LIFE QUEST - A STUDY IN PROVERBS
The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom
Proverbs 2:1-5 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, [and] apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, [and] liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as [for] hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
We must receive God's words in the sense of accepting them as truth, believing them.
John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name:
John 12:47 {And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.} {He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.}
We are instructed to hide (retain) God's commandments, so that we can be guided by them in our day-to-day lives. We do this by reading the Bible, God's Word, meditating on what He has instructed us to do, and memorizing it for future reference.
There are many study aids available to help us memorize scriptures. Navpress, a ministry of the Navigators, offers an excellent tool called "topical memory system" that is a series of pocket size flash cards categorized by topics. If you just learn one new scripture a week, by next year you will know over 50 bible verses to comfort, help and guide you. If you apply those scriptures in your life, you will grow wiser!
Psalms 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
Job 23:12 Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary [food].
Apply thine heart to understanding means to yield your will to reason or to use discretion.
Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Cry after, seek, and search (diligently) imply that we must be active in our search for godly wisdom.
Jeremiah 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find [me], when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Matthew 7:7 {Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:} {For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.} {Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?} {Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?} {If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?}
Consider the contrast to those who pray for help in times of trouble, but their hearts are not in submission to God. For such people God makes no promises to deliver:
Proverbs 1:27-31 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
The proper attitude of the heart in seeking after God is described in the scriptures below:
Psalms 34:18 The LORD [is] nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
Psalms 51:17 The sacrifices of God [are] a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Isaiah 57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name [is] Holy; I dwell in the high and holy [place], with him also [that is] of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
Isaiah 66:2 For all those [things] hath mine hand made, and all those [things] have been, saith the LORD: but to this [man] will I look, [even] to [him that is] poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
Matthew 11:28 {Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.} {Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.}
Matthew 5:3 {Blessed [are] the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.} {Blessed [are] they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.} {Blessed [are] the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.} {Blessed [are] they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.}
Proverbs 2:10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: To deliver thee from the way of the evil [man], from the man that speaketh froward things;
Discretion means discernment, insight, sagacity (intelligent application of knowledge).
Froward means perverse, stubbornly contrary and disobedient, obstinate.
PRO 2:16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, [even] from the stranger [which] flattereth with her words;
REF:
PRO 6:23 For the commandment [is] a lamp; and the law [is] light; and reproofs of instruction [are] the way of life:
PRO 6:24 To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
PRO 6:25 Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
PRO 6:26 For by means of a whorish woman [a man is brought] to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.
A whorish woman uses flattery and sexual attraction to seduce her victims. Flattery leads prideful people to stumble and sexual drive has led many to sin. Both lead to ruined lives and ultimately toward the paths of death. God gives us wisdom, warnings and direction along the way to keep us on the path that leads to life and fellowship with God. If we listen to God and keep His commandments we will avoid many problems!
God bless you as you study and apply his words and grow in wisdom!!