Day 187 – A Year in the Bible – Proverbs 7-9
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PROVERBS 7 – KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS AND LIVE
Keep My Law as the Apple of Thine Eye
My son, keep my words, And lay up my commandments with thee. Keep my commandments, and live; And my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, Write them upon the table of thine heart. – Proverbs 7:1-3
Treasure, honor and share His commands. Keep them. Bind them into everything you do. Love His commandments always. They are the “apple of my eye,” and I have written them on my heart.
Sin promises much but delivers only death
With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him. He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life. – Proverbs 7:21-23
Hearken Unto Him; Attend to His Words
Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. – Proverbs 7:24-25
Over and over in Proverbs, we are told to hearken unto the voice of God and His Word.
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PROVERBS 8 – ALL THE THINGS THAT MAY BE DESIRED ARE NOT TO BE COMPARED TO WISDOM
Wisdom is Better than Rubies
For my mouth shall speak truth; And wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; There is nothing froward or perverse in them. They are all plain to him that understandeth, And right to them that find knowledge. Receive my instruction, and not silver; And knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies; And all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it. – Proverbs 8:7-11
I can desire many things – houses, land, relationships, riches, gifts, easy life, peace. But the best thing I can ever desire is WISDOM. The Word tells me here that nothing compares to it.
I Am Wisdom
Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom:
I am understanding;
I have strength.
By me kings reign,
and princes decree justice.
By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth.
I love them that love me;
and those that seek me early shall find me.
Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness.
My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold;
and my revenue than choice silver.
I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment:
That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance;
and I will fill their treasures.
The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.
I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.
When there were no depths, I was brought forth;
when there were no fountains abounding with water.
Before the mountains were settled,
before the hills was I brought forth:
While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.
When he prepared the heavens, I was there:
when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:
– Proverbs 8:14-27
The Scriptures tell us that of all the things we can seek, wisdom is best. Seek wisdom. If we seek her, she will be found. I made the passage above into a list that looks like a poem, because as I read it, that is how I saw it. A list of all Wisdom is.
That reminds me of the passage in James about wisdom.
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. – James 1:5
Whoso Findeth Me Findeth Life
Hear instruction, and be wise, And refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me findeth life, And shall obtain favour of the LORD. But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: All they that hate me love death. – Proverbs 8:33-36
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PROVERBS 9 – KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOLY IS UNDERSTANDING
The Lord’s Way is the Way of Understanding
Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding. – Proverbs 9:6
The enemy’s way is foolish. Forsake him. The way of the Lord is the way of understanding. Follow God’s way, and you will live.
Forsake – to quit or leave entirely; abandon; desert
Follow – to come after in sequence; to go or come after; to conform to, comply with, or act in accordance with; obey; to imitate or copy, to move forward
The Beginning of Wisdom
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. – Proverbs 9:10
Wise
If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it. – Proverbs 9:12
I am reminded that If I choose to live wisely, it is going to benefit me. If I decide to live foolishly, I will have to deal with the consequences of my decisions. My decisions do not change God, but they change the path I take in life and the rewards or consequences I reap.
I can choose to live a joyful life that honors God or a miserable life that takes me nowhere.
I can take the impurities that God has revealed in the verses from Psalm and foolishly deny they apply to me and reap the consequences. I can deal with them, repent and surrender to the Father’s correction reap the benefits of living in wisdom.
Foolishness Leads to Hell
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, 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. – Proverbs 9:13-18
Folly – the state or quality of being foolish; lack of understanding or sense; a costly and foolish undertaking. Unwise investment
Foolish – resulting from or showing a lack of sense; ill-considered; unwise
Oh Lord, Guard us against being foolish and making decisions that are foolish or lead us to folly. You have warned us that folly and foolishness lead to death and hell. Please help us, Father!
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