The Winning Life: Introduction; Proverbs 1:1-7
For the
past several years we have started the year with a series of studies taken from
a book of the Bible or a specific section of a book. We have studied Romans, Mark, Colossians,
Acts,and the Ten Commandments, among others.
This year
I wanted to do something very practical.
These are tough times and we all need good advice.
Everyone is looking for an edge today.
People have mentors, life coaches, personal trainers, and spiritual
directors. These are all good. Paying attention to those who are older and wiser, those who
have more experience, those who have been successful in areas can give us that
edge we may be looking for. .
The most
practical book in the Bible is The Book of Proverbs. It has a lot to say about a whole range of
topics. Let me give you some examples...
MARRIAGE: Proverbs 4:6, 8-9; Proverbs
5:18-19; Proverbs 12:4; Proverbs 18:22
RAISING CHILDREN: Proverbs 13:24; Proverbs 22:6; Proverbs 22:15; Proverbs 23:13-14; Proverbs 29:15; Proverbs 29:17
FINANCES: Proverbs 3:9-10; Proverbs 6:1-5; Proverbs 22:7; Proverbs 22:9; Proverbs 22:26-27
BUSINESS: Proverbs 10:16; Proverbs 21:5; Proverbs 22:29; Proverbs 27:23-27
Proverbs deals with over well over 100 different topics and
themes: such things as honesty, laziness, greed, relationships with family, friends,
neighbors, bosses, servants, anger, speech, and justice, just to name a few...
Proverbs is
not just a haphazard collection of “tips and tricks.” It is the core
knowledge and experience that God promises will bring successf in life. That's why we are naming this series:
"The Winning
Life: God's Guaranteed Steps to Success
In Your Future,
Your Family, and Your Finances."
TEXT Proverbs 1:1-7
1. What is a proverb?
The
Eastern world is known as the home of proverbs... Confucius and other Chinese
philosophers... How about fortune
cookies...
A saying
that conveys a specific truth in a pointed way
Short
sentences drawn from long experience;
A truth
couched in a form that is easy to remember;
A
philosophy based on experience; a rule for conduct;
Sayings
taken from everyday life intended to serve as practical guidelines for everyday
living.
You know,
Mother used to say.… ”
Some of
those you may want to forget!
A penny
saved is a penny earned.
A bird in
the hand is worth two in the bush.
God helps
those who help themselves.
Look
before you leap.
People
who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
What are
some other wise sayings you recall from your childhood?
No pain,
no gain
“It’s not over ’til it’s over.”
“Don’t change horses in midstream,”
“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,”
“Variety is the spice of life,”
“Blood is thicker than water.”
The
English word "proverb" comes to from a Latin word that means “a word, speech, or discourse.”
The
Hebrew is "mashal", which
can also be interpreted as oracle or parable.
This is why the first nine chapters of Proverbs are of a different style
from the rest of the book.
Much of
Proverbs is in Hebrew poetry and shares with the poetry of many cultures a
special use of words for effect, sound, imagery, and language. Although the book of Proverbs is written in
poetry, it is not the rhyming poetry we are used to in English. In Hebrew poetry the basic form is
parallelism: the repetition of related thoughts. The core idea is “comparison.” This comparison usually takes four forms:
Synonymous parallelism, the second line restates the first line in slightly
different terms:
A good
name is to be chosen rather than great riches;
Loving favor
rather than silver and gold. (22:1)
Antithetical parallelism: the second line expresses the thought negatively, again
reinforcing the positive idea:
A
prudent man foresees evil and hides himself,
But the simple
pass on and are punished. (22:3)
Climactic parallelism: the second line completes the thought of the first line:
The
rich and the poor have this in common,
The Lord is the
maker of them all. (22:2)
Finally,
many of the proverbs are based on comparisons between two parallel lines. These
are the “better than” proverbs:
Better
is a little with righteousness,
Than vast
revenues without justice. (16:8)
2. Proverbs of
Solomon
Most of
Proverbs is attributed to Solomon: Proverbs 1:1; Proverbs 10:1; Proverbs 25:1
Others
are also named as collectors and contributers: Agur, Lemuel, and, as we saw
above, some assistants to King Hezekiah...
Who was
Solomon? Second son of David and
Bathsheba: 2 Samuel 12:24
Succeeded
David as King of Israel: 1 Chronicles 22:9, 10; 1 Chronicles 28:5-7
Prayed
for wisdom: 1 Kings 3:4-14
Here is
some good news: We also can call upon God for wisdom: James 1:5
Solomon
became known as the wisest of all men: 1 Kings 4:29-34; 1 Kings 10:1-7; 2 Chronicles 9:22, 23
Now I
have some weird ideas about the book of Proverbs. One of these is that many of the Proverbs,
especially the first nine chapters, are really the proverbs of David that he
spoke to his son Solomon as he was growing up.
Look at the following passages: Proverbs 4:3, 4; Proverbs 1:8; Proverbs 1:10; Proverbs 2:1; Proverbs 3:1; Proverbs 4:10; Proverbs 5:1; Proverbs 6:1; Proverbs 6:20; Proverbs 7:1
It is not
really a big deal, but David did a lot of living and made his share of
mistakes. When you read the advice of
the first nine chapters, it rings of a man who had lived life the hard way and
is trying to save his children from the pain that he endured.
The sad
thing is that Solomon did not listen. He
had the advice of his father David and
his mother Bathsheba; he had the revealed wisdom of God, yet he went off into
sin that was worse than what his father had done. He did not fully follow the Lord: 1 Kings 3:3; 1 Kings 11:1-9
Solomon's
son, Rehoboam, did not heed instruction either: 1 Kings 11:43; 1 Kings 12:6-8; 2 Chronicles 12:1; 2 Chronicles 12:14
What can
we learn from this? We can have the
right ideas, all the wisdom of God and the world, but if we do not have the
power of God then it is worthless!
How many
times in our own lives have we known what the right thing was to do, but we did
what we wanted to do anyway! This is the
essence of the human condition: James 4:17
We need
the grace of God. Not in license but in
power: Romans 5:2
As we
look to Proverbs we will become aware that it is a book about wisdom, about
seeking out wisdom.
We will
see that wisdom is not adhering to a set of codes of action, but listening to
and obeying the voice of the Lord!
Actually it is calling on and leaning on Jesus: He is the wisdom of God:
This
study is all about seeking after Jesus!
It is not about filling in your checklist and just waiting for the
blessings to come dropping down out of the sky.
If that is your attitude, the. You will just get puffed up and prideful
and experience the chastening of the Lord.
If, however, we will seek after God as the very source of our life, then
we can experience the fulness that Jesus said we could have: John 10:10
A few
practical things...
1. Read a chapter of Proverbs
everyday.
2. Turn the chapter into
prayer, Proverb Prayers by John Mason
3. Categorize the verses under
topics.
4. Memorize the ones that apply
to your situation.
5. Cry out to God for wisdom.
6. Seek to hear Jesus and know
Him.
7. Obey His voice!
8. The Word judges us; we do not
judge the Word.
Hosea 4:6, “My
people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge, because they have rejected
knowledge.”
I often know what to do, but choose not to do!
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