Proverbs 8 - Wisdom and Creation

Wisdom calls out to be heard, to be paid attention to. The problem is not that wisdom is hidden, but that men ignore her call and prefer the way of folly. The same is true of Christ. He has not hidden Himself, but has made Himself visible to all nations. Christ calls us to follow Him, to learn from Him.

There is a close relationship between Jesus and Wisdom, which is personified here. Jesus speaks truth and justice, all that He says is trustworthy. Following Jesus is more fruitful than following silver and gold.

Wisdom dwells with prudence, knowledge and discretion. We know this to be true. If we fear the Lord we will utterly reject all evil.

Wisdom has sound judgement, insight and power. Good rulers use wisdom with which to rule. This brings honour and prosperity. Justice is the hallmark of wisdom. 

Wisdom is seen in some ways as created, so we should be wary of drawing too close a parallel with Jesus, though it is not absolutely clear that wisdom is created in the normal way. Wisdom came about before the physical elements of creation. The whole universe was created with wisdom. 

Wisdom underlies the whole of creation and do well to pay heed to wisdom, otherwise we only do ourselves harm.

Proverbs 6:20-7:27 - Adultery

We now get another chapter and a half of warnings against adultery. Sometimes people say the church focuses too much on sexual sin. There are various things can be said about this. First, we don't focus on sex half as much as society in general does! Secondly, the reasons there are frequent warnings against sexual sin of various sorts are that it is very prevalent, it is a temptation we particularly subject too, and it is very destructive.

The section starts with a repeat of the advice to heed your parent's instruction. Older people will have seen a bit of life, and will hopefully have learnt something from it (though this is not always the case!). We should learn from their experience. 

There is a warning not to lust in our hearts nor to be captivated by her. The sermon on the mount was not the first mention of our heart attitudes being important (in fact most of the sermon on the mount is reflecting what is already in the Old Testament).

Adultery is even worse than going with a prostitute. For adultery involves another man's wife, so you will endure the wrath of the other man as well as everything else that goes with sexual sin. The punishment will be great.

Then we are called on again to keep wisdom close to us. Then the writer tells a tale of the effects of adultery, describing how the temptation of adultery works. It uses smooth talk and tempting looks. When a man gives in to sexual temptation he becomes a fool.

Proverbs 6:1-19 - Folly

Now we get warning against folly. Just think how much of our present economic woes we would have been spared if we had exercised a little common sense. This ranges from the leaders of international banks and companies to the man and woman on the street. Supposedly intelligent people make decisions which bankrupt previously sound businesses. Today the trend is to always find someone else to blame. It is far wiser to take responsibility for ourselves. Here is a simple truth: you do not need to listen to stupid advice.

First the writer warns us against putting up security for someone else, and if we have done so, then he advises us to get out of it as quickly as possible, for this is a serious trap. There is a key lesson here, and that is people have to take responsibility for themselves. When someone is in need it right for us to help them, but they are still responsible for their own lives.

We also need to realise that a lot of trouble we experience is our own fault, and that a little hard work, a little application, a little common sense can solve or avoid a lot of problems.

Troublemakers are to be avoided, for trouble is all they will produce. They plot evil, but disaster will overtake them in an instant.

Then we get a list of things that the Lord hates, and essentially it is deceitfulness and pride and a wicked heart.

Proverbs 5 - Sex

We now begin a series of "warnings". Wisdom involves both knowing the right things to do and knowing what to avoid. The first warning is against adultery, and I don't think it is pushing things too far to take this as a warning against all forms of sexual sin. Most people would have been married in those days so any sexual sin would most probably have been adultery. 

I have just googled "discretion" and one of the definitions is "The freedom to decide what should be done in a particular situation". If we sin sexually we can be sure that one thing we will lose is freedom. Suddenly life becomes much more complicated, lies and deception start to rule. Sexual temptation may seem sweet but if we give in it will turn into a bitter poison. God created sex for one situation alone, marriage between a man and a woman. It is a very powerful thing and the marriage relationship is the only one that can contain it. Within marriage sex is creative and upbuilding, in all other situations it is utterly destructive. And those who are tempting others do not know what they are doing, they too are on the road to destruction.

So we must be careful to avoid sexual temptation. We need to steer far clear of it for it can easily draw us in.  If we do fall we lose dignity and honour. In the end we will regret it if we do not receive and learn from discipline.

Now this is not an anti-sex talk. Wisdom then urges the man to find sexual pleasure from his wife. Indeed it speaks highly of her beauty, and it expresses the wish that a man might find delight in his wife's breasts at all times (interestingly the Message translation doesn't even mention breasts). Can't say I have heard too many sermons on this verse, but the Bible really does have a very different perspective on sex to what most people think.

Finally, this chapter closes with a warning that all that we do is done in the full sight of God. We think some things are done in secret, but in reality all is done in full view of the Lord.

Proverbs 4 - Guard your heart

We are not just receiving academic advice or a formal training course. When we read the Bible and apply ourselves to understanding we are receiving instruction from the Father. When we listen to Him we will gain understanding. And His teaching is reliable, unlike the rubbish the world teaches.

Verses 3 and 4 are interesting. It could be read as Solomon telling of how he learnt from his father David, which no doubt he did, It can also be looked at as the Father teaching the Son.

We need to make sure we do not forget what we have learnt. The church is all too good at forgetting what it has learnt, as we see today in all too many ways. Wisdom will guard our lives, but we have to pay attention to her. We need to dedicate our lives to wisdom. 

Jesus told a parable about the pearl of great price, here we have the same sentiment expressed about wisdom. We need to seek to understand life.

Wisdom will extend our life. We can see that foolishness can quickly reduce our years, but the converse is also true. For wisdom will help us to walk in good ways and to avoid many pitfalls. We must avoid evil at all costs, for it will only bring destruction upon us.

Wickedness leads to darkness and confusion, wisdom leads to light and clarity.

We are to guard our hearts above all else. The health of the core of our being is vital, and this is not the physical heart we are talking about, but our soul. We need to feed on good teaching, so that good things may flow from our lives. We also need to watch our tongues, it is so easy to talk rubbish.

Wisdom will teach us to walk in a straightforward manner.

Proverbs 3:13-35 - Generosity

We should seek wisdom far more than money, it brings are far greater and deeper blessing than money ever can, and will give a far better return in life. Silver and gold actually have virtually zero intrinsic value, and the money we have these days is mostly electronic and has zero intrinsic value. Yet we devote so much time to it. It is not money itself that is valuable, but what we can do with it. If we focus on the money we make an idol of it and encounter all the attached problems, including judgement from God. Wisdom shows us what is truly important and valuable in life. Paradoxically, this may sometimes result in us becoming financially better off, but the moment we put the focus on the money itself we are in trouble. 

Wisdom provides protection and honour, for it affects, in a good way, the very heart of our being.

One of the key features of Godly wisdom is that it makes us generous. God is a giving God, so if we really do know Him generosity will become an increasing part of our nature as well. So we should delight to give and to help. 

The negative side is also given, do not plot harm, do not falsely accuse. We might think it is pointless to give this advice. If we have the positive, then we will not need to worry about the negative. But this is to live in unreality. We have not been fully sanctified yet, there is still sin lurking in us, so we need to be on our guard against it. Have you noticed that sometimes after you have done something really good you will then do something really stupid or bad very soon afterwards? We need to be on our guard.

The Lord judges and acts against the perverse, wicked and proud.

Proverbs 3:7-12 - Do not be wise in your own eyes

"Do not be wise in your own eyes". If we listen to so many of the new atheists and various secularists and humanists being wise in their own eyes is so clearly what they are doing. We need to bear this in mind in arguing with them. Logical arguments can get so far and have a role to play, but the root of every man's problem is rebellion against God. When we ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil we became "wise in our own eyes". We need to repent of this. We also need to apply this verse to ourselves. We have been completely forgiven, but the work of sanctification is ongoing, so there is still lots of sin residing in us. At times it will show itself by leading us to become wise in our own eyes. When we spot this happening we need to repent and humble ourselves before God. And this will be beneficial to our health!

We are to honour the Lord with our wealth, and giving to God should be the first item in our budget, not an afterthought (which was Abel's problem). When we do this our wealth will increase. Now does this mean that in all circumstances at all times we can expect financial blessing in a legalistic sense? No, for two reasons. Proverbs is not giving laws but principles, and it is only part of the story. We are called to share in Christ's sufferings. However, the wisest financial move we can make is to be generous, and this will actually increase our financial security. If we make money our goal (which really means making it our god), then we are heading down a wrong road. If we seek first the kingdom of God then money will take care of itself.

The wise man is not the one who gets everything right, but the one who is willing to learn, both from God and from others. The Lord disciplines those whom He loves, because He has high hopes and expectations for us.