Day 934: Proverbs 1- Wisdom

The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know wisdom and instruction,
    to understand words of insight,
3 to receive instruction in wise dealing,
    in righteousness, justice, and equity;
4 to give prudence to the simple,
    knowledge and discretion to the youth--
5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning,
    and the one who understands obtain guidance,
6 to understand a proverb and a saying,
    the words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
    fools despise wisdom and instruction.
The Enticement of Sinners8 Hear, my son, your father's instruction,
    and forsake not your mother's teaching,
9 for they are a graceful garland for your head
    and pendants for your neck.
10 My son, if sinners entice you,
    do not consent.
11 If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;
    let us ambush the innocent without reason;
12 like Sheol let us swallow them alive,
    and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
13 we shall find all precious goods,
    we shall fill our houses with plunder;
14 throw in your lot among us;
    we will all have one purse”--
15 my son, do not walk in the way with them;
    hold back your foot from their paths,
16 for their feet run to evil,
    and they make haste to shed blood.
17 For in vain is a net spread
    in the sight of any bird,
18 but these men lie in wait for their own blood;
    they set an ambush for their own lives.
19 Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain;
    it takes away the life of its possessors.
The Call of Wisdom20 Wisdom cries aloud in the street,
    in the markets she raises her voice;
21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
    at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
22 “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
    and fools hate knowledge?
23 If you turn at my reproof,[a]
behold, I will pour out my spirit to you;
    I will make my words known to you.
24 Because I have called and you refused to listen,
    have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,
25 because you have ignored all my counsel
    and would have none of my reproof,
26 I also will laugh at your calamity;
    I will mock when terror strikes you,
27 when terror strikes you like a storm
    and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
    when distress and anguish come upon you.
28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
    they will seek me diligently but will not find me.
29 Because they hated knowledge
    and did not choose the fear of the Lord,
30 would have none of my counsel
    and despised all my reproof,
31 therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way,
    and have their fill of their own devices.
32 For the simple are killed by their turning away,
    and the complacency of fools destroys them;
33 but whoever listens to me will dwell secure
    and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”
 
Meditation
Wisdom is available for anyone who wants it. God gives wisdom graciously to all who ask in faith (James 1:5-6). God wants to give you wisdom.
 
Wisdom is revelation for the heart (2:2, 10), illuminating your head (knowledge- 7, 29), and walked out through following God’s ways for life (15). Wisdom acknowledges God is God and we are not, so we fear Him by asking for revelation of who He is and how He has designed us to live in His world. Wisdom (ḥāḵ·māh) is a skill (as Exodus 31:1-6). It is applied knowledge of how to walk in God’s ways with the goal of living well in God’s world.
 
Wisdom can be defined, then, as “skill in the art of godly living.” In today’s reading, wisdom is described (2-7) as instruction, training, understanding, insight, shrewdness, direction (a way to walk), knowledge, and learning that begins with fearing the Lord. God is the designer and creator and to fear Him is to live dependently on His instructions for all of life.
 
Wisdom is given from love, as a father speaks direction to His children (8-19). Wisdom is personified and passionately pleads to be heard and harbored in hearts of God’s children (20-33). Wisdom is rejected by the simple minded, scoffers, and fools. But all who hear wisdom’s reproof will turn to have God’s Spirit make wisdom’s words known to them (23).
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you about wisdom from today’s reading? Why?
 
-Where do you identify with the simple, scoffers, and fools who reject God’s instruction?
 
-In Jesus is all the treasury of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3). Jesus’ work on the cross enables us to hear wisdom’s reproof, repent, and return to the love of our Father for instruction. Where do you need to welcome this grace to reveal how you can live with skill in godly living? Be specific.
 
Key Verse
2 To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight,