January 20 Daily Discovery
January 20 Daily Discovery
Read Proverbs Chapter 1
The Purpose of Proverbs
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
2 To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;
3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;
4 To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
6 To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proberbs 1:1-7
A basic overview of the purpose of the book of proverbs is given at the beginning of the first chapter: to know, perceive and receive wisdom.
The book identifies four categories of people in their relation to God's truth: the simple, the wise, the fool, and the scorner.
- The Simple: a person that is unaware of God's truths.
- The Wise: a person that seeks and applies God's truths to their lives.
- The Fool: a person that ignores God's truths.
- The Scorner: a person that rejects God's truths and encourages others to do the same. The scorner is essentially a fool squared or a fool to the second power.
Wisdom Begins with the Fear of God
Fearing God is where wisdom begins. In order to receive more light, we must respond positively to the light we have already received.
We learn wisdom's lessons from teachers and from life itself. There are people in our lives that want to guide us into living wisely. One way of defining wisdom is "skillful living." Wisdom is the proper application of truth.
Wisdom is NOT knowledge. Having knowledge immediately transports us from being simple (unaware) to becoming a fool (ignoring). It is only when we apply what we have learned that we become wise.
Wisdom's First Teachers are our Parents
Wisdom begins at home. Our parents or guardians try to teach us how to live with wisdom.
LISTEN to your mom and dad! Doing so will result in beauty in your life, like wearing fine jewelry.
Wisdom's Primary Tenets are Prohibitive
Much of this early instruction is replete with "negatives". We are told "no" a lot.
"My son, if others try to get you to do something that is wrong, do NOT agree with them.
Wicked persons will try to bring you into their groups or clubs or friendships. The people that we associate with will have a huge influence upon us. We MUST learn to cultivate relationships with people who WANT to do what is right and good and honorable and helpful.
We must REFUSE to be enticed that any reward that comes from sinful behavior.
Wisdom Continues to Pursue its Students
If our hearts are in tune with hearing from wisdom, that is, if we are seeking to apply what we are learning in relation to God's truth to our lives, wisdom will continue to be our companion.
Good things come to those that live wisely and unsavory things come to those that live otherwise.
If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself:
but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.
~ Proverbs 9:12
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Continue Your Search
In this chapter, do you see any: Commands to Obey, Warnings to Heed, Promises to Claim, Examples to Follow, Vices to Avoid, Praises to Emulate, Prayers to Use, Principles by which to Live, Questions to Ask or Actions to Take?
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