Posting from Proverbs

The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel: (Proverbs 1:1) Solomon is an anomaly. He prayed for wisdom, was granted wisdom, taught others the value of wisdom (Proverbs), yet lived a life of folly. He sought abundant life in liquor, lust, learning, and luxury yet came to the end of his life in despair and disillusionment (Ecclesiastes). Lesson: Wanting wisdom, having wisdom, and even teaching wisdom to others does not insure that we will walk in wisdom. Illustration: I could learn to cook, love to cook, teach others to cook, and be a great cook, and yet starve to death if I did not eat what I cooked. Prayer: God, grant us the wisdom to walk in wisdom, not merely possess wisdom. Amen.

Solomon's father was a great man. David was a man after God’s own heart, yet he often struggled with and was defeated by lust, duplicity, and failure. His psalms reveal that he was a great sinner and a great repenter. He killed a giant, led a rag-tag band of outcasts, wrote songs, served a king, and became the greatest king of Israel. Yet, he yielded to lust, committed murder, told lies, and often gave in to depression and despair. Perhaps his greatest failure was in his home. We are told that he was a negligent and overly permissive father. What a difference it might have made for Solomon if David had been a loving, present, disciplined, discipling father! Prayer: God, help us never substitute success in other areas for success in our home relationships. Amen.

Solomon was the son of David, but also the son of Bathsheba. He was her second pregnancy with David. Their first child, the one conceived in adultery, died in infancy. Solomon was their second son, Bathsheba’s delight, and perhaps a constant reminder to David of his sins in the past, even though he received God’s forgiveness. It seems that David was never able to give moral instructions to his children, perhaps because of his own past failures. One of Satan’s tactics is to remind us of our failures even though we have been forgiven and restored. If God doesn’t condemn us, we should not condemn ourselves, and we certainly should point Satan to the cross where all our sins were erased. Prayer: Father, help us confess our forgiveness as well as our sins. Amen.

To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, (Proverbs 1:2) Solomon puts his purpose statement on the front door. His desire is for his son (and for us) to know wisdom. The Hebrew word for ‘know’ is more than mental grasping of the idea. It is an experiential knowledge that comes from a combination of hearing truth, loving it, and joyfully putting it into practice. One danger in our Christian homes and Christian schools is that the target is often the head rather than the life. Savvy kids learn how to imitate Christian behavior and regurgitate Christian talk without learning how to incorporate that truth practically into their lives. This happened with Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. Even with a father who had written Proverbs, this rebellious, selfish son divided the kingdom and brought grief to a nation. Prayer: O God, help us ‘know’ the truth in such a way that it changes our behavior, attitudes, and relationships. Amen.

To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, (Proverbs 1:2) The Book of Proverbs focuses on wisdom. Wisdom is not knowledge. There are brilliant people who have no wisdom. There are uneducated people who are filled with wisdom. No school can give wisdom, no bank can sell wisdom, and no legislature can impose wisdom. It is given by God alone. Wisdom is the ability to see life from an eternal perspective. God’s view of life is very different from man’s view. Only God’s Word can provide God’s view. We normally make our decisions based on temporal and worldly perspectives. That is one reason they so often fail. Wisdom actually sounds like foolishness to the worldly-wise man. When faced with any situation, especially an emotional response to an offense, ask two questions. 1. What is the natural response and decision; 2. What would be the opposite to number 1? Usually, the second answer is closer to God’s wisdom. Prayer: Father, help us seek wisdom more than money, Your counsel more than food, and Your perspective more than our opinion. Amen.

To know ... instruction, (Proverbs 1:2) Instruction is not simply being taught as we think of instruction. It carries with it a sense of correction through experience. Even as children we learned to tie our shoes by trying again and again and sometimes failing again and again. I can’t even count the number of bumps and bruises (to body and ego) I received while learning to ride a bicycle. Although I had instruction in the normal sense from my parents, it was the trying, falling, and trying again that finally taught me to ride that bike. However, once I did learn it seemed so simple and I could hardly believe I fell so many times. Biblical instruction also teaches us by failing sometimes. How patient God is with us as we are learning! He does not humiliate, shame, or chide us if we fail. He is not disappointed and angry. He lovingly lifts us up, cheers for us, and gives us another chance. When we finally ‘get it’, we are excited and so is He. Proverbs is a book that teaches us wisdom, but it also instructs us through our failures as well as our successes. Prayer: Help us never get arrogant about our success nor despairing about our failures. Use them both to instruct us. Amen