THE ADVANTAGE OF DIGGING FOR HIDDEN TREASURE

Ken January 13, 2020 Beautiful Feet on Mountain Peaks, Old Testament Comments Off on THE ADVANTAGE OF DIGGING FOR HIDDEN TREASURE 969 Views

RETURN TO SYLLABUS

PROVERBS 2
Lesson #03
THE ADVANTAGE OF DIGGING FOR HIDDEN TREASURE

Memory Verse: Pro 2:11
Review:
- We have learned in chapter 1 that God’s wisdom which gives us the way to live life skillfully is a rich treasure not all attain.
- For those who desire this rich treasure while young, they are to begin by listening and learning it at the feet of their parents.
- Then, when they are out among non-believers of their age, they must be careful to make wise decisions by not making close friends with those that would entice you into sin.
- By increasing in knowledge through the study of God’s Word, the believer gains two things:
  - =1= …to have a fear of the Lord (an awesome respect for).
  - =2= …which is the beginning of gaining knowledge (the power to know truth). (Pro 1:7)
Read Pro 2:1-22 Instruction to My Son #4 To the young man
- “My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;” (1-2)
  - Key words: commandments (God’s Word); wisdom (skillful living); heart (inner being); understanding (discern good from evil).
  - What is the believer supposed to do with what he learns from God’s Word?
  - If he values it as he should, both this hearing and his inner being are captivated by it.
    - Then those truths of skillful living will be hidden in his inner being. (1-2)
    - Then he will gradually learn to discern good from evil by seeing it work out in the experiences of his life.
- Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures.” (3-4)
  - Key words: knowledge (the power to know truth); understanding (discern good from evil).
  - The believer should have this desperate desire to cry after or experience the power to know truth so that he asks God for this discernment of to know what is good from what is evil.
  - “seeketh” and “searchest” are intensively strong words.
  - If the believer spent his time digging in the Word of God for the precious gems of God instead of seeking worldly wealth, he would be better off and have a more successful life.
- “Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.” (5)
  - Key words: understand (discern good from evil); fear of the Lord (awesome respect); knowledge (power to know truth).
  - Notice the word “then” which follows after the intensive search of verses 3 and 4.
  - Verse 5 tells us the result of this intensive desire and search.
    - You will come to know God for who He really is and what He expects from you so that you have that awesome respect for God.
    - You will also gain the power to know the truth of God.
- ^“For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.” (6)
  - Key words: wisdom (skillful living); knowledge (power to know truth); understanding (discern good from evil).
  - All of these are a gift from God:
    - =1= A capacity of gaining skillful living.
      - This capacity is given by divine revelation through interacting with God and His Word.
      - By faith we put this capacity into action in our lives, and people notice we are living skillfully.
    - =2= Gaining the power to know the truth which comes by way of the Holy Spirit.
      - God speaks through and from His Word.
      - The Holy Spirit takes the Word of God that you read and study and makes it real to you so that you gain the real truth about life and about God.
    - =3= The ability to gain discernment of good from evil.
      - This ability comes from seeing God work in the lives of people in the Bible, specifically in the Old Testament.
      - When we see God reward good and judge evil, we sharpen this ability to discern good from evil and right from wrong.
- “He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.” (7-9)
  - Key words: wisdom (skillful living); buckler (shield); judgment (discernment); preserveth (defend); understand (discern good from evil); righteousness (pure life); judgment (discernment); equity (impartial).
  - It is only the true born-again believer in Jesus Christ that has the advantage Solomon is talking about. As you are building these things into your inner being, you will see a result in your life.
    - God gradually builds skillful living through the events in your life. Those truths built into the inner man become a shield of protection for you as you are obedient to walk correctly.
    - What does it mean to “walk uprightly”?
      - You are maintaining a life of discernment so as to ascertain truth.
      - You are defending yourself from walking into injury or destruction because of your wise decisions.
  - Through these experiences, you will come to know good from evil, and to know what constitutes a pure life, and the impartial evaluation of truth.
    - These three, righteousness, judgment, and equity, are linked in Pro 1:3.
      - Righteousness (living a pure life)
      - Judgment (discerning the truth)
      - Equitable (making impartial) decisions based on faith and truth instead of feelings.
    - This triplet creates a shield for the believer’s life.
  - Read Mat 7:14 The narrow way in Matthew is the “good path” in Proverbs obtained through Jesus Christ who said He was the way, the truth, and the life. (Joh 14:6)
- “When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:” (10-11)
  - Key words: wisdom (skillful living); heart (inner man); knowledge (power to know truth); discretion (judge what is proper); understanding (discern good from bad).
  - When God gives you a revelation in your inner being of how to live skillfully and you have the power to know the truth of God’s Word, you will be able to judge easily what is proper when you make your decisions because you will be able to discern good from evil. (10-11)
  - These are the ingredients that preserve the life of the believer.
  - In other words, you will not make mistakes in your decisions in life.
    - “To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;” (12-13) Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:”(14-15)
      - Key words: froward (disobedient); wicked (lawless evil).
      - The results will be deliverance from the evil man (Satan) and those who do Satan’s work.
      - Deliverance from the disobedient people that live in spiritual darkness.
      - Deliverance from the way of evil men.
      - Deliverance from those that speak in a disobedient manner.
      - Deliverance from walking in spiritual darkness.
      - Deliverance from those that like disobedience.
      - Deliverance from those that have a lifestyle of disobedience.

Read 1Joh 1:5-7

Alcohol, drugs, pornography, immorality, lying, cheating, and stealing are part of the disobedience and an evil life. Hollywood would tell us this is a glamorous lifestyle but none of these things gives us a happy ending.

- - - “To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.” (16-18)
      - Key words: stranger/strange woman (prostitute).
      - The “strange woman” in the Bible has two meanings. Both meanings are indicated in these verses: (the book of Hosea is a good example of these two meanings)

=1= Actual sexual prostitution.

=2= Spiritual false religion.

- - - - The results will be deliverance from the strange woman or stranger.

The prostitute is called a “stranger” or “strange woman” in Proverbs because they all came from outside of Israel, from idolatrous nations. No Israelite woman was permitted to engage in prostitution.

Remember that when the Israelites first entered the Promised Land with Joshua, they were told not to marry foreigners or have sexual relationships with them.

Marriage with foreign woman led to idolatry and false religions of which King Solomon is the prime example.

- - - - A Christian girl that goes into prostitution forsakes her moral upbringing and forgets about her relationship with God.
      - She has traded a lifestyle that leads to spiritual life for a lifestyle that leads to spiritual death.

Death in Proverbs can be a gradual process that ends in death or a sudden end.

Of course, death is both a physical condition and/or a spiritual condition.

- - - “None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life. That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.” (19-20)\
      - Key words: Righteous (pure life).
      - The choice:

The word “mayest” indicates a choosing or a selection.

The believer has a choice of which path he will walk on, the path of life or the path of death.

- - - - A young man that does not start walking in the right path will fall into this type of illicit sexual sin by default.
      - A young man not grounded in the true faith of Jesus Christ will fall into false religions of one kind or another.
      - The young man that has sexual relations with a prostitute also forsakes the right path and the path of righteousness (a pure life).
- “For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.” (21-22)
  - Key words: Upright (just); perfect (mature); wicked (lawless evil); transgressors (lawbreaker).
  - The parallels:
    - The upright/perfect (mature)
    - Dwell/ remain
    - The wicked (evil)/ transgressor (lawbreaker)
    - Cut off/rooted out
  - For the Old Testament Jew, the believer in God that lives his life correctly will be blessed by God in the Promised Land.
  - But God will remove the evil lawbreaker from the Promised Land.
    - We can see this in Israel’s history when God vomited the Israelites out of the Promised Land and they suffered the Babylonian captivity for 70 years.
    - Their sexual relationships with foreign, immoral women that brought idols into the Promised Land resulted in God’s judgment of the Babylonian Captivity.
    - Solomon himself violated this part of his own attempt at skillful living which brought tragedy to the nation of Israel.
  - The broader illustration to being cut off and uprooted from the Promised Land is to be cut off in death and uprooted from life.
  - Read Rev 20:6

Homework
Proverbs 3:1-20

Application of Pro 2
- What two things are necessary for living a successful life? (5)
  - You must have a fear of the Lord (awesome respect for).
  - You must gain knowledge (the power to know the truth) of God.
- How do you get knowledge (the power to know the truth) of life? (6)
  - It is a gift from God that comes through the study of God’s Word.
- For whom does God lay up a sound ability to obtain wisdom (successful living)? (7)
  - Only for the righteous (living a pure life) in Jesus Christ.
- How do you preserve your way and what does that mean? (8)
  - You are learning judgment (discernment) so as to know what is the truth and not make mistakes in your decisions.
- What do verses 10 and 11 mean?
  - When God gives you a revelation in your heart (inner being) of wisdom (how to live skillfully) and you have knowledge (the power to know the truth) of God’s Word, you will be able to have discretion (judge easily what is proper) when you make your decisions because you will be able to have understanding (discern good from evil).
Preparation for Pro 3:1-20
- Read Pro 3:1-20
  - What is it that you find in Wisdom’s right hand? (16)
    - What do you think that means?
  - God created the earth by what? (19)
    - How does that relate to Joh 1:1-3 and Col 1:16?
Memory Verse: Pro 3:13