The essential for an effective study of
Proverbs is FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST SO THAT YOU CAN HONESTLY CALL GOD YOUR
FATHER. YOU CAN’T MAKE A LIFE UNTIL YOU
FIRST HAVE LIFE AND THIS LIFE COMES THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST.
What applies
to the study of Proverbs applies to the study of any book in the Bible: Unless we are spiritually prepared, diligent,
disciplined in study and obedient to what God tells us, we won’t really
understand very much of God’s Word. A
willingness to obey is essential John 7:17.
The Holy Spirit teaches the serious, not the curious.
No matter
what we read, the classics or otherwise, we must be careful to read them in the
light of the Scriptures. Handle anything
you read as a chemist handles poisons – discover their qualities, not to allow
them to infect your blood. Look through
the filter of the Word of God to view anything, NOT looking at the Word through
the filter of the world!
The Simple, The
Scorner and The Fool!
You will
meet these three often as you read through the book of Proverbs. In Wisdom’s first invitation she called all
three…1:22. In her second invitation,
she called only the simple and fools…8:5...the scorner was not interested in
listening. In her third invitation,
Wisdom called only to the simple 9:4…because the fools had turned away and
joined the scorners. It is a dangerous
thing to reject God’s invitation to walk the path of wisdom and of life. You may never get another opportunity.
The simple = naïve people who believe
everything, because they don’t have convictions about anything. They lack the ability to discriminate between
truth and error. READ 14:15
It seems
that we are living in a time when a person of conviction is considered bigots
or rather stupid. We are living in a
time when to speak up is to be politically incorrect. No one wants to hear about absolutes. The widespread thought is that whatever
‘feels good’ down inside is what is truth for the individual. We cannot apply that philosophy to money,
medicine, mechanics or maps!!
Atkinson
wrote on Groundhog Day: “People
everywhere enjoy believing things they know are not true. It spares them the ordeal of thinking for
themselves and taking responsibility for what they know.”
It is
totally false to say, “What you don’t know won’t hurt you!” In fact, what you don’t know can kill
you!...1:32
The simple
are simple because they reject the truth of God’s Word that give “prudence
common sense] to the simple” 1:4 Simple people actually love their simplicity
and have no desire to change! Because
the simple do not take a stand for anything, they fall for everything, this
saves them the trouble of thinking, studying, praying and asking God for
wisdom. They prefer to take it easy and
pick up whatever cheap trinkets they can find on the surface, rather than dig
for the treasures of God’s Word.
It was a
simple young man that listened to the prostitute and __________7:7. 14:18.
Sometimes the simple learn by seeing another be punished 19:25, 21:11. The wise learns from instruction, but the simpleton
has to see a living example before he or she will learn. Wise people see danger coming and avoid it,
but the simple walk right into it 22:3: 27:12.
My Home Economics teacher said, “Experience is the best teacher, but
fools learn from no other!” Some have to learn the hard way.
All of us
are ignorant in many things, but simpletons are ignorant of their ignorance and
are unwilling to learn. They follow that
saying, “Ignorance is bliss, but when there is a Bible to read, a life to
build, and an eternity to prepare for, it is folly to be ignorant.
The Scorner = think they know everything, and
anybody who tries to teach them is only wasting time. Read 21:24 Scorners cannot find wisdom even
if they seek for it 14:6 because learning God’s truth demands a humble mind and
an obedient will. What scorners lack in
knowledge they make up for in arrogance.
Rather than discussion with those who would teach them, they sneer at truth
and deny it. Because he has no spiritual
or intellectual ammunition, he depends on ridicule and contempt to fight his
enemies.
You can tell
when a scorner is ignorant by the way that they respond to advice and
reproof. 9:7-8, 13:1, 15:12, 22:10,
29:8 The scorner thinks that he knows
everything…he causes all kinds of trouble wherever he goes…neighborhood, job,
church…he is toxic and spreads infection.
They can even create problems for a whole city…stir up = conveys the
image of somebody stirring up a fire or blowing on a flame to make it burn more
vigorously. Rather than letting
something die out, they use contemptible words and attitudes that add fuel to
the fire.
Scoffers are
an abomination to men… 24:9 and to God.
3:34…the Lord scorns the scornful…grace to the humble. 19:29.
The Fool = The word can be defined as “bellows…a
person’s puffed up cheeks. A fool is a
windbag…full of air, but lacking in substance.
May look like a giant, but when the wind is taken out of them, they
shrink dramatically and reveal what they really are…pygmies!
Proverbs’
words for fools translate into three different meanings 1. The dull, stupid
fool who is stubborn; 2. the corrupt
fool who is morally perverted and unreasonable; and 3. the fool who is like a stubborn animal, the
brutish fool. BUT a fool is a fool! no
matter what name we may call them!
FOOLS WON’T
LEARN FROM GOD’S WORD: 1:7…it is not low
IQ or deficient education. The problem
is the heart. They won’t acknowledge the
Lord and submit to Him. Even a fool’s
father cannot instruct him. 15:5; debating with him will only lead to trouble
29:9. Fools actually enjoy their folly
and think they are really living.
15:21 Warn them about sin and
they will laugh at you 14:9.
A fool
cannot keep his eyes focused on what is important. 17:24
They do not deal with reality, but live in a faraway fantasy world. The Word helps us keep our feet on the ground
and make wise decisions in this difficult world in which we live.
FOOLS CANNOT
CONTROL THEIR SPEECH: 15:2 His speech is proud and know-it-all 14:3 A fool has a tendency to speak before they
know what they are saying or what is being discussed. 18:13
29:20 12:15 You cannot tell a fool anything…they already
know it all!
Fools do a
lot of talking, but they never accomplish what they talk about. 10:8, 10
It is much easier to talk about things than to hear God’s Word and obey
it.
Fools
specialize in lies and slander. 10:18 and the wise person won’t stay around to
listen. 14:7-8. 15:7
17:7 What they say could cause a
fight 18:6-7
FOOLS CANNOT
CONTROL THEIR TEMPER: 12:16 14:29
17:28 29:11
Be cautious
of a fool: 27:3…angry with you…carry on
the war to the bitter end and do a great deal of damage. Exercise discernment when we disagree with a
fool. 26:4-5 Sometimes a fool deserves
only a deaf ear; other times they must be rebuked and their folly answered from
the Word. It takes wisdom to know which
response is correct, lest we end up casting pearls before swine.
FOOLS DON’T
KNOW HOW TO USE WEALTH PROPERLY.
21:20…Fools may know the price of everything, but they know the value of
nothing; they waste their wealth on things stupid and sinful. 29:3 14:24. The
wise have something to leave to their children, but fools waste both their
wealth and their opportunities to increase it.
19:10
FOOLS CAN’T
BE TRUSTED WITH RESPONSIBILITY:
26:1 A fool does not have what it
takes to handle responsibility successfully and win the respect of others. Giving honor to a fool is about as fitting as
snow in summer or as helpful as rain during harvest! Both mean disaster. Solomon 3 – 12describes more elaborately
about a fool. Like a dumb animal…use a
whip…give him orders and explain and you are in danger of becoming like him…important
mission and you might as well cripple yourself and be prepared for trouble. …like a lame person’s legs…confuses others
and harms himself like a drunk …don’t ask him to be a Bible teacher because he
will not know what he is talking about…it is painful to listen to him. Don’t ask him to wage war because he ties the
stone in the sling.
v. 10
emphasis is on the person who hires…like shooting at random … would not be in
his right mind to do so any more than to hire a fool.
Fools do not
learn from their mistakes. V. 11. They do not have the divine new nature;
consequently they go right back to the old life. Obedience and perseverance in the things of
the Lord are proof of conversion. “The
same sun that melts the ice hardens the clay.”
Pharaoh saw his country ruined by God’s plagues and yet wouldn’t give in
to the Lord. God’s discipline helps a
wise person obey the Word, but punishment only makes a foolish person more
wicked.
15:14…because
they feed on foolishness, fools have no moral strength. 10:21.
They not only lack spiritual and intellectual nourishment, but they also
lack refreshing water. 16:22. Follow Wisdom and you live on a fruitful
oasis; follow Folly and your home is a an arid desert.
The fool
will die without instruction 5:23. The
wise…3:35.
The only
fools who are “wise fools” are Christians, because they are “fools for Christ’s
sake” I Cor. 4:10 The world calls us fools but in trusting
Jesus Christ and committing our lives to Him, we have made the wisest decision
any one could possibly make.
“I am a fool
for Jesus Christ. Whose fool are
you?” A wise question! Be sure you can give a wise answer.
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