A SHORT STUDY TO INCREASE THE WISDOM OF YOUNG MEN
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Proverbs Chapter 2
Proverbs 2:1 “My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;”
Solomon has taken God’s law and made it his own by faith and obedience, as well as teaching. The wisdom of these words is available to those who, first of all, understand the rich value (treasure), that wisdom possesses. Appropriating wisdom begins when one values it above all else.
Proverbs 2:2 “So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, [and] apply thine heart to understanding;”
Once wisdom is properly valued, both the ear and mind are captivated by it.
“Apply thine heart”: The “heart” commonly refers to the mind as the center of thinking and reason, but also includes the emotions, the will, and thus, the whole inner being. The heart is the depository of all wisdom and the source of whatever affects speech, sight, and conduct.
Proverbs 2:3 “Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, [and] liftest up thy voice for understanding;”
“Criest after knowledge” shows the passionate pleading on one who is desperate to know and apply the truth of God. The least bit of indifference will leave one bereft of the fullness of wisdom.
Proverbs 2:4 “If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as [for] hid treasures;”
“Seekest … Searchest”: A desiring search, the most intensive of a lifetime.
Proverbs 2:5 “Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.”
These first 5 scriptures is like a prayer. In fact, it is what we should all pray. For a person to really be able to live a Godly life, you must first know what God expects. This first sentence says “receive my words”. The heart is the place for the commandments and the Word of God to be hidden. If we receive into our being the wisdom of God and apply it to our heart we will do the things that are right in God’s sight.
Romans 10:10 “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation.”
If we would spend even half the time learning the Word of God as we spend searching for worldly wealth, we would find the treasures of God. Knowledge has to be accumulated by learning. Wisdom is a gift from God. As we uncover the secrets of the Bible, We will have reverent fear of God and be filled with His knowledge.
Proverbs 2:6 “For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth [cometh] knowledge and understanding.”
“Wisdom” is a gift from God, as we said. We read in James;
James 1:5 “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all [men] liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
Not out of our mouth cometh knowledge, but out of His. The knowledge is in His Word.
The words of His mouth are contained in Scripture. It is there that God speaks. Wisdom comes only by revelation.
Verses 7-8: Identifies those who are true believers who seek to know, love, and obey God and to live righteously. These covenant keepers alone can know wisdom and experience God’s protection.
Proverbs 2:7 “He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: [he is] a buckler to them that walk uprightly.”
God is the source of all wisdom. His kind of wisdom brings peace. You see, we are to be wise unto salvation. If we are righteous it is because we have taken on the righteousness of Christ and that is the greatest wisdom we can acquire. The Christian actually takes on the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:16 “For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.”
The Lord is our Protector (buckler) if we walk uprightly in our salvation day by day.
Proverbs 2:8 “He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.”
This to me is speaking of those who walk in the way of the Lord.
The saints are those who are justified by the Lord and walk justly. For the justified who follow in his “judgments” (law), He “preserves” (saves), their way. The “saints” (we Christians), are eager to follow in the teachings of the Lord. Jesus is the way.
Proverbs 2:9 “Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; [yea], every good path.”
This (in verse 9, is connected with verse 8). This is speaking of the saints. The saints shall “understand righteousness, and judgments, and equity (straightness), and every good path”. Narrow is the path to righteousness. Jesus is that path. In fact, He is our righteousness. He is the righteous Judge.
“Righteousness, Judgment, Equity are the same as the ethical triad (we studied in 1:3).
Proverbs engages in a process of schooling a son in the disciplines of;
(1) Wisdom (a different Hebrew word from that in verse 2), which means discreet counsel or the ability to govern oneself by choice;
(2) Justice, the ability to conform to the will and standard of God; a practical righteousness that matches one’s positional righteousness;
(3) Judgment, the application of true righteousness in dealing with others; and
(4) Equity, the living of life in a fair, pleasing way.
Proverbs 2:10-11 “When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;” “Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:”
Wisdom is an advantage to the one who possesses it. Wisdom with Knowledge gives a person a tremendous advantage. This understanding and discretion is not of the worldly, but of the Lord and His Word. A really good working knowledge of God’s Word can keep you from making mistakes. The answers to all of life’s problems can be found in the Word of God. The heart controls the conscious and subconscious actions of man. If the heart of man is stayed on the Lord, there is no way that man can be defeated.
Thus, truth is the protector from all evil.
Proverbs 2:12-13 “To deliver thee from the way of the evil [man], from the man that speaketh froward things;” “Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;”
Knowledge of the Word of God will keep you away from the ways of the evil man. Twisted speech is typical of those who reject wisdom. You see, the righteous (believers in Christ), walk in the light and have no fellowship with darkness.
In 1 John chapter 1 we read who walk in darkness and who walk in the light.
1 John 1:5-7 “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:” “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
Proverbs 2:14-15 “Who rejoice to do evil, [and] delight in the frowardness of the wicked;” “Whose ways [are] crooked, and [they] froward in their paths:”.
Fools love most of the things which are the worst.
It seems in our society today television, movies, and radio try to make it appear that to live in sin is fun. Truly this is a terrible lie. It brings heartache and troubles in this life and an eternity in hell. The ways of the world will lead to destruction, not life. Drunkenness, drugs, immorality, lying, cheating, and stealing are part of the “froward wicked life”. Not one of these things makes for a happy ending.
Proverbs 2:16 “To deliver thee from the strange woman, [even] from the stranger [which] flattereth with her words;”
“Strange woman”: She is the harlot repeatedly condemned in Proverbs (compare 5:1-23; 6:20-29; 7:1-27; 22:14; 23:27), as in the rest of Scripture (Exodus 20:14; Lev. 20:10). She is “foreign” or “strange” because such women were at first from outside Israel, but came to include any prostitute or adulteress. Her words are the flattering or smooth words of (Prov. 7:14-20).
The strange or immoral woman is the harlot repeatedly condemned in Proverbs, as in the rest of Scripture.
Today those who are involved with strange women (women of the world), can look forward to diseases that cannot be cured by medicine now available. In (verses 17 and 18), you see the fate of those who live unholy lives. The terrible disease AIDS is just one of the many modern incurable diseases that are associated with sex outside of marriage.
Literally, she is foreign or strange because such women were at first from outside Israel, but came to include any prostitute or adulteress. Her words are the flattering or smooth words of (Proverbs 17:14-20).
Proverbs 2:17 “Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.”
“Forsaketh the Guide (or companion),” of her youth. She leaves the guidance and friendship of her husband (see 16:28 and 17:9).
“Forgetteth the covenant”: In a wide sense, this could be the covenant of Sinai, but specifically looks to the marriage covenant (of Gen. 2:24), with its commitment to fidelity.
Proverbs 2:18 “For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.”
“Inclineth unto death”: The destructive nature of this blinding sin leads one to walk alongside death (see verses 8-9, 12, 15). Death in Proverbs is presented as both a gradual descent (5:23), and a sudden end (29:1).
God’s covenant with mankind (men and women), is twofold. We must keep His laws to receive His blessing. God punishes sin. When we deliberately break God’s laws, we can expect death, not life. God says in His law that men and women are to save themselves for the marriage bed. Notice (in verse 19), that those who follow this sinful way of life find death.
Death in Proverbs is presented as both a gradual descent and a sudden end.
Proverbs 2:19 “None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.”
There are only two paths to take. The path of sin leads to death and destruction. The path of righteousness leads to life everlasting.
The irreversible nature of continuing in this sin points to its devastating consequences. It leads to physical death, as expressed in the Hebrew euphemisms of (verse 22; “cut off” and “uprooted”). After that comes the reality of eternal death.
Proverbs 2:20 “That thou mayest walk in the way of good [men], and keep the paths of the righteous.”
The word “mayest” in this verse lets us know that it is our choice. It is our decision to live the way of the world or to live for the Lord Jesus. Our free will determines which. This is a decision no one else can make for you. You must decide life or death.
Proverbs 2:21 “For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.”
“Dwell in the land … remain”: Exactly opposite to those who live in sexual sin and are headed for death, those who belong to the Lord will live.
Proverbs 2:22 “But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.”
(In Psalms we read);
Psalms 37:29 “The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever.”
We have seen over and over how the wicked will be driven off the land. Canaan became the land of Israel because the wicked were driven out.
The Christians shall reign 1000 years with Jesus.
Revelation 20:6 “Blessed and holy [is] he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”
Proverbs Chapter 2 Questions
- Verses 1-5 is like a_________.
- What is necessary for us to live a godly life?
- Where is the place to hide God’s Word?
- What does Romans 10:10 tell us about the heart?
- What should we be seeking more than worldly wealth?
- How do we get Knowledge?
- Wisdom is a _______ of ________.
- As we uncover the secret of God we will have ______ _______of God?
- Who gives us wisdom?
- Out of whose mouth comes knowledge and understanding?
- How can we find Scriptures that tell us how to find wisdom?
- Where can we find the Scriptures to tell where to get wisdom?
- Who does God lay up sound wisdom for?
- What does “buckler” mean?
- God’s kind of wisdom brings what?
- We are to be wise unto _________.
- How can we be righteous?
- In Cor. 2:16, what do we learn about the mind of Christ?
- Who preserves the way of the saints?
- _____________ is the way.
- When wisdom entereth into thine heart, what shall keep thee?
- What can keep you from making mistakes?
- Who are the children of light?
- If we say we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness we ___________.
- What do television and movies appear to tell us about sin?
- What can those who get involved with strange women have to look forward to?
- God’s covenant with man is__________ ___________.
- God will bless us if we do what?
- When we deliberately break God’s law we can expect what?
- The path of righteousness leads where?
- What has God given us that determine our destiny?
- In Psalms 37:27, we read that the righteous will inherit what?
- In Revelation 20:6 how long does it say the Christians will reign with Jesus?
VOLUMEGUIDE 2 
Written
on April 18, 2020