The Book of Proverbs

Chapter 1

 Purpose for proverbs  August 17, 2022

1 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.
     Each verse, that begins with a To, describes one of the purposes for the proverbs contained in this book. The book was written to provide the necessary instructions on how to obtain wisdom and understanding which are very useful when making decisions throughout one’s life. How to apply them are also included.
There is also a pattern in how they are presented. It begins with simple knowledge, basic facts that can be stated either verbally or in writing.     
     These facts do not contain any information about any relationships that may exist. They are basically things that a person can memorize.
For example, consider this proverb (Prov. 10:4), He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. This would be good to know. This is how far that knowledge at this level can go. There are relationships in this statement, but it takes a higher level to discover them.
     These basic facts can be gotten by reading from the Book of Proverbs for example. They can also be gotten by being taught by someone though instruction. Actually, being instructed by another can provide more information than one might get from doing the reading by themselves.
     How is this possible? One way is that the instructor has access to more material about the subject. This includes increasing the student’s vocabulary, as the teacher points out the specific meaning of unfamiliar words. A child could look up the meaning of the word in a dictionary, but the word might have several definitions. Which meaning best fits how the word is used in this location? Here the teacher should know.
Another way is in various aids that can be used. Movies and slide presentations can bring what is being taught to life. Maps in Geography classes can give more meaning for example.
     Knowing things is the beginning of learning, but what is a person going to do with what they know? For example, in a class in European history I had to take in college emphasized facts. In what is now Germany there was a period of 35 years of war in the early to mid 1500’s. Actually, there were several different wars between different warring parties. We were to describe specific wars including the names of the wars as well as what generals conducted each war, winners and losers. To me, all that I accomplished in taking the class was to know what happened when.
     The purpose of learning things is found in the higher level of knowing: to perceive the words of understanding. This involves asking questions about the subject under consideration and finding answers to them. There is more to the basic facts of a subject than being able to state them to another person. There are relationships that exist between them. Perception is the ability to find those relationships and how they all fit together as a whole.
     Getting back to these wars, why did the fighting begin? This requires knowing basic facts of that area of Europe. This includes the type of society that existed, what type of people were in charge, and what were the predominate religions there. What was the attitude that existed between religions? Likely there are other important basic facts that affect what happened as well.
     You see, events like this one don’t occur in a vacuum. In order to understand the relationships that are present in any given topic, one must know the context that exist in it. For that matter, verses for a Biblical lesson requires this very same thing and for the right reasons.
Some basics that existed before these wars are these. There were feudal lords who controlled a piece of land and the peasants that lived on it. Martin Luther had recently posted the 95 theses on the door of a Roman Catholic Church, which he pastured, challenging specific beliefs and practices. Some the lords became Lutheran while others remained loyal to the pope in Rome. The peasants of the area were similarly split. Because of the relative small sizes of land controlled by each lord, peasants did not have very far to go to live under a lord with the same beliefs. Each group of believers considered any group who believed different to be heretics and should be destroyed. War was inevitable in this case.
     Actually, it is an excellent example of why the student should receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity. Even so, some students in a class will hear what is being taught but do not pay any attention to it. (They do not receive it.) It is also possible that what they hear does not make any sense to them. Others will pay close attention to the material being presented. The relationships become more obvious to them, gaining more understanding in the process. They now have developed a greater foundation for themselves. They are less likely to take simple explanations about things as the complete truth.
     So as a conclusion, different people will learn differing amounts when being taught the same thing and in the same place. The perfect example is a church service. If quizzed about what they had understood from what they had heard in this service.
     Another important part is that the teachers are to provide enough basic facts and their relationships to each other for the students. (In time, the students are to learn how to wisely use the tools that will provide this information for themselves. But this involves applying wisdom that has been learned which is at a higher level of learning. This only comes with time and effort on the part of the individual.)
3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;
     The topics mentioned (wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity) are as import as the student’s paying close attention (receive) what is being taught. These are things that greatly affect our lives. Wisdom affects how well we live. Justice concerns what our rights are as well as the rights of others. Judgment concerns the type of decisions that we make. Are they the right ones? Are there better ways? And equity is for our relationships with others. In terms of justice, are we permitting rights to others that we expect to be given to us? In terms of actions, do we do for others that we would want done for ourselves? All of these lead to a better life for all of us.
4 To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
     Subtilty is the ability to make fine distinctions about a given situation. This requires knowledge about it as well as the relationships contained in that knowledge.
     If actions are required, which ones are the best ones? When is the best time to do it? How many people will be needed? Which one of the known ways to solve the problem is the best this time given what is known? (If the circumstances changes from an earlier almost the same situation, subtilty will take this into consideration and make any changes in the solution necessary.)
     Discretion is the ability to determine how to do things in the best way and time based upon the knowledge and understanding that is available. Because of this, this characteristic must developed over a period of time.
     How does one know that he has all the information needed for a given decision? With experience come the realization of how much information is needed to do this. So with age, he takes the time to thoroughly search out the situation to seek even seemingly the minor details. Why? Because in the past, he has had a situation because of a minor detail that he had not considered. He learns from his past mistakes.
Subtilty is for more than the young man. It is for men and women from their youth to old age. When it comes to subtilty concerning mercy and forgiving, God taught me this when I was in my early 70’s! I’m still learning.

5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
     These are some of the characteristics that a wise man has. He is curious about things. He wants more than the facts: he looks for how things are connected, how they interact. When you see anyone who searches any subject thoroughly, you can be sure he is wise.
     When reading, such a person will seek for the content, context, and connotation of it by asking questions. What is the meaning of the reading? How much reading is required to determine the background, the scene for the reading being done?
     The connotation of a word can give more information than just its definition. Different words can have different slants, positive, neutral, or negative. Consider these two sentences. She presented him a watch. He robbed her of the watch. In both cases, the watch is transferred from her to him which is neutral. In the first sentence, she wanted for the transfer to happen. In the latter, it was done against her will.
     Another example is the name Judas. This is the Greek word for the name Judah. The latter was thought of in a positive light, many parents giving this name to their sons before the crucifixion of Jesus. After all, Judah was one of twelve sons of Jacob (Israel). After Judas betraying Jesus, everything changed because of what this name came to remind people.
     When there is the word hypocrite in the Gospels. This was a title given to actors, good ones or bad ones. This was their profession. They served a good purpose when portraying others in plays. Jesus’ use of the word was to label certain people as not being who they pretended to be in real life. (How we live our lives is to be who we really are. And even that is to be the servants of God.)
     Connotation can be very subtle in its influence on the meaning of words. But their effects are very important! With the wide differences between present day political disagreements, the connotation of words used is deliberately chosen. When speaking of their side, they use use words that are positive in connotation. They use words of negative connotation for their opponents. They are building themselves up while tearing down the other side. And they are so sincere in doing this! (Not!)
     When it comes to other ways a person learns, the wise and understanding man will do the same things: he asks himself questions that he wants to know. Once he has asked, he searches for the answers. Since memories can fade with time, a review of what has been learned after a while is helpful. Even so, emotions, positive or negative, will cause a memory to be remembered much longer.
     How will a wise man, a man of understanding, use positive and negative memories? The positive ones will be used for those things which are godly; the negative ones for those things which are evil.
6 To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
     Obviously, I have taken verse 5 out of context. Solomon is referring to learning from proverbs and the words of the wise, their dark sayings. And yet, what I have written about learning from reading applies when studying proverbs and the writing of the wise. The interpretation of a proverb requires asking these questions and finding the answers to them.
     Consider these two proverbs: “Strike while the iron is hot” and “haste makes waste.” These seem to be teaching opposite principles, but they are not. There are times when something needs to be done right now, but at other times, it is time to wait a while. Only when the entire situation is considered could one determine which is appropriate now.
     As far as learning from the words of the wise, consider the content of the Talmud. It contains the thoughts of people that formed the traditions of the fathers. These were thought to be the wise people of their time, writing about the meaning of the Torah, the law, and the prophets. It became the book to live by for the Pharisees. But Jesus condemned their interpretations as not being faithful to the meaning God had given. So, we should not always take the words of the wise since they could have been wrong. The standard to go by is the Bible.

Basic Information
August 29, 2022
7 ¶The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. 8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: 9 For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.
     What is fear? It is an unpleasant emotion caused by a stimulus of some kind (for example, an event or thought). It is the first part of the fight or flight response. PTSD is an extreme example of fear. This disorder can be triggered by a flashback to an earlier event (like a war the person had been fighting in). Serious damage can be done to others by the person having one of these attacks.
     Milder forms of fear can include such behaviors as behaving oneself to avoid physical punishment from parents. Peer pressure is all about using fear to control the behavior of its members. In more extreme cases, terrorism uses fear to control those they want to dominate. Here is one of my very mild ones. I don’t drink coffee because my first cup of it tasted horrible. (I thought it tasted like how stale cigarette ashes smelled. Since I had to empty ashtrays full of them when I was growing up, I knew that smell only too well. It was something I wanted to avoid at all costs!)
     Fear is used in avoidance training, of which physical punishment is one example. The fear reminds the individual of what might be the outcome if he continues doing the same things. When what caused the fear is strong enough, the person will do what is possible to eliminate the situation which is the fight part of the fight or flight response. then he will stand his ground. This can lead to serious consequences to some thing or some one or both. While fighting is necessary at times (perhaps), avoiding bad situations in the first place is vastly more desirable.
Here is a personal example of mild avoidance training. My mother-in-law was living with us at the time, and my son was just learning how to use a walker to get around. We had a new gas stove whose oven had a window and an oven light. When the oven was on, she would turn this light on and bring his hand close to the oven enough to become very uncomfortable. Then she would say, “That’s hot.” After a while, he began to say, “Dat’s hot” when the oven light was on. With this he learned not to come close to the oven when the oven was on. And for those who used the oven, we had to make sure turned on the oven light when we turned the oven on. The following year, he was going by a gas space heater. This is when I saw him peeked around to the front of it looking for the flame. When there was not any, he immediately started playing in the grate! (Likely, since last fall, he had seen this heater many times when it was on. The gates would glow. Just as likely he had been close enough to the space heater to feel the heat. The glow then become his light bulb: if this was there, so was the heat enough to be very unpleasant.)
     This is a background on fear, but what about the fear of the Lord? Does he use fear to teach his children how to behave? Yes, He does, but not until after using other methods. We have this proverb, A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool’s back. (Prov 26:3) Verse 5 above mentions people who will learn without fear. The last part of this verse states that fools will not.
     So, this is much more than fear and its uses: this is true for the whole book as well. It is about education God’s way. It begins simply and gradually increases in complexity. Why? Because that is the way people learn. It states this in Isaiah 28:9 9¶Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. 10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: 11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.
     Note that knowledge and understanding requires the child to have matured some before knowledge and understanding can be acquired. The sequencing of the teaching is also stated as the things to learn now are based upon what the person has already learned. Included in learning is putting into practice the things that have been taught (definitely!) at the same time.
     When I was training to become a dry cleaning manager, I already knew where I would be assigned when I completed it. My area manager was in New Orleans and I was about 90 miles from there. Obviously, I needed to be able to do everything correctly with minimal help from the area manager. The training was hands on from the beginning. But the maintenance was not. For those things, I insisted that I do all of this work with others guiding me as I did the various tasks. I had this part down pat before I completed the course which proved to be very important. (The previous manager had not thought it necessary to do these things weekly as required. I started doing it my first full day there).
     The dry cleaning machine had an extract motor that required weekly greasing. The bearings in one end of it froze up the first time I turned the machine on. It had not been greased for a very long time!
     This is not the only time when learning and practicing went hand in hand with very good results for me. So, I consider this to be an extremely important part of learning!
     First look at Abraham as an example. At some part in his early life during in which he was know as Abram, God had spoken to him while he lived in Ur of the Chaldees. It seems that after this, Abram’s father’s Terah moved the family. Their designation was the land of Canaan, but they only went as far as Haran, to remain there for a while. Only when Abram was 75 did he complete this journey with Lot, his nephew.
     God directed him in his travels to and then within this land. During this time, there were conversations between them even though most of them were never recorded. The evidence of this is in his actions. One of his few flaws was what he said about Sarai (Sarah) when asked about her: she is my sister. This would make Pharaoh angry as well as King Abimelech. Abram received a complaints about this both times.
     We also find this comment by God about Abraham when his name had been changed and he was 99 years old. 17 And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; 18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. (Gen 18:17-19) Obviously, Abram had learned these things from someone. How would he know what the way of the Lord was unless the Lord told him? (This is a rhetorical question.)
     But getting back to the time line, God is teaching Abram some important lessons in the 15th chapter of Genesis. God’s initial words to Abram was that He would bless those who blessed him and curse those cursed him. Now He says that He is Abram’s shield. He is not going to let anything harm Abram. Then came the long sought answers to prays. He was going to have a son: he would father one. No mention was made of the mother.
     God has more conversations with God in chapters in chapter 17. Here again, God says Abram will have a son. This is 14 years after the first statement. This time He said Sarah will be the mother.
     Up to this point, God was speaking and Abraham was listening. That was all that was necessary. It did take a little while to grasp the concept of him at 100 and Sarah being 90 having his new born son that Sarah gave birth to. But he did.
     When God arrived in Abraham’s camp with two angels, He had a similar message. This time He wanted Sarah to hear. He knew of her doubts in the 16th chapter, He is going to put a stop to that this time. When she reacted to his message to Abraham about her coming child, He did more than just speak. There was a rebuke that came forth for her doubts. There was a reminder of who He is and His abilities. This was the fear of the Lord at work. Now she was ready to listen, to be submissive, and to learn what was yet to come. As the book of Hebrews states, she received strength to conceive Isaac.
     Now, going forward in time, consider Moses at Mt. Sinai while watching Jethro's sheep. First came the burning bush to get Moses’ attention. Then the conversation begins about the plight of the children of Israel. Then came God’s plan for bringing them back to the land of Canaan. Notice how this is building, each part was based upon the previous part.
     But when God speaks of sending Moses to be the one to lead them on this journey, Moses began putting up objections each time. God puts up with him for while, but only a while. Moses was not listening at all. He was only objecting. No way did he want to have anything to do with this. That is when he heard anger coming into what God said. It required more than just knowledge to have him do God’s will: it took some persuasion, the fear of God. Sure enough, by he got back home and ate, he told his father-in-law that he needed to go to Egypt to see how his relatives were doing. Then off he went once he had packed.
     These examples have been of people who stayed close to the Lord even it required some nudging once in a while. What about the people who despise anything other than what they already know? They have their sources that they trust, and everyone else is wrong. Solomon called people like them, fools. Why? Because they are not making intelligent decisions about the aspects of life. This can range from just a few aspects to all of them. Of course, each of us have our own ideas as to who these people are. They do also when it comes to where we fit in the wise vs fool arena.
     One group consists of people who insist on simple answers. Very seldom is this the case. Life is far too complex for that. Even for what might seem simple, the complexity is all on the inside of it. For example: taking good care of a modern auto is not very complex. Simply have mechanic who is known for the high quality of his work. Obviously, he is the one who has to be concerned with the complexity of the car.
This may be far more deep that I should have gone. Perhaps it is not enough. However, Solomon revisits all of the principles over and over again in the later chapters.
8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: 
     This verse is about responsibility, discipline, and authority. While these specifically refer to the student, they also apply to the parents as well. The education of a child gets the greatest benefits if all put forth their individual best effort.
     The father’s instructions need to be clear to the child as the mother’s laws should be. Whenever possible, reasons should be given as to why something should be done as told. This is especially true for instructions for things that the child should not do. Rules given by the mother also need reasons for them as well.
     Why are reasons so important? It helps the child to use this information to build the foundation for the rest of his life. The more reasons one has growing up, the easier to make decisions as to what to do as an adult. By learning to expect reasons for acting a certain way, he is less likely to be easily swayed by just emotional persuasion. Things do not just happen, but they are caused by something.
     Also, consider the depth of the reasons that a child is exposed to over the period of his childhood. If throughout it, they only receive simple explanations, how will he be able to reject simple reasoning when on his own? As a child matures, he needs to receive explanations that are more in depth. So, it is the father’s responsibility to instruct his children in these finer points. It is the students responsibility to learn and apply the principles being taught.
     Interrelated with responsibility is discipline. The student needs to discipline themselves so that they work to learn and apply the principles taught to them. The father needs to ensure he keeps control over the situation when he is instructing his children. Such is obviously the case for the mother when she is enforcing her law on her children. It is all about what should be done and the how this is enforced with discipline.
Authority is also interrelated with responsibility and discipline. A child begins life with none of any of them: a new born baby has very few abilities, depending upon its parents to take care of its every need. As time passes, the child develops more and more abilities. Enter ever increasing responsibilities as a result of the father’s instructions and the mother’s law. When the child shows it is developing self-discipline to the extent that it can be trusted to perform tasks on its own, it is time to begin giving it the authority to in fact perform these tasks on its own. This cycle should continue for every increasing tasks.
     Yet there is more to having authority than what comes out of these cycles. It is more complex than that. There are different levels of it with which adults have to deal.
     This is something that the Centurion whose servant was very sick. He sought help from Jesus. (Matt 8:5-9) He had 100 soldiers under his command and the authority to both give them orders and to expect immediate compliance. Another level lie in his commander, the person who gave him orders.
     Similar is the situation of a counter person in a store. The customer has the authority to state what they want; management has the authority to set the prices for what is sold. The counter person then needs to find something that will please the customer while charging the proper amount.
     If the teaching the art of developing authority is done correctly, the person will develop a sense of who he is. There is a sense of authority in such a person; he will also be able to recognize this in others. The centurion is a good example. What he had learned about Jesus, told him that Jesus had a very high level of authority.
     The last verse of chapter 7 of Matthew speaks to this: it was the way that Jesus spoke. There was authority in His voice: they could hear it! This really amazed them.
     One more comment about authority. Just because people or causes seem to have an air of authority does not mean that they can be trusted. What they advocate may not be accurate. This can range from a few inaccuracies to nothing being true. If people are going to avoid the pitfalls of believing the wrong people, they need to be taught how to determine what is false and what to do about this. (This is taught in later chapters, and will be considered in much more detail.
9 For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.
     This is a “duh” moment, an obvious thought. But this is only the case if one sees a person in action who has learned his lessons well from his father and followed his mother’s law. It is even better to see someone in action who did not pay close attention to his father’s instructions nor his mother’s law. The former knows what he is doing and why. He is successful in so many ways. The latter doesn’t. His actions are irresponsible. He does not live up to what he could have done.
     This clause is giving the student and the parents the reasons for taking the study of wisdom and understanding seriously. The latter can be more confident in their children; the former can look forward to a better life than others who did not take this seriously.

Wrong use of knowledge and wisdom
September 5, 2022
10 ¶My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. 11 If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause: 12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: 13 We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: 14 Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse: 15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path: 16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood. 17 Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird. 18 And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives. 19 So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.
     First consider the outline of this lesson. To look deep into it, one must first ask questions whose answers are found within the lesson.
Who are approaching the son? What do they want him to do? How are they trying to convince him? What are they leaving out? What should he do? Why? What did they not mention in their attempt to convince him of this action? How important is what they left out? What are the principles of godliness that apply to the proposed actions? (There are likely many more questions that could be asked which will in fact reveal other information about this situation.)
The use of questions is extremely important as they reveal the information that is needed to make the decisions necessary for what one does in any given situation. Simple solutions are not likely the best ones. Why? Because very seldom is a solution simple. Oh, the part that may be left out may be simple to someone who has the specialized knowledge needed to solve the problem. It certainly would not be simple to those who do not possess it. (This is why we use experts when something is to complex for us. It is also why we should ask so many questions in order to get so much information.)
     The answers of these questions should lead to ask even more questions. And they to even more of them. In the end, all of this information will form a solid enough foundation upon which to make a wise decision.
     For example, consider the first question: Who are approaching the son? The simple answer is sinners. Then comes the additional question: What kind of person has this characteristic? The answer is he does what is right in his own eyes instead of what God requires, what he wants is most important. Then comes: Can he be trusted? The obvious answer is no.
     Now the second question: What do they want him to do? The answer is join a gang that will be stealing things from others to enrich themselves even if it includes murder. Then comes the question: Are these godly things to do? The answer is not at all. Doing either one is breaking one of the ten commandments (breaking the covenant God made with the children).
     Now the third question: How are they trying to convince him? The answer is by enticing him with the benefits that he will gain if he does. Then comes the question: How does this affect his thinking ability? The answer is: Because emotions are now involved, his thinking becomes cloudy making his decisions less reliable. Other things need to be considered to make these decisions more reliable. Then comes: How does what he is asked to do affect others? The answer is people will lose what they have worked to accumulate which will decrease their ability to provide for their family. So, the obvious question is: Is it right to take from others at their expense? The just as obvious answer is NO! Well, some will say yes because getting what they want is more important than what happens to others from whom they can get it.
     There are several questions which have not been answered. I leave it to the reader to take the time to answer them for themselves. You should also ask questions about your answers as I have done. These are those questions:

• What are they leaving out? What should he do?
• Why? What did they not mention in their attempt to convince him of this action?
• How important is what they left out?
• What are the principles of godliness that apply to the proposed actions?
  

Using wisdom vs not using it
          Using it
September 26, 2022
20 ¶Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: 21 She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, 22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? 23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you...
     This begins with a profound statement: wisdom is everywhere! It is there for us to learn and apply. When I look back over literally many decades of life, I am totally amazed at all the things I have learned, all the experiences that have changed my life! Among them are many that pointed out to me that what I was doing was wrong. I needed to change my lifestyle. As a result, I am more likely to listen to the other person’s viewpoint. When I do so, I pay close attention to what is said if at all possible. This includes asking questions if allowed. I also ask myself many questions about the logic that is contained in their explanations mentally rather than verbally. If logic is missing for the most part, I remain unconvinced.
     I remember back in the summer of 1982 that I finally got around to reading my Bible systematically. (This led to this question: how was I going to do this?) Actually, I had gotten the experience of how to make a schedule for reading a book, step by step. My employer wanted to make sure his employees read positive thinking books, so he sent each one of them a book every three months regularly. So, I applied what I had learned doing that to schedule my Bible reading schedule. It turned out that if I read 2 pages each day in my Bible, it would take me eleven months and one day to read from Genesis chapter one to the end of Revelation chapter 22. (Observation: the first two pages ended with the last verse of chapter 3.) Since then, I have read through the bible at least 44 times. This may sound like a lot, but it is more a lamentation than praise praise for myself. Think how many more times I could have done this if I had started reading this way in the summer of 1959 when the LORD God called me to preach. Wasted years indeed! Yet, I have no problem in following one of our ministers quote the Scriptures because in most cases I know what he is going to say word by word before he says it. And yes, sadly, I know when he misquotes something as well.
     Again there is a way to learn wisdom and understanding. God said it has to be this way: For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little. (Isa 28:10) If you stop to think of it, this is how each of our subjects was taught: begin at the front and continue page by page to the end of the book (or end of the school term).
     But everything that is said or written is not based upon wisdom and understanding. People do not always want to spend the time to learn what is available to them. They may have a simple idea about a particular subject. They do not want to look at it from a deeper perspective. They do not know what they are missing and really do not care.
     Then there are people who are constantly finding fault with others, they talk down about those who disagree with them. People do this deliberately as a means of controlling their followers. In this, the emotions of scorn can cloud a person’s thinking. Decisions are not made by using wisdom nor understanding. Propaganda is one example of this technique. Everyday advertising is another. Of course, this is also used in politics especially in election campaigns.
     Another group of people is those who are very traditional. How things were in the past is how they ought to be for the present and future. (If it was good enough for my parents, it is good enough for me.) These people can get very emotional if anyone questions their way of life. These people hate the idea of verifying that their lifestyles are the right ones. Yes, they hate the very idea of learning anything beyond the lifestyles of their parents.
     The book of Jeremiah is filled with examples of this group of people. They refused to listen to him. This was especially true of Zedekiah, the last king before the Babylonian Captivity. (Enough said!) The Pharisees and Sadducees (in the time of Jesus) were two religious parties who were part of this group. Rather then learning from the Son of God, they laid all kinds of scorn upon Him. They made all manner of accusations against Him including the statement that He was using the power of Satan to perform His miracles! 70 AD with all of its destruction in Israel was the results of this behavior.
     Yet wisdom tells these people to turn from their present lifestyles to the way the she teaches. Her promise is that the life this will bring is well worth the time and energy spent in gaining wisdom and understanding.
     Why would wisdom do this? Why reproof those who have little desire to learn? It is because of the mercy of God. He gives every opportunity for the these people to change their ways: He leaves them without an excuse when they finally face the consequences of their actions. They can only blame themselves even though they are certain that it is someone else’s fault.
     So, this brings us back to the question. How can a person separate all the “noise” from the wisdom and understanding that also exists all around us? Here is the answer is study the rest of the book. Solomon was thorough in telling how to separate the wheat from the chaff so to speak. It requires the development of many different characteristics to do so. So, it is time consuming at times.
         Ignoring it
24 ¶Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; 25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: 26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; 27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.
     This is also a very profound statement. Yet different people have a variety of ideas of what wisdom is. So when they refuse to listen, it is because what they believe is the truth differs from what they are told. So, they pay attention only to the things that match their beliefs. They lose the wisdom that is available through learning the truth that they refuse.
     There are many examples in the Scriptures of people who have suffered horribly when they failed to listen. In fact, they were fighting hard against the truth unto the very end.
     From the beginning of the ministry of John the Baptist to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD, the religious leaders refused to listen to the preaching of both John and then Jesus. The Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes were certain about the teachings of the Torah as they had been taught. They were wrong! Their nation no longer had a homeland until the late 1940’s as the result. They have been scattered all over the world. In fact, this is the curse Jesus placed upon Israel within a couple of days before His crucifixion: Matt 23:38 "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." 39 "For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."
     Even so, one must be careful when applying verses 24-27. When someone suffers in some way, it does not mean that their actions are the cause of their suffering. This is a simple explanation of the situation. It leaves off all of the other things that are also affecting what is happening at the time. One of these may actually be the real cause.
     So even these verses need to be studied with wisdom and understanding. In any given situation, there are many different parts to it. There are relationships that exist between these parts. Any one of them that is left out will cause a different conclusion to be reached. It could very easily be the wrong one.
     The book of Job is an example of this. What those around him saw was that first he had lost the vast amount of what he had had. Then a sore disease caused boils all over his body. He was in terrible shape. Three of his friends felt so sorry for him that they visited him, to console him. From what they saw and heard, they thought they knew why it had all come upon him; it was his own fault. So they tried to convince him to change his ways. Doing this had to be the solution to all his problems. But their understanding did not include one of the parts to this situation: the part that Satan plays in the lives of people in general and in particular, Job, himself.
     What was suppose to be a visit that would change Job’s behavior, turned into a very heated arguments. In the end, both sides were more set in their own beliefs than at the beginning.
     In the end, God settled everything. First He pointed out to Job that he was lacking knowledge of what is happening all around him. (Job repented of his thinking: there is so much more to life than he understood...) Secondly, He upbraided the three friends for not speaking the truth.
     The death of Abel fits into this discussion as well. He was as man of faith, living by it and thus pleasing God. It was the anger of Cain and his willingness to take this out upon his younger brother that caused Abel’s death, not for anything he had done.
     Conclusion of the matter
     So, how do we begin paying closer attention to wisdom? How do we stop ignoring the teachings that will make our lives better? How do we search for the relationships that exist in our lives? (This will tell us if what we now know as the solution is leaving some of these.)     Genesis chapters 15, 16, 19, 20 points to the answers. In the first chapter, God tells Abram that the latter is going to father a child. By the end of this conversation, Abram is sure that what he had heard and saw was absolutely going to happen. Why? Because God said so. He had seen the stars in the sky that hinted as to how many descendants he was going to have. My personal opinion is that Abram went directly to Sarai’s tent to tell her what he had just experience. I further doubt that either one got very much sleep that night. He was very excited, but she was filled with doubts, mostly about her becoming a mother. By chapter 16, she even come up with a scheme on how Abram could have a son without Sarai becoming pregnant. (The result of this scheme caused all manner of problems for many a year.)
   In chapter 19, God goes further in renaming Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, and repeating His promise to make Abraham a father. This time, He also mentions the mother’s name: Sarah. Then to finish this, God visited Abraham in his encampment. Abraham entertains Him and two angels. It was there that God speaks of Abraham becoming a father. (He had added that Sarah was to be the mother.) She reacted with laughter which she kept down within her. (She may have held her hand tightly against her mouth to prevent the laughs from being heard. It seems to me that her body was shaking with laughter.) God answered her reaction to His statements quickly with what I would think was a little anger like He would answer Moses on Mt. Sinai. (He was filled with doubts about the things God had told him to do.)
     This rebuke had the desired results. Sarah suddenly knew who this visitor was: the LORD God! It turned her life around. Of course, the fact that He told her when this would happen was a help as well. Her faith in Him had everything to do with the fact she was pregnant with Isaac within three months.      What is the lesson here? Place our faith on our Father, the LORD God and His directions He gives to us. Abram did in chapter 15, and then seemed to have lost it by chapter 19. (He had convinced himself that Ishmael was the promised child.) But things turned around in chapter 20. Both Abraham and Sarah were more certain this time than he had been 14 earlier; he knew when this child would be born. They got back to actively trying to have a family. Within four months, they both knew she was with child.
   Again, it is not easy to obtain wisdom and understanding: it takes time and hard work. Many a lesson must be learned. Later lessons have to be built upon previous lessons. New characteristics have to be acquired and used. This is what the next several chapters are all about. Oh, yes, there is a lot of homework involved in this, laboratory work to. You see, all of the principles of wisdom and understanding have to be put into practice!

Chapter 2
Verses 1-9: Beginning Study of Wisdom and Understanding1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; 2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; 3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; 4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; 5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.
Receiving my words
   This seems like a very simple thing to do. However, it is not. Just look a round you and pay attention to what has been politicized that use to be taken for granted. Look at all the disagreements, the claims that are being told by various sides. Each side want us to believe what they say is the truth: they want to receive their claims as the truth. But which one of them is in fact truthful? Is it possible that all of the claims contain only part of the truth? Has anyone told the entire truth?
   Wisdom and understanding are very important to a child. These are needed to build a solid foundation of beliefs that will safely guide the individual through life. They are gained through applying the principles mentioned in the above verses, and receiving the words of one’s parents. At some point, the child begins to receive wisdom and instructions from others. As the child matures into adulthood, the people whose words are received becomes much larger in number.
   So, somewhere along the way, the child must learn how to determine who should be believed or not and why. This takes wisdom and understanding. With out them, an adult is not likely to know what to receive, what not to receive, and why.
   Where should we begin? To me the obvious answer is at the beginning of a child’s education. This is where building the child’s foundation begins.
   Paul wrote of the foundation he had laid which is Christ Jesus. Such is the case for each child in a family that are true followers of the LORD. Their first lessons begins with hearing the parents speak of the Him repeatedly every day. (If the parents are not doing this, this is an excellent time to begin doing this. It may take time to grow accustomed to this, but God tells us to do it. [Deu 6:6 and following verses]).
   Such is also the case with reading from the Bible nightly (or another time) regularly. Yes, have the children there. Other simple, godly books should also be read to them.
   What purpose does this reading do? It stimulates the child’s mental development. (Hearing the parents speak of God and the blessings He gives us serves the same purpose.) Reading regularly to the children, parents will over time gain much knowledge and understanding about the Bible and its contents. Sermons will make much more sense to them. The speaking of the blessings of the LORD and reading the Bible tells the children how important these two are by the examples they have set for their children.
   Learning to say mommy, daddy is probably the first lesson. And then comes the learning of rules. These come in the form of do this or don’t do that. (The latter is the most likely to be used.) The child does not yet have the ability to reason about anything.
   But children, being curious by nature, will begin asking questions as their vocabulary grows. It is a time that can try the patience of the parents. Yet, this is not the time to try to put a stop to their child doing this. In fact, asking questions is very important to gaining wisdom and understanding. They are also important in the first building the foundation upon their lives must rely.
   Not only that, but it is also the time to begin giving the reasons for how the children should act is specific situations. Obviously, this needs to have a Biblical basis. For example: the Israeli parents were told by God to give their children the reasons for how the Passover supper was conducted. They were also were to explain why the stones at Gilgal had been plastered over and had the 10 commandments written in the plaster. They were to explain why the 12 stones were set up in Jordan at the point Israel crossed the Jordan River dry shod. (Joshua 4:6,7)
   Over a period of time, this changes from just telling the children what they need to know to have the explain why a given topic is important and what it means.
   At this point, the children are going from being told what they need to know to being actively involved in their own education. They are gaining knowledge and also understanding. They also gain wisdom. This leads to them being able to problem solve on their own, a very important trait.
   Specifically, they have gained the ability to receive the words of their parents because they know what is being said and how truthful the statements are or are not. If they have been taught how to reason on their own, they are much less likely to be taken in by someone who does not have their best interests in mind.
   This requires a relatively long period of time to accomplish. A child goes from very limited mental abilities through the period of maturing mentally and emotionally to be able to properly make the judgments of which I am speaking. This literally requires at least two decades. Much learning is needed to gain the understanding and wisdom. This includes the improvement in learning how to ask the right questions as well as how to find the correct answers.
   What about adults who did not get all of the training I have mentioned? How do they gain all of this training? How much time will it take to do this? This is what they Book of Proverbs is for. Spending serious study in these 31 chapters is the key. Part of this is read this book once a month. In February read 29-31 as well, or in the months containing 30 days read 31 as well. Develop a Bible reading schedule that will allow you to read the entire Bible in a reasonable time (I recommend a year).
   Again, be prepared for slow improvement in learning how to properly receive the information that you need from all of the things that are said and written by others.

Hiding my commandments