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The
Benefit of Wisdom
The
following is a Bible study posted on our Bible Study Group.
Happy Wednesday to you all!
As is my Wednesday custom, I clicked onto http://bible.gospelcom.net,
and guess what was the verse of the day!
"Since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and
asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual
wisdom and understanding." -- Colossians 1:9 (NIV)
Being filled with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and
understanding -- that is precisely why we are studying the book of Proverbs
right now! Today we're headed into chapter 2, and I'd also like to suggest that
you read through these passages on your own later:
Proverbs 3:1-26
Proverbs 4:1-13
Proverbs 8:1- 9:12
Chapter 2 of Proverbs is divided into 3 sections:
If you will...
Then you will...
When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto
thy soul, then...
If you will...
- receive my words (v. 1) -- receive means to
take in (Strong's #3947). How can we take in God's Words? Only through His
Word. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, "All scripture is given by inspiration of
God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly
furnished unto all good works." We need to schedule a daily time for
"taking in" God's Words.
- hide my commandments with thee (v. 1) --
hide (#6845) means to hoard. This reminds me of the stories of Christian
prisoners in Nazi war camps who would have to share one Bible among many
hundreds of prisoners. They would tear pages out of the Bible and distribute
one to each person, and each person would HOARD their personal page, reading
it so many times that its words were memorized. Is God's Word so precious to
us that we hoard it, or hide it in our minds, so that it can be recalled at
any time?
- incline thine ear unto wisdom (v. 2) --
incline (#7181) means "to prick up the ears." My black lab has the
BIGGEST ears, and on a windy day, if she is in the back yard, her big ears
start flopping around in the breeze. It's hilarious! I've also noticed on a
quiet night, when my husband happens to be away, that she'll lie next to me
on the floor. Sometimes she'll lift her head and those monstrous ears will
shoot out like sails on a ship. I didn't hear a sound, but those
"inclined" ears don't miss anything. Are we as careful to listen
to God?
- apply thine heart to understanding (v. 2) --
apply (#5186); heart (#3820) -- We've discussed before how heart is
"used very widely for the feelings, the will and even the intellect;
likewise for the center of anything." I like the book Ordering Your
Private World, by Gordon MacDonald, and his wonderful discussion of our
hearts and what we need to do to protect them.
- cry after knowledge and lift up your voice for
understanding (v. 3) -- I can relate to this because my 18-month-old is
very good at "crying after" something she wants. For instance,
yesterday our dog sat on Baby Kiersten's favorite blanket. The dog weighs
around 50 pounds, so there was no way Kiersten was going to be able to
convince Doggy to move off! So she sat next to Doggy and "lifted up her
voice." A verse I love says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he
should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it
will be given to him." (James 1:5, NIV) As a wife and mom, I need
wisdom ALL the time!
- seek for her as silver, and searchest for her as
for hid treasures (v. 4) -- This reminds me of this story Jesus told:
"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not
light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And
when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says,
'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' In the same way, I tell you,
there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who
repents." (Luke 15:8-10, NIV)
Then you will...
- understand the fear of the Lord (v. 5)
- find the knowledge of God (v. 5)
- understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity;
yea, every good path.
When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge
is pleasant unto thy
soul, then...
- discretion shall preserve thee (v. 11)
- understanding shall keep thee (v. 11)
- to deliver thee from:
~ the way of the evil man (v. 12)
~ the man that speaketh froward things, etc. (v. 12-15)
~ the strange woman (v. 16-19) -- more on her another time
- thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep
the paths of the
righteous (v. 20-22)
All through the month of October, we read through the
book of Proverbs together and marked some of the benefits of wisdom. We found
that God richly blesses those who seek after Him! God blesses our families, our
jobs, our health, our pocketbooks, our friendships. We gives us joy, peace,
safety, and hope for the future. These are just some of the temporary, earthly
benefits, but I want to point them out to you. I know many Christians who have
trusted in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and are certain of spending
eternity with God in heaven. However, they are living discouraged, defeated
Christian lives now.
When I read through Proverbs and list the benefits of seeking after wisdom, I
can't help but notice that these are blessings God gives to us now. God doesn't
want us to live in defeat. He promises good success to those who follow wisdom.
I am not saying that we'll be rich and always happy and never sick a day in our
lives. Yet I also can't ignore the promises of God that as I follow His wisdom,
he will bless me.
We'll talk about some of these specific areas (like money and health and more)
another week, but for now I urge you to receive God's words, hide his commands
in your heart, poke up your ears toward wisdom, apply your heart to
understanding God's Word, cry after knowledge and seek for it as for hidden
treasure. Don't ever let ignorance of God's Word be your excuse for why God
can't bless you.
"GRACE and PEACE be MULTIPLIED to you in the KNOWLEDGE of God and of Jesus
our Lord, as His divine power has given to us ALL THINGS that pertain to life
and godliness, through the KNOWLEDGE of Him who called us by glory and virtue,
by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious PROMISES, that
through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the
corruption that is in the world through lust." (2 Peter 1:2-4, NKJV,
emphasis mine)
If you would
like to participate in our current study, click
here to join.
Next - A
Practical Way to Honor the Lord
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