The Beginning of Wisdom
Transcript:
good morning. how are we doing? Good? It's good to see all your faces there and back from vacation, some of you. Most of you are still on vacation, but it is good to see you. we are launching into a new series through the book of Proverbs. If you have a Bible, you can begin to make your way there. It's in the middle of your Bible, right after Psalms. So if you've found Psalms, go to the right. We have scripture journals, which are just the book of Proverbs with
some lines for you to take notes if you want as our gift for you. you can get it now or on your way out. maybe over the next month. There's thirty-one chapters in Proverbs. Work your way through a chapter a day and follow along with us as we work our way through the book of Proverbs. We're calling it the good life. And that's simply this this comes out of this reality that all of us are are are constantly searching for, whether we know it or not.
We're we're arranging our lives, we're we're saying our things, we're pursuing and spending our money in pursuit of the good life. In some way, shape, or form, what what what we see as what will be satisfying, will what will bring joy to our soul. We're all on a pursuit. Everyone who has ever lived has been on this pursuit. Now the Eastern worldview and Eastern religions like Hinduism and Buddhism would say
That's the problem. Desire is the problem. If we could just detach from desire and and get lost in the cosmic nirvana, then there'd be no pain and suffering, and that would be a heaven for them, essentially. But the Bible never says that. The Bible says the problem is not your desires. God actually gave us desires, and he desires that we would pursue our joy. The problem is in a broken and fallen world with broken and fallen hearts and minds, our our desires get jumbled. They get missed. They get
they they get often put out of order and so we're we're all trying to pick up the pieces and and and pursue the good life. Now all that for for all of us that looks a little bit different. and in this series we're gonna look at what w what what does God actually say is the good life. And it's not just having a a safe, happy s happy secure life because if if this is the path to that kind of life then
The wisest person who has ever lived, Jesus Christ, didn't achieve it. He was the the wisest person and he followed the path perfectly, and in the end, he's betrayed by his friends. He's beaten, bloodied, bruised, he dies on a cross for us. And so God has something else in mind. God has some eternal purposes for us in this series as we pursue the good life. But we're all on that pursuit. And it's difficult because.
W we we know there's parts to it. And it's a little bit like herding cats, right? You're like, I I've got this cat over here. This is my job. This is my career. I'm gonna spend time and energy and effort, make sure it's good. But I gotta check over here 'cause my marriage now needs some work and and I need some time and energy and effort
my kids, my kids need some time and energy and effort. I need some time and energy and effort in my health in my own mind. Like w once you get one settled down, the others kinda wander off. That's what it feels like sometimes, right? Anyone feel that? Just me? Okay, am I preaching here? Okay. So there we go. Yeah, it's just how do you manage that? How how do you do that? What what what is the path for that? Well, the Bible says there th th that that that's just this part of eternity side of eternity, but there is some
wisdom to follow. There are some things to do. Now, we we live in a time and a culture where there we there is no shortage of opinion out there how to do things. There's no shortage of gurus and experts and and we are obsessed with technique and and and performance and and shortcuts. And so w we curate our our social media and news feeds. We we listen to the right podcasts, read the right books, but but they always overpromise and under deliver. Again it's just
hurting cats. Like and so we we we're like, okay, we're just trying to get on. And everyone's in this room today in some way, shape, or form, because you're on pursuit of the good life. And maybe you're like, maybe I just need to add a little bit of God to my life and and that will help. But but however you're here, I'm glad you're here because we are about to begin a journey, a a path through this book. Now this book we're we're familiar with, usually only in the t in the sense of the the pithy sayings, pulling them
just one and and you can, like Proverbs twenty-seven seventeen. I was thinking, as as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. And you're like, dude, yes, love that. That's gonna be a tattoo, it's gonna be our men's retreat. we we need a sharp we're gonna iron's gonna sharpen iron. Like I you can do that. You can pull this book apart. You you actually don't even have to be a a believer in God at all.
To come to this book and and pull some of these things and apply them to your life and and and see some fruit of that. But but if you were to do that, you you would actually miss the point of the book. You would miss the forest for the trees. Right? It'd be a little bit like, well, do we have any puzzle puzzle people here? You like to do puzzles? Okay, we got a few. Earlier this week, my my wife and one of my daughters was they they they they are they started late, but they laid out the puzzle pieces.
And I was going to bed and it was just all on top of the and and the pieces individually, they were pretty. Like I I was like, I don't know what this makes, but look at this piece. That's cool. That's usually how we approach the book of Proverbs. Like, look at this piece. It's cool. But but that that would be to miss the forest for the trees. And so we we don't want to do that. Let me give us some just some things to think about as we head out on this journey. God wants to give us a vision for and a pathway toward.
the good life, but it may not be the good life that you are thinking. the aim of this book as we walk this path with God and with one another is to behold the good life. But but this book is it's a particular kind of genre. Meaning the Bible has several different different genres. It's called wisdom literature. and that's different and how we understand that and how we interpret that is different than say historical narrative.
Or law, or the prophets, or the gospels, or the epistles, or apocalyptic literature. It has it's its own genre. And so to rightly understand we that we have to understand that it uses poetry and imagery and parallelisms and hyperbole and all all sorts of things. When we start to understand that we'll start to get the book. But I think the puzzle analogy is helpful in this way, especially with this book. everyone that does puzzles knows there's there's a process, right?
Well w you you lay out all the pieces on the table, turn face up so you can actually see them, and then what's the first thing you do? Yeah, you find the corner. Edges is second, but I'm I'm just saying. 'Cause today, in my sermon notes, it says we're gonna set the corners. That's what we're gonna do. And then number two, we're gonna set the edges. That's what that's gonna happen over the next several weeks. And then what do you do? Well well you start to group. You start to group them like
This looks like that tree over here, and that this looks like that bird over there. Well, whatever. You start to group them, you're starting to put them together. And and we'll we'll start to do some of that in this series. We're not gonna put the puzzle together completely. We we couldn't. Like this is this is meant to be a lifelong journey on the pursuit of wisdom. This isn't a book like the book of Romans that we would work verse by verse. It's more like let's set the edges, set the corners, start to understand.
the picture and then pursue it on our own and and in community together. So that's the that's one of the first things. The other thing is you need to know that Proverbs is good news to us. It's good news to us because in God's word it it is telling us that God cares about the details of our lives. Not just the big picture. He he cares and he wants to help us. He wants to come alongside us and and help us in our speech.
To speak wisely to one another and to our spouse and to our kids. He wants to help us in in our our work and our work ethic and and our finances. He wants to help us in our character. He wants to help us in every area of our life because it's all God's world, all of it matters to him. And Proverbs is a help to us. So it's good news to us in that way. It's also good t news to us is because with all scripture, Jesus says this in in John's gospel.
All scripture, including every book of the Old Testament, in some way, shape, or form points to Jesus. So so in a unique way in the the the canon of Scripture, Proverbs is going to show us Jesus. And that is good news indeed. So let's jump in. If you have your Bible, Proverbs chapter one, we'll pick it up in verse one. Listen carefully, this is God's word. Says the Proverbs of Solomon
Son of David, King of Israel, to know wisdom and instruction. Let's pause right there for a moment. Right away we see both the who, who wrote this, and the why. we we see that it's Solomon. We can read about Solomon's life in the book of 1 Kings. He's the third king of Israel. He's the son of David and Bathsheba. And as he takes on the the the throne as a young man, he's overwhelmed by.
it all. He's overwhelmed by that that this is God's people and this is God's nation and God is reigning and ruling. And he set this young man on the throne. And so one night we read about in First Kings three that that God comes to Solomon and says, I will grant your request. And and Solomon essentially says, This is a huge task. This is an important task. And he says, Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil. He's
Asking for wisdom, for who is able to govern this your great people? He says the task is bigger than me. And the only way that this can ha that I can do this well is if you give me wisdom. And God is pleased with his request. And in the subsequent chapters, you see that God grants him wisdom. The scripture says that he has more wisdom than anyone that came before him or after him.
Except for Jesus, he is the wisest person who has ever lived. And we see it work out. He wh what makes him so wise? He's well, he wants wisdom. He we're gonna see later in today in the past like it should be something we want and seek after and and search diligently for. But but he he's a student of reality. He's a philosopher. He studies creation and he says this is all your creation, and it all points to you in some way. And so he studies trees and
And reptiles and fish and rivers and and and the moon and the stars. He he he just says this is all speaking about who God is. Not only that, he's a collector of wisdom and knowledge. So he doesn't just write all these things or come up with these things himself. No, he he's a student of other cultures and other wisdom traditions. And he he takes that and he he he puts it in a compilation in the book. There are there are other sources of wisdom in this book. There are some from Egypt, for example.
He he recognizes that all truth is ultimately God's truth and ultimately points to him. And so he puts that in there. He pursues wisdom. He walks in wisdom. Let's define a few terms. It says the proverbs of Solomon. What's a proverb? Well, a biblical proverb is a generalization about how life usually works in the world that God has ordered. Not a promise or a guarantee. Meaning it doesn't always work this way because the world is.
Broken. And we can't come to Proverbs and claim them as promises over our lives. And and we're tempted to do that because out of context, you can be like, I need this. This is what I really need. let me give you for a few examples. The most common one, anyone who's ever been to a a parenting conference or read a parenting book will read Proverbs twenty two, six. Train up a child in the way he should go. And when he is old, he will not depart from it. That's not a promise. It's a generalization.
And so what happens is if you carry it as a promise and your child who has their own will and grows up may have their own rebellion before the Lord, well what happens when they walk away? You're either disillusioned with God, angry with God, or guilty in yourself. I must have done something wrong because you took a promise that was just a proverbial truth. Another one, Proverbs 22 or 10, 3. The Lord
Does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the cravings of the wicked. The Lord never lets the righteous go hungry. That's not true in this world. We just saw a few weeks ago, Psalm 73. That's the problem. It looks like the the wicked are prospering and the the righteous are are suffering. Why is that that Psalmist is wrestling with? And sometimes that is the case. And so if you understand, as you read through Proverbs, these are general truths about
How God has created and ordered the world. There's another word there, the word wisdom, the key word here. Biblical wisdom. Wisdom is, in Proverbs, is skill in the art of living. That could be the short definition. Skill in the art of living. The practical and moral competence to navigate God's world as it actually is. Wisdom is the ability to know what is
To take the information that you know, and only God knows all the information, but the information you know and rightly apply it in any given circumstance. So so wisdom says, I I speak to this child of mine in this way, but this child needs me to speak differently. There's not a verse for that. Wisdom knows how to how and when to speak to your spouse about these things. Wisdom knows about how how money works and and and how work works and all these.
things. It's the pri it's the art of living. Or or to use a a sports illustration a sports illustration for you. So every sport has rules, boundaries, guidelines. And so to play the sport, first thing you you got like, what are the rules? What do I have to do? And you learn the rules and y and usually you understand those. unless it's cricket, I don't think anyone knows those rules. I think they're still making them actually mid game. But
And apparently we don't know what a red card or a yellow card is or when the president can call that in. I don't know. that's a different thing. But for the most part, for the most part, even the fans of the crowd know the rules and they they know what's happening. But th that's not enough. Obviously you need you need the players, you need the the athletes. They train, they they practice, they they work on specific skills and a and and to prepare themselves for the moment. But that's not that's not wisdom either. You you need a game plan. Now you're starting to get into
wisdom of game plan for life, but a as Mike Tyson said, everyone has a game plan until you get punched in the face. wisdom is after you get punched in the face, now what do you do? Now how do you succeed in life? Right? Like, obviously the USA played terrible last week and I don't even watch soccer. I'm like, this looks terrible. and there's lots of blame to go around but but all the commentators and the journalists have pointed out, you know, one of the things is that is clear is
In the midst of the game, the adjustments weren't made. we were outcoached. That's a wisdom issue. How do you apply what you know to the art of sport? So w we need wisdom. And I love what Pastor Theologian, one of one of the wisest guys I know about, Ray Ortlin, ha what he says about this. He says, God does not intend to crush us with layer upon layer of demand. He intends to help us. The priest taught his law.
Prophets declared his word, and the sages or wise men gave his counsel. This is God's grace to us, giving his counsel to us. Wisdom is super important. Again, Ray Orland talking about the importance of wisdom. What if we what if we have other things but we don't have wisdom? What would happen there? Listen to what he says. He says, if we have love but not wisdom.
We will harm people with the best of intentions.
If we have courage but not wisdom, we will blunder boldly. If we have truth, but not wisdom, we will make the gospel ugly to other people. If we have technology but not wisdom, we will use the best communications ever invented to broadcast stupidity. If we have revival but not wisdom, we will use the power of God to throw the church.
into reverse gear. And he says, Wisdom is the grace of Christ beautifying our daily lives. I love that. So wisdom. What is wisdom? We we saw that in in fact in this prologue wisdom kind of he sets it in a in a a spot to define itself. Notice all the synonyms verse two to know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise
Dealing in righteousness, justice, and equ equity, to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth. Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles. So who needs wisdom? Well, we we saw it here first in verse four.
To give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth. Now that word simple there is not a pejorative term. No one likes to be called a simple, but we don't know what we don't know. We all start off simple. A and so this book was probably first used to train young boys becoming men. Like, hey, as you go out into the world, as you walk the path of life, there's gonna be some dangers along the way, and you can either learn them here or you can learn them on your own.
And it would be much better if you could just learn them here than on your own. And so that's one thing. So it's to equip the youth. You're like, well, I'm not simple and I'm not youth, so I guess that doesn't apply to me. But verse five says, Let the wise hear and increase in learning. And the one who understands obtain guidance. So now we have the wise also. This is for the wise, because here's the first mark of a wise person. A wise person
knows that there's more to know. A wise person knows that they have not arrived. A wise person is not content with, well, everyone should come to me and and ask me because I'm beyond it. A wise person is like, there's more. God is infinite. I'm fine. I have I I might be a couple more steps a on the road in this area than your life, and I can help you, but I haven't arrived. And so this is for the wise, the one who understands. So you have on the one hand
The simple and the youth and the wise and everyone in between. This is an all play. We could all use more wisdom. We all need to learn the art of living well. Well, where do we begin? Well, if this is a journey, you you begin at the trailhead, right? that that's usually where journeys begin. A few days ago or my one of my daughters said, we went on this hike.
But it routed it routed us to the destination and not the trailhead. You can't just arrive. There there is a trailhead, and at the trailhead, it is the first step. And thankfully, the book of Proverbs starts with the trailhead. Now it's a trailhead that none of the gurus, none of the experts will tell you this is how you get wisdom, but it is the spine of the book of Proverbs. And when we explain it, you'll understand why.
This is the beginning. Look what it says, verse seven. The thesis of the book. So the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. At the trailhead, the first step on the path to wisdom is this fear of the Lord. So so think of a passage very famous, Isaiah chapter six. In the year King Uzziah died, Isaiah
goes into the temple and he says, And I saw the Lord high and lifted high, and the train of his robe filled the temple, and the seraphim and the angels were crying out, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. And in that moment Isaiah sees reality for the very first time the veil is removed, and he says, Woe is me! I'm finished, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and I have seen the Lord high and lifted up.
And he repents and he gets on his face. He does the first wise thing of his life. He repents before a holy God. Go to the New Testament. Early in the ministry of Jesus. He comes to the sea to the shore at the Sea of Galilee and he sees his disciples, Peter and the boys who had been fishing all night. That's their job, but they hadn't caught anything. And he says, Hey,
Can you take me out and and let's do some more fishing? And they're like, Okay, you you do the rabbi thing, we'll do the fishing thing, but whatever you say, Rabbi, and they get in the boat with him and he goes, he's like, Go out here into the deep part, you know, where there's never any fish, and and and throw out your net. And they're like, Okay. And they do, and it it's immediately full of fish. And in that moment the veil is lifted from Peter's eyes. And he's not celebrating the fish. All of a sudden he's like, Lord, depart from me.
For I'm a sinful man, and I can't be in your presence. He does the first wise thing anyone on the trail could do. Repent. Turn from God. Recognize God is holy and we are not. But what about what about for those of us that are in Christ? This is that that's a fear of the the transcendent holiness of God, but but in Christ, we we know that.
We we don't have to fear in that way because we have the righteousness of Christ. We've been welcomed into the Holy of Holies. We're welcomed in as sons and daughters into the very throne room of God. So the the fear of the Lord for us is not a a a terror like, no, he's going to undo us like Isaiah. The fear of the Lord for us is a is a reverential man. I want my life.
To be lived before your face in everything I do, in everything I say, in in all my dealings, I I want to recognize that I am never in the room alone. You are always with me, and you love me and you died for me and you want the best for me. And so I want my life to honor and glorify you. And I never want to do anything that grieves your heart. This is the fear of the Lord for the followers of Jesus. Immediately, if you had what the reformers called quorum deo, the
The face of God, if you recognize that truth every moment of your life, you would talk differently. You would spend your money differently. You would do your work differently. Your character would be changed. Why? Because have you ever been in a room with someone you have a ton of respect for? That just you just want to honor in their life? Yeah, you do that. And so the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge because we recognize He is always with us in His perfection.
And his holiness, he is for us and not against us. He has covered us with his blood, and we journey this path with him. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Twenty times in this book, we're going to be commanded, fear the Lord. Fear the Lord. Fear the Lord. Proverbs chapter nine. I put it on the bulletin as a a a memory verse. If you come for nine weeks, you'll get nine memory verses. But here it is.
The again the thesis of the book. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. This is it. We keep this before us. Proverbs chapter three. Many of you have verse five and six memorized, but don't forget verse seven. It says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not lean on your own understanding, which is hard because that's all we ever want to do. When when life hits hard, I'm like, I'm gonna lean on my own understanding.
It's like, don't do it. In all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and turn away from evil. This is the trailhead. This is the corner pieces of the puzzle. This is the core. This is why you can't just come to this book and pull out little thin nuggets for your life. You have to understand the trailhead. Well, I also said.
That this book will point us to Jesus. And so the question is how does this passage point us to Jesus? I I think there's probably several ways, and maybe you can think of some on your own. but for me, I'm I'm struck with verse one. It says the Proverbs of Solomon, son of David. And the reason that strikes me is because, again, the Bible itself says, hey.
There's no one that's been as wise as Solomon, and no one after him has been as wise as him. he's the wisest man who ever lived. But but we have more of the Bible. And we know this man who taught about the the dangers of sexual immorality and the dangers of pride and the dangers of wealth and the dangers of power and and the dangers of not being humble. The man who
Teaches us all these things, that has all this wisdom, in the end he forgets the fear of the Lord, and he gives in to all of those things.
Again, how does this point us to Jesus? Because the point of Proverbs isn't, hey, let's be like Solomon. Let's be as wise as Solomon. None of us will be as wise as Solomon. The point of Proverbs isn't that we need Solomon, it's that we need someone better than Solomon. Enter Jesus. In Luke chapter five, no rather Matthew chapter twelve, Jesus is teaching.
Verse forty two, it on the screen, it says, The Queen of the South will rise up at the judgment. This is a story from Solomon's life. The Queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it. For she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold something greater than Solomon is here. Or rather, someone greater than Solomon is here. We don't need Solomon, we need Jesus.
Paul says, First Corinthians 1 30, Jesus is the wisdom of God. This is good news for us because wisdom is a person, wisdom incarnate. It's good news for us because Jesus said, I will never leave you or forsake you. I will be with you to the very end of the age. So as followers of Jesus on the path pursuing the good life, we we get to go hand in hand with the very incarnation of wisdom. Not our wisdom, his wisdom. This is good news.
So Solomon charges us as he starts out his book in chapter two with a charge. But again, we don't do this on our own, hand in hand with Jesus beside us, with Jesus in us, empowering us, receive this charge, redemption Parker. Proverbs chapter two, start in verse one. My son or daughter, if you receive my words and treasure up my commands with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and
And inclining your heart to understanding. Yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom from his mouth, come knowledge and understanding. Amen. Amen. Let's pray as we walk out of here.