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Reading Proverbs 3:21-35 and continuing lessons on seeking the wisdom and the understanding of God, that we may know the way we should go and not depart from it. Visit wwutt.com for all our videos!
As Christians, we're not just seeking after wisdom and knowledge. Specifically, we're seeking the wisdom and knowledge of God, who created all things, and wisdom and knowledge are in His hand, when we understand the text.
This is When We Understand the Text, a daily Bible commentary to help encourage your time in the Word. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, we feature New Testament Study, an Old Testament book on Thursday, and our Q &A on Friday.
Now here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky.
Yes, we do our Old Testament Study on Thursday, and we've been in the book of Proverbs. Trying to finish up chapter 3 today, so I'm going to start off here by reading verses 21 through 35. This is Proverbs chapter 3.
My son, do not lose sight of these. Keep sound wisdom and discretion, and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck. Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble.
If you lie down, you will not be afraid. When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked when it comes, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due. When it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, go and come again, tomorrow I will give it, when you have it with you. Do not plan evil against your neighbor who dwells trustingly beside you.
Do not contend with a man for no reason, when he has done you no harm. Do not envy a man of violence, and do not choose any of his ways, for the devious person is an abomination to the Lord, but the upright are in his confidence.
The Lord's curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the dwelling of the righteous. Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor. The wise will inherit honor, but fools get disgrace.
Now you probably noticed there's something going on here that we're pretty accustomed to in the book of Proverbs. And that's when each individual verse can become its own proverb. That happens more once you get to about chapter 10.
So far in our study of Proverbs, everything is kind of flowed together. We've seen entire paragraphs rather than individual Proverbs. But here this second half of Proverbs 3, though there's definitely a context there, you could take each of these verses by themselves and make them their own Proverbs.
Let's come back to... Well, I'm actually going to start here in verses 19 and 20. That's where we finished last week, and then I'll go on from there. Verse 19 says, The Lord by wisdom founded the earth.
By understanding, he establishes the heavens. The Lord has the greatest wisdom and the greatest understanding. So if there's any knowledge that we are going to attain, it is going to be from the one who authored these very things, God himself.
By his knowledge, the deeps broke open, and the clouds dropped down the dew. Do you know or do you have knowledge of every single dew drop that is on every single blade of grass? Of course not. A man would be absurd.
You would think him a fool, insane, to claim that he has knowledge of such things. I know exactly how many blades of grass and how many droplets of dew are on each one. No man knows such a thing. But God does.
God knows all of this. For he is the one who designed it all down to the very tiniest minuscule atom. What's smaller than an atom? I went through this with my kids one time. We watched a YouTube video that went from the smallest particles known to man, even theorized by man, I think.
They were even showing particles of stuff that we've never really observed, we only theorize exist, and then going out from there to the smallest particles we've observed, and then it kept getting larger and larger, even to the largest bodies in the heavens that we've seen with our telescopes.
That was a really fascinating video. But you think God designed all of this, so the tiniest little minuscule spot, speck, whatever you would call it, that we cannot even observe with all of the scientific advancements and the instruments that we use.
God created that. He knows each and every one of those things. He created the largest stars in the universe, which we can't even fathom the size of or how far away they are. And yet God is the one who created them and set them in their place in the heavens.
There is no knowledge we will ever attain that is to the level of the knowledge that God has because he has created all things. And so when it comes to seeking wisdom and seeking knowledge, we need to turn to the one who has authored it all, and that is God himself.
It is important to know that God is the one who has created knowledge because there are some beliefs out there, Mormonism being one of them, that will claim that knowledge existed before God. And, of course, the Mormons would say that since they believe God is an exalted man.
And then there's gods that were before him, and we become gods as well. That's what the Mormons teach. So, of course, there has to be something that has a preexistence before man. And according to the Mormons, it's intelligences and matter.
So there was like a knowledge that existed before God. But there is nothing that exists before God. God is eternal. He is the creator and author of all things. So even wisdom and knowledge are in his hands for all of these things originate with him.
If we are ever going to seek any true wisdom and meaningful understanding, it has to be in seeking the Lord. And, in fact, Colossians chapter 2 says that in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
So this is not just a matter of I'm looking for God, that I may find wisdom and knowledge. Specifically, we are to look to Christ, the Son of God, who is with the Father in eternity past, and created all things.
It is through Jesus that all things were created, visible and invisible. Jesus is eternal just as the Father is eternal, just as the Holy Spirit is eternal. We find our wisdom and understanding when we look to Christ, who founded the earth by wisdom.
We go on here, verse 21. My son, do not lose sight of these. What are the these that we are not to lose sight of? Sound wisdom and discretion. Again, that's verse 21. So let me read all that again. My son, do not lose sight of these.
Keep sound wisdom and discretion. Now, we've talked about discretion as it has come up in the book of Proverbs before. What does discretion mean? In this particular context, discretion is purpose. It is intentional, deliberate thought.
So in the broader context here, we're talking about setting our mind on the Lord, gaining wisdom and understanding from looking at him. There are other ways this word, discretion, is used in other parts of the Old Testament.
Of course, since we're reading the Old Testament, it's going to be a Hebrew word. And so this Hebrew word also appears in Psalm 10 a couple of times here at the very beginning. Let me read this to you.
So Psalm 10, starting in verse 1. Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? In arrogance, the wicked hotly pursue the poor. Let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord. In the pride of his face, the wicked does not seek him. All his thoughts are, there is no God.
Now, in those four verses that I just read for you there, the same Hebrew word appears that we have here in Proverbs 3 .21 for discretion, which can also be interpreted as purpose or a deliberate thought.
Where this word appears in Psalm 10 is in verse 2. It says, let them, the wicked, be caught in the schemes that they have devised. And that word there that's translated for schemes, same Hebrew word that says keep sound wisdom and discretion in Proverbs 3 .21.
Also verse 4 says, in the pride of his face, the wicked does not seek him. All his thoughts are, there is no God. And that word for thoughts, all his thoughts are, there is no God, that's the same word for discretion in Proverbs 3 .21.
This is where context plays a big deal in translation. The word doesn't just have a standalone meaning, it has a contextual meaning. In Psalms, it pertains to the wicked man, the wicked's schemes that he has devised against those who are weak.
All his thoughts are, there is no God. So he has purpose of thought as well. The wicked man also has deliberate thoughts. They are to evil and against God. And how are we to be in our thoughts? We are to think deliberately of God, and we are to seek him and his wisdom and his righteousness.
Hence the meaning of this instruction, from a father to his son, do not lose sight of these. Keep sound wisdom and discretion, sound wisdom, sound discretion, as they are given by the Lord. May our thoughts always be directed to God.
That's what's being said here. And they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck. And of course, our thoughts being directed to God would lead to life for the soul, for it's by faith in Jesus Christ that we have eternal life.
Life for our souls and adornment for your neck. That it would even be something that we wear so other people would identify us by the righteousness that we have, a righteousness that's not of our own, but is of God.
Wisdom and discretion that we have, that doesn't come from ourselves, it is given by the Lord. And also we wear these things that we may be guided by them, that we may look down and see the name that we wear is not ours, but is given to us by our Father in heaven.
Verse 23, then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble. Listen to what we have in Proverbs 4, verses 20 through 22. So just the next chapter over, verses 20, 21, and 22. My son, be attentive to my words.
Incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight. Keep them within your heart, for they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. Does that not sound just like what we're reading in Proverbs 3?
Same thing, same instruction, said in a slightly different way, so that we may further get the point. It was Charles Spurgeon who told his students, if you're ever going to repeat a point in your sermon, say the same thing, but in a different way.
Use different words. So the point of what you're trying to say will be more impactful. There's more teaching that a person hears when they hear the same statement said a different way, maybe they understand it a little more fully.
And so that same principle being applied here in Proverbs. You have the instruction, verses 21 through 23, the same as in Proverbs 4, verses 20 through 22. Let's keep going here, verse 23 of Proverbs 3.
You will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble. Verse 24. If you lie down, you will not be afraid. When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Have you ever been so burdened by your cares, by your concerns, by anxiety, that you cannot go to sleep?
I've certainly been there before. Here's another question related to that. Have you been so plagued with guilt that you cannot sleep? That's not something that a lot of people would admit to, or maybe they're even aware of.
Like I've known persons who have come to me for counseling, and they talk about how they cannot sleep. And when they share with me about the way that they live their life, I try to help them see the anxiety that you feel that is keeping you from sleeping at night might actually be guilt.
It might be that you feel just this incredible burden upon yourself for the way that you live your life. You may not be aware that what it is that you're feeling is guilt, an overwhelming sense of shame, knowing that you're doing wrong, but not knowing what you're supposed to do about it.
You can try to correct your pattern, and you can try to live your life better. Maybe you will succeed at it, but it's not going to save you. The only way to be forgiven your sins and have that guilt relieved from you is to turn to Jesus Christ who forgives sin and gives eternal life.
When you know that you are forgiven your sins by God, and through Christ you have peace with God, then you will be able to lie down and sleep in peace. The instruction that a father is giving here to his son is that he would not even go anywhere near sin so that he won't have to ask for forgiveness because he hasn't done evil that he feels guilty of and therefore I need to be forgiven in order to be relieved of this guilt.
Even when you turn to Christ, that may not happen for you right away. It may be a long time before you feel a relief from the guilt of the burden that you bear because of the evils that you have done.
So it's not like it's just an easy snap fix. And so a father caring for his son wants to keep his son far away from evil, that he would not even tiptoe near those things and thus fall into destruction or bring upon himself some burden that he could have spared himself if he had stayed away from that evil in the first place.
That's the instruction that this father is giving to his son. If you walk in wisdom, if you pursue the things of God, then you walk on your way securely. You won't stumble at all. You won't fall into this guilt because you'll know the right way to go.
And then when you lie down you won't be afraid. When you sleep, it'll be sweet. Sleep will come to you and you will rest securely knowing that you trust in God whose righteousness you have, not a righteousness of your own, but one that is given to you by God that cannot be tainted or taken away because the Lord is gracious and faithful.
Verse 25, do not be afraid of sudden terror or the ruin of the wicked when it comes, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught. Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is in your power to do it.
Now that last statement there kind of closes out the paragraph and then leads to the respective Proverbs that we have that follow it. These next Proverbs are given kind of in light of what was just said there in verse 27.
So we look to the Lord, our ways are secure, He is our confidence, and He keeps us from stumbling or being caught in a snare. Fathers, if I could so impress upon you, teach your children early that they would not have to go through the experience of doing really stupid, sinful, wretched things and having to learn from those experiences before they finally figure it out which way is good and which way is not good.
May we not have to learn those things by experience, but we learn them because we are taught what is true from the earliest age. Now I went my own way when I got to college, when I was in my young 20s, but I never strayed too far.
And that is why Psalm 119, 109 has been part of my testimony where it says there in Psalm 119, though I take my life in my hands continually, I will not forget your law. And I did that, I went my own way, I tried to live my life as good as I thought that I could live it under my own power.
I failed epically at that, but I did not fall as far as I could have because of God's grace to me, because of principles that my parents taught me when I was very young. And though I may not have been regular in church, I may not have been regular in reading the word or in prayer or in my devotion to God at all, yet I still remembered those precepts my parents taught me and they kept me from falling into worse sin than I could have fallen into.
I am so grateful to God for that. Teach your children these things so that they will know them and remember them and know the right way to go and it will prevent them from a lot of heartache and hurt and frustration and anxiety and guilt and shame, but this does not replace the gospel.
Your children still need the gospel because they're still sinners. You're teaching them wisdom, the right way to go, so that they don't do something more foolish than our sinful selves are already inclined to do.
But your kids still need the gospel, they still need to hear, you are a sinner and you by your nature are rebellious against God, so turn to Jesus Christ and be forgiven your sins and live. And as a sinful person, you are going to make some foolish decisions sometimes.
Turn to Christ so that you may be washed and made new. We all need a Savior. Christ is that Savior, but he is also the author of all wisdom and praise God for the right way that he shows us according to his word.
So here are some of those Proverbs then that follow this instruction, do not withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is in your power to do it. And here you have verses of kindness that we show toward others because God has shown kindness to us.
Do not say to your neighbor, go and come again. Tomorrow I will give it when you have it with you. In other words, don't delay charity. If you have the charity to give, then give it while you have it.
Verse 29, do not plan evil against your neighbor who dwells trustingly beside you. You got a quiet neighbor, don't start assuming things of that neighbor that he's not revealed about his own heart. That is then going to turn into quarrels and strife between the two of you.
You have peace with your neighbor, keep peace with your neighbor. Don't start stirring up any unnecessary quarrels. Verse 31, do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways. This is a proverb by the way that came to mind with the recent election here in the US.
As I sadly watched many professing Christians decide that they wanted to vote for a Democrat, somebody who has vowed that he is going to expand abortion in America and even codify it into law. Murdering babies in America.
This is envying a man of violence. Don't ever be approving of men who practice such evils. For the devious person is an abomination to the Lord, but the upright are in his confidence. That was verse 32.
Verse 33, the Lord's curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the dwelling of the righteous. Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor. The wise will inherit honor, but fools get disgrace.
We've talked about that this past week too when we've been in Romans chapter 12 where it says, outdo one another in showing honor. The wise will inherit honor. We receive honor from God through his son.
When we have been made fellow heirs of his eternal kingdom. But fools, the ignorant, the unstable, who twist the word to their own destruction, who do not follow Christ, but they go after the wisdom of the world instead of the wisdom of God, they receive disgrace.
Walk with the wise, my friends. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for this good word for us today. And may we see these words as good. These are not burdens meant to be imposed upon us, but you have given this word to us because you love us.
And you want to raise us up as sons and daughters of the most high God. May we walk as worthy sons and daughters today according to the wisdom that we've received from the book of Proverbs.
In Jesus' name, amen. This has been When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabriel Hughes. Find all our resources online at www .wutt .com. On behalf of our church family, my name is Becky, thanking you for listening.