The Call of Wisdom
Notes
Transcript
1. Where Wisdom Calls
1. Where Wisdom Calls
1 Does not wisdom call, And understanding lift up her voice?
2 On top of the heights beside the way, Where the paths meet, she takes her stand;
3 Beside the gates, at the opening to the city, At the entrance of the doors, she cries out:
Jesus Called out too
37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
Wisdom and understanding are easily available. She is available in the high points of life. She is at at the crossroads of life. She is where large groups of people meet and at individual homes.
2. To Whom Wisdom Calls
2. To Whom Wisdom Calls
4 “To you, O men, I call, And my voice is to the sons of men.
5 “O naive ones, understand prudence; And, O fools, understand wisdom.
Matthew Henry: “not to angels (they need not these instructions), not to devils (they are past them), not to the brute-creatures (they are not capable of them), but to you, O men!”
Naive - untaught who have no experience
Fools - Those who have turned away from wisdom up until now.
Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 970). Peabody: Hendrickson.
3. What Wisdom Says
3. What Wisdom Says
6 “Listen, for I will speak noble things; And the opening of my lips will reveal right things.
7 “For my mouth will utter truth; And wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
8 “All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness; There is nothing crooked or perverted in them.
9 “They are all straightforward to him who understands, And right to those who find knowledge.
Noble
Right
Truth
Righteous
8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
4. The Value of Wisdom
4. The Value of Wisdom
10 “Take my instruction and not silver, And knowledge rather than choicest gold.
11 “For wisdom is better than jewels; And all desirable things cannot compare with her.
If you had to choose between 1 billion dollars without ever knowing the Bible or the just the Bible, what would you do?
How valuable is education to young people?
5. The Companions of Wisdom
5. The Companions of Wisdom
12 “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, And I find knowledge and discretion.
13 “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.
14 “Counsel is mine and sound wisdom; I am understanding, power is mine.
15 “By me kings reign, And rulers decree justice.
16 “By me princes rule, and nobles, All who judge rightly.
17 “I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me.
There are some things that wisdom lives with, but there are somethings it will never share a home with.
Prudence \ˈprü-dən (t)s\ noun 1: the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason - Merriam-Webster
Knowledge- learning or skill at something that takes study.
Discretion - wise planning
Counsel
Understanding
Power
Justice
6. The Benefits of Wisdom
6. The Benefits of Wisdom
19 “My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold, And my yield better than choicest silver.
20 “I walk in the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice,
21 To endow those who love me with wealth, That I may fill their treasuries.
7. The Origin of Wisdom
7. The Origin of Wisdom
22 “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old.
23 “From everlasting I was established, From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth.
24 “When there were no depths I was brought forth, When there were no springs abounding with water.
25 “Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills I was brought forth;
26 While He had not yet made the earth and the fields, Nor the first dust of the world.
27 “When He established the heavens, I was there, When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,
28 When He made firm the skies above, When the springs of the deep became fixed,
29 When He set for the sea its boundary So that the water would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth;
30 Then I was beside Him, as a master workman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him,
31 Rejoicing in the world, His earth, And having my delight in the sons of men.
8. The Response to Wisdom
8. The Response to Wisdom
32 “Now therefore, O sons, listen to me, For blessed are they who keep my ways.
33 “Heed instruction and be wise, And do not neglect it.
34 “Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at my doorposts.
35 “For he who finds me finds life And obtains favor from the Lord.
36 “But he who sins against me injures himself; All those who hate me love death.”
9. Wisdom’s Banquet
9. Wisdom’s Banquet
1 Wisdom has built her house, She has hewn out her seven pillars;
2 She has prepared her food, she has mixed her wine; She has also set her table;
3 She has sent out her maidens, she calls From the tops of the heights of the city:
4 “Whoever is naive, let him turn in here!” To him who lacks understanding she says,
5 “Come, eat of my food And drink of the wine I have mixed.
6 “Forsake your folly and live, And proceed in the way of understanding.”
The seven pillars:
17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.
This passage is wisdom personified, but Jesus Christ is wisdom in the flesh.
3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.