SERMON TITLE: Proverbs (Jesus, the Wisdom of God)
TEXT: Proverbs 8:27-36; 1 Cor. 1:24 (ESV)
SPEAKER: Josh Hanson
DATE: 6-5-22
Watch the sermon here.
Take notes here.
As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time or are joining us at our North Main campus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.
We’re in week three of our Finding Jesus series. This is a series where each week I introduce you to a book of the Bible that you may or may not be familiar with. I give an overview of the entire book and then we focus on a section of it. And — finally — each week I show you how to find Jesus. I show you how to find the one story the whole Bible is telling — the story of Jesus. Because the whole Bible is ultimately pointing us to him.
And in this iteration of our Finding Jesus series — we’re looking at five books in the Old Testament often called the Wisdom literature. And — today — we’ll be looking at the book of Proverbs. So if you have your Bible, please turn with me to Proverbs chapter 8.
Previously we’ve looked at the books of Job and Psalms and in the coming weeks we’ll look at the books of Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs. And on that final week — parents — which will be on Father’s Day — you’ll either want to be prepared to have “the talk” with your children — or — make sure you drop them off in Kidway if you’re not ready to have “the talk” yet. I’ve given this warning each week thus far as I don’t want anyone to be surprised when we get to the Song of Songs.
And my hope — for all of us in this series — is that we’ll grow to know and love these books and spend time in them — finding Jesus — and the joy that’s found only in him.
And — now — let’s take some time to get our bearings in the book of Proverbs — and I hope you’ll see that Proverbs is a book you’ll want to go read for yourself.
First, what do we know about the book of Proverbs? To begin, we know that the first 24 chapters of the book are written by King Solomon — he’s the son of King David — and was king of Israel for forty years — from 971 BC to 931 BC. Additionally, chapters 25-29 are proverbs most-likely written by Solomon but were discovered during the reign of King Hezekiah — he lived over 200 years after Solomon. Hezekiah added these newly discovered proverbs to the book of Proverbs. Chapter 30 is written by Agur and the final chapter — chapter 31 — is written by Lemuel. We don’t know much about either Agur and Lemuel.
Solomon — being the author of much of the book of proverbs — makes a lot of sense when you know his story. In the book of First Kings we read, “Solomon loved the Lord and followed all the decrees of his father, David, except that Solomon, too, offered sacrifices and burned incense at the local places of worship. 4 The most important of these places of worship was at Gibeon, so the king went there and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings. 5 That night the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!” 6 Solomon replied, “You showed great and faithful love to your servant my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to you. And you have continued to show this great and faithful love to him today by giving him a son to sit on his throne. 7 “Now, O Lord my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. 8 And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! 9 Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?” 10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom.” (1 Kings 3:3-10 NLT)
Basically, Solomon had the opportunity to ask God for anything and he asked for wisdom. And — in the book of Proverbs — we get an insight into some of his wisdom. I say “some of his wisdom” because “God gave Solomon very great wisdom and understanding, and knowledge as vast as the sands of the seashore. 30 In fact, his wisdom exceeded that of all the wise men of the East and the wise men of Egypt. 31 He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite and the sons of Mahol — Heman, Calcol, and Darda. His fame spread throughout all the surrounding nations. 32 He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs. 33 He could speak with authority about all kinds of plants, from the great cedar of Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows from cracks in a wall. He could also speak about animals, birds, small creatures, and fish. 34 And kings from every nation sent their ambassadors to listen to the wisdom of Solomon.” (1 Kings 4:29-34 NLT)
Solomon wrote 3,000 proverbs — of which — we have about 17% recorded in the book of Proverbs. That’s why I said we have “some of his wisdom.” And what’s the point of the book? The point is stated clearly in the opening words of the book.
“These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel. 2 Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline, to help them understand the insights of the wise. 3 Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair. 4 These proverbs will give insight to the simple, knowledge and discernment to the young. 5 Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser. Let those with understanding receive guidance 6 by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables, the words of the wise and their riddles. 7 Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” (Proverbs 1:1-7 NLT)
And these opening words remind us that fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge which leads to wise living. And to fear the Lord — means that — in knowing who God is — for example — knowing that God is holy — pure and without sin — and that he is righteous — God always does what’s right — and just — God doesn’t play favorites or take bribes — and he’s loving and kind and good and merciful and wrathful — meaning God hates wickedness, sin, and will punish those who do such things — in knowing who God is — on his terms and in his own words — we then fear him — are in awe of him — and live accordingly.
And — pardon me for reusing this quote — but there’s nothing else quite like it in all of literature that captures what the fear of the Lord is. The quote is from C.S. Lewis’ book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe when the children first hear the name of Aslan — who represents Jesus in the series. “Aslan is a lion — the Lion, the great Lion." "Ooh" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion"..."Safe?" said Mr Beaver ..."Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you.”
To fear the Lord means you realize that God isn’t safe — though he protects his people. He isn’t safe — but he’s good. For God is no tame kitten — he’s the King of kings. And he’s the One who’s wisest of all because he’s the Creator of knowledge and wisdom — and he’s the One in charge. So to fear him — is to listen to him — and even more so — to obey him.
So that’s the bird’s eye view — now — let’s get to some specifics. The book’s divided into 31 chapters with a total of 915 verses. And a key principle — when reading Proverbs — is to know that these proverbs are principles of life and not promises of God. Proverbs are principles that are “commonly accepted as true.” (Tremper Longman III, Proverbs (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2006), 31.) As one pastor states, “Proverbs are statements that paint a small word picture of what life is like or what it should be like. Thus a proverb is a snapshot of life. However, as with every snapshot, a proverb doesn’t always represent what life always looks like. One picture doesn’t capture everything. A good proverb, like a good snapshot, captures what is typical…[Thus] they’re not always true, but they’re usually true. They represent life accurately, but not completely.” (Thomas Constable, “Notes on Proverbs,” https://planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/pdf/proverbs.pdf )
And this is why we find proverbs — like these — back to back in the book. “Don’t answer the foolish arguments of fools, or you will become as foolish as they are. 5 Be sure to answer the foolish arguments of fools, or they will become wise in their own estimation.” (Proverbs 26:4-5 NLT)
So…which is it? Well — as you know — sometimes the best thing you can do is not respond to a fool. Though — we also know that there are other times in life — when the best thing you can do is respond to a fool. And being wise is knowing when to and when not to respond. Thus two seemingly contradictory verses — right here — back to back in the book of Proverbs. But they’re not contradictory because they’re not guaranteed promises. They’re not always true — they’re situational — they’re wisdom for life.
There’s one last section of Proverbs that’s worth bringing to your attention before we turn to our verses. The words that close the book of Proverbs — words about the woman who fears the Lord — are at the top of many lists as some of the most beautiful words in all of Scripture.
And — now — let’s turn to our passage for today. Hopefully you’ve had time to find Proverbs chapter 8. We’ll begin in verse 27 as we discover a way to find Jesus in the book of Proverbs — and in all of the Bible.
“When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, 28 when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, 29 when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, 30 then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, 31 rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man. 32 “And now, O sons, listen to me: blessed are those who keep my ways. 33 Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. 34 Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. 35 For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord, 36 but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.” (Proverbs 8:27-36 ESV)
Abraham Lincoln is attributed with many memorable quotes.
Now — that last one caught your attention — but you should know that none of the quotes were actually said by Lincoln. He did say something similar to the first quote — but the quote I shared — though not his — is what many think he said. But you can find — on the Internet — these quotes being attributed to Lincoln.
And we’ve all run into this danger with the Internet, haven’t we? It’s hard — isn’t it — to know when what you’re reading is true or not. And there are many reasons for this. One library — for a college of criminal justice — suggests the following reasons why we have to make sure we check our Internet sources. (Lloyd Sealy Library, “Top Ten Reasons for Evaluating Internet Sources,” https://guides.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/c.php?g=288333&p=1922574) For example…
Now — obviously — other forms of media differ in quality, purpose, and bias — and other forms of information may have sponsors who pay for specific content — even biased content. But where the Internet differs from previous forms of media — are in the first two points. There’s no quality assurance on the Internet — anyone can post anything. And most of the information hasn’t been checked for accuracy.
So — as we talk about wisdom today — something we have to be clear on is that wisdom and knowledge are not the same thing. Recent studies have suggested that human knowledge is doubling about every 13 months. To give you some context, in the year 1900 human knowledge doubled about every 100 years. In 1945 human knowledge doubled every 25 years. Currently we sit at about every 13 months and one scientist concludes that — with the help of the Internet — it’s realistic that human knowledge will double about every 12 hours in the near future. (https://lodestarsolutions.com/keeping-up-with-the-surge-of-information-and-human-knowledge/) How crazy is that?
Something shocking — to me — that I learned about the Internet — is that Google has only indexed somewhere between 1 to 4% of everything on the Internet. So even when you “google” something — you’re not accessing all of the information that’s out there. You’re getting results of a very small percentage of all the information on the Internet.
So what does all of this mean? It means we live in the age of information — the age of knowledge — and human knowledge is rapidly expanding. And — though limited to a small percentage of everything on the Internet — Google’s given us access to knowledge in ways never imagined by previous generations. Additionally, podcasts covering every topic you can imagine are available. And — according to the U.S Department of Education — there are nearly 4,000 degree granting academic institutions in the United States. (National Center for Education Statistics, “Table 317.10. Degree-Granting Postsecondary Institutions, By Control and Level of Institution,” https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d20/tables/dt20_317.10.asp?current=yes) What an age we live in — a time when knowledge can be gained in so many different ways.
But — as I said earlier — knowledge and wisdom are two different things. It’s been said that “Wisdom is lived knowledge, the ability to transpose what we know here to that problem over there.” (Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Faith Seeking Understanding: Performing the Drama of Doctrine (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2014), 204.) Or — as someone has said — “Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as the knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.” (As quoted by Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: Old Testament (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2007), 852.) We may be a knowledgeable society — but are we a wise society?
For example, according to one science website, the typical U.S. adult makes about 35,000 decisions every single day. (Heidi Zak, “Adults Make More than 35,000 Decisions Per Day. Here are 4 Ways to Prevent Mental Burnout,” https://www.inc.com/heidi-zak/adults-make-more-than-35000-decisions-per-day-here-are-4-ways-to-prevent-mental-burnout.html.) to imagine, right? But how many of those decisions are wise decisions? Researchers at Cornell University estimate that we make around 226 decisions each day just on food. (http://science.unctv.org/content/reportersblog/choices) And — again, I’ll ask — how many of these decisions — that we make about food — are wise ones?
So knowledge isn’t enough — it’s important — but not enough. You have to know what to do with what you know and then do it — that’s called wisdom. And the challenge for all of us is that we live in a society that uses knowledge and wisdom interchangeably. Add to this the fact that — because we’re inundated with knowledge — it’s hard to know what’s true and what’s false — what’s accurate knowledge and what’s inaccurate — resulting in us having lost the skill of discernment — of being able to rightly judge the knowledge we consume.
So — we’re blessed with access to knowledge previous generations couldn’t have dreamed of — yet — access to all of this knowledge has seemingly created as many problems as it’s solved because now it’s hard to know what to believe. Which leads us to the Word of God. A place we can turn to for both knowledge and wisdom — a book that doesn’t confuse the two.
So let’s return to the wisdom of God and see how it points us to Jesus. We’re back in verse 27.
“When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, 28 when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, 29 when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, 30 then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, 31 rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man.” (Proverbs 8:27-31 ESV)
The first thing we see about wisdom is that God used wisdom to create all things. And — in these verses — we see wisdom being personified — being spoken of as if wisdom’s a person. As the heavens were being established — wisdom was there. As the sea was given its boundary — wisdom was there. God used wisdom when he made all things — thus we humans — being part of God’s creation — are to live according to the wisdom we’ve been created by. For — to live foolishly — to live opposed to wisdom — or in ignorance of it — is to live contrary to the way you’ve been created to flourish.
And I love how wisdom describes God as a master workman as he created all things. Seeing God's creativity at work was reason for wisdom to rejoice. God as a master workman reminds me of Paul’s words in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 10 — our key verse for VBS this year — which says, “For we are his (God’s) workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10 ESV)
You are the workmanship — a creation — of the Master Workman. The God who created all things — by wisdom — has created you. And this same God has recreated his people for a specific purpose — and this is why he saves his people through faith in Jesus Christ. And just as wisdom rejoiced in seeing God’s wise creativity at work — his people today are to rejoice in both God’s creative and recreative work. Meaning we’re to rejoice in the wise work that God’s done in his creation. Rejoice when you look out at creation and see all that God’s made. Rejoice when you see beauty in creation. But we’re also to rejoice when we see God’s recreative work — his work of saving people from death to life — from darkness to light — from rebellion to obedience — in giving people a God-glorifying purpose by saving them.
And not only does wisdom give us the opportunity to rejoice in what God has and is doing in his creation. In verse 32 we read…
““And now, O sons, listen to me: blessed are those who keep my ways. 33 Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. 34 Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors.” (Proverbs 8:32-34 ESV)
Here we find that there’s a blessing for the people who listen to and obey God’s wisdom. It’s not just knowing God’s wisdom that makes a person wise — it’s obeying God’s wisdom and instruction that makes a person wise. For — in obeying God’s wisdom — we live the life God created us to live — which is the very best life possible. For — it’s obvious, right — that no one knows better how we should live than the One who created us. And when you live according to God’s wisdom — you’re blessed. Yes, because you make wise decisions. Yes, because you’ll have fewer regrets. Yes, because often you’ll find the principles of wisdom result in your favor. But most importantly — you’ll be blessed because you’ll be living in a way that’s pleasing to your Creator. And when God’s pleased with you — he showers you with his blessing and favor and grace. But — even more important than this — you’re blessed with God’s presence in your life. For the greatest gift you’re given — in obeying wisdom — is the presence of God in your life.
We’re in verse 35 — and though we’ve had to dance around Jesus thus far — as he’s been wanting to jump out of our verses — let’s now find him. In verse 35 we read…
“For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord, 36 but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.” (Proverbs 8:35-36 ESV)
Here wisdom says, “Those who find me find life and obtain favor from the Lord. And those who fail to find me love death.” I mentioned earlier how wisdom is personified throughout our verses — wisdom’s spoken of as if it’s a person. And there’s a reason for this — for the wisdom of God is a person. The apostle Paul tells us, “But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:24 NLT)
Jesus is the wisdom of God. Jesus is the person that wisdom’s been pointing us to — not only in Proverbs 8 — but in all of Scripture. And — though we must be careful to not force Jesus into every verse in proverbs — the New Testament tells us that Jesus is the one who “He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see — such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.” (Colossians 1:15b-16 NLT)
We’ve looked at Ephesians 2 and how God is the Workman and we’re his workmanship and how this should give us joy. This joy — is what Jesus speaks of — when he tells us to obey his commandments. He says, “When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. 16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.” (John 15:10-17 NLT)
Wisdom — then — is obeying the commandments of God — such as the command to love one another. And — obeying wisdom — leads to our joy. Jesus is the wisest person to ever live — even wiser than Solomon — for Jesus obeyed all of his Heavenly Father’s commands — even when this meant going to the cross to die. And — just as Jesus tells us — that obedience leads to joy — his obedience led to his joy even when it meant his death on the cross. As the author of Hebrews tells us, “Because of the joy awaiting him, he (Jesus) endured the cross, disregarding its shame.” (Hebrews 12:2b NLT)
In wisdom — in obedience of his Father’s will and in love for you — Jesus went to the cross. He did so accomplishing the wisest plan ever made — the salvation of the people of God. And the first real step of wisdom we take — is the step of repentance. For — as one author writes, “The most basic act of wisdom is repentance” (Jen Wilkin, In His Image: 10 Ways God Calls Us to Reflect His Character (Wheaton: Crossway, 2018)) Knowledge that you need to repent — knowledge that this world is broken and not how you imagine it should be — knowledge that you’re broken and not living up to a standard that you can imagine for yourself — knowledge isn’t enough. Repentance is acting on your knowledge. Repentance is turning from the direction you’re headed and turning to the Wisdom of God — Jesus Christ. Turning to Jesus in faith — believing in him. Not just knowing that Jesus lived, or knowing that he was crucified, or that he rose from the grave — but acting on the knowledge of his life, death, and resurrection. Acting on the knowledge that he — Jesus — is God in flesh.
For — as Paul writes — just before telling us that Christ is the wisdom of God — “The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. 19 As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.” 20 So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. 21 Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. 22 It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. 23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. 24 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18-24 NLT)
Jesus is the wisdom of God. And he and his cross is the message that’s foolishness to the world but is the news to which all people must receive in order to be saved. Jesus and his cross is the wisest plan ever to have been made — the wisest plan ever to be accomplished — and is the most loving act in all of history.
Throughout the book of Proverbs we’re shown what wisdom looks like and — as one writer states — “We’re told to follow the voice of wisdom. [Yet] — because Jesus is Wisdom — [Proverbs] is a book that asks us to follow him and his voice. [For] to follow Jesus is to fear the LORD [and fearing the LORD] is the beginning and [the] end of wisdom.” (Matt Emerson, “Where’s Jesus in Proverbs?,” March 21, 2020. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/jesus-proverbs/)
Do you hear the voice of wisdom calling out to you today — calling out to you to follow Jesus? Calling out to you to repent of your sins — to believe in Jesus — to obey the Word of God? The path of wisdom — the path of wise living — the path of truth and clarity in this age of information — is the path of hearing and following the voice of wisdom — which is the voice of Jesus. Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you for wisdom. In this age of information — in this confusing age — in this disruptive age — in this age that often has an overwhelming sense to it — thank you for giving us truth — for giving us your commands — and for having created us by your Master Workman hands for your purpose.
Spirit of God — give us discernment — man do we need it. Even the discernment to unplug from the information we have access to and spend time learning the wisdom you’ve provided to us in the Scriptures. And give us the strength, courage, desires, or whatever it is that we need — to act on your truth — to obey your commands — so we live wisely.
And — Jesus — to you the wisdom of God. Thank you for living wisely for us — for obeying everyone of your Heavenly Father’s commands. For executing the wisest plan ever made — a plan made before the beginning of time — the plan of rescuing your people — saving us from our sin — and making us holy and righteous. May we — in looking to you — who looked to the cross with joy — may we look to you and find our reason to rejoice and to live a life of joyful obedience. And it’s in your name that we pray for all of these things. Amen.
May you go knowing the voice of wisdom — the voice of Jesus. But — more importantly — obeying his voice — for this is what it means to be wise. Amen.
God loves you. I love you. You are sent.
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