Proverbs 8

Proverbs 8:1-26

Does not wisdom call?

Does not understanding raise her voice?

• Wisdom has a ring to it.  You know it when you hear it.  
• And that wisdom is calling out to you and to me.  
• Understanding is screaming out to us.  “Hear me and understand!"

 On the heights beside the way,

at the crossroads she takes her stand;

 beside the gates in front of the town,

at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud:

 “To you, O men, I call,

and my cry is to the children of man.

 O simple ones, learn prudence;

O fools, learn sense.

• Have to stop here.  “Simple ones” - not a complement.  Translation:  “Hey idiot, use some common sense, alright?”
• To the youth who are being pulled away by this world:  “Don’t listen to them.  Listen to me!”  
• The wisdom and understanding is everywhere if you’d just stop and look!

 Hear, for I will speak noble things,

and from my lips will come what is right,

 for my mouth will utter truth;

wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

• Listen and learn:  This is the good stuff.  It’s the truth you need to hear and absorb.
• I – wisdom – will never lead you astray with falsehood.  It’s against my nature.  

 All the words of my mouth are righteous;

there is nothing twisted or crooked in them.

 They are all straight to him who understands,

and right to those who find knowledge.

• Interesting.  To those who understand – those who have faith in God – the words are straight.  So that inherently means that the words are NOT understood by nonbelievers.  
• Some say, “Seeing is believing.”  But with many things, like faith in God, “You first have to believe to see clearly.”
• True wisdom is righteous (perfect) - no imperfections.

 Take my instruction instead of silver,

and knowledge rather than choice gold,

 for wisdom is better than jewels,

and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.

• A fool and his gold are soon parted.  
• You want true success?  True wealth?  True “jewels”?  Listen to the Master’s instruction, gain knowledge and become wise – wisdom through Him.
• Nothing compares to the value of God’s Truth.

 “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,

and I find knowledge and discretion.

• Prudence = discernment.  Give, but be prudent.  Don’t give knowing you’re likely being taken.  Discern – use wisdom WITH prudence.
• Knowledge comes along with discretion.  The idiot yells out his opinions that show how un-knowledgeable he actually is.

 The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.

 Pride and arrogance and the way of evil

and perverted speech I hate.

• Fear = reverence, awe, ultimate respect and admiration.  And if we really fear Him (revere Him) we will hate evil as He does.
• Pride, I think, is the root of most of what is wrong with this world today.   Egos, arrogance … me, me, me.  If everyone humbled themselves and thought about others – if EVERYONE just did that – we would ALL be taken care of by someone else!
• God hates perverted speech.  Synonyms for “perverted”:  unnatural, deviant, warped, corrupt, twisted, unhealthy, depraved, perverse, immoral, debased, degenerate, evil, wicked, vile, wrong, bad
• Swearing:  God hates it.  Inappropriate sexual innuendoes:  God hates them.  Any speech causing another to stumble.  God hates it.

 I have counsel and sound wisdom;

I have insight; I have strength.

 By me kings reign,

and rulers decree what is just;

 by me princes rule,

and nobles, all who govern justly.

• We must not just “read the Bible”.  We must seek all answers from it.  It has all the answers – period.  If and when we seek those answers sincerely, we will receive solid counsel … perfect wisdom.
• Good leaders are loved and love, are just, and lead in a just way by seeking this wisdom from the Source of all wisdom.  

 I love those who love me,

and those who seek me diligently find me.

• Seek wisdom and you will find it in God’s word.  No doubt.

 Riches and honor are with me,

 enduring wealth and righteousness.

 My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold,

and my yield than choice silver.

 I walk in the way of righteousness,

in the paths of justice,

 granting an inheritance to those who love me,

and filling their treasuries.

• Again, God is repeating Himself here.  Extra important to pay attention to this.  
• Nothing is more valuable than God’s wisdom.  Nothing.
• You will have a rich and full life if you just trust Him, seek to understand Him, seek Him always.

 “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work,

the first of his acts of old.

 Ages ago I was set up,

at the first, before the beginning of the earth.

 When there were no depths I was brought forth,

when there were no springs abounding with water.

 Before the mountains had been shaped,

 before the hills, I was brought forth,

 before he had made the earth with its fields,

or the first of the dust of the world.

 When he established the heavens, I was there;

when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,

 when he made firm the skies above,

when he established the fountains of the deep,

 when he assigned to the sea its limit,

so that the waters might not transgress his command,

when he marked out the foundations of the earth,

 then I was beside him, like a master workman,

and I was daily his delight,

rejoicing before him always,

 rejoicing in his inhabited world

and delighting in the children of man.

• Before all time, space, anything … there was God’s perfect wisdom.  And, as John 1:1 says, “In the beginning there was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
• In summary, all that Jesus taught and all that He was and is, constitutes wisdom.  Jesus is the Word.  The Word is wisdom.

 “And now, O sons, listen to me:

 blessed are those who keep my ways.

 Hear instruction and be wise,

and do not neglect it.

 Blessed is the one who listens to me,

watching daily at my gates,

waiting beside my doors.

 For whoever finds me finds life

and obtains favor from the Lord,

 but he who fails to find me injures himself;

all who hate me love death.

• Whoever finds wisdom finds LIFE.  Wow.  Whoever simply loves God, listens to Him, gains wisdom from Him, trusts Him – gains everything they need.
• Equally, there is bad news for those who do not.  While our human minds want to believe that God would have mercy on those who don’t, He only does if they accept the free gift.  If not, He is – as scripture says – a fair and just judge.  The most just.  That means a payment must be made to offset the sin.  You can pay, or you can accept Jesus’ offer to pay for you.  Simple as that.