Wisdom: The Principal Thing

1

• Wisdom The Principal Thing
• Book Of Proverbs

2

• First Kings 311 describes how Solomon attained
  wisdom
• 11 Then God said to him Because you have asked
  this thing, and have not asked long life for
  yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor
  have asked the life of your enemies, but have
  asked for yourself understanding to discern
  justice, 12 behold, I have done according to your
  words see, I have given you a wise and
  understanding heart, so that there has not been
  anyone like you before you, nor shall any like
  you arise after you.

3

• Kings 429-34 emphasize Solomons wisdom
• And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly
  great understanding, and largeness of heart like
  the sand on the seashore. 30 Thus Solomons
  wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the
  East and all the wisdom of Egypt.
• 31 For he was wiser than all men 32 He spoke
  three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one
  thousand and five. 33 Also he spoke of trees,
  from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop
  that springs out of the wall he spoke also of
  animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of
  fish. 34 And men of all nations, from all the
  kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom,
  came to hear the wisdom of Solomon.

4

• Proverbs are pro-verbs, which describe positive
  actions, showing us how to live. The over-all
  lesson of the Book of Proverbs is that wisdom
  comes from God. Wisdom comes from above.

5

• One would be hard put to come up with any topic
  other than wisdom as being the most referred to
  theme or topic in the book of Proverbs. There are
  at least 100 references to "wisdom", "wise men",
  or "being wise" in this book
• The word Wisdom is used 37 times in the book of
  proverbs.
• The word instruction is used 26 times in the book
  of proverbs.

6

• There are five purposes of Proverbs, given in
  verses 2-6 of chapter 1
• (1) To know wisdom and instruction,
• (2) To perceive words of understanding,
• (3) To receive instruction of wisdom, justice,
  judgment and equity, so that we know what is
  right,
• (4) To give prudence to the simple, and knowledge
  and discretion to the young person,
• (5) To deeply understand the words of the wise

7

• The first seven verses provide the book title and
  an introduction stating the purposes. The rest is
  "instructions." They frequently use the second
  person (you) in a command (imperative) form.
  These verbs are common
• give heed, trust, honor, avoid, put away, give,
  go, and listen.

8

• Proverbs 17 The fear of the LORD is the
  beginning of knowledge but fools despise wisdom
  and instruction
• This verse enjoys almost universal recognition
  as the key statement not only in Proverbs but in
  all the wisdom literature of the Bible (Job
  2828 Ps. 11110 Eccles. 1213). Some people
  think of it as the motto of the book, others the
  foundational principle.

9

• The Fear of the Lord" occurs at least 18 times
  in Proverbs (17, 29 25 37 813 910
  1027 142, 26-27 1516, 33 166 1923 224
  2317 2421 3130).
• 37 Fear of the LORD is to depart from evil813
  Fear of LORD is to hate evil910 Fear of LORD is
  beginning of wisdom1027 Fear of LORD prolongs
  your life1426-27 Fear of LORD is a fountain of
  life1516 Better a little with Fear of LORD than
  great treasure with trouble1923 Fear of LORD
  tends to life

10

• Proverbs 17 The fear of the LORD is the
  beginning of knowledge but fools despise wisdom
  and instruction
• - crucial proverb, for the rest are wasted
  without fearing the LORD. Solomon put it first!
  The basic foundation for learning is to fear God.
  Ex. Alphabet - Reading
• - It is a humble submission to His word. It is
  loving His commandments and hating evil
• - All men reason in a circle, or begin by
  assumptions. Their knowledge and wisdom depend on
  their assumptions. Man assumes he has made great
  advances in the twenty seventy years since he
  was in diapers. The righteous man begins by
  assuming faith in an infinitely wise God, Who has
  revealed truth and wisdom in Scripture.

11

• Wisdom cries out, but few listen.
• Wisdom comes from God, but we have to seek it out
  (21-12). We should not stop with fearing the
  LORD, but go on through much study to learn more
  of Gods Truth and increase in wisdom. This will
  keep us from making tragic errors in judgment

12

• Wisdom cries out, but few listen.
• Who are those who do not listen?
• Three classes of sinners
• the simple ones naive who believe anything.
• the scorners laugh at what is important
• the fools dull and stubborn

13

• The difficulty of obtaining wisdom 21-5!
• "Obtaining spiritual wisdom isn't a once-a-week
  hobby, it is the daily discipline of a lifetime.
  But in this age of microwave ovens, fast foods,
  internet, and media, many people are out of the
  habit of daily investing time and energy in
  digging deep into Scripture and learning wisdom
  from the Lord. Their attention span is brief

14

• What you should do if you want wisdom?
• Accept God's word (Proverbs 21).
• Store up His commands.
• Develop an "ear" for wisdom (Proverbs 22).
• Set your heart to get understanding (Proverbs
  22).
• Call out - cry aloud for understanding (Proverbs
  23).
• Search for it as if it were a treasure (Proverbs
  24).

15

• St. James said in chapter one, verse five "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."
• However God's ways are higher than man's ways.
  His thoughts are higher than man's thoughts
  (Isaiah 559).

16

• 120-33 Wisdom cries out, but few listen
• 21-9 Seek wisdom, God will give it
• 210-15 Wisdom produces discretion, preserves you
  from the evil man
• 220-22 Wisdom leads you to walk in the paths of
  righteousness with other good men
• 321 Keep sound wisdom and discretion

17

• 335 The wise shall inherit glory
• 47 Wisdom is the principal thing, with
  understanding
• 1412 A way seems right to a man, but ends in
  death
• 1616 Wisdom better than gold, understanding
  better than silver
• 1625 A way seems right to man, ends in death