A Well Ordered Life in a Disordered World - Purpose (Prov 1:1-7)

Introduction

Good morning GracePointe. Today we begin a new series called “A well Ordered Life in a Disordered World” as we spend our time in the book of Proverbs. A well ordered life…a life that thrives. A life that flourishes. A life that has positive ramifications beyond themselves but for others now and the next generation.

The surprising thing is that often, Proverbs is not taught often in church. Perhaps one of the reasons is that poor sayings have been chalked up as proverbs. Things like “God helps those who helps themselves”. We have spoke on this before but that is simply not a God honoring statement. Not only that but it is cruel to those who have gone through pain and heartache.

Another is “This too shall pass”. That seems to be made up by a Persian poet from the middle ages who most likely had a pretty carefree life with lots of money, no illnesses and no family members with differeing political views. The bible teaches that sometimes, suffering doesn’t change…problems persist. Many of us here today are living proof that the suffering, the problems didn’t end but God changed us…and we rejoice for it.

Proverbs is not a collection of pithy statements that if spun the right way could be true 60% of the time and if followed, can result in a positive outcome....sometimes.

It is not an optional add-on for folks to lifehack…to upgrade their lives from a 4-7 on a scale of 1-10. There are all kinds of books that claim that.

No. This is not a self-help book. It is not a 10 tips to a better body book.

Proverbs is God’s message of wisdom to all those who will listen. Proverbs 13:14 “14 The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death.”

Wisdom. it reminds me of a musician here in Portland. A monster player as musicians of his caliber are often called.

After a few lessons, we were talking about professional aspects of playing an instrument. He responded that a pro musician plays or sings the right note at the right time. Just the right note at the right time. I have come to find that the best explanation of great wise living. Doing the right thing at the right time…with one added caveat....we do the right things at the right time for the right reasons.

The series “A well managed life in a disordered world” speaks to the practicality of Proverbs. Other wisdom literature focuses on the exceptions but Proverbs deals a whole manner of subjects and how we are to have wisdom in those areas most of the time. Anger, Blessings, Marriage, Parenting, Money, Laziness, Health, Work, Justice, Sex, Pride, Faith....just to name a few.

As we look at the Old Testament, it reveals sinners crying out for a king to bring order to their unruly lives. Other parts reveal sinners looking for a priest to forgive their sins. But some sections reveal sinners searching for a teacher to disperse their ignorance and errors and to help them think, believe, speak, and do rightly. Today we are going to be focused on the overview and purpose of Proverbs.

Backstory

There are several authors that contributed to the book of Proverbs. However it is most attributed and associated with King Solomon, the son of David. He wrote most of the book.

Solomon is credited with writing three books, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs (or Song of Solomon). in fact to get a bit of backstory on Solomon, lets jump to 1 Kings 3..

We see in 1 Kings 3 that Solomon is almost a great king who walked with the Lord. In verse 3, we see that Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David....except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places…

a quick note....these high places were a bit of a morality check for Israel. When kings are mentioned in both 1st and 2nd Kings to build these worship sites, the people always forsake Yahweh for foreign gods....Solomon struggles with this as he builds these worship centers for the people in his life and their different deities.

So even Solomon in all his grandeur and success…he still struggled with knowing the right thing to do. We see that in Ecclesiastes....”Its all meaningless…lets walk on the wild side and try all the things” I mention that because we can forget that people, heroes of the faith, in the bible....they had good moments…they also were sinners. They struggled with making good choices.

However in 1st Kings, we see a good moment. A wise choice… 1 Kings 3:3-12 jump to that section.

Here Solomon does a right thing at the right time for the right reasons... Solomon is giving honor and worship to God in the most high place…when He solomon is approached by the Lord. The Lord asks Him…Ask what you want me to give you....

What a question! I think all of us have seen enough genie movies to know that most of the time.....this ends in tragedy for whoever has the choice, the ask, the wishes. But God is not a genie....

Solomon responds with thankfulness....and then points out the greatness of God’s people…and asks for a discerning heart to govern and to distinguish between right and wrong. He says I am a kid and don’t know how to do this.

That is some wisdom right there admitting when we don’t have it.

which is far more often than we care to admit!

The Lord is pleased with Solomon asking for wisdom not just for himself but to care for others. He gives him this because he asked for “discernment in administering justice”. Moreover, He gives him wealth and honor unequaled as well as long life.

The Lord is pleased when we look to wisdom to help in caring for others. Solomon would utilize the gift God gave to be a great, not perfect, but great King. And the book of Proverbs brings that wisdom, that gift of discernment to the different areas of our lives.

LAYOUT

Let’s talk about the layout of Proverbs. The layout of Proverbs is such that the first nine chapters are set up with some extended instruction and encouragement to pursue wisdom with every ounce of strength we possess. After that, beginning in chapter 10 we see little snippets of concise insights that cover a range of topics in each chapter.

In Hebrew, we are to see that the noun proverb is related to a similar word that means “to represent, to be like” (Raymond Ortlund Jr)

This presents these Proverbs as short representations of reality, of an aspect of our dailly lives. The proverbs provide test cases, opportunities to see Biblical Wisdom at work and to point toward what life is really like.

Just an example that I have been dwelling on this week has been Proverbs 27:14

Proverbs 27:14 NIV

14 If anyone loudly blesses their neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse.

There is a humerous side to this right…who liked to be loudly greeted early in the morning! My dad used to do that to us growing up all the time… he would come into our room and sing quite loudly...”Good morning good morning good morning good morning its time to rise and shine.....good morning good morning good morning hope your feeling fine”. We never once thought it was a blessing to be greeted in that way.

But the practical and deeper area of change is…how are we called to bless others? If we love people the way God calls us to, we will seek to know what those who we wish to bless consider to be a blessing. If we selfishly try and bless others only in the way we want, is that truly the heart of blessing? If the person takes our blessing as a curse, what is the point of us trying to bless without knowledge and wisdom of the person. Proverbs features this style of dual layers quite often.

Other Authors

There are others who contributed to the book.

Others in the book noted are AEEGER son of JAKUH, most likely a gentile who is credited with chapter 30 as well as King LUHMULE who wrote chapter 31. Not much is known about these authors. Chapters 25-29 that were most likely transcribed by scribes in the days of Hezekiah (which was after the lifetime of King Solomon). Finally there is portions of Proverbs of 22-23 that have been debated for quite sometime. Either Solomon wrote them and an Egyptian scribe, Ameanmope, was influenced by them and wrote something similar for his son. Another theory is that Ameanmope wrote them first, Solomon was influenced by the wisdom found there and collected them. Either way, God is above all things and is glorified by the wisdom found there. One thing about Solomon that has been recorded is that Solomon longed to look for wisdom and learn. It is not surprising that he found wisdom in other cultures.

Lets read the beginning of Proverbs

Scripture (Prov 1:1-7)

Proverbs 1:1–7 NIV

1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: 2 for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; 3 for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair; 4 for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young— 5 let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance— 6 for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. 7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

We have more access to information today than any other time in history. So much information right at our fingertips!. But that leads to a problem. I tried to find a better way to put it than author Raymon Ortlund Jr but I just couldn’t. He says it this way.

“In our chaotic lives of constant stop-start-stop-start short attention span mental habits, with an endless stream of momentarily visible Twitter-feed fragments of information, we have been reduced to one splinter factoid after another and we are trying to patch together some kind of elegant whole worth living. That is difficult.”

Trust me....I get it. We are fidgety and distracted.....the fact we have so much for information with no counsel is no basis for life. We need Jesus to counsel us.

God speaks to us for living....calmly patiently, lovingly seriously through out the book of proverbs.”

God is wise in all that he is, says, and does. Pure, unblemished, wisdom. In his wisdom we see the purpose

Purpose

Proverbs 1:2–3 NIV

2 for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; 3 for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair;

Right there in verse two, we see the purpose is the “gaining of wisdom and instruction, for understanding words of insight.....

Wisdom… is doing the right thing at the right time for the right reasons. The word used her for wisdom in Hebrew is hoKema. It references the cause and effect of life. It points to an inability to fully grasp how big God is. It is the combination of two words that result in the definition being the potential of what is or could be.

Wisdom and Success

Gaining Wisdom....the idea here is that we can learn to live wisely. We can learn to grasp this potential. Other translations use the word discipline here. I don’t know if there are many who enjoy that word but i can promise you this.... those who know the gift of discipline have easier lives in certain ways. Proverbs 10 says it that whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life.

Have you ever heard someone say or perhaps you have said it “This is the life”.

I remember thinking it and saying it multiple times when my friend graciously and generously invited me to join him on an all expense paid trip to a Golf Resort in Tuscon, Arizona. My trip involved lounging around the pool, eating extremely large meals about every 45 min and playing on epic golf course designed by Arnold Palmer that was ranked as one of the top golf courses in the Southwest. Beautiful scenery. I should share that I had never, up to that point, ever played golf before. I ended up telling the team I was assigned to this and they all smiled and we decided to play “Imaginary best ball”. I would hit my ball off the tea…wherever it ended up....I would grab it and imagine on my best day…with all the training…where might that ball end up. I wasn’t greedy but somewhere on the fairway I imagine. It was fun....and it was the life. easy and full of fun.

However, Solomon defines a well ordered life, a successful live…this successful living a different way....he defines it as doing what is right…just....fair. in verse 3 with the emphasis for others.

Our culture says that the “life” is Money, power, and popularity. pleasure. They are not the metric by which God defines successful living. The metric is that we are to act justly....love mercy....and walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8) That is successful living. That is what proverbs is counseling us towards.

Learning application - Terms

In this first section, there are terms used that we need to iron out and define. One commentary was helpful to me in this....

The first is that we are to learn…that is…we are to acquire wise teaching. Psalm 32:8 points to this....

Psalm 32:8 NIV

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

LEARN

We are to learn. When we commit ourselves to learning the right things, our minds our broadened and we gain insight into life, ourselves, and world around us which are all good things for a thriving life. Notice here I said the right things.....I believe we were wired to learn and that we are learning all the time.

“The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice.”Brian Herbert.

We can choose to learn good, right, honorable things…or we can choose to learn bad habits, wrong deeds that form character qualities not of the kingdom of God. And it happens whether you make the choice or not.

So as we look through proverbs, be intentional to learn. Be committed to learning the right things.

KNOWLEDGE

Proverbs 1:2–4 NIV

for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to those who are simple,  knowledge and discretion to the young—

We acquire information for a purpose. But if that purpose is short lived, it is only in short term memory…once the purpose of the information is no longer there…we forget it. Have you ever had someone tell you a number or a fact…and after you were doing using that information, you could not recite it back.

How many of you know any phone numbers still? I still know a handful but I won’t learn any new ones. The purpose of that is gone…my phone holds those numbers.

But I do know a few special numbers....my wife’s....my mom and dad…the church....a good friend....These are numbers I want to know in case I lose my phone…or I am in jail and I have one phone call. Or some other reason :)

Having those numbers for a later use is referred to as knowledge here in Proverbs. Knowledge that is now part of who we are. Information that impacts us and our identity.

WISDOM

We have the right answer and it is impacting us. But we need action! Wisdom is referred to here in Proverbs as the right action produced because of right knowledge.

Solomon asked for wisdom…not to just know stuff. Not to be considered wise…he asked for wisdom so he could properly rule with justice and mercy. Wisdom is the ability to make the right and appropriate action based upon the knowledge.

We want to combine the learning and right knowledge with doing.....we don’t want to just know the right choices…we want to make the right choices. John 14:15 points this out as Jesus says

John 14:15 NIV

15 “If you love me, keep my commands.

It doesn’t say, if you love me, you will know the right answer (but not do it) This keeping of the commands....it is tied to wisdom. We want to do the right things based on right things we learned and the knowledge that we gained.

Understanding

But what about passing that knowledge on. One commentator put it this way....”Only after something is learned retained and used wisely, can it be truly taught to others. The fullness of wisdom is handing it down to generation after generation.

This results in understanding! Even the irony of the human experience is that you and I can gain wisdom, fail to use it, and experience pain that generates a knowledge, wisdom and understanding that we then can share with others.

I remember my dad sharing with me a few pieces of wisdom from his days working in New Mexico during a big drilling boom in the early 80s. One of the things....always have duck tape around. He got a big piece of rebar Stu k through the top of his foot. Rather than pass out he grabbed a role of duck tape and fished the day..and he didn’t lose the foot,!

We learn the right things. We gain the knowledge of context....putting that learning into use. We apply it. We do the right things at the right time for the right reasons....and we pass this knowledge to our community and the next generation.

This wisdom, this understanding is beautiful! As James 3:17 points out....“But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.” Does the wisdom you have and communicate to others reflect those attributes.

Wisdom for all

And this isn’t just for newbies to faith. Verse 3 and 4 are referencing newness and youth but verse 5 is saying “Let the wise hear and increase in learning....let the one who understands obtain guidance.” There is no expiration date on seeking wisdom.

No level achieved on sharing wisdom with the next generation and obtaining guidance from those around you, whether they be young or old. We should stay humble and keep learning And obtain guidance. Paul indicates this that even in his later years and final days, he still wanted to learn.

However, we would be missing a large part of the purpose of Proverbs if we left it at that. You see, humanity can mess up and distort the word “right”. When I say we need to do the next right thing, some might think....”the next right thing is me getting lunch”. Watching that game! Doing what I want! My right thing is inflicting harm on others.

That is why Proverbs so wisely outlines that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.

Fear of the Lord

Proverbs 1:7 NIV

7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

I can admit that this phrase “fear of the Lord” has always been a struggle as I gravitate toward the God who is a good good father. Who cares. Who gives mercy and grace and love and peace. Why should I fear Him? This phrase “fear the Lord” is over 69 times. It is a critical aspect to understanding our relationship with God.

Fear of the Lord: Love and Respect

I want to begin by saying what the fear of the Lord is not....

The fear of the Lord is not apprehension or fear of punishment....it is not associated with terror or suspicion....this kind of fear makes men and women run and hide from God....It is not a feeling of “oh no Here comes God…i am in trouble now”

That is not what God desires for us. In fact, the gospel, the good news is that we don’t live in that fear any longer.

I put forth that The fear of the Lord always reflects respect and love. When we don’t respect, we do not love. When we do not love, we do not respect. This applies to any relationship we have. No respect, no love.

Fear of the Lord begins with both love and respect. What does this look like.

It involves being open and available to Him. Adam and Eve hid but in Christ, we are to be open and available to the Lord.

Not only that but we are to have an eagerness to please Him

we are to have humility…to be instructed by Him. When I choose to fear the Lord, I am choosing out of respect and love to do the things that please him.

It is a reverential awe that overwhelms and our response is willingness....willingness to give up our will and instead rest in the grace of God. It makes us run toward the Lord.

Loving and respecting the Lord is the beginning of knowledge…it all starts with that. Fools will not be open, eager to please or humble.

We must put to death our ego. Put to death our narcissism. We are not the measure of all things but rather we are being measured by the one who is the full embodiment of wisdom.

Shallow love and respect of Idols

Proverbs 3:7 “7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.”

What should cause us alarms in our minds? what evil should we shun? What should cause us to go.....woah..i need to course correct?

We should have a healthy avoidance of wasting the gifts God has given like time, relationships, and resources on things that don’t have eternal significance. We should course correct if we find that we are so overwhelmed and distracted that we don’t hear or sense God.

Benefits

When we love and respect the Lord…their are so many blessings from this…in Proverbs alone, we see that love and respect of the Lord produces

crushes pride and arrogance (chapter 8)

produces confidence and courage along with a refuge (chapter 14)

true rest and satisfaction in our heart (Chapter 19)

brings life and blessing and success (Chapter 22)

Remember, the metric for success is doing what is right…just....fair for others. Micah 6:8 again reminds us of the definition of what is a well ordered life. To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

And when we struggle....because we will. When we doubt our own thoughts…when the situation is complicated or we have made it complicated…either way…we feel alone. Who do we turn to? Who is our prime example of wisdom? We look to Christ.

Christ, The Wise One

On the cross, bleeding and dying…Jesus Christ is /the wisest one ever. The wisdom of God in the book of Proverbs is great, but the wisdom of God displayed in the cross in the person of Jesus Christ is infinitely greater. The word tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:30

1 Corinthians 1:30 NIV

30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

On the Cross, is Jesus who became for us wisdom from God. He, the embodiment of wisdom dying for fools like you and me.

The fear of the Lord begins when we look away from ourselves…our own needs and wants and desires…and we look to Christ. We turn our attention to Him.

Christ himself had love and respect for the father as we see in Hebrews 5:7

Hebrews 5:7 NIV

7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.

Christ himself who is one with the father, had reverent submission. We likewise should strive to be like Christ in all things and have love and respect for the Lord in everything we do.

RECAP

Fear of the Lord is living out the identity as one who is not the measure of all things but rather is being measured. God is God and we are Not.

Knowing that, we reflect in our humility the limitless capacity of the Lord..and our own incapacity. In this we have love and respect for the one who cares for us so much that He gave His one and only son....whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

As we engage over the next coming weeks in Proverbs, I would ask that you not treat these as shallow pithy statements

Rather, imagine God as the wise counselor pulling up a chair and explaining how the world works generally. Don’t immediately jump to the quick fix but rather look to the principle that is being presented and carry that principle further than your comfort level. That is where learning, knowledge, and understanding can begin to make sanctifying changes in our lives.

The wisest thing any of us can do is recognize who we truly are before God, and I would say flee to Christ as a result. That's the wisest thing you can do.

CAn end here

Finally, when in doubt look to Christ. Let the things of earth grow strangely dim..in the light of His glory and grace. As we look to Christ, we have an example of one who honored, revered, trusted, loved and submitted to His Father. We too should honor the Lord, respect the Lord. We do this with our prized possessions like our loved ones. We trust the Lord with them. We do this with our finances....we walk in humility by trusting the Lord will provide

ending

When we take a moment to think of all God can do. We respond reverence and obedience, a holy awe. This reverence is the whole duty of man as it says in Ecclesiastes 12:13g

Ecclesiastes 12:13 NIV

13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.

Let us pray

benediction- as you stand, I want to leave you with a blessing.

As we take our worship, praise and prayer from this place and into our daily lives, may our lives be sustained through the love of our Heavenly Father. May we feel the presence of our Saviour walking beside us, and know the power of the Spirit in both our actions and our words. Thanks and have a great week.