Proverbial Wisdom –3:21-35

My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and tomorrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee. Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee. Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm. Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. For the froward is abomination to the Lord: but his secret is with the righteous.

The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just. Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly. The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.

Proverbs 3:21-35

I’m late and I am sorry. This week I went camping at the ocean for a few days, and I just could not make myself sit down and write this week’s lesson. But I will try to do better in the future. Forgive me.

We are going to cover the rest of chapter 3 this week. You may have noticed that I’ve taken the liberty of breaking our Scriptures into three parts. The first part, verses 21-26, lists some personal benefits for keeping sound wisdom and discretion. The second part, verses 27-32, tells us how we should treat other people. Then the last part, verses 33-35, is a comparison of different types of people.

As we have already discovered on our journey through Proverbs, we are to seek and retain wisdom, understanding, discretion, and knowledge…never letting them slip away. They bring us inward strength “life unto thy soul” and outward beauty “grace to thy neck.” This week, we learn that wisdom and discretion also bring safety, stability, rest, and protection.

God’s Holy Spirit teaches us wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, “shall teach you all things” (John 14:26). Therefore, when God’s Spirit dwells within us and we are walking under His direction, we have wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. But not everyone has God’s indwelling Spirit because there are specific requirements for being anointed with God’s Spirit.

“If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:15-17).

To be anointed with God’s Holy Spirit, we must love and obey the Lord. However, some rebellious people refuse to obey God, thus they do have not His Spirit. Consequently, they are not His children (John 15:10, 1 John 2:3-6, 2 John 1:6, Romans 8:9). Since they do not belong to God, they cannot receive nor can they understand God’s indwelling Spirit.

God is a Holy God and He will not dwell with sin. In fact, God says that He will turn His eyes and His ears away from sin (Isaiah 59:2, Ezekiel 39:23-24).

On the other hand, some people truthfully love God, which is evident by their submission and obedience. As such, the sacrificial blood of the Lamb has washed their sins away. Now that they are clean, they are marked with God’s indwelling Spirit. They belong to God because they have been reborn into the family of God.

God is a protective Father and He takes care of His own. Therefore, God’s children need not “be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day” (Psalm 91:5). Nor should His children be afraid of pestilence and destruction (Psalm 91:6). Many people may fall all around them, yet they remain safe in God (Psalm 91:7-9). At night, they lie down and sleep in peace because God is their refuge (Leviticus 26:3-6). If they fall, God picks them up (Psalm 37:24). God orders their steps and protects them as they walk in those steps because they have determined within their hearts to love and obey the Lord.

Let’s move onto our second part for this week, which tells us how to treat other people. We should treat people with love and respect (Matthew 22:39). That means living in peace with all mankind, at least as much as is in our control. “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:18). Quickly, we should repay that which we have borrowed, we should never cheat anyone (Deuteronomy 24:14-15), we should graciously help those in need, and we should strive to be good neighbors (Luke 10:25-37). Read 1 Kings 17:9-16 to learn about a widow woman who was a good neighbor to Elijah.

Our last part for this week, compares the wicked, the scorners, and the fools with the just, the lowly, and the wise. Let me give you some sound advice right up front. You do NOT want to be in the first group of people…the wicked, the scorners, and the fools.

The wicked (as well as his household) will be cursed, the scorners will be scorned, and then the fools will be put to shame. God hates evil and pours His wrath out on the unjust. “And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the Lord” (Zechariah 8:17).

The Bible contains many stories about people who planned wickedness against God’s children. Much to their dismay, these wicked people found themselves caught in the very trap that they had set for God’s children. God turned their own wickedness back upon them (Daniel 6:24, Esther 8:7).

Compare that with the just who will be blessed, the lowly who will find grace, and the wise who will inherit eternal glory. I want to be in that group. How about you?

Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me (Psalm 101:6).

With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure…(Psalm 18:25-26).

Three Key Concepts:

1.  God is a protective Father and He takes care of His children.

2.  Live at peace with people as much as it depends upon you.

3.  God pours out blessings, shows grace, and gives eternal glory to His children.

Proverbial Wisdom – 1:24-33

Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.

Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord: They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

Proverbs 1:24-33

Last week, we discovered that wisdom calls out to everyone in all places, “Come and taste.” God willingly pours out His Spirit upon mankind—we just have to accept Him. But as we know, some people will be wise and accept God, while others will be foolish and reject Him. This week we are going to discuss the fate of the foolish.

When a man stubbornly rejects God’s offer of salvation, he seals his own fate (hell). God does not send him to hell: rather, God honors the man’s own choice (hell). This may sound harsh, but it is not. God created people with free will; thus, people can freely choose between heaven and hell. If they reject God’s gift, they knowingly choose hell.

In Verse 24 (restated in my own words), God says, “I called. I stretched out my hand to you, but you refused.” “I tried to help you through sound teaching and purifying discipline, but still you would not heed My instructions” (Verse 25).

Recklessly, the simple, the scorners, and the fools fail to hear and obey God’s voice. “I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them…but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me” (Jeremiah 35:15). (Jeremiah 26:4-6; Jeremiah 7:13-19).

Dear readers, this is serious stuff! Never reject the Word of the Lord!

God still speaks through His Holy Word (the Bible) and He still speaks through His servants. But sometimes we allow pride to obscure God’s voice because we may not like His chosen vessels. This is a grave mistake. The Pharisees refused to hear the voice of Jesus because He came as a humble servant rather than a prideful king. Since Jesus did not meet the Pharisees’ expectations, they simply refused to heed His warnings.

Today, God still speaks…are you listening? “But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was NO remedy” (2 Chronicles 36:16, emphasis added).

“Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not” (Isaiah 65:12).

Pay attention to the Word of the Lord! If you do not heed His call, you will be destroyed! Your destruction may come today, tomorrow, next week, or the next month. Destruction could come quickly or it might be delayed. But no matter when it comes, destruction is guaranteed. God says it—so it is True.

If you continually reject the voice of the Lord, there will come a time when He will turn away. He will not hear your cry when you begin reaping the consequences of the evil that you have sown (Isaiah 1:15-17).  “Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them” (Jeremiah 11:11). Alternatively, strong delusions may bombard your mind. With these delusions, you might not even be wise enough to CALL out to God (See May 27, 2011, Do-Over to Delusional).

Imagine for a moment that you are walking up to a tall fence. Behind the fence, on the other side, you see a hungry mangy lion, his fangs dripping with the anticipation of a mid-morning snack. On the fence there is a large sign that says, “**Warning! Stay Out! For Your Own Safety, Do Not Climb the Fence!**”

If you choose to ignore the sign and foolishly climb up over the fence, will it be the sign’s fault when the hungry lion devours you? Likewise, Satan prowls about like a hungry lion seeking whom he may devour. God is flashing a sign of warning. Will you heed God’s warning?

Those that are wise will trust in the Lord. They will listen when He calls them and they will heed His warnings. “He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord” (Psalm 112:7).

As for me, I choose to be wise. How about you?

I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.

Isaiah 66:4

Three Key Concepts:

1.  When God calls, the wise will hear and obey His voice.

2.  The foolish will scoff at God’s servants and obey not the Lord.

3.   Eventually, God will close His ears when the foolish meet their destruction and cry for help.