Proverbs (14)

Introduction: Yesterday we were talking during lunch about thankfulness. The kids mentioned being thankful for a warm and dry house. It is a great blessing to have a place to shelter and live but not all houses are homes, and not all homes offer the same accommodations! Today, we are going to focus our attention on two different houses revealed in Proverbs chapter 9.

Comparison and contrast.

House of Wisdom v/s House of Folly

Walk through verses 1-6 & 13-18 making comparisons.

Preparing perfect feast. (8:1-2)

Sitting at her door. (8:14a)

Sends messengers to high places. (1:3)

Loud, seductive, ignorant. Sits on high places calling out. (8:13-15)

A Message of instruction and life to all the simple. (8:4-6)

A Message of temporary please and death to all the simple. (8:16-18)

Example: This is much of the same contrast that Jesus gave in Matthew 7:24-27

Matthew 7:24–27 ESV

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

Point: Which house will we enter? Obviously, we know what we should say, “I want wisdom.” I want life. However, the middle verses of chapter nine offer us the key for helping us actually chose the house of lady wisdom. (Read 7-12)

Keys for entering the house of wisdom.

Humility to receive correction and reproof. Much like the Beatitudes of the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5. Which transitions us into the fundamental key for wisdom, which is…

Fear the Lord and growing in knowledge of Him. (9:10)

a. To fear God is to have faith in God. To trust Him and grow in a clear knowledge of His attributes. To sit at the table of Wisdom is to turn from sin and trust in Christ. To enjoy the bread and wine of wisdom is to by faith be adopted as a son or daughter of God.

b. You might remember that when we started this wisdom adventure and studied through Psalm 145 which is basically a chapter revealing the attributes of God, I suggested that whatever understanding, and delight we currently have of God it is too small. And so it remains, that we will always be able to grow in our fear of the Lord. We will always have room to grow in wisdom. To fear the Lord is to know Him. How should we fear Him, how should we grow in a knowledge of Him?

c. With the same attitude that we see in the Apostle Paul when in Philippians 3:7-11

Philippians 3:7–11 ESV

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Transition: The way that we fear the Lord and grow in knowledge of Him, is through faith in Christ.

Closing: The difference between this poetic revelation and the reality of our lives, is that no person is walking down a pathway of neutrality. We do not stand at a crossroads of decision about which house to enter. We are each, guilty of living the life of a fool. Because of our sinful nature on which all of us have acted upon in sinful rebellion against God we are gluttonously feasting at the temporary table of folly. We did not need to choose to go into her house, we are by nature already drinking her stolen water. What must occur to get away from this death trap and house of horror? We must be converted. Rescued. Saved! Which leads us directly to faith in Christ.

Who is the perfect feast. Who has invited the simple to come and eat of His bread, and drink of His wine. The bread of His broken body as … and the wine of His blood which was shed as the final sacrifice for sin. It is in Christ alone that our days are multiplied and years will be added. It is only in Christ that we have eternal life.

Because of Christ we can walk into the house of wisdom. Will we devote ourselves to growing in His grace, truth. Will this be a year of renewed wisdom and spiritual revitalization? Make a commitment to Christ for the first time or perhaps a renewed commitment.

What house am I living in?