We begin in Proverbs today. A proverb is a "short pithy saying in frequent and widespread use that expresses a basic truth or practical precept". "Pithy" means: precisely meaningful, forceful and brief. That pretty much sums it up! Now the Book of Proverbs uses this format to expound on Biblical Truth in a very practical and simple way. LOVE them! They will bring stability, wisdom, strength and peace to your life WHEN you heed them! Proverbs 1:16 says:
1THE PROVERBS (truths obscurely expressed, maxims, and parables) of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: 2That people may know skillful and godly Wisdom and instruction, discern and comprehend the words of understanding and insight, 3Receive instruction in wise dealing and the discipline of wise thoughtfulness, righteousness, justice, and integrity, 4That prudence may be given to the simple, and knowledge, discretion, and discernment to the youth-- 5The wise also will hear and increase in learning, and the person of understanding will acquire skill and attain to sound counsel [so that he may be able to steer his course rightly]-- 6That people may understand a proverb and a figure of speech or an enigma with its interpretation, and the words of the wise and their dark sayings or riddles.
Solomon is the writer of Proverbs. He ONCE was wise when he asked God for the proper wisdom to rule God's people. These Proverbs are a result of that wisdom! We will not go through each verse, but just a few each day. Today we will look at verse 7:
7The reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is the beginning and the principal and choice part of knowledge [its starting point and its essence]; but fools despise skillful and godly Wisdom, instruction, and discipline.
A "pithy" saying usually doesn't need explanation! That is true of this verse! The #1 most important action that we, as born again believers in Jesus of Nazareth, must take is to fear and revere the Lord our God! The Amplified Bible clearly spells this out here! And now we KNOW how all of the foolish people in the world became foolish! No fear of the Lord and no regard for and obedience to his Word! DON'T BE A FOOL! You get to choose, so choose wisdom! AMEN!
Verses 20-21 say:
20Wisdom cries aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the markets;21She cries at the head of the noisy intersections [in the chief gathering places]; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
The word "cries" in verse 20 is the Hebrew word, "ranan", which means: to give a ringing cry, to shout, to shout, to cry aloud. The word "cries" in verse 21 is the Hebrew word, "qara", which means: to call, to utter a loud sound, to proclaim, to invite. That tells me that wisdom is not hard to find, it's just that many people don't WANT to find it! It is so obvious that people have to make a conscious decision NOT to understand. And THAT is very obvious in the world we live in today!
In John 11 we see the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead. Jesus said in verse 4:
4When Jesus received the message, He said, This sickness is not to end in death; but [on the contrary] it is to honor God and to promote His glory, that the Son of God may be glorified through (by) it.
Raising Lazarus from the dead brought glory to God and showed that Jesus was exactly Who He said He was! One thing about this story that always comes to mind when I read it is found in verse 28:
28After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, privately whispering to her, The Teacher is close at hand and is asking for you.
It isn't recorded anywhere that Jesus asked for Mary! My personal thought is that Martha didn't have the confidence that Jesus loved her as much as He loved Mary. That would be sad! He has loved each and every one of us with the same everlasting love! (Jeremiah 31:3) It could also be that because Martha always busied herself with other things, when it came time to operate in faith, she thought Mary could do it better. She may have been right about that! We DO know now that "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17)!
In 1 Samuel we find Saul still trying to do things his own way. He knew that dealing with witches, wizards and mediums was against God's Word, but that's exactly what he did! Sounds a lot like those who forsake wisdom that we read about in Proverbs! Make sure you don't try to do things your own way when God's Word is very specific about what to do and how to do it! But you are a student of the Word or you wouldn't be reading this blog! You already have a head start! Keep it up!
Shalom in Him!
