Well, last week we began looking at Proverbs, and we looked at all the different kinds of Proverbs that are in the book. There are what we call aphorisms, so these are just sayings. There are similes, there are antonyms, which are the opposites contrasting two different things. There's repetition, there's progression, there are lectures or sermons in Proverbs, And then there are oracles and observations. So we talked a lot about what all those things are and how they... affect our interpretation of the different things that we see in the book. And then we started to think about the purpose of the book of Proverbs. So why did God put this in scripture? We saw, first of all, Proverbs is practical. Proverbs is God wanting to teach us practical wisdom on how to get through life. We can call that emotional intelligence. And so remember, we talked about how the most successful people are not necessarily the people who have intelligence in their heads, intellectual intelligence, but who are emotionally intelligent, who are wise people, who know how to live in the real world that we are a part of. And so we talked about that, but many people think that's what Proverbs is only, just a bunch of good advice. And so maybe you remember the guy that I quoted last week who said that the book of Proverbs feels like being on a road trip with your mother, and that he felt like Proverbs is just a bunch of nagging advice. Do this, don't do that. but that's not all that Proverbs is. It is practical, but we also saw last week, we started to see how it's ethical. So God has given us Proverbs here to teach us how to be good in the eyes of God, how to obey the law of God. Proverbs 1 verse 3 tells us that, that the purpose here is to give us instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity, how to do the right thing. So you need to know how to do the right thing in the law of God. How do you live as a worshiper of God? And so what Proverbs wants to do is to shape our character. by giving us habits, telling us what kind of habits we need to live this kind of life that's gonna be in obedience to the law of God. So we'll see when we get to verse eight of chapter one that there are sinners who are enticing this law of God. this young man, a son, and the father says, my son, do not consent when sinners entice you. And so you need to learn how to be the type of person who has a character to know what's right and wrong so that when your friends, when the sinners around you, your peers pressure you and say, come do this, You already have a character and a habit that knows not to give in to the enticement of the sinner. Or when you are lying in bed and you say, a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest. I'll just sleep in another 10 minutes. Just hit the snooze button. Proverbs is saying, you need to form a character, a habit, so that you know not to keep hitting the snooze button. But wake up, work hard. When you see all that stuff at the store, and you say, well, I'll just get into debt. I'll just put it all on the credit card. The Book of Proverbs is saying, form a character, a life of habits so that you know that when that stuff in the store is enticing you, you know that the borrower is a slave to the lender. And so you have a character that's formed with that idea and those habits to not get into debt. So you're in the habit, you have habits in your life, you have the habit of brushing your teeth. I don't think it's something that you think about very much, right? So why is it that when we're all running late to church and we're trying to get to church on time, you still say, wait, I need to brush my teeth, we can't leave yet. Because no matter what, even if we're gonna be late, I can't not brush my teeth. because we're in that habit. We know this is the right thing to do. It's been so ingrained into us every single morning, at least in the morning, that we brush our teeth. That's what it means to get into a habit. And so it's the same with all those other things that I mentioned. When the sinners entice you, you say, no, of course I'm not gonna do that because I'm already in the habit of knowing what the right thing is to do. But with many of us, probably all of us, it's hard to get into habits. We struggle maybe with eating the right things or getting exercise or waking up on time. Psychologists say that it takes 59 to 70 days for us to get into a habit of doing something. And so for those first 70 days, it's torture. It's a lot of hard work to be on your diet or to exercise. But if you can get past the forcing yourself for a long time, you will get into the habit and it's as natural as brushing your teeth. So that's what Proverbs is trying to get you to do, to learn how to obey the law of God so that whatever comes up in your life, you're already in the habits. You already have the character that knows how to do this. So, You learn how to keep your mouth closed rather than blurting out everything that you think because you have created this habit of keeping your mouth closed, thinking before you speak. Having patience and self-control instead of responding in anger. So then whatever somebody does, whatever somebody says, you're in the habit. of knowing how to control your anger or knowing how to control what you say. So those are some examples of how Proverbs is trying to help us learn how to be good in the eyes of God, live a good life. So that's the ethical part. Now today, for the rest of the time, we're gonna think about how Proverbs is also theological. It's theological. And most people don't think of Proverbs as a theology book, but it is. Theology is the study of God. And so Proverbs is trying to tell us that what we believe about God is important and is going to determine if you can live this wise life, practically be successful, and Be an ethical person. Live a good life according to the law of God. And you need to have the right theology. You need to know God in the right way. So, what is the main instruction of Proverbs? Anybody got an idea? What phrase could summarize the whole book? I think, Leo. Were you raising your hand? Okay. Yeah. Right. So, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge in verse seven, which then is parallel to fools despise wisdom and instruction. knowledge, wisdom, instruction, basically all are related. So the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge or wisdom. We can also see that in chapter nine. Go to chapter nine, verse 10. Chapter nine is this last sermon that the father gives to his son. So it's concluding what he's been saying for nine chapters, the introduction to the book. And chapter nine, verse 10, he says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. For by me, your days will be multiplied and years will be added to your life. So the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And then as a parallel repetition, the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. So there's your theology right there. If you are going to have wisdom and insight, you need to know You need to know the true God. You need to fear the Lord. The Lord here is Yahweh, so specifically referencing the one true God. You need to learn who the real God is. He is the God of Israel. His name is Yahweh. He's revealed himself as Yahweh. So if you do not fear Yahweh, you will not have wisdom. So, notice the word beginning here. So how is the fear of the Lord the beginning of wisdom? We can think about beginning as like the location of where you begin a journey. Where you begin the journey is mostly gonna determine where you end up. So are you gonna begin by going east or west? In South Dakota, there's a lot of nothing, there's a lot of vast expanse, and so you get on I-90, and if you get on I-90 West, you're gonna go West for a very, very long time, because there aren't a lot of exits. There are not a lot of places to turn around. If you go on I-90 East, you're gonna go East for a very long time. And so that's the picture that he's giving us here. If you want to go on the path towards wisdom, you need to get off at the right exit, you need to start in the right place. Begin with the fear of the Lord. To truly be wise, you need to know the Lord, you need to have a relationship with the Lord, and you need to fear Him. Psalm 14.1 says, the fool says in his heart, there is no God. So the fool cannot understand the world, he cannot truly have wisdom unless he acknowledges God in his life. But here's the thing, last week when I asked you guys what are some modern proverbs or modern sayings, Leo and Chris, you both gave me Benjamin Franklin proverbs. Now Ben Franklin does not know God. He is not a Christian, he was not a Christian. He was a fool. So how can Ben Franklin be wise? How could he have these wise sayings? You don't need God, it seems, to know that a penny saved is a penny earned or that early to bed and early to rise makes you happy or whatever, however it goes, wealthy and wise. And in Israel's day, they had the same situation. There were Proverbs that were not just Proverbs from Solomon or Proverbs from Israel. There were some people who are known as sages, a sage is a wise man, from the East, so like maybe China. There's Egypt, they had wisdom literature from Egypt. So here are some from an Egyptian man named Amenemapi, okay? Amenemapi, it's very hard to pronounce. He says, better is bread with a happy heart than wealth with vexation. Better is bread with a happy heart than wealth with vexation. And there are Proverbs of Solomon that are similar to that. The idea is that Better to be content with a simple life than to have a bunch of wealth with a lot of trouble. That's a wise saying. Here's another one from Amenemope. He says, do not remove the scales, nor alter the weights, nor diminish the fractions of the measure. and that's similar to a proverb in the Bible that God hates uneven scales, unjust scales. So you see that secular people without God have similar insights as someone like Solomon, people in Israel who knew the true God. It even seems like that people in Israel knew about all these things. So in 1 Kings 4, verse 30, it's talking about Solomon and it says, Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. And so, that verse shows us that they knew about the wisdom of Egypt and yet they believed Solomon's wisdom was greater. So why is it greater? Well, because his was rooted in the fear of God. So if we can go back to the analogy of the path, Maybe this analogy helps. Maybe you've gone on a hiking trail, and you see on these hiking trails, they're usually color-coded. So let's say you're walking on the green trail, and sometimes intersecting with the green trail is the red trail. And for a while, the red and the green are the same trail. And then eventually, they split off. And so the red ones started over here, the green ones started over here. They sometimes meet up and then it meets up with the orange one and all these things. But eventually they're going to very different destinations. And so maybe that helps with understanding the issue of wisdom. The green trail is you beginning with the fear of the Lord to pursue wisdom. There are a few parts where that trail will intersect with what unbelievers, secular people, they can discover. They can discover some aspects of wisdom that really comes from the fear of the Lord, but they've discovered it just by observing the world that God has made. but they're only gonna get that tiny bit of that trail. They're not gonna end up at the right destination at all. They're gonna end up far away. And so God has given us common grace. He's given common grace to Ben Franklin and to these wise men of Egypt, and they can look at the world they can see that it is better to have a little and be happy than to have a lot and have a lot of trouble. And that observation is because of the world that God has made, even though they don't recognize God. But Romans 1 tells us they suppress the truth in their own unrighteousness. And so, they're gonna ultimately end up far away from the true path of wisdom. So, they only know a little bit of wisdom as they observe the world, but they don't know all the wisdom that they could know from the fear of the Lord. So, the fear of the Lord helps us understand Proverbs. And we have to interpret Proverbs in light of the other parts of the Bible. And to make the point, I'm gonna use money as our example for today, our wealth. So what does Proverbs teach about wealth? Well, let's look at just a few of them. Chapter three, verse nine. Chapter three, verses nine and 10 says, honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first fruits of all your produce. Then your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will be bursting with wine. Well, doesn't this verse say that? Honor the Lord with your first fruits. Consequence, your barns will be filled with plenty. Your bank account will be filled. Your refrigerator will be filled with groceries. If you honor God with your money, you have a promise that you will have plenty. Is that what it's saying? Well, this is what we're gonna think about. Let's look also though at Proverbs 10, chapter 10, verse four. Proverbs 10 verse four says, a slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. Okay, so what do you do if you wanna get rich? Proverbs says, work hard. Work hard, you'll get rich. If you wanna be poor, be lazy. Which would also mean, if you are poor, it's because you're lazy. And if you're rich, it's because you worked hard for your riches. That's what it seems like it's saying. But yeah, we all know that's not true. So how do we interpret Proverbs in light of the rest of the Bible? This is where the fear of the Lord comes in. So this is what we're talking about. These verses, this is just one example with the example of money, it's an example of what people call retribution theology. An easier way to say that is tit for tat. You do this, you get this. You do the right thing, you get the right thing. You do the wrong thing, you get the wrong thing. You give your first fruits, your barns will be filled with plenty. You work hard, you will be rich. There it is. That's what the word of God says, right? Well, that's retribution theology. That's the tit for tat world. But think about this in light of the Bible, or even just other books in the Old Testament. Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes are the main, what we call, wisdom books. Now, I'm guessing you've read Ecclesiastes. What's the main point of Ecclesiastes? Just what's a general idea of what do you think Ecclesiastes is about? The vanity of possessions, yes. The vanity of everything in life. Yeah, and do you know how Ecclesiastes ends? What is the main instruction? Chapter 12, Tony? Fear God, yeah. So, Solomon in Ecclesiastes spends all his time being diligent to get rich. He's doing what chapter 10, verse four says in Proverbs. But, He says, it's all chasing after wind. In Ecclesiastes 9 verse 11, he says, I saw that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. So he's saying there, life's not fair. You might be the fastest runner and not win the race. You may be the hardest worker and you won't get rich. You might be the most intelligent and not get the riches you deserve. Life isn't fair. Life is full of vanity. And so his conclusion, Tony was referencing in chapter 12, verse 13, fear God and keep his commandments. There it is. Life is vanity. Yes, you can pursue riches and it can all run through your fingers. So what should you do? Fear the Lord. So it's the same message the Proverbs gives us. So how does Proverbs fit with Ecclesiastes? Well, Ecclesiastes helps us to understand, yes, there's a general principle that if you work hard, if you are generous, God usually blesses those things. And usually, for many people, that can help you, that, you manage your money well. I'm not saying you're gonna get rich necessarily, but you will have what you need. You'll be provided for. And so there's a general principle, but Proverbs is also telling you that working hard without the fear of the Lord will definitely bring you vanity. It doesn't matter. So yes, work hard, be diligent, but remember Ecclesiastes. Remember your creator in the days of your youth. Fear God and keep his commandments. Well then we also have Job. How does Proverbs fit with Job? So what's the main point of Job? Anybody wanna offer an idea? How would you summarize the main point of Job? Tony? Okay, good. So God's people suffer. Yeah, suffering isn't a big thing happening in Job. Good. Anybody else wanna? Yeah, Chris. Yep, so the sovereignty of God over both prosperity and difficulties, trials. Yeah, well, all of that is related to what I would argue is the main point, which is the fear of the Lord is wisdom. Wisdom is found in fearing the Lord. Job 1 verse 1 says, Job was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. So Job feared God. Now if you read Proverbs 10 verse 4, if Job feared God, he must have been a diligent man and he was gonna be rich. Well he was very rich, but then what happens in the book of Job? Of course he loses everything. So if you fear God, you could also lose all of your riches. And then, you know, in the book of Job, he's got his friends who come along. And these friends, I think, are representing wisdom. Wisdom, not God's wisdom, but wisdom that the world offers. Wisdom that people who aren't looking at things through the fear of the Lord, they will try to offer their wisdom. And basically what Job's friends give is this retribution theology, this tit for tat theology. Job, if these bad things are happening to you, you must have done something wrong. Because doesn't, doesn't the Bible say, doesn't God say that he blesses those who obey him, who fear him? So there must be something wrong with you, Job. And we interpret Proverbs like we're Job's friends, okay? We interpret Proverbs as do the right thing, right thing will happen. Do the wrong thing, wrong thing will happen. If the wrong thing happened to you, it must be because you did the wrong thing. And that's being like Job's friends. But here's what Job says right in the middle of his book. This is Job 28. First, he's giving this speech and he says in verse 12, where is wisdom to be found? That's his question. That's the question of the book. Where is wisdom to be found? And then he says in verse 28 of Job 28, behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. So you see, the answer of Job is the same answer as the book of Proverbs. They're not contradictions. The fear of the Lord is wisdom. And when we get to the end of the book, what we're seeing is that Job understands better the sovereignty of God, and that leads him to a better fear of God. Job feared the Lord, but now he really fears the Lord. Now he really understands the Lord, and now he is in awe of God. And so Job becomes a wiser person. So, Ecclesiastes, fear the Lord. Proverbs, fear the Lord. Job, fear the Lord. Ecclesiastes says you can fear the Lord and all go running through your fingers. That's quite possible. The fastest person doesn't always win the race. Job says you can fear the Lord and you can go through a lot of suffering. That's very possible, you might end up being that person. Proverbs says, fear the Lord, and here's some practical advice about how to work hard and be diligent, but you need to understand Proverbs in light of these other books. Yes, work hard, but understand that the most important thing is to fear the Lord. Why do you want to live this wise life? Why do you want to be generous? Why do you want to work hard? Is it because you want to get rich? Well, that's vanity. But if you fear the Lord, then it makes sense. You wanna work hard, Because it honors God. You wanna not be lazy, you wanna control your tongue, because these are the things that honor God, and you live in the fear of Him. Now, if we actually go back to Proverbs, we actually see these things being taught, the non-retribution theology. So look at Proverbs 13, verse 23. 1323. It says, the fallow ground of the poor would yield much food, but it is swept away through injustice. That sounds like Ecclesiastes. There's fertile ground that a poor person owns, And something happens, and it just all gets swept away. Some rich man comes and snatches it up, takes it for himself. The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. That's not fair. Or taxes increase. So the poor man, he's got this great ground, and he's so excited. And his crops start to grow. And he says, yes, finally a good year. And then the government comes in. Taxes are up this year and takes it all. That's injustice. That's how life works. So that's one example. We also have in Proverbs these statements of better than, better than. So look at chapter 16, verse 16. 16, 16. How much better to get wisdom than gold? To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver. So that's interesting, isn't it? There must be people who get wisdom who don't get gold. There must be people who have understanding who don't get silver. And so he's saying there, if you have the choice, If you have to choose, you choose wisdom over riches. So you can't interpret all the other Proverbs about money. If I do this, I'll get rich. Well, even in Proverbs itself, we have this example. You can be wise and not get rich, and if that choice is in front of you, choose wisdom, because you need to fear the Lord. That's what's more important. Similar verse in chapter 28. Chapter 28, verse six. Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways. So there's Ecclesiastes again. Yeah, you can get rich. You can get rich by being crooked. You don't get rich just by working hard. So yes, work hard, fear the Lord, but better to walk in integrity and be a poor man. So when Proverbs 12, 21 says, no ill befalls the righteous, that can't mean bad things never happen. If you just do everything Proverbs says, if you just live a wise life, no ill will ever befall you. But it is saying a wise life generally brings blessings and generally will keep you out of a lot of trouble and so you should do it. So fear the Lord. That's what matters. That is what's absolutely necessary. That's what Proverbs is trying to bang into our heads more than anything else. So you might get rich if you fear the Lord or you might not. You might suffer, you might not. But why should you do what Proverbs says? Because it's better. It's better for you to work hard and fear the Lord. And it's better for you to give generously and to fear the Lord than to not do that. We talked last week about training up your child in the way he should go. Well, so that's not a promise, right, that your children will become Christians. So then why should you do that? Why should you train up your children in the right way? Well, because it's better than not doing it. What if you don't train them in the ways of the Lord? There's a lot higher chance, right, that they won't become Christians. Of course, we know that God elects his people, but God uses his means. God will bless the means. And so, you raise your children in the Lord because it's better than not doing that. So, Proverbs is not a bunch of steps of a self-help book that you will turn out successful if you do all these things. If you live honestly, you live with integrity, Proverbs tells you the same thing that Job is telling you. There's still a chance that you will be mistreated, you will suffer. So we can't read Proverbs in light without considering what these other books of the Bible tell us. Now, just as we close, one person says, well, why do we so often tend to read proverbs like that? Like, why do we so badly want to interpret these as, I do the right thing, I get the right result? Well, he says, The thought that success or failure of our lives is ultimately beyond our control is distressing, to say the least. It's frightening to know that we can do our best to follow the way of wisdom and still end up suffering. So that's why we need the Book of Job, we need Ecclesiastes. And we need to read Proverbs the right way. We so badly want to believe that these are promises, right? Because I want to be in control of my life. I want to be able to do the right thing so that I can get a good result. And it's sad and it's scary to know that I could do all the right things and still suffer. And so that's why we need the better than Proverbs idea. Better to live a wise life, even if it means I suffer. Better to walk in integrity, even if it means I end up poor. Better to fear the Lord. Let's pray for God to help us to do that. Lord, our God, we thank you for your word. Thank you for this book of Proverbs full of wisdom. We thank you, Lord, for the world that you have created, that you have set up and you have revealed to us how it works. And so we are not without a guide. We pray that you would help us to learn better and better what this book teaches us. Help us to live this wise life. Above all, Lord, we pray that you would help us to fear you. Help us to fear you and be in awe of you, not because of what we might get out of it. not because we desire our own prosperity, but because you are God, you are worthy, you are full of majesty, and you have created us for yourself and for your glory. The sin in our hearts, Lord, desires to To think greatly of ourselves, help us to be humble before you. Help us to walk in integrity and in fear. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.