PROVERBS LESSON 9

    We will begin this lesson in Proverbs 8:1 Doth not wisdom cry? and
understanding put forth her voice?" Proverbs 8:2 "She standeth in the
top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths."  Proverbs
8:3 "She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming
in at the doors."  Proverbs 8:4 "Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice
[is] to the sons of man."

    Here, again, we are told that wisdom is available, but it will not
just drop out of the sky and force itself upon us. We must want
wisdom, and pray for it if we are to receive it. It is always there
and always available. To get wisdom, we must activate our will to
receive it. This wisdom is not hiding and coming out at night as the
harlot and the foolish man. Just as Christianity is for all, so is
wisdom and knowledge. That is what I believe is meant by the gates and
the entering of the gates. Whosoever will is the cry. In verse 4, it
is like a sermon crying out for the men to listen and heed.

    Proverbs 8:5 O "ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye
of an understanding heart."

    Have you ever noticed how the little old grandmothers with very
little formal education can read and understand the Bible better than
some college graduates. I believe it has to do with their desire to
learn of God and their willingness to receive their wisdom from Him.
I know a man who cannot read, but God has called him to the ministry
and has filled him with the wisdom to fulfill the job.

    Proverbs 8:6 "Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the
opening of my lips [shall be] right things."

    We see over and over in the Bible instructions for us to hear.
This has to do with our receiving them down into our inner being.
When we open our inner ears up to the things of God, we shall grow in
understanding; for He is the truth.

    Proverbs 8:7 "For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness [is]
an abomination to my lips." Proverbs 8:8 "All the words of my mouth
[are] in righteousness; [there is] nothing froward or perverse in
them." Proverbs 8:9 "They [are] all plain to him that understandeth,
and right to them that find knowledge."

    We see, again, from this that wisdom is absolute truth.  Those who
are wise speak nothing but the absolute truth. Anything but truth is
abomination (displeasing to God). "The words of my mouth"-- If you are
a preacher, this is the sermon that proceeds from the mouth and must
not be slanted, but straightforward. There should be no variance at
all in the message, no watering down. Even words should be simple
words (plain) not fancy or without understanding.  Righteousness, we
have said so many times before, means in right standing with God. It
is better to have our mouth filled with words He has given us to say.

    Proverbs 8:10 "Receive my instruction, and not silver; and
knowledge rather than choice gold."

    This is just saying how much better it is to go for wisdom than
the silver of the world, and knowledge is better than searching for
gold. We touched on this more fully in a previous lesson. Things of
this world are not to be even compared with knowledge and wisdom of
God.

    Proverbs 8:11 "For wisdom [is] better than rubies; and all the
things that may be desired are not to be compared to it."

    This also is covered in the explanation above.  The world and all
its wealth, even its jewels, are not to be compared to the godly
things.

    Proverbs 8:12 "I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out
knowledge of witty inventions."

    This is an explanation that prudence and wisdom go hand in hand.
This is saying that it is practical and applies to everything in life.

    Proverbs 8:13 "The fear of the LORD [is] to hate evil: pride, and
arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate."

    We learned earlier that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of
wisdom. Fear is reverence to the ultimate when speaking of God. God
hates evil. If we are His, we hate what He hates.  As we said in a
previous lesson, pride and arrogancy have no place with us. We are no
more than what God has allowed us to be. If we have pride, it should
be pride in that we are His and not our own.  We are either children
of light following the Lord, or we are children of Satan and follow
him.  We must hate evil to please God. Turn from even the appearance
of evil. It is better to listen than to speak, unless the words in our
mouth are placed there by the Lord. Pride and arrogancy is the
opposite of being humble. The Lord loves the humble. The evil way is
the way of the devil. The froward mouth comes from an evil heart and
speaks ungodly things.

    Proverbs 8:14 "Counsel [is] mine, and sound wisdom: I [am]
understanding; I have strength."

    Wisdom hates all the bad things we have been talking about and
loves the things of the Lord. Now wisdom is saying what it is. We know
that wisdom is strength. Think of Solomon.  Of all the things that he
could have asked God for (riches and fame being 2), he refused them
and asked for wisdom. You see, wisdom brought to Solomon all of those
side benefits. Wisdom (God) made him the richest man in the world and
also brought him great fame, not only in his own country but in all
the known world. Understanding is a side benefit of wisdom, as well.
Wisdom is understanding. In Isaiah 11:2, we read, "And the spirit of
the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the
fear of the LORD;" We should seek this Spirit of the Lord to have
these things.

    Proverbs 8:15 "By me kings reign, and princes decree justice."
Proverbs 8:16 "By me princes rule, and nobles, [even] all the judges
of the earth."

    Solomon's desire from God was to have the wisdom to rule the
people fairly. Kings are more in need of wisdom than the ordinary
person, because their decisions cause hardships for the people when
they do not make good decisions. In Romans 13:1 "Let every soul be
subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the
powers that be are ordained of God." Princes and kings are in office
because God ordained it.

    Proverbs 8:17 "I love them that love me; and those that seek me
early shall find me."

    Matthew 7:7 "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall
find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:" Matthew 7:8 "For every
one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him
that knocketh it shall be opened." This in Matthew is in Jesus' own
words. God is always reaching out to man. While we were yet in sin,
God loved us so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die on the
cross that we might live. He loves us, we need to love Him. St. John
14:21, "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that
loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I
will love him, and will manifest myself to him."

    Proverbs 8:18 "Riches and honour [are] with me; [yea], durable
riches and righteousness."

    In Matthew 6:19 "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth,
where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and
steal:" Matthew 6:20 "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not
break through nor steal:" Matthew 6:21 "For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also." Lasting riches are those that are
stored in heaven.

















                        Proverbs 9 Questions

1.  Wisdom is available for all who --------------------.
2.  Who usually understands more about the Bible than the extremely
    educated?
3.  In verse 6, why should we hear?
4.  Wisdom's mouth speaks what?
5.  In verse 8, there is nothing ------- or --------in them.
6.  Wisdom is absolute -----------.
7.  What does abomination mean?
8.  What does "the words of my mouth" mean if you are a preacher?
9.  What kind of words should always be used?
10. Receive my instruction and not --------.
11. And knowledge rather than choice ---------.
12. In verse 11, wisdom is better than --------.
13. The fear of the Lord is to ---------------.
14. What 4 things does He hate in verse 13?
15. Why can we not be proud or arrogant?
16. What must we hate to please God?
17. What 2 things are the opposite of humble?
18. The froward mouth comes from an -----------.
19. What is strength in verse 14?
20. In Isaiah 11:2, when the Spirit of the Lord rests upon him, he
    received the spirit of wisdom, ------, ------, -------.
21. In Romans 13:1, we read that who causes someone to reign?
22. Who does God love?
23. If we seek God early, ------ ------------ ------.
24. What scripture in Matthew goes into detail on this?
25. In verse 18, we read that durable riches are with Him. What does
    Jesus say this type of riches is?