THE BEGINNING OF KNOWLEDGE

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PROVERBS 1
Lesson #02
THE BEGINNING OF KNOWLEDGE

• Memory Verse: Pro 1:7
• Proverbs 1-9 The Contrast Between Wisdom and Folly:
• Read Pro 1:1-7 Solomon’s Introduction of his purpose:
  • God wants man to live in the way that He first designed us to live when He created man in Genesis.
    • “To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding.” (2):
      • Key words: wisdom (skillful living); instruction (a moral discipline for discernment); understanding (discernment of good from evil).
      • God wants man to have wisdom and a moral discipline to discern good from evil in his life.
        • Casually, one would think it would be an easy thing to discern good from evil, or right from wrong.
        • However, the depth to which God wants us to know this in the book of Proverbs is far more profound than casual observation, deeper than memorizing the Ten Commandments.
      • In James 1:5 it says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
    • “To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity” (3):
      • Key words: instruction (moral discipline for discernment); wisdom (skillful living); justice (honesty); judgment (truth); equity (to be impartial).
      • To receive instruction in skillful living, a person should also gain three things:
      • =1= He should also gain an integrity of honesty.
      • =2= He should gain truth.
      • =3= He should learn to be impartial in making decisions so that they are based on truth and not the emotions of the moment.
    • “To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.” (4):
      • Key words: simple (unwise); knowledge (the power to know the truth); discretion (to how how to act in a proper way).
      • The unwise person or the youth needs to learn that it is the power of God that gives a person the truth. Then he can know how he should act in a proper way in his life.
      • To gain this wisdom in living skillfully, the unwise person must:
        • …have a determination of mind to learn.
        • He must receive from God the power to have knowledge so as to determine what is proper conduct in any given situation.
  • How is man supposed to obtain all of that? (5)
    • “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:” (5):
      • Key words: learning (facts); understanding (to discern good and evil); counsels (advice).
      • Read 1Pet 2:2
        • The wise believer will listen intently to the Word of God which is the heart of God’s truth.
        • Through that, the wise believer will increase his knowledge of facts.
      • A person that has the ability to discern good from evil will seek wise advice from others and will be able to tell that which is good advice and that which is bad advice.
      • Every really great person in the world has put into practice this verse. Hopefully this is your prayerful desire.
    • “To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.” (6)
      • Key words: understand (discern good from evil); dark sayings (deep hidden messages).
      • Read 1Cor 2:9-11
      • The wise believer will discover the meanings of the words in this book to be able to discern good from evil by discovering the depth of God’s deep sayings.
      • In doing that, he will come to see that proverbs are deep hidden messages of God.
        • God has made His wisdom hidden like diamonds that one must dig for and then polish.
        • Those who are challenged to go to the trouble to do that receive the wealth of God’s words.
    • “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (7)
      • Key words: fear of the Lord (awesome respect for); knowledge (the power to know the truth); fool (no God for me); despise (contempt for); wisdom (skillful living); instruction (moral discipline for discernment).
      • This is the key verse to the book of Proverbs.
      • Submission to having an awesome respect for God begins with the power to know the truth of God imparted to him by the Holy Spirit who is our teacher. (Joh 14:26)
      • In contrast, the unbeliever that says there is no God for him will hate skillful living and not want any kind of moral discipline that would give him discernment.
• Read Pro 1:8-9 Instruction to My Son #1: To the young child
  • Remember the see-saw effect in the Hebrew style of wisdom where two thoughts are linked in parallel (parallelism) This makes interpretation easier for if you don’t understand the first line, the second line adds meaning, or if you understand the second line, you gain insight into the meaning of the first line.
  • Instruction to My Son #1:
    • Learn in the Home:
    • “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother.” (8)
      • Key words: instruction (moral discipline for discernment); law (list of rules).
      • The parallels in this verse are:
        • Hear/forsake not
        • Father/ Mother
        • Instruction/Law
      • God says to his children (the youth and the believer in Christ) that we are to first listen to our parents.
      • God speaks through lines of established authority. In the home, the first line of authority under God is the father while the second in authority is the mother.
      • Notice that the gaining of skill in living successfully begins in the home where many youth rebel.
      • The first thing a person should learn is how to be submissive and under authority because this is the way God speaks his direction to believers, through lines of authority.
    • “For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.” (9)
      • Key words: grace (unmerited favor).
      • An ornament of grace to the head
        • All of the concepts in verses 2-4 will help the child of God to make wise choices in his mind. This is God’s unmerited favor working in man’s mind to help him make decisions.
        • Briefly put, these concepts are:

Skill in living with God and with others

Able to discern good from evil

Moral discipline

Honesty and integrity

Truth

• • • • Chains about the neck
        • All of these concepts in 2-4 will help the child of God live so that his life is displayed as beautiful to all those around him.
        • These concepts help the child of God avoid the pitfalls of life that bring bondage, entrapment, and unsuccessful living.
• Read Pro 1:10-14 Instruction to My Son #2: To the teenager
  • Conquer Temptation Outside the Home:
  • The child of God has a choice:
    • Man was created with free will.
    • The unbeliever has no choice except to follow his own sinful nature when he turns away from God.
      • Read Rom 1:20-32
      • Notice that verses 21 and 22 of Rom 1 tell us that they became fools because they turned their back on God. The definition of a fool that we see explained in Proverbs is, “There is no God for me.”
    • However, the born-again believer in Jesus Christ has a choice. He can now say no to evil.
    • If sinners entice you, just say no. (10) We see the enticement of peer pressure so common among people today where the innocent are trapped by a lack of wisdom (knowing how to live successfully).
      • If sinners plan evil against the innocent, just say no. (11)
      • If sinners plan murder, just say no. (12)
        • “The Pit” refers to Sheol . (12)
        • It is the place where dead non-believers go waiting for the final judgment. For the non-believer it is a place of no return (Job 7:9), a place of darkness (Psalms 143:3) and a place of torment (Isaiah 14:11). (See Luk 16:20-31)
      • If sinners plan robbery, just say no. (13)
      • If sinners conspire to do evil, just say no. (14)
  • To discern whether to say yes or no to others, you must first discern:
    • The motive of others.
    • The end result or the consequences of actions. This is something youth often forget to examine.
• Read Pro 1:15-19 Instruction to My Son #3 To the youth
  • “My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path” (15)
    • The parallels are:
    • Walk not/ refrain
      • As you go through life, you are making constant decisions to go this way and not that way.
      • Your path should be directed by God and not by people around you. Many times, people just follow the pack.
    • Therefore, because you cannot always know ahead of time the motives and end results, it is better to avoid a close relationship in the beginning with non-believers that have a bad reputation.
      • Say no at the beginning of a relationship.
      • The longer you are in a bad relationship with evil people, the deeper you become entangled with them.
  • “Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.” (17)
    • Even with the lofty perspective that a bird has, it still gets caught in a net.
    • In the same way the innocent are caught in a net of evil devised in secret by those who trap and entice you to do evil.
  • “And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.” (18)
    • Key words: privily (in secret)
    • The parallels:
      • Lay wait/lurk privily (in secret)
      • Blood/own lives
    • The sinner establishes a trap for the innocent but ends up in his own trap. His greed and bad intentions propel him to rush to his own ruin. (19)
    • Notice that the stakes are high. Their own eternal destiny is in the balance.
  • The Biblical character this section describes is Joseph when he was tempted by Potiphar’s wife. (Gen 39)
• Read Pro 1:20-30 The Personification of Wisdom
  • In this section on wisdom (skillful living) it is spoken of as if it is a person in female form. The Hebrew word for wisdom is plural which tells us that God’s wisdom is multifaceted.
  • Read 1Cor:1:30
  • While spoken of as a woman, of course the person of wisdom is Jesus Christ, so we need to look for references to Him in this section.
    • Wisdom is crying in the streets trying to get our attention as opposed to the evil that hides in secret and entices. (20)
    • ^“ She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,” (21)
      • The concourse is the market place.
      • The opening of the gates is the place of government, the market, and the court system.
      • The city streets.
      • These are the places where exists the greatest lack of skillful living. These are the centers of this world system controlled by Satan, the god of this world system. (2Cor 4:4)
    • She calls to three groups of people who are on the slippery slope of sin: (22)
      • The simple (unwise people) that love to let anything in the door without question. They are open.
      • The scorners (God haters) that delight in making fun of God.
      • The person that is a fool (says there is no God for me) and hates the power of God that brings truth. This person has slid the farthest away from God.
    • ^“ Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.” (23)
      • Key words: reproof (correction).
      • The unbeliever is invited to turn around and repent when the Holy Spirit brings correction to his life.
      • The work of the Holy Spirit consists of the following actions that we see here in Proverbs:
        • Teach you. (Joh 14:26)
        • Testify of Jesus Christ. (Joh 15:26)
        • Reprove the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. (Joh 16:8)

He makes us understand what sin is from God’s perspective.

He makes us desire the righteousness of Jesus Christ that forgives us of sin.

He makes us consider that judgment is coming and it isn’t pretty.

• • • • • Guide into truth. (Joh 16:13)
    • “ Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded” (24)
      • God stretched out His hand in Jesus Christ and man pierced it with nails in the crucifixion.
      • Read 1Cor 1:30
      • Here in this verse is Jesus Christ in the book of Proverbs. Wisdom is personified in the Jesus, the second member of the Holy Trinity. The Son of God without sin that came to show us how to live successfully.
        • The religious leaders rejected correction. (25)
        • “I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;” (26)

Because the Jews rejected their Messiah when he came the first time, they had to suffer the destruction that came upon Israel in 70 AD. (27)

The Romans destroyed the temple, the priesthood, the city of Jerusalem, and the nation of Israel dispersing the Jews throughout the world.

The rejection of skillful living, personified in Jesus, is costly.

• • • “Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:” (28)
      • “They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.” (30)
      • Key words: counsel (advice); despised (contempt for); reproof (correction).
      • In the Holocaust of Hitler’s era, God did not answer because they had already rejected God and it was not His time to reveal the truth to them again.
      • At the last minute of the tribulation period that is still in the future, God will answer them and they will turn to accept Jesus Christ at the second coming in the middle of the Battle of Armageddon.
• Read Pro 1:31-33 The consequences (Sowing and Reaping)
  • The consequence of a lack of the fear of God (awesome respect for):
    • “Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.” (31)
      • The parallels:
      • Eat/be filled
      • Fruit of their way/their own devices.
    • The words, calamity, terror, destruction, distress and anguish describe divine judgment.
  • The consequence of having a fear of the Lord (an awesome respect for):
    • “But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.”(33)
      • Notice the parallel:
      • Dwell safely/ quiet from fear

Homework
Proverbs 2

• Application of Pro 1
  • We learned that the beginning of knowledge (the power to know the truth) is to have a fear of the Lord (an awesome respect for) (7)
  • We learned that when we have built into our lives the characteristics that make for wisdom (skillful living) we will make wise decisions that will grace our lives so all will notice. (8-9)
  • We learned that as believers in Christ we have free will and can choose not to sin. (10-14)
  • For guidance in avoiding the traps of the enemy, we learned that we must listen to and be obedient to the Holy Spirit. (15-33)
  • For those who reject God’s call to learn wisdom (how to live skillfully), God will laugh when we fall into the traps of the enemy. (15-33)
  • On a scale of 1-10 (ten being best), how are you doing in building your life so that others say you have Godly wisdom evidenced by the fact that your decisions demonstrate skillful living?
• Preparation for Pro 2
  • Read Pro 2:1-22
    • What two things are necessary for living a successful life? (5)
    • How do you get knowledge (the power to know the truth) of life? (6)
    • For whom does God lay up a sound ability to obtain wisdom (successful living)? (7)
    • How do you preserve your way and what does that mean? (8)
    • What do verses 10 and 11 mean?
• Memory Verse: Pro 2:11