Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] When I was a senior at Oklahoma Christian School, that's where I went to school my whole life. That's in Edmond.
[00:00:08] I got to be on the homecoming court for basketball. I was one of the only basketball players my age. And so that's probably why I don't actually know how homecoming usually works at bigger public schools. So maybe some of you at broken Arrow can educate me. But the way it worked, there was. There would be a boy and a girl. Freshman, boy and a girl, sophomore, junior, and then seniors would have four guys and three girls. And it was always those fixed numbers. Now, the reason there are more guys is because the king would be elected ahead of time, and then the queen would be announced after the game.
[00:00:48] Another tradition we had was during the pep rally. I'm sure this isn't super unique, but we would have get with our group and our age, and we would perform. Perform a dance of sorts. A dance routine. So our senior group, we got together and we made something, and I couldn't. I couldn't do it today. Otherwise, I totally would.
[00:01:13] I just don't remember it. Sorry. But at the time, let's just say I was a pretty big fan of professional wrestling. So we worked in a couple of wrestling moves into this dance.
[00:01:26] I f fived somebody. You may not know what that is. I can tell you later. I f five somebody onto the mat during this performance, and I tore off my shirt, and I thought, that would be such a great, great idea. I really did. There were no cons to this plan. Not a single con, believe it or not. But there was an issue. I guess we did these performances to some faculty for approval beforehand, and I think I forgot to show them that part of the show.
[00:02:04] Remember, this is a christian school, so maybe the rules are a little bit even more strict than you might be used to.
[00:02:11] So right after I was swiftly asked to come to the principal's office, where my principal gave me a stern a talking to, which I did deserve. I just want to say, that was wrong. I should not have done that. That was deceitful. And I'm not just trying to say, oh, look, you know, it was stupid that they got mad at me. No, I deserve that. Talking to. I'm sure that many of you have received a similar talking to before. I'm sure you have been learned a lesson in the past.
[00:02:44] This sort of lecture is common now. A lot of you probably are too good of students, and this hasn't happened to you at school, okay? You've probably gotten it from your mom or your dad. Definitely. Probably from your dad.
[00:02:57] And though you pretty much never are in the mood for this sort of lecture, you need it. Sometimes we really need it. You know, your dad doesn't lecture you to bore you or to torture you. He does it because he believes what he's saying is important for you to hear. He loves you, and he wants to impart some wisdom which you need.
[00:03:19] Now, proverbs, a lot of times has a similar tone, and that's the book we're studying for this semester. And part of next even has a similar tone written by Solomon. Much of it is kind of from the angle of a father imparting wisdom to his son.
[00:03:36] Ultimately, this wisdom is received by the spirit of wisdom given by Jesus Christ to those who trust him.
[00:03:46] The goal of the Book of proverbs. Now, I'm going to say this week after week, but I'd encourage you to write this down. The goal of the Book of Proverbs is to help the reader choose the path of wisdom. To help the reader choose the path of wisdom, which is the path of Christ.
[00:04:05] So proverbs is saying, choose the path of wisdom, which is the path of Christ. So this evening we're studying proverbs one. If you haven't, you can flip there, as I do.
[00:04:16] The main idea of proverbs one, which. There are some blanks to this on your sheet. The main idea of proverbs one is the fear of the Lord is the path to wisdom and salvation. So we got the fear, oh, that turns of the Lord is the path. Oh, to oh, I write of the Lord, there is the path to wisdom. Forgive me. You're just gonna have to be able to read that that says wisdom and salvation.
[00:04:56] But he who lacks such fear will be destroyed. Thanks, Grant.
[00:05:03] Well, thank you for your efforts.
[00:05:05] He who lacks such fear will be destroyed in this chapter. And these will be our four points. We're introduced to four characters that play a part, really, throughout the whole book to varying degrees.
[00:05:19] So we'll go by them one by one. But first, let's read the first little bit of this. We're going to read proverbs one, one, seven.
[00:05:28] The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel, to know wisdom and instruction to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity, to give prudence to the simple knowledge and discretion to the youth.
[00:05:47] Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance to understand a proverb into saying the words of the wise and their riddles.
[00:05:58] The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. So our first character is King Solomon. King Solomon. You see him right there in verse one. He is the author of the book.
[00:06:16] Really? He is the author of the majority share of the book. If you read through proverbs, you'll see eventually there are proverbs attributed to other authors, but he wrote the majority of it. And so he's considered the author.
[00:06:30] And really, for Solomon to be the author of a book about wisdom really shouldn't surprise us. And it shouldn't surprise us that he has a bunch of proverbs. One kings four tells us something about Solomon. This is one kings 430 34.
[00:06:47] Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east in all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all other men, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite and Haman and Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahole. And his fame was in all the surrounding nations. He also spoke 3000 proverbs and his songs were 1005.
[00:07:13] He spoke of trees from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He also spoke of beasts and of birds and of reptiles and of fish. And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon and from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.
[00:07:33] So as we study this book over the next semester and a half, we'll make reference to Solomon's psalm as it's important for us to remember who is writing these proverbs.
[00:07:44] Our second character relevant in the book is the Lord.
[00:07:50] The Lord.
[00:07:53] Now we see the lord first pop up explicitly in verse seven. But I don't want us to skip verses two through six. Those are important because those verses contain the thesis of the book. The thesis. Raise your hand if you've written an essay.
[00:08:11] Okay. I'm glad at least most of you are raising your hands. Keep your hand up if you know what a thesis is, and I'm not gonna call on you. Okay, good. That's good. I don't know if I saw a hand go down. Maybe I did. If it did go down, you might need help writing essays.
[00:08:30] You need a thesis. You need one. It is so important for what you're doing. The thesis is the author's opportunity to say the destination and the purpose of his writing. So you know where we're going. We're not just reading this book for who knows how long. We know where we're going. And these verses tell us to where we're going. This is the goal.
[00:08:54] And here are the five goals. I kind of summarized it into five. First is for the reader to know Wisdom.
[00:09:02] First goal is for the reader to know wisdom and wisdom as we will see as we unpack this book, that wisdom points to Christ every time in this book, it points us to Christ.
[00:09:15] The second goal is for the reader to receive instruction. So to know wisdom now. To receive instruction. Now. Instruction is the teaching itself, whereas wisdom is what is gained by knowledge and experience in the world. Say that again. Instruction is the teaching itself, but wisdom is what is gained by knowledge and experience in the world.
[00:09:37] So knowledge kind of deals with facts, but wisdom takes those facts and applies them to real life.
[00:09:44] Third goal, for the foolish or simple reader to be given prudence and discretion. Now, when he's saying simple, he says prudence to the simple. He's also referencing, you see, the youth. So he's calling the youth simple.
[00:10:04] He's calling you simple, and probably me for that matter. But it's not in an insulting way. It's really just emphasizing a lack of worldly experience, which is largely how we gain wisdom. So it's acknowledging that people that need wisdom the most are young people.
[00:10:27] The fourth goal we see, even for the wise reader, to increase learning. So not only the simple and the young and the less wise, but for those who are already wise, they can gain from this book, they can gain more wisdom.
[00:10:45] And fifth, and finally, for the thesis, the goal is to help the reader understand proverbs. To understand proverbs. As we go forward, we will learn better and better how we can study and understand this sometimes confusing and difficult to read book.
[00:11:05] Now, after the thesis, we're going to focus here on verse seven.
[00:11:10] This verse is a motto that governs the rest of the book. This is probably, if you could rank how important the verses are. This is the most important verse of the chapter. This is important for the rest of the book. I'll read it again. So look with your eyes at it. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
[00:11:37] So the fear of the Lord is the beginning. It's the starting point.
[00:11:42] And the end point is the thesis, those five goals. But this is where we start.
[00:11:49] Now we all, you all need wisdom.
[00:11:53] Wisdom is gained by worldly experience, filtered through the knowledge of God. Wisdom is gained by worldly experience, filtered through the knowledge of God. Therefore, as younger people, you almost certainly lack wisdom compared to an older saint.
[00:12:12] But here's the awesome thing about proverbs and why we're studying it. That's why this book is written. That's what it's written for.
[00:12:23] One of the purposes is to give prudence to the simple knowledge and discretion to the youth. And so here's what your goal should be. I have a couple goals for you all. Your goal should be in studying this book, to gain the ability to deal wisely with everything life throws at you.
[00:12:40] Life will throw a lot at you. This book will help you deal with those things.
[00:12:45] Second, your goal should be to expand your knowledge of the word of God so that you might be able to make better and more godly decisions.
[00:12:56] But you must begin by fearing God.
[00:13:01] You can't accomplish those goals if you skip that. You must show reverence, respect and total awe to God.
[00:13:10] You treat him as the most important being in the universe, someone who, if he were to walk through the door, your only response that you would know what to do would be to plant your face on the floor.
[00:13:24] Now, I can't imagine a single person on the planet who, if he walked through the door, that would bring my reaction. But that is the importance of God. That's what it means to fear and respect and revere God.
[00:13:38] And when we fear, we're not just fearing any God, any religious higher power. We are fearing a specific God, the Lord fear the Lord. Now, if you notice in your Bible, the Lord, the word Lord, has all capital letters.
[00:13:59] Now, if you don't know what that means, what that means is the word behind that is Yahweh. If it doesn't have all capital letters, at least in the OLd TEStamEnt, which is Yahweh is a hebrew word, so it'd be in the OLD TEStament, then it's a different word. But this is God's covenant name when you see it in all capital letters. So this is a very specific lord, a very specific God, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob and of David. And he is the God who came incarnate to earthen yemenite Jesus ChrIst.
[00:14:36] Now, this book causes actually a lot of trouble for scholars because it doesn't reference a lot of Israel's history. So sometimes people have had difficult times interpreting the book. But right here, if we look carefully, we see a reference to ISrael's history.
[00:14:53] Right here we are talking about the God of Israel, the God of the church, wisdom. Then if he, if fearing him is the beginning of wisdom, then wisdom must be religious. It has to be religious. Without a relationship with God, you cannot gain this wisdom. You can't find it.
[00:15:15] But God has given us a way to find wisdom to be his friend and to be considered an heir of the promises of God. This is through the Messiah.
[00:15:27] Isaiah prophesies of the Messiah and uses similar language here. He says this, and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
[00:15:48] This messiah who delights in the fear of the Lord is our access point to wisdom. This same God, Jesus, opens to us this path, but it begins with fearing God in faith.
[00:16:04] So you all need wisdom, and you can't have it unless you turn from your foolish and sinful lives and towards Jesus Christ almighty. And he is merciful to forgive your sins and to grant you wisdom through his very own spirit.
[00:16:24] Let's continue reading, starting in verse eight.
[00:16:28] Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck. My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say, come with us, let us lie and wait for blood. Let us ambush the innocent without reason, like Sheol. Let us swallow them alive and whole, like those who go down to the pit. We shall find all precious goods, and we shall fill our houses with plunder. Throw in your lot among us. We will all have one purse, my son. Do not walk in the way with them. Hold back your foot from their pads, for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood. For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird. But these men lie in wait for their own blood. They set an ambush for their own lives.
[00:17:25] Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain. It takes away the life of its possessors.
[00:17:33] So here we are introduced to another character or characters, the parents.
[00:17:40] The parents are the third.
[00:17:43] Usually in this book, we'll interact with the father, but they're used kind of interchangeably for parental authority.
[00:17:54] So here is what we call, or some scholars call the first lecture. This is the first lecture. The first talking to the son gets in the book, and there will be more. So dad sits down to learn him a lesson. But again, since this is a father's instruction and a mother's teaching, this is not just for sons, but for sons and daughters, applicable for us all.
[00:18:21] Now, when we remember that we're reading about the father's instruction, we must know we're not necessarily talking about God the father.
[00:18:30] But, you know, if we apply these truths to our life, then it is, in a sense, God the father who imparts wisdom to us. But in this way, we are all the son who must heed the father's instruction and listen to his lecture. Here.
[00:18:47] Now, this first lecture deals with bad company, bad friends, and the temptations they bring us.
[00:18:55] The parents are teaching their son that there will be sinners who call to you, who entice you to do what you know isn't quite right or what you know is dead wrong. Even perhaps reading through that passage made you think about your friend group, or maybe a friend group you've been a part of, or one that you're kind of in and out with now. They probably don't say, hey, come on, let's lie in wait for blood. We can ambush for no reason. You know, people don't talk like that. Not anymore.
[00:19:28] But it's probably more subtle.
[00:19:30] It's probably like, oh, we're not gossiping. I'm just really concerned about her.
[00:19:37] Or, come on, he deserves it. Let's do it.
[00:19:41] Or maybe, come on, no one will find out.
[00:19:45] And there are probably about a million other phrases I could have written down and given you guys as an example. You guys know what it sounds like. You have that conscience.
[00:19:57] Don't fall in with the wrong crowd. And if you do climb out, leave.
[00:20:04] Look what results from falling in with a bad crowd. Verse 18 says, they set an ambush for their own lives.
[00:20:15] You will be led into a trap. So if you think you're getting by and having fun without a care in the world, that trouble will catch up to you. And if it doesn't catch up to you in your earthly life, it will in your forever life, in eternity.
[00:20:33] Such foolishness, verse 19 says, takes away the life of those who live so foolishly.
[00:20:41] And now, this applies to us on a couple of levels. The first level is obey your earthly parents.
[00:20:48] Obey your parents. Their teaching is said to be like a garland or a pendant.
[00:20:55] If you are privileged to have loving christian parents, especially, treat their lectures as rewards, as something of value, as a treasure. A garland symbolized victories over one's enemies. It was placed on the head of a victor of some competition.
[00:21:17] That is what wisdom does for you. It gives you victory over foolishness. An appendant would have been worn by a judge, and a judge is somebody with high moral character.
[00:21:30] So what they teach you will save you on this earth, and it will protect you.
[00:21:37] It will save you and protect you. Sure, they'll make mistakes. They'll probably give you a lesson that's not so good. They'll misread something, but overall, God has placed them in your life for good.
[00:21:50] Your parents may not be christians, though, and that can cause some good questions. And it means that they don't ultimately have complete access to the wisdom of God.
[00:22:01] But we still must honor them and obey them in earthly things. But we must obey God in spiritual things.
[00:22:09] So that's kind of the first level. The second level is, obey your heavenly father.
[00:22:15] Listen intently to his word. Memorize his word. Memorize his teachings. Think about them, meditate on them, so that you can wear the word of God like a garland or a pendant. When you hide it in your heart, you are setting yourself up to be able to adorn yourself with the word of God, like a crown or like a gold medal, or even like a piece of armor.
[00:22:44] We can also listen to the proverbs elsewhere. In the proverbs, we see verses like this. Maybe you need to memorize these, or just remember these. Proverbs 22 24 25 says this, make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.
[00:23:08] Where proverbs 24 one two says, be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them, for their hearts devise violence, and their lips talk of trouble.
[00:23:21] So look even to the proverbs for wisdom that you can wear around your neck like a pendant.
[00:23:29] Now let's read this last section of proverbs one starting in verse 20.
[00:23:35] Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets, she raises her voice at the head of the noisy streets. She cries out. At the entrance of the city gates, she speaks, how long, o simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing? And fools hate knowledge?
[00:23:57] If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you. I will make my words known to you. Because I have called and you refused to listen, have stretched out my hand, and no one has heeded. Because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof.
[00:24:19] I also will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when terror strikes you, when terror strikes you like a storm, and your calamity comes like a whirlwind. When distress and anguish come upon you, then they will call upon me, but I will not answer. They will seek me diligently, but will not find me, because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, would have none of my counsel, and despised all my reproof. Therefore, they shall eat the fruit of their way and have their fill of their own devices, for the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them.
[00:25:02] But whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease without dread of disaster.
[00:25:10] Here we are introduced to our last character, Lady Wisdom.
[00:25:23] Lady Wisdom.
[00:25:29] Wisdom in this book is personified often as a woman, as it is here. And that's probably mostly because wisdom in Hebrew is a feminine noun. And so we hear her speak. This is a poetic way for us to learn what wisdom is teaching. So remember, as we hear her speak, she is wisdom. And wisdom comes from God himself. And this is because Jesus Christ, in a perfect way personified the very wisdom that proverbs teaches.
[00:26:08] And in order to be wise, you must have a relationship with him. So he personifies perfectly wisdom. And you must know him and be in relationship with him to know wisdom.
[00:26:19] And so when she makes a promise or issues a warning, it is coming from God through the voice of lady wisdom. You can even hear as she speaks that these words seem like they're coming from God. When she says, I'll pour out my spirit to you, I'll make my words known to you.
[00:26:38] Because Lady Wisdom is a poetic way of describing the very wisdom of Jesus teachings.
[00:26:46] And interestingly here when we first meet her, she's depicted as like a street preacher. She's a street preacher. She's preaching all around in the street, in the markets, in the noisy streets and at the gates. She's everywhere speaking aloud. Wisdom, regardless of whether there's an audience or nothing, wisdom is out there.
[00:27:10] That's what we take away. Wisdom is out there. She's calling in the streets. She's not hiding. It's available for any of you to listen to.
[00:27:19] In fact, we have a lot of it right here in book form right in front of us.
[00:27:26] Will you listen to lady wisdom? Will you listen to God's word?
[00:27:33] Jesus is calling to you from his word even this evening, and so will you ignore it? Will you keep associating with bad friends? Will you continue to live like your bible is irrelevant and doesn't exist?
[00:27:51] Will you live in your own fantasy world instead of the world God has made? Will you choose your devices and other comforts? Overdose, sometimes difficult lessons from God in his word?
[00:28:04] Don't delay this. Choose Christ while you can, because eventually we read here, it will be too late.
[00:28:16] It will. Wisdom says, I will laugh at your calamity, not in a heartless way, but in a way that emphasizes how absurd it is to choose foolishness when wisdom is freely offered.
[00:28:31] She also mocks when terror comes, for the same reason.
[00:28:36] So there will come a time when all people call upon God.
[00:28:42] He will hear. Some because he will be with them in glory. Rather, we will be with him, but others he will not hear, because judgment has come and gone.
[00:28:55] You hated wisdom and knowledge, which is really to say that you hated the Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:29:01] You do not know when he will return. None of us do.
[00:29:05] But he will. And so you must fear the Lord today.
[00:29:10] Don't wait. Fear him now. Put your faith in Christ and the spirit of wisdom now, tonight. We don't know what tomorrow holds, but this offer is free.
[00:29:22] It's simple instructions. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of it. Fear him entrusting Christ, who is wisdom.
[00:29:30] Listen to that promise again. At the end of lady wisdom's preaching, she says, but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease without dread of disaster.
[00:29:46] Listen to wisdom. Listen to the word of God and to Jesus Christ.
[00:29:51] You can dwell secure, though calamity and terror is an option, an eternal destiny, you can choose wisdom. You can choose to dwell safe and secure.
[00:30:06] You will dwell if you choose Christ in faith, you will dwell secure in and his everlasting arms of mercy. You will be in his safe and secure embrace of grace.
[00:30:20] You must have faith in Christ. He is the operator and giver of all wisdom on earth. And though you deserve the dread of eternal disaster, Jesus is kind to save.
[00:30:34] And wisdom calls out to all peoples who can hear her voice.
[00:30:41] Now to close, I want us to remember, what is the fear of the Lord?
[00:30:47] According to Charles Bridges, he says, this is what the fear of the Lord is.
[00:30:54] It is that affectionate reverence by which the child of God bends himself humbly and carefully to his father's law.
[00:31:04] His wrath is so bitter and his love is so sweet that hence springs an earnest desire to please him and a holy watchfulness and fear that he might not sin against him.
[00:31:18] Why then do multitudes around us despise wisdom and instruction?
[00:31:24] Because the beginning of wisdom, the fear of God, is not before their eyes.
[00:31:31] They know not its value, they scorn its obligation. Wise they may be in their own sight. But surely God here gives them their right name. For fools they must be to despise such a blessing, to rush into willful ruin.
[00:31:47] I want us to remember those words and think, do you have that affectionate reverence for goddess? Do you bend yourself humbly and carefully to obey him?
[00:32:01] Or does your life show that you might really despise wisdom.
[00:32:07] Choose Christ and choose wisdom.
[00:32:10] Let's pray.
[00:32:13] Father God, we praise you for your word. Lord, I pray that our ears would be open and humble to receive the instruction and wisdom you are giving to us tonight.
[00:32:23] Lord, I pray that all in this room would seek you in faith constantly till we all pass on. Lord, I pray as we go to our groups, you would help the students and even the adults in the room to further think about and apply your word to our hearts and to our lives. God help us to understand it better. And we pray this all in Christ's name. Amen.
[00:32:50] I.
