The results of rejecting wisdom

Today, as we continue our study of Proverbs, we see the results of rejecting wisdom. It's not good. Though we may not see all of the results in this world, we know what awaits the foolish in eternity.

²⁹ You hated knowledge. You didn't choose to have respect for the Lord. ³⁰ You wouldn't accept my advice. You turned your backs on my warnings. ³¹ So you will eat the fruit of the way you have lived. You will choke on the fruit of what you have planned. ³² "Childish people go down the wrong path. They will die. Foolish people are satisfied with the way they live. They will be destroyed. ³³ But those who listen to me will live in safety. They will not worry. They won't be afraid of getting hurt."

Proverbs 1:29-33

Discussion

• In this continuation of what we read yesterday, wisdom is telling the foolish the results of their foolishness. Just as we read in verse 7, we can see that not respecting God is foolishness
• we see in verse 30 how the foolish not only don't take wisdom's advice, but they turn their back on it - they completely reject it!
• Verses 31 and 32 describe some of the results of their foolishness.
  • they get what they deserve (v 31)
  • it won't really satisfy them (v 31)
  • they will go down the wrong path which leads to death (v 32)
  • they might be satisfied with their lives, but they'll be destroyed
  When you remember Proverbs 22:6 - which is the theme verse for our family Bible study - you see that we want you to go down the right path and not the foolish path
• This passage ends, like so many Proverbs, with a contrast. After showing the results of rejecting wisdom, it once again shows some of the benefits of wisdom
  • live in safety
  • not worry
  • won't be afraid of getting hurt
  Now, it doesn't say you won't get hurt if you are wise, but you won't be afraid of getting hurt. It's important to keep in mind that a wise person won't lead a perfect life, but a wise person will fear God and not fear what can happen to him. A wise person should remain focussed on God and not on the situation he's in.

Wisdom laughs at the foolish

Today as we continue our study of wisdom, we see that wisdom laughs at the foolish.

²⁴ But you turned away from me when I called out to you. None of you paid attention when I reached out my hand. ²⁵ You turned away from all my advice. You wouldn't accept my warning. ²⁶ So I will laugh at you when you are in danger. I will make fun of you when hard times come. ²⁷ I will laugh when hard times hit you like a storm. I will laugh when danger comes your way like a windstorm. I will make fun of you when suffering and trouble come. ²⁸ "Then you will call to me. But I won't answer. You will look for me. But you won't find me.

Proverbs 1:24-28

Discussion

• Wisdom is speaking here to people who have turned away from wisdom and rejected wisdom.
• When wisdom is laughing at these people, it is mocking them and kind of saying "Ha ha, I warned you that would happen."
• There are a few times that wisdom will be laughing:
  • in times of danger
  • during hard times
  • during really hard times (like a storm)
  • during suffering
  • during trouble
  Would you want to be laughed at in those times?
• In those times, these people will be looking for wisdom but won't be able to find it? after they rejected true wisdom, they'd be looking for wisdom in the wrong places.
• Do you think it's better to accept wisdom to begin with?

Wisdom wants your attention

Today, we continue our series in Proverbs. We will see how wisdom wants our attention. Wisdom wants us to pay attention to it and to be wise.

²⁰ Wisdom calls out in the street. She raises her voice in public places. ²¹ At the noisy street corners she cries out. Here is what she says near the gates of the city. ²² "How long will you childish people love your childish ways? How long will you rude people enjoy making fun of God and others? How long will you foolish people hate knowledge? ²³ Suppose you had paid attention to my warning. Then I would have poured out my heart to you. I would have told you what I was thinking.

Proverbs 1:20-23 (NIrV)

This week, since my younger son has an NIrV, we will be using scripture quotations from it

Discussion

• First of all, in this passage, we see wisdom personified. Even though we know that wisdom is not really a person, by treating it as if it was a person, we can describe it more easily.
• Wisdom is crying out. The Hebrew word here implies crying out with joy. Why do you think wisdom is crying out?
• Verse 20 also says that wisdom raises her voice. Why does wisdom have to raise it's voice?
• What are some things that try and drown out wisdom's voice?
The gates of the city were places where people gathered. Why was wisdom trying to make herself known there?
• Wisdom warns people of three things:
  • being childish
  • being rude to others
  • being foolish and hating knowledge
  Do you ever have problems with any of those? How so?
• If people had paid attention to wisdom, what would they have gained? they would gain wisdom in spirit and in speech

Proverbs: Don't be led astray

Today, we come to our first strong warning in Proverbs. Let's read.

¹⁰ My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them. ¹¹ If they say, "Come along with us; let's lie in wait for someone's blood, let's waylay some harmless soul; ¹² let's swallow them alive, like the grave, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; ¹³ we will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder; ¹⁴ throw in your lot with us, and we will share a common purse"- ¹⁵ my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths; ¹⁶ for their feet rush into sin, they are swift to shed blood. ¹⁷ How useless to spread a net in full view of all the birds! ¹⁸ These men lie in wait for their own blood; they waylay only themselves! ¹⁹ Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the lives of those who get it.

Proverbs 1:10-19

We've talked already about how Proverbs also warns us of things NOT to do. In this passage, Solomon is warning against people who plan on attacking, beating up, and robbing some one and having everybody split the money they get.

Discussion questions

• What is the first thing recommended? (Verse 11) Don't give in
Next, in verse 14, we're told "don't go along with them." We're even told "do not set foot on their paths" or don't go anywhere near them. Do you think that's wise advice?
• In verse 18 and 19, who are these people really hurting? themselves
• So, if your friends were asking you to do something that would hurt someone else or take someone else from them, what would you do?

Proverbs: The Prize of Wisdom

Today, we continue our study of Proverbs. We will be looking at how wisdom is a prize to be proud of.

⁸ Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching.

⁹ They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.

Proverbs 1:8-9

In this passage, we read about what's to be desired or sought after - what is wise.We've already looked at verse 8, but verse 9 tells us a little more about the value of the wisdom that fathers and mothers pass on to their children.

Discussion questions

• A garland was something like a crown made of flowers or of a laurel leaves
• A chain might be something like a necklace or a medal hung around your neck
• This makes me think of athletes winning at the Olympics. They would have a laurel wreath (or garland) placed on their head and a medal hung around their neck
• These are things that you would be proud to wear. Can you think of anything that you would be proud to wear?
• Do you think "wearing" the wisdom and lessons passed on by your mother and father is a good thing?
• Do you think that "wearing" the wisdom and lessons passed on by your mother and father is fulfilling the commandment to honor your father and mother?
• That commandment promises "...that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you." Do you think this is can come from living wisely?
• Based on what we have studied today, what do you think you should do?

Proverbs: From the beginning

Today, we really are going to start from the beginning of Proverbs.

Prologue: Purpose and Theme

¹ The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:

² for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight;

³ for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair;

⁴ for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young-

5 let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance-

⁶ for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.

⁷ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Proverbs 1:1-7

Discussion Questions

• Who wrote Proverbs? What do you know about him?
• What are some of the purposes he wrote Proverbs?
• attaining wisdom and discipline
• understanding words of insight
• acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair
• giving prudence to the simple, nowledge and discretion to the young
• verse 2 talks about attaing wisdom and discipline.
• The Hebrew word here translated wisdom is chokmah which can mean knowing how to fight well, knowing how to manage things well, or knowing how to make right decisions.
• The Hebrew word here translated discipline is muwcar and can mean discipline in the sense of being disciplined or corrected as in a parent disciplining or correcting their child.
• Thus we can see that Proverbs not only can teach you how to make good decisions but also show you the bad decisions you make
• verse 2 also talks about understanding words of insight
• The Hebrew word translated understanding is biyn which means to carefully consider and understand, to discern
• the words of insight could be talking about sayings or writings that help people to understand how to do things
• I get the sense from this phrase, that we are talking about school learning or being trained (maybe as an apprentice) how to do something
• verse 3 refers to wise behavior, doing what is right and fair to other people
• verse 4 talks about teaching people how to take care of themselves and giving the young knowledge and teaching them how to make wise choices
• verse 5 tells us that the proverbs can make a wise man wiser and someone who makes good decisions will be able to make better decisions. In other words, you can always get wiser!
• from verse 6, we see that the wisdom you obtain will help you to understand the proverbs better, which give you more wisdom, which help you understand the proverbs which...
• we've already looked at verse 7 which tells us that wisdom comes from having a proper respect of God!
• Do you want to be wise or be a fool?
• what things do you want to be wiser in?
• How do you think you can become wiser?

Proverbs: Where do we begin?

As we begin our study of Proverbs, you might think that we would start at the very beginning. You'd almost be correct. I want to start just a little bit after the beginning.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Proverbs 1:7

Let's note two things quickly before starting to look at things in a little more depth.

• "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge..." Fear here means proper reverence shown towards God. When you consider God's great power and holiness and compare it to our relative powerlessness and sinfulness and how we rightfully should be punished for our sin, you realize why it's called fear. the beginning means a starting point for or the best part of something. The word for knowledge here can be translated as knowledge or discernment or wisdom. In short, we could say that wisdom comes from having a proper respect of God.
• We also see here a constrast in the second part of this verse. "Fools despise wisdom and discipline." All through Proverbs you will notice a lot of contrasts. The second point that we can see here can be summed up as Proverbs not only shows us what wisdom is, it also shows us what foolishness is.

Discussion Questions

• Based on what we've looked at the last two days, how would you define wisdom?
• Do you desire wisdom?
• Can you think of a situation where you had two (or more) choices? What was the wise choice? What was the foolish choice? Which did you choose?
• If you desire wisdom, should you desire what fools despise (hate)?
• What doesn't the fool like that you should desire?

Proverbs

Today, we begin our study of the book of Proverbs. What are proverbs? Dictionary.com gives a few definitions. The one that I think is most useful for us is "a wise saying or precept." The book of Proverbs in the Bible is a collection of wise sayings. Why do I want to take time and study Provers. I think we can see the answer in the first chapter.

Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching.

Proverbs 1:8

King Solomon wrote the book of Proverbs as a way of passing wisdom down to his son. Solomon, if you recall, asked God for wisdom and God granted it. Solomon became known as wisest man on earth. He didn't want just to keep his wisdom to himself, he wanted to pass it on to his son. As a father wanting to pass along Godly wisdom to my sons, I think it's going to be great to study Proverbs!

Discussion questions

• Dictionary.com defines wisdom as "the quality or state of being wise; knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action; sagacity, discernment, or insight." How would you define wisdom?
• Do you think it is good to have wisdom?
• Where do you think wisdom comes from?
• How do you think wisdom will be useful to you?

You may have noticed...

You may have noticed that our family Bible study blog hasn't been updated in a while. Much, I'm sure, to your relief, we haven't abandoned discipling our children. The last six months or so, we've been working our way through Training Hearts Teaching Minds: Family Devotions Based on the Shorter Catechism by Starr Meade. We've made it through question 28 (How is Christ exalted?). It's been a good study and I haven't had to spend as much time preparing. But, I think it's about time to take a break from that and we're about to start a study on Proverbs.