A Lamp Unto My Feet Bible Study Website
PROVERBS 9:10-18
Lesson #13
THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WORLD AND SPIRITUAL ADULTERY
- Memory verse: Pro 9:13
- In our last lesson we discussed how a young man makes decisions in this stage of his life that affect all the rest of his life. He is deciding whether he should attend the University of Wisdom or the University of the World.
- Read 1Sam 12:14-15
- Read Pro 9:10-18
- “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.” (10-11)
- Key words: fear of the Lord (awesome reverence); wisdom (skillful living); knowledge (power to know truth); understanding (discernment of good from evil).
- The parallels:
- Fear /knowledge
- Lord/holy
- Wisdom/understanding.
- Days/ years
- Multiplied/increased.
- These verses give us a brief view of what we have learned in the book of Proverbs and what the University of Wisdom teaches.
- Everything begins with having an awesome reverence for God. If you do not have that basic attitude along with the presence of Jesus Christ (wisdom personified) in your heart, you will never know truth and you will never be able to discern between good and evil.
- The words “the holy” refer to God who is holy.
- All knowledge and understanding are related in that both have a moral content and relate to God.
- God gives man the power to know the truth by the indwelling Holy Spirit.
- As man learns God’s truth, he is able to discern between good and evil based on God’s perspective, not man’s perspective.
- The University of the World does not teach moral content, especially in this modern, secular age we live in today.
- It is for this reason that we needed a dictionary of words to understand the book of Proverbs.
- The meaning of these same words today is without moral content.
- Words change meaning over time and reflect the changes in culture.
- As culture became more secular, word meanings lost their moral content also.
- This aspect makes it impossible to understand the book of Proverbs without considering the meaning of the words at a time when our culture had moral content.
- Therefore, while the University of the World says it brings knowledge and understanding, without moral content the student in this university never arrives at truth.
- Multiplied days and increased years:
- For the believer in Jesus Christ, there exists the probability that he will live a longer physical life as he walks in the ways of skillful living because he will not fall into the sins that compromise his health and physical life.
- For the believer in Jesus Christ, there exists the surety that he will enjoy spiritual life with God for eternity.
- “If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.” (12)
- Key words: wise (believer in Christ); scornest (arrogant hater).
- Notice the parallels:
- Wise/scornest
- Thyself/alone.
- This verse is simply telling us that the young man must make this choice between the University of Wisdom and the University of the World. There are no third or fourth choices…only these two.
- It is man’s responsibility to seek wisdom and man will pay the price if he rejects it.
- Every human being makes this choice for himself in one way or another.
- It is said that God has no grandchildren, only children.
- In other words, no one can make this decision for you. Each person must make it for himself.
- If you do not actively choose Jesus Christ as your Lord, then by default you have automatically chosen the god of this world system, Satan. (2Cor 4:4)
- “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.” (10-11)
Education in the University of Wisdom begins with this clear choice based on the fear of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Education in the University of the World is without moral content and controlled by Satan.
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- If you choose to hate God instead of to fear God, it says that you alone will bear the eternal result of your decision.
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- “A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing. For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city,” (13-14)
- Key words: foolish (no God for me); woman (prostitute/false religion); clamorous (noisy); simple (unwise); high places (false worship).
- As we have seen in this study in Proverbs, a woman represents religion, either true or false.
- The true religion of Jesus Christ is represented by the woman called Wisdom.
- The false religion is represented by the “strange woman” depicted as a prostitute.
- Here the woman is described as foolish. In other words, she does not personally trust in God for her life. Therefore, this woman represents any false religion.
- How do we know this?
- We know this by her location: in the high places at the door of her house.
- Through the Old Testament we are told that all the “high places” in Israel had temples and gardens of idols to foreign gods. (Lev 26:30 2Kin 17:9,11,29 2Kin 23:5, 13) These were an abomination to God.
- Read 2Kin 23:5, 13.
- God spoke frequently to Israel about spiritual adultery when they fell away from God and ran to other religions.
- Read Jer 3:6-14a
- This unwise woman is noisy speaking loudly of frivolous doctrine that has no moral content and no absolute truth. Notice it says she knows nothing for false religions do not have truth.
- She is definitely from the University of the World ready to deceive.
- She is calling to the youth in modern society to attend her university.
- “To call passengers who go right on their ways: Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.” (15-16)
- Key words: simple (unwise); understanding (discernment of good from evil).
- The University of the World has its ambassadors that try to persuade youth to attend that university.
- The call is to the unwise. That is the person that opens the door to any wind of doctrine and persuasion that seems right to him at the moment.
- The call is to those that want understanding of the difference between good and evil.
- Remember that this was the same appeal that Satan made to Eve in the Garden of Eden.
- “And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Gen 3:2-5)
- Notice that both the University of Wisdom and the University of the World desire to teach the student the difference between good and evil.
- If both teach the same thing, what is the difference?
- The University of the World teaches that to know the difference you must first experience the evil. If you don’t experience evil, you will not know what it is.
- This is the deception of the world that entraps youth, because once you experience evil its addictive nature has entrapped you.
- Notice that the University of the World says, “…Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.” (17)
- The University of the World teaches that to know the difference you must first experience the evil. If you don’t experience evil, you will not know what it is.
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In the physical sense, this is sexual adultery we discussed in detail in Pro 5, Lesson #07.
In the spiritual sense, this is false religion that we discussed in Pro 7, Lesson #09.
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- The University of the World does not tell you about the addictive nature of tasting evil. Instead you are told that it is “sweet” and “pleasant”.
- “…he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.” (18)
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Those people that attend the University of the World do not see the spiritual result of their decision.
The end result is eternal death which is an eternal separation from God in the lake of fire.
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- The University of Wisdom warns against tasting evil. You are not encouraged to try it to discover that it is evil.
- Because God is all wisdom, He knows what is evil and what is good.
- God tells the believer by means of the indwelling Holy Spirit when something is evil. Then the believer can avoid it without experiencing it and without becoming addicted to it.
- Read 1Cor 3:16-19
- The University of Wisdom warns against tasting evil. You are not encouraged to try it to discover that it is evil.
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Homework
Proverbs 10:1-17
- Application of Pro 9:10-18
- What is the knowledge of the holy? (10) (See your Proverbs dictionary to see what that means)
It is the truth of God found in His Word. - Whose responsibility is it to seek wisdom? (12)
Every person is responsible. - What do you think it means when it says the foolish woman “knoweth nothing”? (13)
False religions do not have the truth of God in them. - What is meant by “stolen waters”? (17)
Physically it is adultery…spiritually it is false religions. - We have all spent time in the University of the World. What did you learn about good and evil that you could pass on to your children and grandchildren?
- What have you experienced concerning good and evil since Jesus Christ came into your heart?
- What is the knowledge of the holy? (10) (See your Proverbs dictionary to see what that means)
- Preparation for Pro 10:1-17
- Read Pro 10:1-17
- What does verse 3 mean?
- What is it that the wise in heart will receive? (8)
- What does it mean to walk uprightly? (9)
- Why is reacting in love always better? (12)
- If you are walking in the way of life, what is it you are keeping? (17) What does that mean? (use your Proverbs dictionary)
- Read Pro 10:1-17
- Memory Verse: Learn one verse of your choice in this section of Proverbs 10:1-17
