rightly with our own eyes. We need new eyes, new lenses to see rightly. The only way to truly be wise is to trust the Lord and be in a relationship with Him. Wisdom comes from God, so we are taught in the Bible to ask God for it. The Proverbs teach us that God, not only gives us wisdom in His word, but also filters it through people in our lives such as parents, godly friends, pastors, etc.

Wise people listen and accept instruction, foolish people refuse and despise instruction. The question is, which category are you in? Do you seek the Lord for instruction? Do you go to His Word for learning? Do you humbly seek counsel of godly people? Or...are you a know-it all? Too prideful to ask for help, too arrogant to seek counsel? Friends doing what is right in your own eyes is a recipe for disaster. {Judges was chaos}

Getting wisdom is important because it’ll help you make decisions in everyday life. It’ll help you ‘win’ at life. But failing to get wisdom will wreck your life. The problem with all of us is that we have failed repeatedly even when we knew what to do. This reveals our brokenness. So where do we turn? How can we become wise when we are so broken?

Well what if wisdom wasn’t a concept or an idea or a set of tips you had to learn at all? What if wisdom was a person, a person you could know and have a relationship with? What if wisdom was a person you could love and walk with, and just by knowing, loving, and walking with this person it would actually make you wise?

What if wisdom was a person who spoke to you, and by listening to wisdom’s voice you could actually grow in wisdom? What Proverbs teach us is, wisdom isn’t a bunch of tips to learn and live out…wisdom is a person. Jesus Christ. And through a relationship with Jesus Christ we are reconciled to God, to each other and to the world around us. Through a relationship with Jesus Christ we can be wise as He will indeed begin to produce in us wisdom, the wisdom of Proverbs.

Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus?

Are you growing in your relationship with Jesus?

Repent and Trust in Jesus