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Monday, February 01, 2010

Wisdom Project 2/1

For the month of February I will be changing the format of the Wisdom Project. I still encourage you to read and listen to the chapter for the day (Feb. 1 = Proverbs 1, etc.). For this month, I will supply links to both the NIV and ESV versions of the chapter each day in the post—both of which contain the audio feature.

Also in this month, selected verses from within the chapter for the day will be highlighted with expositional comments. For the most part, these comments will come from the online resources linked in the Online Bible Study Resources here on 3 John 8 (scroll down in the column to the right of the blog to find the links).

Note to Proverbs class participants: this is the place where you should post your application comments for the day.




Proverbs 1 – NIV
Proverbs 1 – ESV

Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Commentary on Proverbs 1:7 . . .

This verse enjoys almost universal recognition as the key statement not only in Proverbs but in all the wisdom literature of the Bible (cf. Proverbs 9:10; 15:33; Job 28:28; Ps. 111:10; Eccles. 12:13). Some people think of it as the motto of the book, others the foundational principle, others the major premise, or something similar. The verse contains a positive statement followed by its negative corollary.

The "fear of the Lord" occurs at least 18 times in Proverbs (Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 3:7; 8:13; 9:10; 10:27; 14:2, 26-27; 15:16, 33; 16:6; 19:23; 22:4; 23:17; 24:21; 31:30). "Fear" includes not only a correct way of thinking about God but a correct relationship with Yahweh. It is an affectionate reverence that results in humbly bowing to the Father's will. It is a desire not to sin against Him because His wrath is so awful and His love is so awesome.


From: Dr. Constable's Expository (Bible Study) Notes

Blessings
3 John 8
Bill H.

28 comments:

Unknown said...

Not following wisdom has its consequences vs 26+27 but as usual when in trouble we call out to those whom we have rejected. We realize our mistakes but sometimes it is to late to exscape the consequences.

Carrie L. said...

There were two verses in this chapter that stood out to me. Verses 8 and 9 talk about the son heeding his parents instructions and if he does it will be a garland to his head and a chain about his neck. I want to be able to say that I am willingly obedient to my parents and that my obedience will grace my head and neck.

Renee K said...

Korb

Jilli Bair said...

The fear of the Lord is key to leading a knowledgeable, wise life. Verses 7 and 29 both deal with the key concept of fearing the Lord. The father both warns his son against the enticement of sinners and encourages him to answer the cry of wisdom. As the book begins its discourse on wisdom, the reader is given a description of wisdom, warned about those who stray from wisdom, and called to wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the agent by which we can acquire biblical wisdom.

Renee Eileen said...

I find it interesting how the chapter goes from the fear of the Lord and the benefits that come along with that to the contrast of what happens when you choose not to fear the Lord. To me, when looking at this chapter, it seems like the logical thing to do even just based upon the effects would be to Fear the Lord.

Jim Morrison said...

Verses 10-17 tell the son that he needs to avoid sinners who will entice him. He is not to give into those who seek to do harm to others. Verses 18-19 go on to tell him that they only waylay themselves and their gain takes away their own lives. I think this is a good reminder to be careful of who we allow to influence our lives.

Unknown said...

Vs. 32-33, "For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them. But he who listens to me shall live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil." Personally I fear complacency more than waywardness. I don't want to be happy with 'good enough' when it comes to my wisdom and daily walk with God.

Unknown said...

Proverbs 1:5a - Let the wise hear and increase in learning...
Solomon instructs that obtaining wisdom is an ongoing process, and that the wise will listen and continue to learn. As learning increases and more knowledge is obtained, this results in greater wisdom. By developing this daily participation in Proverbs, wisdom will increase, as long as it hangs on the principle of “the fear of the LORD”. Mike T.

Unknown said...

Verses 24-27 really caught my attention when listening to chapter 1. It says, "But since you rejected me when I called and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand, since you ignored all my advice and would not accept my rebuke, I in turn will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes you -" I'm guilty of rejecting wisdom, instruction, and discipline. So I automactically put myself in those verses. I see that ignoring God's word will result in disaster, and it may not be immediate. Sometimes I wish God would discipline or rebuke me as soon as I sin, but He doesn't always do that. I'm thankful for God's mercy and grace, but I'm thankful that God doesn't allow me to make foolish decisions without some sort of consequence.

julee said...

The end of this chapter almost scares me.. if I don't search for wisdom now when she calls then there will come a time when I won't be able to find her. There are many things that I want to do, many books I want to read, many things I want to study out in the Scriptures, people I want to write, but often I get to the end of my day and don't know when I could have done any of those things. I fill my days, or they get filled for me (work, homework, people..), but the word and wisdom need to have priority in my life. Oh if only I didn't have to sleep! but I don't think that's the answer :)

Krista Harrison said...

this biggest thing that crosses my mind with this passage is why we live a holy life...I want to be living a godly life because I genuinely want to honor God in thankfulness of His awesome love. Why do we have a fear of God and why do we obey His commandments? We need to decide why we do this a develop a genuine desire to love and honor Him out of reverence. Verse 4 is something that means a lot to me. I want to at a young age have prudence in my simpleness.

Krista Harrison said...

this biggest thing that crosses my mind with this passage is why we live a holy life...I want to be living a godly life because I genuinely want to honor God in thankfulness of His awesome love. Why do we have a fear of God and why do we obey His commandments? We need to decide why we do this a develop a genuine desire to love and honor Him out of reverence. Verse 4 is something that means a lot to me. I want to at a young age have prudence in my simpleness.

Unknown said...

Proverbs 1:22
“How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
and fools hate knowledge?"
- It is interesting to notice how the simple ones are said to love being foolish. Many times I can relate to that in the aspect of falling back into previous sins. It amazes me how God always takes me back no matter how many times I fall into my foolish desires instead of seeking help of the proper knowledge to overcome such things. I believe the first step in resisting my foolish habits is to become accountable to God in the way that I maintain my relationship with him; and being accountable to someone you trust is also valuable in many ways.

Anonymous said...

Response 2/1/2010 4:24 PM
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools [a] despise wisdom and discipline.
Restructuring the way we learn is a discipline that should ultimately reflect the orderliness that God created the universe in. Since the fall of man into sin man has struggle against God’s will and order with everything, including the power of man’s intellect.

As a Christian I view foundational beliefs to be dogmatic (essential). I also believe that these beliefs are strongly connected and related to the process and growth of man’s intellect. For me as a Christian I find many of these foundational beliefs stated in the book of Proverbs, which is not a book that was necessarily written for believers exclusively. So first, I think that reverence toward God is the beginning (first step) of knowledge. Francis Schaeffer commented a great deal on the God excluding and even God denying factor in our present educational system and culture. The evidence is in on where these dreadful influences have led our society. True epistemology cannot take place in our society outside of God’s guidance.Many of Germany’s finest minds in the previous century went down the road of perdition with their genius. Francis Schaeffer said that that is exactly where a society ends up that turns a cold shoulder to the things of God.
Therefore the first step in any true epistemology must be reverence toward God. Without this there will be no true virtue in it. Tremper Longman reminds us that true knowledge is always for a purpose and in relationship with other people, God or creation.
Wisdom has travelling companions! They are

1. Understanding
2. discernment
3. Intellectual honesty
4. teachability
5. virtue

I have heard some parents say that the reason that they want their teenage son or daughter to attend a Christian college is that Christian colleges are not party schools. That is not a good enough reason to send someone to a Christian school. The reason should be the foundation of learning at a Christian school is reverence toward God which is the first step in the true order of learning.

As a Christian minister I have personally ministered to a ton of people in life that thought learning was a means to an end (usually money).That is an enormous error! The only true end in learning anything in our lives is to Glorify God. That may sound really dogmatic and I suppose it is but sometimes God is really dogmatic.

John Erbentraut

Tim K. said...

Some of the circumstances of my life has caused me to have a different perspective on the "fear of the Lord". It implies that we could be fearing someone else like men or our reputation rather than the Lord. We may be seen as "good Christians" because we are only involved with certain people but our example(Christ)was friends with and ministered to people that were outcasts as far as the "good" religious Jews of his day were concerned. Fear of the Lord may mean following His example and overcoming the fear of what others think of us.

Sarah said...

It is awesome, that when I read the first chapter of Proverbs I know what it is talking about.
I especially like vs. 8-19 because it almost sounds like a mother telling/warning her son not to join this "gang" that likes to shed blood.
I just thought that was an interesting section of the chapter.

Danielle Cummings said...

This chapter really introduces the entire book of Proverbs. Going through what a wise person does, what a fool looks like, and the outcomes of each help us as searching believers to know how one is suppose to act to become more like Christ. I loved the last verse, verse 33, when it says, "But whoever listens to me will dwell secrue and wil be at ease, without dread of disaster." Its a conforting thought to know that just by following Christ and doing His will, He is there at any second to help us.

Lisa Griffiths said...

I love verse 7, it sums up the first six verse. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." What a way to start a book. It makes you want to keep reading and understand more. I love how wisdom is already being discussed in the early parts of this book as well. So many good points and how to stay away from being foolish, and seek wise decisions.

Danyelle Steckiel said...

vs 8-15 talk about the warnings for the son not to follow after the sinners and there evil ways. It says "my son if sinners entice you, do not go along with them..." and it ends with "do not set foot on their paths." we are to not even set foot on the path. We are enticed and fall when we are have a desire which only comes from being tempted and not being strong enough to stay on the right path. But we are told to not stray from the path, to not even set foot on it.

Jessica said...

Proverbs 1 is a synopsis of what the rest of the book is going to talk about. It introduces what wisdom is, where it comes from, and even goes so far as to give some of the things that will happen to those who do not choose wisdom.

Mandi said...

Proverbs 1 explains the purpose and theme of what the rest of the book is about. From what I have learned from Proverbs I now understand the idea of the book much better.

7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools [a] despise wisdom and discipline.
This verse really sticks out to me because I am learning that to gain wisdom first I need to fear the Lord.

Renee said...

"For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them;"

The simple are wayward and complacent. I was struck with the thought of how complacent I can be sometimes. I should never be content to stay in the same spot in my spiritual walk but always push for more. What I might think of as staying in the same position is actually a gradual decline backward because there is no such thing as standing still in your walk with God.

Unknown said...

"How long o simple ones, will you love being simple?" verse 22 really grabbed my attention, in that how long will i not answer the call of wisdom in certain areas in my own life? this was a nice reminder of what im working on

Nate said...

A verse that stuck out to me was when lady wisdom cries out to the different types of people she says this in verse 21 "How long oh simple ones will you love being simple" I do not know why it stuck out to me so much but it was kind of like I asked myself ...how long will I daily make decisions regarding life without trying to seek wisdom. Lady wisdom even says that if we follow her reproof it will beneficial. It just seems to me that so often I make decisions without stopping and asking myself what the wise thing to do is.

Erin said...

A verse that stuck out to me was Proverbs 1:5: "let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance." Listening to fellow Christians and God's Word guarentees growth in our own lives. I also like how later on Proverbs talks about the kind of people we should avoid b/c if we have bad influences in our life it's easier to go astray from the life of a Christian.

Cody F said...

Feb 1 – Prov 1
I feel like verses 22-23 are very important. They ask the questions about how long wisdom will be rejected. Then “Lady wisdom” tells what the answer is, turn to her correction, and you will start on the path to wisdom.

melissaj said...

I was really struck by verse 7, I have read it a lot of times but every time I read it I cannot help but ask myself, "are you being teachable?" "Do you take correction or do you rebel?" Its a reality check for me. Now, no one likes correction but we know it is necessary and we know it is being done out of love. Looking back I am thankful for the loving parents I had that corrected me because they loved me and want me to do right and ultimately obey God. This verse is a good check for me in making sure that my attitude and walk is right with God. It really makes me stop and think.

Bill H said...

Ashlie Thompson - Proverbs 1

I really like how the chapter start out telling about what wisdom is and then later in the chapter it gives warning if you follow the ways of the foolish. After doing the different readings for Proverbs 1 the first week and then coming to this listening reading made my understanding of wisdom change because of what verse 7 states about it being the fear of the LORD.