Proverbs 1: Wisdom Calling Part I

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1 Proverbs 1:20-33 Wisdom Calling Part I As I began to study for and write this sermon, I quickly realized that the topic of wisdom especially needed our careful consideration. For that reason, today s sermon is part one of two, which I will conclude next week. The Book of Proverbs begins with a clear statement of its purpose to impart wisdom for godly living. Proverbs was written by Solomon, who succeeded his father, David as King of Israel. When Solomon began his reign, the Book of First Kings tells us that Solomon loved the Lord, and followed all the decrees of his father, David. One night, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream asking, What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you! And Solomon replied, You showed faithful love to your servant, my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to you. And you have continued your faithful love to him today, by giving him a son to sit on his throne. Now, O Lord my God, you have made me king, but I am like a little child who doesn t know his way around. And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! Give me wise and understanding mind and heart so that I can govern your people well, and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours? Well, the Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom. So God replied, Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice, and have not asked for a long life, or wealth, or the 1

2 2 Bethel UMC death of your enemies, I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding mind and heart such as no one else has had, or ever will have! And I will also give you what you did not ask for riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life! And if you follow me and obey my decrees and my commands, as your father David, did, I will give you a long life. As the story of Solomon s reign unfolds, we discover that he became richer and wiser than any other king on earth. People from every nation came to consult with him, and to hear the wisdom God had given him. Now, we have the benefit of that same wisdom through the Book of Proverbs. Incidentally, a proverb is a short, wise, easy-to-remember saying which calls a person to action. Proverbs contains deep spiritual insights, drawn from experience, which, often times, also offers practical suggestions for effective living. The book of Proverbs also focuses on God his character, his works, and his blessings, giving us insight into how we can live in close relationship with God. But let s take a few minutes now, to try to better understand just what wisdom is. First, in this age of abundant information, knowledge is plentiful, but wisdom seems to be scarce. Wisdom means far more than simply knowing a lot. You may have heard the remark, He s book smart; I ll give him that. But he couldn t find his way out of a paper bag if he had to. And of course what we mean by this remark is that a person may possess knowledge, perhaps due to formal study. However, at the same time, this person lacks the valuable wisdom that life s circumstances can often teach.

3 3 Bethel UMC Dictionary.com says the word wisdom is a noun and it means having knowledge of what is true and right, which produces right actions. For God, wisdom is a basic attitude that should affect every aspect of our lives. In verse 7 of chapter 1, we learn that the foundation of having wisdom is to fear the Lord which means, we honor and respect God, living in awe of his power, and obeying his Word. Our faith and trust in God should be the controlling principle for our understanding of the world, our attitudes, and our actions. By trusting in God, and by living our lives to honor Him, He makes us truly wise. Secondly, in our Scripture lesson this morning, the picture of Wisdom calling aloud in the streets is a personification a literary device used by the author to give human qualities to a non-living thing, making it come alive for us. In our Scripture lesson, Wisdom is the mind of God being revealed to us so that we might live in a way that gives us peace with God. Now, we learn from the story of Solomon s reign that Solomon asked God for wisdom, right? Basically, Solomon asked to know the mind of God so that he would live rightly before God, receiving all of God s blessings. Well guess what? God wants us to seek his wisdom also. Contrary to popular belief, wisdom is not something we are born with. I know that some of you are disappointed to learn this, but it s true. Wisdom is something that is learned through life s experiences, and then passed on for the benefit of others. You know, now that I am in my mid-forties, I feel that I have learned some of life s lessons the hard way, and I often have the compulsion to share my wisdom with my children. When Hank, my

4 oldest son was home from college for a few days recently, I asked him before he left if he needed any unsolicited advice (or wisdom) from his dear old dad. Of course, his reply was No, I don t! In our Scripture Lesson, Wisdom is pleading for us to LISTEN! And of course, God always gives us a choice in how we respond to His call, doesn t he? In our Scripture Lesson, God is saying, Come here and listen to me! If you do, I will pour out the spirit of wisdom upon you, and make you wise. Friends, we have a choice. We can respond to Wisdom s call, or we can reject God s offer to be wise. Throughout the Book of Proverbs, God contrasts the wise with the foolish. He also highlights the benefits and blessings of being wise, and the consequences of being foolish. In the book of Proverbs, a simpleton (or, a fool) is not someone with a mental deficiency, but instead, a fool has a character deficiency (such as rebellion, laziness, or anger). The fool is not stupid, but he or she is unable to tell right from wrong or good from bad, and as a result, this person usually ends up regretting the consequences of his or her foolishness. When Jesus was on earth, he told a story to illustrate wisdom versus foolishness. He said, The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The five who were foolish didn t take enough olive oil for their lamps, but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight they were roused by the shout, Look, the 4

5 bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him! All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. Then, the five foolish ones asked the others, Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out. But the others replied, We don t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves. But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, Lord! Lord! Open the door for us! But he called back, Believe me, I don t know you! Then Jesus added, So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return. From Jesus illustration, we are taught that every person is responsible for his or her own spiritual condition. We make a choice to respond to Wisdom s call that is, to grow in our knowledge and understanding of God in a way that transforms our lives so that we are prepared for our Lord s return. Or, we can ignore Wisdom s call, and suffer the awful consequence of regret, and rejection by God. God is more than willing to pour out his heart and make known his thoughts to us. God is more than willing to lead us along the path He has chosen for our lives. God made us. He loves us, and he has redeemed us from sin and death through the sacrifice of his Son, our Savior, Jesus. However, to receive God s wisdom, we must be willing to listen, refusing to let pride stand in our way. Pride is thinking more highly of our own wisdom and desires than of God s. If we think we know better than God, or feel we have no need of God s direction in our lives, then we have fallen into foolish and disastrous pride. 5

6 Friends, take some time this week to consider your own spiritual condition and whether or not complacency in your relationship with God is rendering you foolish. Take some time also to consider how you might more faithfully seek God s wisdom in your life. I hope you all will be able to attend worship next week when we ll continue our study on Wisdom. May God bless you all. Amen. 6