The Wisdom in Proverbs

I have finished the New Testament and I am in Jeremiah in the Old Testament.  Because the OT is longer than the NT, I obviously get through the NT more often.  My reading routine is one chapter of each, each day. 

In an effort to vary the routine I'm going to add a chapter from Proverbs each day.    It is my favorite book in the Bible.  It is just chocked full of great nuggets.  I have always wished there was a random generator of my favorite Proverbs verses so this time through I am going to be separating them into categories like Wisdom, Success, etc.  Should be fun!

Here is one from today that I want to look at.  There are a couple of things here that I find interesting.  I am going to highlight them and then comment them after you have had a chance to read the verses.

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Proverbs 1:20-33(NKJV)

20    Wisdom calls aloud outside;      She raises her voice in the open squares.

21    She cries out in the £chief concourses,     At the openings of the gates in the city     She speaks her words:

22    “How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity?     For scorners delight in their scorning,     And fools hate knowledge.

23    Turn at my rebuke;     Surely I will pour out my spirit on you;     I will make my words known to you.

24    Because I have called and you refused,     I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded,

25    Because you disdained all my counsel,     And would have none of my rebuke,

26    I also will laugh at your calamity;     I will mock when your terror comes,

27    When your terror comes like a storm,     And your destruction comes like a whirlwind,     When distress and anguish come upon you.

28    “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;      They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.

29    Because they hated knowledge     And did not choose the fear of the Lord,

30    They would have none of my counsel     And despised my every rebuke.

31    Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way,     And be filled to the full with their own fancies.

32    For the turning away of the simple will slay them,     And the complacency of fools will destroy them;

33    But whoever listens to me will dwell safely,      And will be secure, without fear of evil.”

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Wow.  So much in such a short space.   This section speaks of the importance of Wisdom.  I have always tried to emulate Salomon by asking God for wisdom, figuring that with wisdom, everything else will take care of itself.  Let's take a look.

Verse 20-21  Tells us that wisdom is there for the taking.  It's not hidden.  All we have to do is be open to learning.

Verse 22  Fools hate knowledge.  We all know people that look down on learning and make fun of others who try to improve themselves.  God says they are fools.

Verse 23  A promise from God.  If we listen to Him, He says He will pour out His Spirit on us.  He will help us understand His wisdom and knowledge.  Now that's a pretty cool promise.

Verse 24-26  Check this out.  One of the things that has always bugged me about the War on Poverty is the whole entitlement mentality that it has fostered.  This feeling that the world is unfair and everyone deserves charity no matter what destructive decisions the individual has made that have directly caused or contributed to their own poverty. 

Well here is what God has said about people that refuse to listen to Him.  Bear in mind here He is talking about people that He (God) has reached out to and tried to help and they have flat out rejected Him.  God says He will laugh at their predicament.  Not only that but He (God) will actually make fun (mock) of them. 

How bad would it suck to have God actually laughing at your distress?  Not only that but God says that if and when these people finally cry out to Him, He is going to ignore them.  Why?

Verse 29-31   What I notice here is He isn't speaking about people that maybe have a casual indifference to learning.  He's talking about people that "hate" and "despise" God's knowledge and leading.  So again it is this active rejection of God that earns His wrath.  In verse 31 God seems to be saying, "Hey they deserve what they get.  They're reaping what they sowed just like it says in the Bible". 

It's not like God is being mean or arbitrary here.  These again are people that had plenty of warning and flat our rejected God with malice.

But there is a happy ending for some.  Those that value and seek God's wisdom will be OK.

Verse 33  But whoever listens to me will dwell safely,      And will be secure, without fear of evil.”

 

So to recap.  God is more than willing to bless us with His wisdom if we simply seek it.  It's not an iffy thing.  He has promised it to us.  If we are dumb enough to outright reject Him, things are probably going to suck for us and God won't be coming to our rescue.  Seems pretty simple to me!