Wisdom From Above - [Proverbs 1-3]

Proverbs as Solomon’s Wisdom for the Ages

Turn with me tonight, if you would, to the book of Proverbs. The book of Proverbs, Solomon's wisdom recorded for the ages. This book is in a way unique in all of the Bible because instead of long exegetical sermons that can be preached from this or for long descriptive passages of something that happened, these are all short, pithy sayings that express the truth.

If you will, to put it in modern vernacular, that Proverbs of Solomon are sort of spiritual zip files. Those of you who play with computers know what a zip file is. It's something that comes into you and it's a compressed form and you have to decompress it before you can actually read it and see what's there.

But there's a great deal of data in a very small space. And the Proverbs are like that, but they have to be decompressed if we are to explore their meaning and that's what we're going to do tonight for the first selected passages out of the first three chapters of Proverbs.

The author, of course, is Solomon, who was known for his wisdom. You all know the story. When Solomon was to become king and he'd been made king, God came to him in a dream and said, what will you have me give you?

And Solomon asked for wisdom. And because Solomon asked for wisdom, God granted that and granted him many other things as well. But Solomon is perhaps uniquely qualified to write the Proverbs as well as the Song of Solomon and the Book of Ecclesiastes.

Because perhaps unique among all of the characters of history, biblical history, Solomon can say, been there, done that, to anything you want. Whatever you think that might make your life meaningful, Solomon can say, whatever you want, I've had it, I've been there, I've looked at it.

You think wealth, he said, I was the wealthiest man on the face of the earth. You think sex, women, he said, I had 300 wives and 700 concubines. And he says over and over throughout Proverbs, a nagging wife is a real pain.

He doesn't just say that once, he says it many times. So, you know, been there and done that. And yes, Solomon went away from the Lord and came back at the end of his days. So that perhaps, who better than Solomon?

Who better to tell you what the dregs at the bottom of the bottle taste like than someone who's drained it? And so that's Solomon. And so he starts off his book by immediately aligning, he identifies himself and immediately aligns himself with David.

He says the Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel. That's a pretty self-explanatory statement. Although for some reason, scholars, some scholars torture things and try to say that Solomon didn't write the Proverbs, although it's completely here, clearly says he did.

But he makes his purpose statement. Verse 2, to know wisdom and instruction, to understand the words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing and righteousness, justice, and equity. So that's the first thing.

To gain knowledge, to form correct ideas about life. Because there's a lot of people running around in this day and age which do not have correct ideas about what life is all about. They're pursuing all kinds of goals but none of them are what human beings should be pursuing.

They don't understand what's important. But here is to know wisdom and instruction. And also to perceive, to understand. Because it's one thing to know facts, it's another thing to perceive to be able to distinguish between what is true, what is not true, what is right, what is wrong, what is good, and what is evil.

To have understanding. It is the mark of a child, for example, that they have no understanding. They do not understand the consequences of what they might want to do, which is why God in his mercy gives them parents.

Whose job it is to say, no, don't do whatever it is you're about to do because it will do you harm until the child learns. And so that's another function that Solomon sets forward. He also says to give discernment.

And that is another mark of an adult. A lack of discernment is a mark of a child. And yet the world is full of people who are chronologically old but have no discernment. They have no discernment whatsoever.

And so finally, to establish right conduct. He says in verse 4, to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth, let the wise hear and increase. To establish right conduct, to know how to behave.

Every now and then, I know that you run across people that simply don't know how to behave. They don't know how you're supposed to act in public. It's one thing for a child to start screaming in a restaurant, right?

Again, that's why he has parents. But if an adult does that, this, we look on that as something truly bizarre because adults are supposed to know that you don't do that in public, right? And so Solomon's laying down all of these things and it's amazing how this parallels both.

He uses the metaphor of raising a child a great deal as he goes through here. But this is to learn wisdom as God views wisdom. This is to have discretion as God views discretion. This is to have knowledge as God views knowledge.

What is truly important? What true discernment is? What is really right and wrong? And so he sets also, he sets forth his audience. Look in verse 4, to give prudence to the simple and knowledge and discretion to the youth.

These are people who have no discretion. Children have no discretion. Young people have no discretion. In fact, and I've said this before, children are born little barbarians and it is up to their parents to civilize them.

They don't know inherently how they're supposed to act. That's why God gave them parents. And godly parents, in fact, are God's chief tool in dealing with children and their depravity. And that's why the Bible also says that even though a child, a parent cannot be saved for their children.

When children are born into a godly family, that is a blessing to them. They are blessed by the very fact that their parents are godly people. Why? Because, number one, they will early have the claims of Jesus Christ presented to them.

They will early be shown what they are. They will early in life be told that there is a God and you have a responsibility to this God. Yeah, he is your creator and therefore you are answerable to him.

All of these things are blessings. All of these things are blessings that come to the children of godly parents. So then he talks about what is the application. Well, first of all, let the wise hear and increase in learning and the one who understands obtain guidance.

So what happens? Well, first of all, the foolish are made wise. And I should point out throughout the entire book of Proverbs, the emphasis of Proverbs is on the responsibility of man. Because as we all know, through the Bible, there is this dynamic tension that goes between the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man.

And it's the two anchors, as one scholar put it, it's the two anchors on the end of the violin string that puts it under tension that lets you make music on it. And so, but the emphasis that Solomon has here is on the responsibility of man, not overlooking the sovereignty of God.

The sovereignty of God rules over everything. But he's looking at, you know, how do you act? What are you supposed to know? How are you supposed to do this? How are you supposed to go at things? And so, number, in verse 5, it says, the foolish are made wise or the simple, another way to put it, the simple are made wise.

And the wise get wiser. And by extension, the bad are made good and the good become better as they learn what God has to teach them. And with the result that the wise man is equipped to offer good counsel, the wise man is equipped to understand and to interpret the scripture, including the difficult passages, quote, unquote.

2 Peter 3 .16, you know, the wise man begins to increase in knowledge and in real wisdom, which is wisdom as God sees it, wisdom as God sees it. And so, let's look at the outline. He's going to talk about wisdom, this whole topic of wisdom.

Wisdom’s Foundation: The Fear of the Lord

So, there are four things in this outline. First of all, there's wisdom's foundation and then there's wisdom's warning and wisdom's deliverance and wisdom's reward. So, first of all, wisdom's foundation.

William Arnault wrote a fascinating book, a very excellent book on the book of Proverbs. And if you read it, it seems so contemporary. And you would be a little bit shocked to realize he wrote this book 100 years ago.

He wrote it at the end of the 19th century, not at the end of the 20th century. Although you read some of the chapters and you swear that he's talking about the Enron scandal or something like that. It is so, it is that contemporary.

But he said in this book, he said, the man whose knowledge begins and ends with matter and its laws has got a superstructure without a foundation. And that's what we were talking about this morning in this morning's sermon.

As soon as you go away from in the beginning God created in the heavens and the earth, you've jerked your foundation out from into the whole superstructure that you built. And so, the topic of Proverbs is wisdom.

And that's wisdom as opposed to knowledge. Because what is knowledge? Knowledge is mere accumulated facts. But wisdom is the proper analysis and application of those facts. And let me tell you something, the world is full of educated fools.

A great many of them are in classrooms at major universities at the front. You know, and as you, again, as a side note, as you read through Proverbs, Proverbs uses wisdom and knowledge interchangeably.

But in the context of Proverbs, when he says knowledge or the translators use the term knowledge, they mean the knowledge of God. The tongue of the wise, says Solomon, the tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright but the mouth of fools pours out foolishness as you would expect.

So, the world is full of great of people who possess great knowledge but are not wise. And by the biblical definition, they are in fact fools. Because what does the Bible said? Say, the fool has said in his heart, there is no God.

That's the biblical definition of a fool. And so, the man that said in his heart, there is no God, despises and rejects his instruction. He orders his life as if God does not exist. He has no consciousness of a holy, righteous and just God whom he has offended.

And therefore, he has no foundation for his life. He has no foundation for his life. He is searching for direction. They're running around seeking meaning in life, seeking direction, seeking success, whatever that is, however they define that, but they have no foundation.

And so again, to quote Arno, knowledge may be possessed in large measure by one who is destitute of wisdom and who consequently does no good by his attainments either to himself or to his neighbors. But a reverential awe of God, the right state of the heart towards God, the fear of the Lord as it's called, is the absolutely essential basis for all true wisdom.

And note what he says in verse 7, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge and fools despise wisdom and instruction. But this is the theme of Proverbs. We rest on the being and attributes of God.

What has God said? What is God life? What does God require of us? And science studies the laws of nature and the fact that such laws exist testify to the omnipotence and immutability of God, of the creator God.

The study of God's word, God's word provides a solid foundation. Knowledge can be raised and rested upon it. You can have peace with God and confidence in what he says. And knowing that God is superior to...knowing God is superior to merely understanding some of his material works.

The important thing is to know God, not just about what he has created. And so, unless there is a fear of God in society, there will be no respect for moral law. And when people say, you know, what's wrong with society?

Well, there's your answer. There is no fear of God in society. There is no fear of God before their eyes, Paul says. And if he was saying it back then, think what it's like now. So now, some examples of this, some examples of this.

Wisdom Begins at Home: Parental Instruction and Early Discipline

First, the first thing a child encounters as it grows is its parents. And the beginning of learning to obey and to receive instruction is to obey and receive instruction from one's parents. And so, verses 8 to 10 deal with this.

And it assumes, number one, that we're dealing with believing parents here and that they will do their utmost to raise their children in the knowledge of God. And it says, hear my son, your father's instruction, forsake not your mother's teaching for they are a graceful garland to your head and pendants for your neck.

My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. So, some things are implied here. First of all, you're supposed to start early while the child is still pliable because children get hard fast. It has been said by psychologists who study such things that a child's fundamental personality is formed by the time he is three.

And that if you know what you're looking for, you can see directions of their future life that early. So, there's a sense of urgency. Children go fast. You've got to get on this right away. You can't, you say, well, you can't use the excuse.

Well, he's just a child, you know. Well, yes, that's the point. And when were you thinking that you might start in? You know, if you say, well, he's just a child and I'll let him get away with it now, but you're going to wait till he's, what, 21 and start then?

It's too late at that point. There's a sense of urgency. It involves discipline. You know, it involves discipline. It involves teaching the child discipline. And I don't mean just correcting the child, just disciplining the child because your objective is to teach the child to discipline himself so that you don't have to.

How many people do you run across in an average week that have no self-discipline? They have no self-discipline. Children are to receive and retain instruction. And to receive the instruction implies obedience.

Children are to obey. And they are to obey with thanks and gladness. And both the father and the mother are to instruct. Notice he says, hear your father's instructions and forsake not your mother's teaching.

It's not a one-sided deal. God gave a child two parents of two separate genders for a reason. It's because the child needs both of them. Now, the result of proper instruction is a badge of honor for both the child and the parent.

The chains and ornaments, as Solomon calls them. And a properly instructed child knows how and when to just say no. Verse 10, you know, just say no. The person that thought up that slogan, guess what?

Solomon thought of it several thousand years ago. And society prospers when family values are strong. When the fear of God is cast off, the generation of the family follows and the generation of society follows that.

And that is why it does matter, the fact that marriage is a contract between a man and a woman, one of each. This does matter. And it is important. It's not an optional thing. So, then he goes on. What happens if you reject wisdom?

The Public Call of Wisdom and the Consequences of Rejecting It

What happens if you reject wisdom? We're supposed to, there's a public proclamation that Solomon has in mind here. He says, it's in the streets, it's in the gates, it's in public places. And the call to salvation, first and foremost, is universal, as is the command to get wisdom.

Look at verse 20. Wisdom cries aloud in the street. In the market, she raises her voice. At the head of the noisy street, she cries out. And at the entrance of the city gates, she speaks. How long, oh simple ones, will you love being simple?

How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? So, first of all, what's the audience for this? Well, there are various categories of sinners listed here. First of all, we have the simple.

We have the simple. And you might call those everyday people. Just average Joes. They're not overtly evil. They simply do not possess divine good. They're just the average person. They are indifferent to the truth, if you will.

And then there are the scoffers. Those are the ones that are actively resistant to God. They actively, consciously reject the truth. You have those. And then you have what he calls fools, which are those that hate, actively hate all that is good.

They are active evildoers. They actively exclude the truth from their lives. They don't just ignore the truth. They actively reject it. He's got all three of these covered. And so, again, with his emphasis on human responsibility, not overlooking God's underlying sovereignty and the necessity for the enabling of the Holy Spirit, in verses 24 to 32, he talks about the practical consequences of salvation.

True Christianity is a practical thing. True Christianity acts. Obedience is the hallmark of the regenerate. And so the spirit is promised to those who will turn. But to those who will not, God says, verse 24, because I called and you refused to listen, he said, I reached out and you didn't respond.

He said, you rejected my counsel and my reproof. In other words, you rejected me. The result is that God rejects them. Verse 26, I will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when terror strikes you, when terror strikes you like a storm and calamity comes like a whirlwind.

And so what's going to happen? God's going to laugh. God's going to mock. God will refuse to answer. Solomon, in effect, is saying he is asserting God's sovereignty here. It is God's choice who will call.

It is God's choice who may answer that call. It's sort of like every mother has probably said this at least once to her children, you come when I call you. You know, when I, you come when I call you, not when you decide to come.

And yet we run across people, don't we, that say, well, I'm going to live my life and then just before I die, I'm going to give my soul to Jesus. Well, it doesn't work like that. God says here very clearly in his servant Solomon, he says, you come when I call you or you don't come at all.

You come on my terms, not yours. You might not have a chance at the end of your life. Your life may end much quicker than you think. All of us know about people who have, because of one thing or another, they've had brain aneurysms or one thing or another, they're dead like that without even the opportunity to cry out.

And so he gives a warning. And again, Arno says, it is true that unless a man turn, he will not get God's spirit poured out. It is also true that unless he gets God's spirit poured out, he will not turn.

That's an expression also of both of God's sovereignty and man's responsibility. And so we have those God actively rejects. He leaves human beings to their own devices. Paul said the same thing in Romans.

He said, I gave you up. And doom is promised to all those who reject from the simple to the fools. Verse 32, he says, for the simple are killed by their turning away and the complacency of fools destroys them.

But also, there is a promise of mercy to those who hear. The Holy Spirit is promised to those who will hear in turn. The spirit that is to be poured out is the very same spirit that enables the turning.

This is verses 23 and 33. Verse 23, if you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you. I will make my words known to you. And verse 33, but whoever listens to me will dwell secure. And will be at ease without dread of disaster.

You will dwell in safety. There will be no fear of the present, no fear of the future. Unlike the average Joe in the street, fear of the present produces anxiety. And fear of the future produces greed.

You can dwell without that. So then we get to wisdom's deliverance. There's a command to seek and a promise to bestow. Moving ahead to chapter two. So first of all, we are to pay close attention to the word.

Seeking Wisdom, Finding the Fear of the Lord

My son, if you will receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you. We are to receive and retain. And again, receiving, that phrase, that applies obedience. That applies obedience. We are to welcome the word into our lives.

It says we are to incline the ear. Verse two, it makes the ear attentive and inclining your heart to understanding. We are to have the attitude of actively seeking. And men incline to what their hearts already desire, don't they?

And we are to cry after knowledge. That's a more intensive seeking. Yes, if you will call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding. It implies the situation where there is no rest until whatever is sought is found.

You could use as an example a baby, an infant when a baby gets hungry. A baby wants one thing. A hungry baby wants one thing. He wants that bottle. And he's going to fuss until he gets it, right? And as soon as he gets it, what happens?

Silence reigns. You know, bunk right there. You're gone. And we are to seek, Peter tells us, as a newborn babe seeks the word, seeks the milk. We are to seek after righteousness. We are to seek the word of God.

We are to pursue wisdom. We are to pursue wisdom with at least the same effort that we expend on our earthly career, men. Don't we put a lot of time into our careers? We take courses. We study books. We, you know, we do online study.

We do all this stuff to keep up our skills, to advance ourselves in our career. Well, you should apply at least that amount of effort to advancing yourself in the kingdom. And by advancing yourself in the kingdom, I mean study of the word, learn what God has to teach you.

As a bare minimum, you should give it that. And so what is the hope? Where does the hope come from? Well, first of all, God promises that he has wisdom to bestow. For the Lord gives wisdom, verse 6, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

He has wisdom to bestow. He has revealed himself, and he promises wisdom to the righteous. John 7, 17, those who seek according to the word will find it. We have this promise. God also promises protection to the righteous.

That's verse 7 and verse 11. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright. He is a shield to those who walk in integrity. And verse 11, discretion will watch over you. Understanding will guard you. You want to be protected in your Christian walk?

Well, the more you know out of this book, the less you will be blown about by every wind that comes by. One of the problems that we have in evangelical Christianity, using that term loosely, is that every wind that blows, you've got people out following this, following that.

You know, some new idea comes down the pike, and here goes a whole bunch of people out following that one. And what is that? Why do they do that? Well, they do that because they have no foundations. They do that because they have no anchor.

They do that because they have no reference point. And so God says, you know, you learn from me. You learn the wisdom that I have to teach you, and you will have a reference point. And you will not be blown about by every wind of doctrine that comes by.

You will have the ability to discern sound doctrine and unsound doctrine when it comes. But it all implies a little work, doesn't it? God also promises grace to persevere because we've got to keep at it.

You never stop. You never stop. My mother is 94 years old. She still studies four days a week on a schedule. Now, she's functionally blind. She has to read with a reading machine. But bless her heart, she's got her books.

She's got her concordance. She's got everything out. She's still learning. And every time I talk to her, she's got something new. And you would think that, you know, she's been studying actively for well over 75 years.

And you would say, maybe you would think that maybe she's sort of getting to the end. But oh, no. Every time I talk to her, she has uncovered something new. She's turned over another shovel full. And guess what?

I found something else down in the mine here. I've been picking away at the ore face, and I found something new. And that's the way we're to be. This is a constant thing. We are to keep on the paths of justice.

Verse 8, he says, we guard the paths of justice. We watch over the way of his saints. This is what he promises to us. He promises us the grace to persevere as we go. With the results, what's the result of all this?

The result is that we get understanding. Back to verse 5, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. If you seek, you will find. That's a promise of God. This is not going to be a futile effort.

He says, if you seek, you'll find. He also says, you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path. You will understand right conduct. You'll know how to act, in other words. You'll know how to act in the church of God.

You'll know how to act to your fellow man. You will know how you're supposed to behave. So then he goes on. What are wisdom's rewards? And we're moving on to chapter 3. What are wisdom's rewards? And all of this chapter is set in do this, this will result type language.

This kind of thing. Do this, this will happen. These good things will happen if you do this. First of all, there is a continual regard for God's precepts. Verse 1, my son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments.

So he says, don't forget, that implies learning, because one cannot forget what one hasn't yet learned. And forgetting is more common than outright rejection among believers. This is why we have to constantly keep going back.

You say, well, I read the Bible once. Well, that's good. Read it again. And read it again. I personally make a habit of reading one chapter in Proverbs every day of the month, because 31 chapters, 31 days works out very neatly.

And you keep seeing new stuff. Stuff that you didn't see the last time you read it, or the time before that, or the time before that. So keep at it. Don't forget. We typically tend to forget, don't we, what we don't care about.

So, and remember God's word, keep it at hand for immediate use. And be subject to what God says. God's ways are always best, believe it or not. Surprise, surprise. You know, whatever he says somehow always works out for the best.

It's amazing how that works. And what are the results? Now, I emphasize as we go down this, we are not preaching health and welfare, or health and prosperity, wealth and prosperity gospel here. Solomon is speaking in broad generalities.

This will be the general direction of your life, he's saying, the life of the righteous. First of all, it's a life of peace and tranquility. And this involves much more of spiritual prosperity than physical prosperity.

And it's a statement of a general trend, not a promise of an easy life, or bed of roses, or any of those things. But the person who is constantly focused on God, it really doesn't matter what's happening around him or her.

They have a calmness, they are an island of calmness, if you will, in the midst of chaos. Because face it, isn't life pretty chaotic some of the time? Of course it is. We live in a fallen world. So, we are behind the lines, folks, in this battle that we're engaged in.

And yet, we are islands, we should be islands of tranquility. And God says, that's what you will be if you pay attention to me, if you learn my wisdom, that's what will happen. And so, we'll have a good reputation with God and with men.

You will find favor and good success in the sight of God and men. We are trusting the Lord in all situations. That means we are to give up independent action and personal autonomy. We are not, to quote the poem, we are not the captains of our fate and the captains of our soul and the master of our fate.

You know, God is the captain of our soul and the master of our fate. We are to follow him. We are to place 100 reliance on the wisdom, power, and goodness of God in all things. We are not to relegate to God the big stuff while we take care of the small stuff on our own.

You know, if we do that, you will find the big stuff runs fine, the small stuff is a disaster. But I've said this before, but it's all too true. We are all too ready to trust him with the destiny of our immortal souls.

But we're not ready to trust him to provide dinner tonight or whatever it is that our immediate needs are. But what did Jesus say to his disciples? Your Lord knows you have need of all these things. You need something to put on.

You need a roof over your head. You need something to eat. God knows that. It's not a surprise. And he will provide those things. Because he cares for you. We are to actively seek God's direction at all times and in every situation, particularly so when the way ahead seems clear.

That should be a red flag that we need to seek God's face before we go charging off in what seems to be an open direction. There's a story told during one of Napoleon's battles when it was foggy, but a charge was underway, and the way ahead seemed clear.

And the French charged off and went right over a cliff because they didn't see it. It was too late. The way ahead seemed clear, but the way wasn't clear. And sometimes the way ahead seems clear, but it's not.

We are to seek God's face. So what are the results? First of all, we can rely on him, and we can rest assured that he will direct our paths. And the second part of that is we can have the confidence that the paths in which we are directed will be his paths.

This addresses the issue of how do I find God's will for my life? Young people in particular are extremely concerned with that. How do I find God's will for my life? As if somehow it's a hide-and-seek between you and God.

But you know, God is not trying to hide his will from you or from us. He says, seek and you'll find. He promises us, you follow me, I will lead you in the paths that I want you to go. I was asked not long after we moved down here, you know, do you think you're in the place God wants you to be?

Oh, yes. How do you know that? Because I'm here. Because I'm here. If God wanted me somewhere else, I would be somewhere else. See, that's the way it works. You can have that confidence as you follow God that he, in fact, will lead you in the paths that he wants you to go.

The second thing is we know how to use our substance. We can have honesty in business. We can use our capital and resources properly. Whatever God has chosen to give us, Solomon says, honor God first with the profit.

And if we get an increase, then God gave that. Always consider God first in the use of whatever income you have. And what God increases is to be used for his purposes. There's the doctrine of what's called the doctrine of full barns, overflowing wine presses, which in an agricultural society, which is what Solomon is writing in, that's a mark of prosperity.

And again, this is a general principle. This is not name it and claim it or any of that, you know, blab it and grab it or any of the rest of that. But if we follow God, he prospers our way. And we're not supposed to obey God for what we gain out of obedience.

And physical prosperity may or may not be our lot in life. But spiritual well-being is promised to all believers. And the book of Ecclesiastes says, if God does prosper you physically, you enjoy that.

That's what God, that's God's portion for you. You enjoy what he's given you, whatever it is. And so we know how to behave. We know how to conduct ourselves under trial. First of all, we know to accept a trial as a gift from God's hand.

And we also know don't treat trials lightly. Don't try to meet a difficulty in your own strength. Because when God sends a trial your way, guess what? You are being invited to a private conference with your heavenly father.

He has something to teach you. And he does not take it kindly when you neglect his lessons. And so don't lose heart. Again, quoting Arnaud, if the bold will see God in his afflictions, he will not despise.

If the timid will see God in his afflictions, he will not faint. And so what are the results? First of all, we are refined. We're shaped. We're corrected. God is molding us into the men and women that he wants us to be.

We have an assurance of sonship. The father does not correct or discipline those who are not his children. When we were living in Germany, a whole bunch of kids would play in the front street out in front of our house.

And out of all of these kids, there were only two that I would call aside and say, hey, come here. You know, you're not supposed to do this. You're not supposed to do that. You know, you're supposed to do this over here.

Why? Those two belong to me. The rest of them didn't. So as much as I might have liked to, I did not exercise discipline over them. I disciplined my own. And if you are disciplined of the father, that is a proof positive that you are a son or a daughter.

Because otherwise, he wouldn't do that. And so we return to the opening theme, get wisdom. Wisdom is one finds and gets wisdom. One does not create wisdom for oneself. We are specifically told not to rely on our own understanding.

We are instead to take pains to seek wisdom from God. The seeking is a blessing and finding is an even greater one. And finding is promised. And treat the wisdom that God gives you as something of great, great value.

And so in broad general principles, what does this produce? It produces a quietness of life. It produces peace and tranquility. That's chapter 3, verses 17 and 18. He said, her ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace.

She is a tree of life to those who lay hold on her. Those who hold her fast are called blessed. And it's also the source of true happiness. You want to be happy in life? Then follow God. Seek his wisdom.