Proverbs 4:8 Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.
9 She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.
10 Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.
When we embrace wisdom and give God glory for for helping us attain it then God will bring honor to us. A foolish child will bring shame to the parents, but children raised in a Godly home with wisdom will bring honor to the parents. So it is important that adults learn to teach their children wisdom as early as possible. As we grow in wisdom God will continually pour out His grace and glory on us. Again we see that if strive to obtain as much wisdom as we can our days will be long. Remember one of the commandments ;
Exodus 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee
Proverbs 4:5 Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.
6 Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.
7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
Solomon, as you can see here, thought that wisdom and understanding was the most important things to have. Worldly wisdom is not what Solomon had in mind, here either. He refers to wisdom as a person but wisdom is a spirit. To obtain wisdom is one thing but we need to hold on to it be grateful that God entrusted us with it and that He preserves us for being dedicated to Him. Again Solomon tells us that wisdom is important but it is not just wisdom alone, we need to develop understanding with it.
Proverbs 4:1 Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.
2 For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.
3 For I was my father’s son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.
4 He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.
As we continue we can see that the instruction from the father comes the wisdom of the father to help the children get understanding. It states here that the father gives a good doctrine not to forsake the law, which we have to realize this is Old Testament and most children were taught from the law of God’s word.Verse 3 is simply saying that Solomon was the son of David and Bathsheba. The scripture goes on to tell us that if we keep the commandments we are taught in our hearts, God’s word tells to hide His word in heart so we will not sin, we can live a long life. In some respect Proverbs is still continuing to teach on wisdom, so wisdom must be a pretty important gift we need to obtain.
Proverbs 3:32 For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous.
33 The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.
34 Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.
35 The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.
The forward here is the wicked and they cannot see and hearing they cannot hear so they cannot know the secret. To the righteous we know that the secret is that Jesus Christ is our savior. All through God’s word He blesses those who follow His commandments and curses those who do not. God looks unfavorably on those who think to highly of themselves, but gives grace to those that humble themselves before Him.
Psalms 138:6, “Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.”
We end this chapter talking about wisdom again for it says the wise shall inherit glory. But for those who live worldly lives their gain is what they have here and this cause them to look like fools which brings shame. So today please attend the church of your choice and let God begin to give you the desire to gain the knowledge you need to a part of His chosen people. We welcome any and all to come and worship with us at Luverne First Assembly of God.
Proverbs 3:29 Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.
30 Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.
31 Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.
From the wisdom we have learned about we now need to apply it. God wants us to love our neighbor and not try to do anything that would cause him to not see God in us. We do not devise bad things for ourselves so we should not do this for our neighbor. Also we should not try to cause strife and fussing between people but we should try to live in peace with everyone. We know this is not always possible but we should never be the one who starts strife or keep it going. The people who are always causing problems are bullies and we should not associate ourselves with them. They are people who oppress others to obtain what they want and we should never fellowship with them. These scriptures show us that there are two kinds of people and they are kind of like oil and water , they do not mix. We should never want to acquire the ways of these people but pray they will find the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
Proverbs 3:27 Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.
28 Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.
This first verse is saying that when someone is in need, whether it be a stranger or a neighbor, and we have it in our power to help them we should do it. Then verse 28 says so many times we have tendency to offer some kind of excuse that we can not help right now but we will later when we actually have what they need right now. This is not only a message for the individual but also for the church when someone or a family is need for what ever reason the church needs to help them and not at some date in the future when they have the means to do it now.
1 Timothy 6:17-18 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
25Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. 26For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
The wisdom we have gained is a good reason that we should not have any sudden fear of things and we need not be afraid of what is going to happen to those who do not accept Christ as their savior. We know because of the promises of God that we are going to be kept safe and we can be confident in knowing this, As for as the wicked they already know what is going to happen to them so they try put that fear in to our minds but because we belong to God we do not have to worry about that. In Matthew 8:29, “And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?” The only fear permitted to those who trust in the Lord is Godly fear. You see, trust in the Lord brings confidence, a knowing that all is well.
Proverbs 3:21 My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:
22 So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.
23 Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.
24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.
As we continue to study wisdom the scripture here reminds us here to stay focused and not forget where our wisdom comes from. It comes from God who not only gives us wisdom but also gives all the grace we need to make each day. if we live as we should and walk in God’s will everyday we can do it confidence knowing we will be safe from harm and not make to many mistakes. There is no fear for the Christian with faith, fear is the opposite of faith. Sleep is sweet for those wise unto salvation. We have gotten forgiveness and are living just as if we had never sinned: justified by Jesus. Sleep is sweet when everything is alright with you and God.
Proverbs 3:19 The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.
20 By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.
We have been studying about ways for us to have wisdom but here we see a different aspect of wisdom. God by His wisdom, the wisdom we desire, hung the earth, moon , stars, and galaxies in place. He create the earth and everything in it. He fashioned the heavens with His understanding. By His knowledge He created land and sea and the clouds to make it rain. Can we ever thank God enough for Him using His wisdom, understanding, and knowledge to give us all the things that we need to live, for the wisdom He gives us that helps us to acquire the knowledge and understanding to accomplish the the things we are capable of doing. As we see what God can do with His wisdom we should pray for Him to grant us the wisdom to accomplish greater things each day.
Proverbs 3:15 She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.
16 Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.
17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.
Now you ask who “she” is ? This is what the third chapter is talking a lot about. She is referring to wisdom that can not be compared to anything thing else you can have, no matter what you desire it holds no comparison to obtaining wisdom. It goes on tell us that it gives us longer lives and all the riches we desire with honor, which means we did not get what we have by running over people. With wisdom we can have peace just knowing that God will do what He says and we can do all things with a pleasant attitude. Again in 18 it tells us that wisdom gives us life, because it helps us not to make stupid mistakes, and we can live our lives be happy and full of joy knowing what is waiting for those that love the Lord. Even knowing that you gain all this from wisdom none of it is as great as the blessing of wisdom itself.
"For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." I John 5:7
