Welcome to Wisdom Today with Bill Kelley. Today we will be going over Proverb 9. I will then key in on verses 10-12 - The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For by me your days will be multiplied And years of life will be added to you. If you are wise, you are wise for yourself, And if you scoff, you will bear it alone. On today's podcast I will begin by going over the three points of Thursday's lesson (Episode #634). Today we will be going over the first three verses of Chapter 6. By the end of today's lesson there are three points I ask that you consider:
1. Come and let us return to the Lord.
2. After two days He will revive us.
3. Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
Other scriptures referenced on today's lesson:
1. Proverb 1:7; Proverb 4:7; Proverb 9:10; Joshua 1:7-8; Jeremiah 29:11-13
to scoff - to laugh & talk about a person or idea in a way that shows you think they are stupid or silly
Call to Action - Do you ever "scoff" at anyone - thinking (or acting) like you are better than they? Remember, that doing this puts you in a position of being prideful - and that God does resist the proud, but He gives grace to the humble.
[00:00:06] Welcome to Wisdom Today. My name is Bill Kelley and I'll be your host. In this podcast, we will be exploring the book of Proverbs.
[00:00:22] Let's open in prayer. Father God, I thank you for anyone listening to this podcast today. Lord, I pray that you would reveal to everyone listening how much you truly love each and every one of them.
[00:00:34] In addition, I pray that everyone listening would have favor with both God and man. I ask this in Jesus' name, amen.
[00:00:44] This is Proverbs 9 beginning in verse 1.
[00:01:29] I ask this in Jesus' name.
[00:01:34] Only harms himself.
[00:02:17] A foolish woman is clamorous. She is simple and knows nothing, for she sits at the door of her house on a seat by the highest places of the city, to call to those who pass by, who go straight to the house of God.
[00:02:54] Friends, today I'd like to take a closer look at three verses found in the book of Proverbs.
[00:03:04] The first verse is found in the middle of Proverbs 9. And the verses are verses 10, 11 and 12.
[00:03:13] It says in Proverbs 9 verses 10 through 12, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
[00:03:21] And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For by me, meaning wisdom, your days will be multiplied and years of life will be added to you.
[00:03:35] If you are wise, you are wise for yourself. And if you scoff, you will bear it alone.
[00:03:43] Now friends, these verses are very powerful and I will go over them prior to closing today.
[00:03:51] But what I'd like to do is to continue in our study of the book of the Minor Prophet Hosea.
[00:03:59] And if we go back to Thursday's podcast, what I'd like to do before we begin today's lesson is to review exactly where we left off,
[00:04:09] which was the ending of chapter 5 of Hosea. So I'm going to go over the three points I went over on Thursday's lesson.
[00:04:20] Number one, Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke.
[00:04:26] Number two, I will pour out my wrath on them like water. And we talked about how angry God was with his country Israel and his chosen people.
[00:04:42] But the third one said, then they will seek my face.
[00:04:47] And that meant that God is kind of leaving the door open for them.
[00:04:55] So as we begin a new week, we are going to begin in Hosea chapter 6 beginning in verse 1.
[00:05:19] So friends, my first point of this week is come and let us return to the Lord.
[00:05:29] Now friends, I am reading out of the Nelson study Bible and I'd like to go over the commentary found in my Bible for verse 1.
[00:05:38] It says, after being torn by the divine lion, the people would come to their senses and seek to renew their allegiance to the Lord.
[00:05:53] Now friends, as I've mentioned several times since we've begun this study, the people of Israel had fallen away from God.
[00:06:01] They were no longer following God. They were not living as though he was an important presence in their lives and then actually taken up bale worship.
[00:06:14] And that had become a very important part of their lives.
[00:06:20] Let's go to verse 2.
[00:06:23] After two days, he will revive us.
[00:06:26] On the third day, he will raise us up that we may live in his sight.
[00:06:36] So friends, my second point today is after two days, he will revive us.
[00:06:44] Now let's go to the commentary and it says two days dot, dot, dot the third day.
[00:06:52] And the reference here is to a short time period when God's people truly repent.
[00:07:01] God is eager to restore his relationship with them.
[00:07:06] The people's hope for revival was consistent with God's ancient promises through Moses.
[00:07:15] Well friends, what this story reminds me of right here is the book of Jonah.
[00:07:22] And God had called the prophet Jonah to go to the great city of Nineveh.
[00:07:29] And at that time it said it would take three days to walk the duration of that city.
[00:07:36] In other words, it was an immense city.
[00:07:39] It had roughly 200,000, 250,000 people which was enormous for that time period.
[00:07:48] We're talking about 800 BC.
[00:07:50] So it was an enormous city and God had called Jonah to go and preach to them.
[00:07:57] And Jonah knew how God was.
[00:08:02] He felt that if he went and gave them the message that God had given them,
[00:08:09] that the people would repent and they would turn to God and God would have mercy on them.
[00:08:17] And that is exactly what is happening here.
[00:08:21] God is going to have mercy on the people that lived in Israel during the Minor Prophet Hosea's time period.
[00:08:30] But let's go back to our story of Jonah.
[00:08:33] So we know the story.
[00:08:35] He was thrown off the boat.
[00:08:37] He was swallowed by a whale.
[00:08:39] He lived inside the whale for three days and then the whale spit him on the shore.
[00:08:44] And Jonah said, okay God, I'll go.
[00:08:48] And sure enough exactly what Jonah thought would happen happened.
[00:08:55] He went.
[00:08:56] He preached to the city of Nineveh.
[00:09:00] The king of Nineveh repented.
[00:09:03] And he put on sackcloth and ashes.
[00:09:06] And he told all the people of the city to do the same thing.
[00:09:10] And that is exactly what happened.
[00:09:13] He repented.
[00:09:14] They repented to God and God had mercy on them and saved them.
[00:09:19] And as I mentioned in a previous podcast a couple weeks ago,
[00:09:24] that saved the people of Nineveh for about 150 years until the book of the Minor Prophet Nehom.
[00:09:34] And in Nehom the city of Nineveh is finally leveled and laid waste.
[00:09:43] Let's go to verse three.
[00:09:46] Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
[00:09:53] His going forth is established as the morning.
[00:09:57] He will come to us like the rain, like the latter and former rain to the earth.
[00:10:05] So friends, my third point today is let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
[00:10:14] Now I'd like to read the commentary for verse three.
[00:10:17] It says, God's restored presence and blessings would be like the rain that waters and renews the earth.
[00:10:29] Latter and former rain.
[00:10:31] As this is interesting, listen to this.
[00:10:34] The latter rains of Israel came in the spring and caused the plants to grow.
[00:10:42] The former rains came in the autumn and softened the ground for plowing and sowing.
[00:10:52] Now friends, before we close today what I'd like to do is go back to our proverb of the day today.
[00:11:00] And our proverb was proverb nine as today is September 9th.
[00:11:05] And I have selected three verses.
[00:11:09] The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
[00:11:18] For by me your days will be multiplied and years of life will be added to you.
[00:11:27] If you are wise, you are wise for yourself.
[00:11:31] And if you scoff, you will bear it alone.
[00:11:37] Now friends, the first thing I'd like to do is read the commentary for those three verses, the fear of the Lord.
[00:11:45] This is the central theme of the book of Proverbs.
[00:11:50] The only appropriate way to approach the Holy God is with fear.
[00:11:57] That is reverence.
[00:11:59] The term Holy One is an intensive plural of the Hebrew word for Holy.
[00:12:07] The most Holy One or the quintessence of holiness.
[00:12:14] For yourself alone you will feel the effects of your wisdom or foolishness directly.
[00:12:23] You cannot escape them.
[00:12:26] So what I'd like to do is to begin and break down each one of these three verses.
[00:12:33] The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
[00:12:40] Now friends, what this verse is telling us is the importance of reading Scripture.
[00:12:49] So what I'd like to do is bring to your attention.
[00:12:53] And if anyone has the ability to write these verses down, I suggest you remember these verses.
[00:13:02] In Proverbs 1-7 it says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
[00:13:11] Proverbs 4-7 tells us this, wisdom is the principal thing.
[00:13:18] Therefore get wisdom.
[00:13:21] Proverbs 9-10 which is today, it says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
[00:13:28] and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
[00:13:33] Now let's go back to the book of Joshua.
[00:13:37] These are two very important verses.
[00:13:42] In chapter 1 listen to verses 7 and 8.
[00:13:47] Only be strong and very courageous that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses, my servant commanded you.
[00:14:00] Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left that you may prosper wherever you go.
[00:14:10] This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.
[00:14:26] For then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success.
[00:14:33] Now friends let's put this in the proper context.
[00:14:37] Joshua has just cagan the mantle for Moses.
[00:14:44] Moses has just died.
[00:14:47] He led all the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.
[00:14:51] They now are in the wilderness and Joshua has been called and ordained to take the place of the mighty man, Moses.
[00:15:03] And what God is telling him, meditate on my word.
[00:15:09] Keep my commands.
[00:15:12] Be strong.
[00:15:14] Be courageous.
[00:15:15] But friends you're only going to do that if you are in his words.
[00:15:20] Now let's go to the book of Jeremiah chapter 29.
[00:15:24] Many of you are familiar with verse 11 but I'm also going to read verses 12 and 13.
[00:15:31] For I know the thoughts that I think toward you says the Lord.
[00:15:38] Thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you a future and a hope.
[00:15:44] Listen to verse 12.
[00:15:46] Then you will call upon me and go and pray to me and I will listen to you.
[00:15:54] Verse 13 is key and you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.
[00:16:06] Friends if we are to have a vibrant relationship with the living God we have to be in his word.
[00:16:16] We have to pray to him on a regular basis.
[00:16:21] Let's go to verse 11 back in Proverb 9.
[00:16:26] For by me your days will be multiplied and years of life will be added to you.
[00:16:35] Now verse 11 is talking about wisdom.
[00:16:39] If we have wisdom and follow God our days will be multiplied.
[00:16:45] Friends that is a promise that we can hang on to.
[00:16:49] I want my days to be multiplied.
[00:16:51] I want to live a long life.
[00:16:53] I want to be prosperous all the days of my life.
[00:16:57] Now let's go to verse 12.
[00:16:59] If you are wise, you are wise for yourself and here being wise means that you have received Jesus as your Lord and Savior
[00:17:12] and you're living life the right way.
[00:17:15] You're following the commandments of God and you are doing everything he asks you to do.
[00:17:22] Now let's look at the last part of verse 12.
[00:17:27] And if you scoff, you will bear it alone.
[00:17:31] And friends to scoff here is basically to be a scoffer.
[00:17:38] Now the Bible often talks about a scoffer.
[00:17:42] Do not do this, do not do this, do not be a scoffer.
[00:17:47] To scoff basically means to laugh and talk about a person or idea in a way that shows that you think they are stupid or silly.
[00:18:04] Friends, sometimes we think about people that way but if we pursue that line of reasoning and you begin to treat people and to judge people and act that way,
[00:18:23] that you are better than they are.
[00:18:28] God is not going to be happy with you and God was not happy with the Israelites in the time of the Minor Prophet Hosea.
[00:18:41] He is opening the door to them to come back to him and to seek him again but he was not happy with them.
[00:18:52] Friends, when we scoff at people, we are basically making fun of them and placing ourselves in a place where we are judging them and the root of being a scoffer is pride.
[00:19:11] The bottom line is you think you are better than they are and you would never lower yourself to do the types of things that they are doing.
[00:19:24] And friends, God resists the proud.
[00:19:28] So what I'd like to do today in my call of action today is do you act like a scoffer from time to time?
[00:19:42] Do you look down on people for some of the things that they do?
[00:19:48] Well, they're not doing what I would do. They're not doing what I think is the right thing to do.
[00:19:57] So you mock them and you make fun of them and you belittle them and you try to make them feel like you are superior to them.
[00:20:09] And friends, if that is an issue for you, I ask that you ask God for forgiveness and repent.
[00:20:18] Friends, I will never end the podcast without giving anyone an opportunity to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
[00:20:27] If there is anyone listening to this podcast today and you've never taken that step, I invite you to repeat a simple prayer after me right now.
[00:20:38] Father God, thank you for sending your son Jesus to earth.
[00:20:41] Jesus, thank you that you were willing to come to earth and die on a cross for everyone listening to this podcast today.
[00:20:50] I confess that I am the sinner and in need of a Savior.
[00:20:55] But by dying on that cross, I believe all of my sins have been forgiven.
[00:21:02] Jesus, thank you for forgiving me of all of my sins.
[00:21:05] And yet, I still need your help.
[00:21:08] I ask that you come into my heart.
[00:21:10] I ask that you lead me and guide me from this point forward in my life.
[00:21:15] I make you my Lord and Savior.
[00:21:19] Now, may the Lord bless you and keep you.
[00:21:23] The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
[00:21:28] The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
[00:21:33] Friends, tomorrow is testimony day.
[00:21:36] Please join me and a special guest as we further explore wisdom today.