Proverbs 1

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Dave Burnette's Commentary

Proverbs Chapter 1

Written By: God through Inspiration

Penned By: Solomon, Agur, and Lemuel

Date Penned: (970-931 BC)

Overview: Wisdom to Teach People to Live Godly (c 1-31)

Theme: Wisdom for Young Men (c 1-9)

Message: Proverbs Purpose (v 1-33)

Proverbs 1 Commentary

(1:1) The Book of Proverbs - What the book of Psalms is to prayer and devotional life, the book of Proverbs is to everyday life. Proverbs gives practical suggestions for effective living. This book is not just a collection of homey sayings; it contains deep spiritual insights drawn from experience. A proverb is a short, wise, easy-to-learn saying that challenges us to action. This is a book of common sense based on a biblical worldview. It shows the truth of a life deeply rooted in a relationship with God. And conversely. It also shows how the right actions keep us connected to God and strengthen our faith in him. till Solomon, the third king of Israel, son of the great King David, reigned during Israel's golden age. When God said he would give him whatever he wanted, Solomon asked for wisdom (1 Kings 3:5-14). God was pleased with this request, and he not only made Solomon wise but also gave him great riches, power, and an era of peace. Solomon built the glorious temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 6) and wrote and compiled most of the book of Proverbs. See his profile.

(1:6) Dark Sayings - "Dark sayings" is a reference to riddles. Riddles were thought-provoking questions that could be used to promote discussion and reflection on important topics. 17-9 In this present age of information and technology, we have plenty of head knowledge at our fingertips. But true knowledge--what the Bible calls wisdom- is all too scarce. Wisdom means far more than simply knowing a lot. It requires a basic mindset that affects every aspect of life. This mindset is characterized by an eager desire to learn from God, from experience, and from others. The foundation of true knowledge, or wisdom, is to fear the Lord, which means to revere, honor, and respect him, to live in awe of his power, and to obey his Word. Doing so will affect your identity, your attitudes, your actions, and your future. Keep drawing close to God--learn who he is, why he created this world, and what he wants you to know. Then you will be truly wise

(1:7) A Fool - One of the most annoying types of people is the know-it-all, the person who has a dogmatic opinion about everything, is closed to anything new, resents discipline and refuses to learn. Solomon calls this kind of person a fool. Don't be a know-it-all. Instead. be open to the advice of others. especially those who know you well and can give you valuable insight and counsel. Discover what others have to teach you; learn how to learn from others. Remember, only God knows it all.

(1:8) Morals - Actions do speak louder than our words. This is especially true in the family. Children learn values. morals. and priorities by observing how their parents act and react every day. How they understand the world is shaped by how their parents go about their daily lives. If parents and grandparents exhibit a deep reverence for and dependence on God, children will catch these attitudes. If you have children in your care, let them see your respect for God. Be an example of godly living by praying, worshiping, and reading the Bible with them and with others. Make sure they see how you act out your faith in a way that's consistent with God's Word. 18 Proverbs places the responsibility for raising children to become wise adults squarely on fathers and mothers. Parents must bring their children up to honor God and know his Word. If you are a parent, rely on God for help every day. Read the Bible and seek wise Christian counsel on how to discipline your children. If you are living at home with your parent or parents, ask God to teach you through them.

(1:9) The Pleasures of Sin - Sin can often be enticing because it cloaks itself in the disguises of fun, pleasure, happiness, riches, comfort, popularity, and fame. Sin convinces us that we deserve these things at any cost. When we refuse to listen to and live by God's truth, our appetites become our masters, and we'll do anything to satisfy them. Sin. even when attractive. is dead. We must learn to make choices not on the basis of flashy appeal or short-range pleasure but in view of the long-range effects. Wisdom for this is clearly outlined in God's Word. Sometimes this will mean steering clear of people who want to draw us into activities that we know are sinful. We can't be friendly with sin and expect to remain unaffected. So go ahead and enjoy the life God has given you, but enjoy it within the boundaries articulated in his Word. Eventually, sin will always lead to devastating consequences.

(1:10) Greedy for Gain - Being "greedy for gain" is one of Satan's surest traps. He sets the bait when he wants the suggestion in our minds that we can't live without something. Then the desire for it trains its own tire until it becomes an all-consuming obsession as we move closer and closer to return it. oblivious of the train where it rests. Ask God for wisdom to recognize any greedy desire before it closes around you and won't let you go. If that happens, it is exceedingly difficult to get free. It you daily seek God's wisdom, you will have more discerning eyes to recognize and avoid the traps in front of you.

(1:20) Personification - The picture of wisdom calling aloud in the streets is personification--a literary device used to make wisdom come alive for us, speaking and acting as it it were a real person. Wisdom is not a separate being; it is the mind of God revealed. One way to see wisdom in action is to read the stories about Jesus in the Gospels, the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. When Jesus, the Son of God, lived a human life on earth, he lived it perfectly. He is the perfect model for what wisdom in action looks like. So to understand how to become wise, we should listen to wisdom calling and instructing us in the book of Proverbs (see the chart) and study wisdom in action in the life of Jesus. For a New Testament call to wisdom, see James 5

(1:22) Character Deficiency - In the book of Proverbs, those who are simple or fools do not have a mental deficiency but a character deficiency. Foolish people are not dumb or stupid, but they are naive to God's way of living and unable or unwilling to tell right from wrong or good from bad

(1:23-28) Willing to Listen - God gladly pours out his heart and makes known his thoughts to us. To receive his words, however, we must be willing to listen. Not paying attention to God, refusing to listen to him, ignoring his advice, and rejecting his correction are all evidences of pride. Pride is thinking more highly of our own ideas and courses of action than God's. If we think that we know better than God or that we have no need for his direction, we are showing that foolish pride has a grip on our hearts. Pride is so dangerous because it hardens our hearts against the only one who can help us see what is really true and help us live in a way that is live true.

(1:31-32) Our Own Way - Many proverbs point out the consequences people experience (the "fruit of their own way") for the destructive choices they make. Faced with either choosing God's wisdom or persisting in rebellious independence, many decide to go it alone. The problems such people create for themselves will destroy them. Don't ignore God's advice, even if it is painful for the present. It will keep you from greater pain in the future.

Dave Burnette's Life Application
Sins Enticing Trap

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today, we start the Book of Proverbs with Chapter 1. In our text today, we see the outline for this book, which is wisdom that keeps a man from sin. We see these warning signs to keep a person from destructive sins. In making applications, we see the voice of wisdom as it speaks from the past failures of those who have fallen before. Today, the world is enticing us to fall into this trap of sin. Verse 10 tells us if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. How about you? Do you see the trap of sin? Let us learn from our text today to see the wisdom of learning from those who have fallen before into an enticing trap.

Proverbs 1

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Proverbs 1

¹The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;

²To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;

³To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;

⁴To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.

⁵A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:

⁶To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

⁷The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

⁸My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

⁹For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.

¹⁰My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

¹¹If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:

¹²Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:

¹³We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:

¹⁴Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:

¹⁵My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:

¹⁶For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.

¹⁷Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.

¹⁸And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.

¹⁹So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

²⁰Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:

²¹She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,

²²How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

²³Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

²⁴Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;

²⁵But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:

²⁶I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

²⁷When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.

²⁸Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:

²⁹For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:

³⁰They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.

³¹Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.

³²For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.

³³But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

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