SEEKING WISDOM’S WAYProverbs 1:1-7

March 2, 2014First Baptist ChurchJackson, Mississippi

USA

Question for the Class?

What is some of the best advice given to you?

Who gave you that advice?

SEEKING WISDOM’S WAYProverbs 1:1-7

One Man Who Prayed for Wisdom and Got It

- Solomon becomes King

The 7 Pillars in The House of Wisdom

- The framework for understanding the

wisdom of God

Reference

SEEKING WISDOM – FINDING GOD

A Study Guide

By

Dr. David Jeremiah

THE BOOK OF PROVERBS

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

Mashal [mah SHAWL] – ancient Israelite saying

Book of Proverbs – collection of wise sayings used as a textbook for Solomon’s royal academy

KING SOLOMON

Spiritual Influences that Impacted His Life:

1. Blessed before he was born

2. Blessed upon his birth

3. Pointed out as Israel’s king

4. Prayed for God’s blessing

5. God’s special blessing

6. Prepared for the challenges

SOLOMON1. Blessed Before He Was Born

1 Chronicles 22:9-10 9 But you will have a son who will be a man of

peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all

his enemies on every side. His name will be

Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet

during his reign. 10 He is the one who will build a

house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be

his father. And I will establish the throne of his

kingdom over Israel forever.’

SOLOMON2. Blessed Upon His Birth

2 Samuel 12: 24-2524 Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and

he went to her and made love to her. She gave

birth to a son, and they named him Solomon.

The LORD loved him; 25 and because the LORD

loved him, he sent word through Nathan the

prophet to name him Jedidiah.

(Jedidiah means “loved by the Lord”)

SOLOMON3. Pointed Out As Israel’s King

1 Chronicles 29:1a 1a Then King David said to the whole assembly:

“My son Solomon, the one whom God has

chosen, is young and inexperienced.

SOLOMON3. Pointed Out As Israel’s King

1 Chronicles 28:5-7 5 Of all my sons—and the LORD has given me many—he

has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the

kingdom of the LORD over Israel. 6 He said to me:

‘Solomon your son is the one who will build my house

and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I

will be his father. 7 I will establish his kingdom forever if

he is unswerving in carrying out my commands and laws,

as is being done at this time.’

SOLOMON4. Prayed For God’s Blessing

David’s prayer for Solomon

1 Chronicles 29:19 19 And give my son Solomon the wholehearted

devotion to keep your commands, statutes and

decrees and to do everything to build the

palatial structure for which I have provided.”

SOLOMON5. God’s Special Blessing

1 Chronicles 29:25 25 The LORD highly exalted Solomon in the sight

of all Israel and bestowed on him royal splendor

such as no king over Israel ever had before.

SOLOMON6. Prepared For The Challenges

1 Chronicles 28:10-12

10 Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house as the

sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.”

11 Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the

temple, its buildings, its storerooms, its upper parts, its inner rooms and the

place of atonement. 12 He gave him the plans of all that the Spirit had put in

his mind for the courts of the temple of the LORD and all the surrounding

rooms, for the treasuries of the temple of God and for the treasuries for the

dedicated things.

KING SOLOMON’S REQUEST

1 Kings 3:5-12 6 At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” 6 Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day. 7 “Now, LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties.

KING SOLOMON’S REQUEST Continued

8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” 10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this.

KING SOLOMON’S REQUEST Continued

11 So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this

and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have

asked for the death of your enemies but for

discernment in administering justice, 12 I will do

what you have asked. I will give you a wise and

discerning heart, so that there will never have been

anyone like you, nor will there ever be.

1 Kings 3:5-12

GOD BLESSES KING SOLOMON

1 Kings 4:29-3429 God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. 30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations

GOD BLESSES KING SOLOMONcontinued

32 He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. 33 He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. 34 From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.

1 Kings 4:29-34

WISDOM FROM PROVERBS

What is wisdom?

• “The right use of knowledge” Spurgeon

• “Common sense in an uncommon degree”

• “Pursuing the best ends by the best means”

• “Wisdom is knowledge using its head” Twain

THE BEHAVIOR OF BELIEFSby Spiros Zodiates

“Wisdom is a synonym of the Word, and it refers to the perfection and eternity which is to be found only in God the Father, manifested to the world through His Son, the Lord Jesus, and existing in the world today only through the Holy Spirit…The wise man is he who has given himself to Jesus Christ, and who, by the help of the Holy Spirit, keeps his intellect in submission to the will of God.”

WISDOM by Dr. David Jeremiah

In Scripture, wisdom always refers to knowledge of the course of action that will please God and make life what God wants it to be. When God promises wisdom, He promises a way of life that is superior to the way of the world. He guarantees that we will find “that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2)

How Does Wisdom Come To Us?

1 Corinthians 1:3030 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

• Jesus Christ is our wisdom from God.

• He (wisdom) dwells in us through the Holy Spirit.

SEVEN PILLARS IN THE HOUSE OF WISDOM

Proverbs 9: 11 Wisdom has built her house; she has set up its seven pillars.

• Proverbs 1: 1-7 describes the pillars

• 7 Pillars indicates wisdom is a “large” house

• The 7 pillars provide the “framework” or “supporting principles” for understanding the wisdom of God

THE 7 PILLARS OF WISDOMProverbs 1:1-7

1. Wisdom is Development.

2. Wisdom is Discipline.

3. Wisdom is Discernment.

4. Wisdom is Dignity.

5. Wisdom is Discretion.

6. Wisdom is Depth of Understanding.

7. Wisdom is Devotion to God.

7 PILLARS OF WISDOM:DEVELOPMENT

1. Wisdom is Development.

Proverbs 1:1-2 1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: 2 To know wisdom …

• It is a developed skill or knowledge learned over time.

• This “known wisdom” is a learned skill set.

• Other translations: for attaining, for gaining

7 PILLARS OF WISDOM:DEVELOPMENT

1. Wisdom is Development

Proverbs 9:99 Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.

Luke 2:5252 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

7 PILLARS OF WISDOM:DISCIPLINE

2. Wisdom is Discipline

Proverbs 1:1-2 1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: 2 to know wisdom and instruction; …

• Other translations: discipline

• Translated as “reproof or correction”

• Discipline for true wisdom involves Bible study, memorizing and prayer.

7 PILLARS OF WISDOM:DISCIPLINE

2. Wisdom is Discipline - Intentional Pursuit

Proverbs 2:1-5 1 My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, 2 turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding —3 indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, 4 and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, 5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.

7 PILLARS OF WISDOM:DISCERNMENT

3. Wisdom is Discernment

Proverbs 1:22 for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight;

• Other translations: to perceive the words of understanding (KJV)

• Root word from which we get “between”

• Ability to make wise choices and decisions

7 PILLARS OF WISDOM:DISCERNMENT

Solomon’s Prayer to God for discernment

1 Kings 3:99 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”

• Wisdom from God is the ability to make proper choices

Paul’s Desire for the Philippians

Philippians 1:9-11 9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

7 PILLARS OF WISDOM:DIGNITY

4. Wisdom is Dignity

Proverbs 1:3 NIV3 for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair;

• KJV – To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity

• Learning to behave with propriety and tact

• Wise people reveal their wisdom through their dignified actions.

7 PILLARS OF WISDOM:DIGNITY

Titus 2:22 Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

“to do the right thing at the right time”

7 PILLARS OF WISDOM:DISCRETION

5. Wisdom is Discretion

Proverbs 1:4 4 for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young—

• The quality of having or showing good judgment

• The quality of being discreet

• Be careful of what you say and do

• Think before you speak

7 PILLARS OF WISDOM:DISCRETION

Jesus’ instructions when sending out the 12 disciples

Matthew 10:16 16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

7 PILLARS OF WISDOM:DEPTH OF UNDERSTANDING

6. Wisdom is Depth of Understanding

Proverbs 1:5-65 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.

• Listen to the wise counsel of others and learn from them.

• “Learning the ropes”

7 PILLARS OF WISDOM:DEPTH OF UNDERSTANDING

2 Timothy 2:1-2 1 You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.

7 PILLARS OF WISDOM:DEVOTION TO GOD

7. Wisdom is Devotion to GodProverbs 1:7 7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of Knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 9:10 10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, • FEAR OF THE LORD = reverential trust in God• This FEAR includes commitment to His revealed

will (Word).

Fear Of The Lord

Deuteronomy 6:1-2 1 These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD

your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.

Fear of the Lord

• Fearing God is the starting point for godliness.

• This fear includes commitment to His revealed will (Word).

• Fearing God means that we keep Him and His statues as the focus and center of our attention.

• Matthew Henry: “Where no fear of God is, no good is to expected.”

WISDOM IS DEVOTION TO GOD

Romans 3:18 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

• Paul describes man’s sinful nature as ‘no fear of God’

Psalm 36:1 1 I have a message from God in my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before their eyes.

QUESTION?

Proverbs 9:10 10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

In your view, why is the fear of the Lord the beginning of wisdom?

NEXT SUNDAY’S LESSON

WHEN WISDOM WAS NOT ENOUGH

– Solomon loses his “fear of the Lord”.

THE FOUR KEYS TO WISDOM

– A Humble Spirit

– A Hungry Soul

– A Hearing Heart

– A Heeding Mind