Please turn in your copies of God's Word to the book of Proverbs. It's not a difficult one to find, just after Psalms. And we will read Proverbs chapter 1, verses 1 to 7. This is God's Word. The Proverbs of Solomon. son of David, king of Israel, to know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing in righteousness, justice, and equity, to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth, Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance. To understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. So when it's the reading of God's word, let us pray to the Lord once again. Oh, Lord, we come before you acknowledging our lack of wisdom and our complete and absolute dependence upon you. But we come in the pure promise that you give wisdom to those who ask. And so, Lord, we come searching and seeking that we may find. Lead us to Christ, who is the very fount and storehouse of all knowledge. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. In one of Shakespeare's stage plays, a character remarks that all the worlds upstage and all the men and women are merely players. Well, life can certainly feel like a stage play at times, can't it? Life is anything but uncomplicated Life is challenging and sometimes in our lives we can have more than our fill of drama and suspense, maybe even a little bit of comedy and horror thrown in. Life is muddled and messy, and throughout our lives we find ourselves presented with difficult challenges and decisions that we need to make in order to pass through and get to the next stage of our lives. Like riddles to be solved, these big decisions of life, and even the little decisions of life, take time and effort and energy to think through and to ponder. And the answers are not always obvious. Even after we've sought the counsel of others and we've considered what God's word says, it often isn't easy or obvious the right path we're to take. The law of God, both written on our hearts as well as on the pages of scripture, provide us with a framework for life. It gives us the rule by which we are to live and obey God. And we love his law, and we seek to live by it. The law of God by itself is insufficient for life. For example, the law lays down the duty of children to honor parents. That's something that's clear. Easy, right? Well, what about the case of the teenager who's saved and she's converted and she comes to know the Lord and she joins the local church? But then her unbelieving parents give her a lot of grief and tell her, no, you should be out spending time with your friends and socializing, or you should be studying for the next exam. How does she navigate her duty to honor the Lord and the Lord's day while also respecting her parents? The Lord tells us to set apart the Lord's day for his worship. But the law under the new covenant doesn't spell out all the things we can and cannot do. It tells us what we can do. It doesn't lay out all the things that we cannot do or how we go about our days. How do we honor the Lord's day while also not turning into Pharisees and judging others and sucking the joy out of the day through all these extra regulations whether for ourselves or for others. What about when the adult son has taken up a blatantly sinful sexual relationship? How do his parents relate to him? How do they navigate that? Do they cut him off? Do they try to reach out? What do they even say? How do they relate to his partner? Life in this fallen world is hard, and life in this fallen world is a lot less black and white than we often think or hope it will be. And we're met with all kinds of complex situations that don't have easy or obvious solutions. And as I've shown, the law of God alone doesn't dictate. what we're to do in this situation or that situation. For that, you need wisdom. You need wisdom to wisely and carefully and winsomely navigate all of the trials and obstacles and challenges of life. And the good news for you, dear Christian, is that Christ is not only the righteous law keeper and the righteous law giver, he is also the wise one who gives wisdom to those who ask him. And that's what this book of Proverbs is all about. Like a father taking his son by the hand and training him and teaching him, so the Lord takes our hand and leads us in this way of wisdom. Proverbs trains us to think well, so that when we're faced with these difficult challenges of life, We take the right steps, we go to the Lord in prayer, we seek his word, we seek guidance and counsel and wisdom, and we draw near to the Lord. And that's really the highest goal of Proverbs, of wisdom, of life itself, to walk closely with the Lord all of our days, living and doing all things to his glory. So this evening, as we consider these opening verses of this glorious book, we will ask the following questions. What is wisdom? Who needs wisdom? And where does it come from? So what is it, who needs it, where do we get it? So first, what is wisdom? Well, the book of Proverbs, as you see, opens with this superscription in verse one there. And a superscription is basically like the title page of a modern book. It usually gives you who the author is and what you're reading, the book itself, the genre. And that's what we find here with Proverbs. We have this superscription, which provides us with the author and with the genre, Proverbs. So we're told that these are the Proverbs of Solomon. Solomon, of course, was David's son. And you remember, as we read earlier, how Solomon had asked the Lord for wisdom, and then the Lord answered his prayer and made him wiser than all of the sages of his day. So Solomon then is the key author Or better still, we might call him the key collector of these proverbs. Solomon, of course, didn't kind of sit down in his study one day and decide to write out all of these proverbs. No, he collected them. Many, certainly, he wrote himself over the years as he reflected on the wisdom God gave him. But proverbs is a collection. As verse six indicates, he collected many proverbs from otherwise men and women whom he had contact with. At least six sections and proverbs are attributed to other authors. such as Augur in chapter 30 and Lemuel in chapter 31. Since Proverbs are often common grace observations about how the world works, such as consider the anti-sluggard, Proverbs, we shouldn't be surprised if that Solomon even drew some Proverbs from the wisdom collections of the Egyptians, the Sumerians, and the Akkadians. Solomon and others would have collected these and filtered them through for use in this book for Israel. So all of that to say, Proverbs is a Solomonic collection, an anthology of wise sayings carefully selected for use in Israel as their canon of scripture. So that's the author. Next, the genre. What is a proverb? I'll point out a number of attributes of a proverb. A proverb is a statement that expresses a general truth or a piece of wisdom. They provide insights into the way the world around us works and how we can live well in that world. Proverbs are typically based on the experience of older generations. Proverbs often use vivid imagery and metaphors and comparisons to illustrate their point. Proverbs are usually terse, pithy sayings. In other words, they say a lot in just a couple of words. And for that reason, they need to be read slowly and reflectively. Consider this one. Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife. There's imagery, there's comparison, and there's richness that requires us to slow down and smell the roses, as it were, and ponder on our own lives. Proverbs are not promises, but are general truths. In other words, proverbs direct us to behavior that generally will lead to good life, all things being equal. For example, train up a child in the way he should go. Even when he's old, he will not depart from it. This is not a guarantee that if you discipline your child or you correct him in a certain way or her in a certain way that you're guaranteed that they'll turn out well. We all know exceptions to that rule. But it is a general rule. It is a general truism. But it's not a promise. Proverbs are not one size fits all. They are tailored for specific situations and specific circumstances. To use a proverb well, you must both interpret the proverb and the situation that you're in. Just carelessly spouting off proverbs that you've memorized does not make you a fount of wisdom, though we might like to think that. Proverbs itself warns against doing that very thing. Like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of fools. So even as we apply and quote the Proverbs, we need wisdom just to do that. So that's the authorship and the genre. In verse two, we get to the purpose of the Book of Proverbs. Its purpose is for us to know wisdom. Well, what is wisdom? Wisdom can be defined as living skillfully. It's the art of living well in the world around us. To have wisdom certainly includes having a knowledge of the way things work, the way the world works, but wisdom takes knowledge a step further. Wisdom practices that knowledge. For example, in Exodus chapter 28, the men who were tasked with crafting the tabernacle were said to be wise. This word for wisdom is also used in other contexts, like diplomacy and war and government. So wisdom isn't just having knowledge stored in your brain, but it's having the ability to, in a variety of situations, to be able to kind of call it to hand, to act in ways that are skillful, to make sound judgments so as to live well. That's what wisdom is, and as you can see in our passage, the author gives us a plethora of words that all unfold and unpack what wisdom means and what it looks like. The next word in verse two is instruction. And it appears again in verse three. This word for instruction, this is the kind of instruction that a parent gives to a child or God gives to us. That's the way it's typically used in the Old Testament. And so perhaps a better translation might even be correction or discipline. And thus, to grow in wisdom means that you must undergo correction and discipline. like a child with his parents. You know, some of the things that we often say is that, you know, why is common sense so rare? Why is common sense so uncommon? Well, if you've ever wondered that, if you've ever wondered why there isn't more kind of general common sense wisdom in the world, this is why. People do not like correction and they do not like discipline. To open yourself up to wisdom is to open yourself up to discipline and correction. It's to admit that you need correction, that you've made a mistake, that you don't have it all figured out. To undergo correction means that you've made some poor choices that need to be corrected. To undergo discipline means that there's something that needs to change about your life, the way you've been living, the way you've been doing a certain thing or avoiding a certain responsibility. This isn't very popular today, is it? I mean, we like, and society likes to tell other people how they should live and the way they should do things, but nobody wants to be corrected by someone else. But if we desire wisdom, then we must pass through the gateway of discipline and correction. But this isn't all hard news because this is also an encouragement to us. What it means is that the wise man or the wise woman isn't being presented by Solomon or the Book of Proverbs as someone who is faultless and perfect, that somehow you have to attain a level of perfection in order to be wise. No, here, the wise man, the wise woman, is one who, when they make mistakes, they receive correction, they receive rebuke. They desire that discipline, and they're willing to grow. And this correction, in turn, keeps them from making the same mistakes again and again and again. Already we see that the way of wisdom isn't necessarily the easy path. It's not the path of least resistance. We might come to Proverbs hoping that somehow maybe this evening and through the series we'll hear some life hacks that will make life easier so that we'll get the same outcome but with less effort. That's not what Proverbs promises. No, Proverbs calls us to effort and discipline and hard work in the short term, but that which will lead to long-term benefits and to living a good life. There's so many areas that this applies to. In the moment, it's easier to ignore the counsel of others, isn't it? It's hard in the immediate to admit you're wrong. But look at the fruit of learning from rebuke, learning from correction, learning from discipline. You avoid those mistakes and those potholes down the road. You're saved. from further folly. It's easier in the morning to hit the snooze button for the third time, isn't it? That's the immediate gratification. What's the long term of doing that day in and day out? You'll be lazy, and you'll lose your job, and you won't be able to retire one day. And so as hard as it is, perhaps, to get up the moment the buzzer goes off, that pattern and habit of getting up and working hard will yield the fruits of work and, Lord willing, hopefully to be able to retire someday. And so this way of wisdom is a way of correction and discipline, though hard at first, promises and leads to a profitable life when saved from much folly. Proverbs continues unfolding the meaning of wisdom. It continues to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing. Words of insight and wise dealing are similar concepts. To be insightful or to deal wisely has the sense of recognizing the true nature of a situation or a circumstance. And it's being able to see in that moment how your actions or inactions will lead to different consequences. It's kind of being able to see ahead down the road. If I take course A, what will that lead to? If I take course B, what will that lead to? And so often we're met with those challenges where we have to make a decision in the moment. What are you gonna do? Something happens. And you don't have time to go and seek counsel or you don't have time to think and reflect and meditate. For example, You're in a conversation and the fool speaks. What do you do? How do you respond? Do you not answer the fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself? Or do you answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes? Which one is it? Well, that takes discernment and wise dealing, doesn't it? It takes wisdom to be able to read the situation and deal wisely in that situation. If your aunt has you over for dinner, and everything is undercooked, and the apple pie is undercooked, and everything is terrible, and she asks you, how was your meal? Well, there's a way to deal wisely, isn't there, in that situation. The bald-faced truth of it wouldn't be necessarily the wise thing to do. No, we need to deal wisely. We need to deal winsomely. And this really is an attribute of wisdom that we should all be aspiring to and yearning to grow in. Now certainly, some of us perhaps are, we could say, maybe less winsome in ways than others. Some of us are perhaps more brash or outspoken than others. And as you know, we have personality differences. We're not all the same. And yet, We cannot resign ourselves to a kind of a carefree, callous, bull in a china shop kind of approach with people and then just excuse ourselves by saying, well, that's just kind of the way I am. No, that isn't just the way you are. Proverbs says you're being foolish. If you refuse to deal wisely and winsomely, you're choosing the way of folly. It's a lack of wisdom. It's a moral flaw. It's not a personality trait. And therefore we must pursue this gift and hand that's extended out to us, this wisdom to deal wisely. Well, next we see some of the goals of wisdom. Verse three, it's for wise dealing in righteousness, justice, and equity. True wisdom pursues righteousness and justice and equity. It only ever employs itself in and for the good of others. Now, why does it say this? Well, it says it because there's a bad kind of wisdom, isn't there? In Genesis 3, Satan is said to be wise, as he manipulates Eve into doing something he wants her to do, something sinful. Or remember from 2 Samuel how Ahithophel, one of David's advisors, is said to be the wisest man in Israel, and that when Ahithophel spoke, it was like God himself was speaking. And what did he do? He betrayed David, and he used his wisdom to plot and scheme David's downfall and horrible things on David's palace roof. These verses remind us that some people can be very skilled in leadership, in oration, in rhetoric. They can have great people skills. They can have a great understanding of how the world works and how to grease the wheels of progress, so to speak. And there's nothing wrong with leadership skills and people skills and all of those things. But the point being is that the wisdom can be employed for wicked ends. And we've all met people like that. Maybe perhaps you work with someone like that who's very capable as a leader, very capable with people skills, those kinds of things. But you see them working and manipulating others. Not for the good of the company, not for perhaps your good or the good of others, but in order to get their own way and push their own agenda. That is wisdom to wicked ends, just like Satan, just like Ahithophel. But here, Proverbs shows us that As servants of the Lord, we are to pursue wisdom in the fear of the Lord, which means only employing this skill for living in service to lady wisdom and not to lady folly, because true wisdom seeks justice and equity. So all of these terms that we've considered and those yet to come, they all fill out the picture and unfold that concept of what wisdom is. Through Proverbs, your heavenly Father wants to take you by the hand and to teach you wisdom, which is the skill of living well. Well, if this is what wisdom is, secondly, who needs it? Who needs wisdom? Well, wisdom is for young people. Look at verse four. To give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth. Now, simple here doesn't mean simple with an intellectual deficiency, nor does it imply a moral deficiency. Rather, it means someone who is perhaps naive, someone who doesn't have a lot of understanding of the way the world works. They don't have a lot of experience. Another way we could phrase it is juvenile. And young people, children in particular is who I'm thinking of here, are juvenile. And that isn't a flaw. That's simply their stage of development. But it becomes a flaw, doesn't it, when someone advances in years but does not advance in wisdom and does not get beyond that juvenile behavior and life, then it is a flaw. But regardless, Proverbs promises to give the simple and naive prudence. This word for prudence is the very same word used of the serpent in Genesis chapter three. There, the serpent used prudence, or he used wisdom, in an evil way, in a way that was cunning and shrewd. And he did that to the detriment of Eve and Adam. But here, the sense, though it's the same word, the sense is obviously having prudence in a God-fearing way, in a way that's prudent and cunning and careful. Being prudent then is the opposite of being juvenile or naive. The naive person is easily tempted by the foils of the devil. The naive person is easily led astray into the forbidden woman's home, et cetera. Just as Eve was naively lured into temptation and sin by the serpent, the naive one runs and falls into the traps of the enemy. But Proverbs gives prudence to the simple, so that, not so that they set traps as Satan did, but so that they avoid the traps of the evil one, and thus are spared much harm. That other word, that next word, discretion, reinforces this. It is the idea of being able to think, plan, purpose, and devise. And so it's the ability to stay ahead of the game, as it were, to be a couple steps ahead of the enemy, and so avoid the lures of the evil path. So wisdom, both prudence and discretion, is for the young. Children, that means that wisdom is for you. The Lord wants you to grow and mature in this virtue of wisdom. So be encouraged then to read the Proverbs and think about how they apply to your life. You may think that you don't have big problems like your mom and dad do. You may not have to worry about things like paying the bills or unplugging the kitchen sink or getting the car checked up again and the oil changed and all the things that go along with that. But you do have challenges that are age appropriate, real challenges where you are required to act with wisdom, to deal wisely, to have prudence. Maybe you're having trouble getting along with a classmate at school. Maybe you're struggling to find the motivation to do your homework when you could be spending the nice sunny afternoons out playing with your friends who always seem to have less homework than you. Or maybe you don't see the point in saving money when you could just spend it and buy things you want now. There's all kinds of questions and decisions that you need to make, regardless of how young you are. Well, first, go to the Lord. Ask him for help. Ask him for wisdom. Draw wisdom from this book, from Proverbs. Seek wise counsel. Go to your parents, your grandparents, your mom, your dad, and say, I'm struggling with this issue. I want to live wisely in this area, but I'm just not sure how. Will you help me think about this? I want to live in the fear of the Lord. And I know that your parents and your grandparents, your pastors, your elders, will be so happy to help you to think through those things. Wisdom, children, is for you. Reach out and take it. Who else is wisdom for? Who else needs it? Verse five. Even the wise need wisdom. Let the wise hear an increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and the riddles. So it's not only the young, the kids, the inexperienced, the juvenile who need wisdom. No, even the wise, even those who are mature in the church, in society, wherever, need to pursue wisdom. And what is promised to them is that they will increase in learning, so the wise will grow wiser still, and they will obtain guidance, as well as greater understanding of other wisdom texts. Well, the fact that the very opening of Proverbs declares that even the wise need wisdom is such an important reminder for us, because it teaches us that we never outgrow our need for wisdom. No matter where we are in the Christian life, we always need wisdom, even as our brother so skillfully prayed for all of us in the various stages of our life, from young to old, for those who care for their parents, for parents caring for their young. We all need constantly that inflow of wisdom that the Lord gives. And so if we never outgrow our need for wisdom, we never outgrow our need for correction and discipline and prudence and wise dealing. And so one of the graces that we must cultivate alongside wisdom is humility. Think of humility and wisdom as two traveling companions walking side by side on the road of life together. You'll never see one without the other. And one will never progress much further than the other. Wisdom and humility go hand in hand. They stick together. Humility allows us to say yes, I need correction in this area." Or, yes, now that you say that, I see your point. It allows us to admit that we don't have life figured out and to seek counsel and to grow and to change. Just as the son humbly submits to his father's guidance, we must humbly submit to the teaching and correction of the Lord in the various forms that it comes to us. One of the blessings of our church is that we have both the resources and the workload to have interns, to have summer interns and to have year-long interns, and it's a wonderful thing we're able to do. And as I interview these men, these potential candidates for internships, of course, when I interview them, I want to get a sense of their giftedness. Have they some skill in being able to teach and preach? What experience do they have in the pulpit ministering God's word, out of the pulpit ministering God's word among God's people? Those sorts of things. But do you know what the key attribute I look for in them is? It's humility, it's this, it's humility. Is this man that I'm talking to, is he teachable? Is he willing to learn? Or does he have it all figured out? If he has it all figured out, well, there's nothing I can teach him in more ways than one. Is this man teachable? That is the question. Does he have humility? A man may be inexperienced, he may be less gifted, but if he's humble and he's willing to grow and he sees his need to grow, he will grow. That's the Lord's promise. But a man unwilling to learn, that is a dangerous place to be. The second half of verse seven says, fools despise wisdom and instruction. You see, the opposite of wisdom isn't naivety, it isn't being young and inexperienced. No, the opposite of wisdom, according to Proverbs, is folly. All of us need wisdom, it's only the fool who thinks he does not. and so he despises it to his own ruin. Therefore, beloved, let us not despise this great gift that God has given us in wisdom that he promises to give us in great abundance. Let us not think we're beyond our need to grow, but let us pursue this with humble hearts. Because whether you're young or old, whether you're male or female, whether you are a widow or married or single, we all need this. And so let us seek the Lord, that he might give it to us, and that we might have teachable hearts to receive it. Well, we've considered what wisdom is, we've considered who needs wisdom. Third then, where does it come from? In verse seven, Solomon gives us the most important verse of the entire book. If we miss this verse, we may as well not read any further. That sounds like hyperbole, it's not. This verse sets down the theological framework and foundation for everything beyond it. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Where does wisdom begin? begins with the Lord. This is the theological foundation of the entire book and the pursuit of wisdom itself. The Lord is the beginning of wisdom in the sense that he is the source of wisdom. There is no wisdom that we can have apart from him. If we want to grow in sanctification, if we want to grow in dealing well with others in and outside of the church, the source is God himself. But you say, I work with people and they seem wise. Sometimes maybe they make even wiser decisions than I do in certain areas. I see my boss, he's a good leader, he leads well. How is it that they have wisdom but they don't fear the Lord? Well, even then, the source of their wisdom is the Lord. The Lord gives wisdom to all people in certain measure through common grace. So even the unbeliever who deals wisely in some areas, he does so only because the Lord, the great giver and source of wisdom, has blessed him or her with that gift. And the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom Not as something you only need at the beginning, but then you advance beyond. Kind of like the fuel cylinders that fall off, the rockets that take off. They need it at the start, but then it kind of falls off, they don't need it anymore. No, wisdom. We never move beyond our need for God as a source of our wisdom. Just like the acorn that's planted in the soil, never truly leaves that soil, does it? No, no matter how tall the tree becomes, It is still dependent on the soil for the source. And so the fear of the Lord, the Lord himself, is the soil in which our wisdom grows. What does it even mean then to fear the Lord? Well, the phrase fear of God was a phrase very commonly used in the ancient world. The Greeks had this concept, the fear of God, the Romans did. Even today, Mormons and Muslims have a fear of God concept. But notice our text doesn't speak of the fear of a generic God or deity. The text doesn't even say God, Elohim. Actually, the text doesn't even say fear of the Lord, Adonai. What does it say? Notice how it's in all caps, in our ESV. The word this stands for is Yahweh. Yahweh is the special covenant name that the Lord revealed to Israel. By using Yahweh, we are being called to wisdom within the context of a covenant relationship. Thus, true wisdom doesn't come through the fear of a generic deity or some higher power or some lowercase g, whomever or whatever I choose that to be. No, wisdom comes as we fear Yahweh and we live before him as his covenant servants. To fear Yahweh, therefore, above all, means trusting him as our covenant God. The fear we have towards him, therefore, is not a servile fear, as a slave might fear a master if he displeases him and will receive a beating. Happened a lot in the ancient world. Nor is our fear of the Lord a fear of punishment or judgment, that if we step out of line, we're gonna be smacked and beaten down and punished. Or condemned, as a judge might condemn a convict. No, rather, within the covenant of grace, We relate to God as sons of our Heavenly Father. And so as a son to a father, we submit to Him. We humble ourselves before Him. And because He is our God, we love Him and we worship Him and we bow down before Him, revering Him. As we go through Proverbs, you will hear the voice of a father instructing his child. Like Proverbs chapter two, my son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments within you. And Proverbs 3, my son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments. When you hear that voice, dear Christian, that is the voice of your heavenly father, that is the voice of Yahweh, and you are the child he is instructing. And just as any earthly parent wants the absolute best for their children, so God wants the best for you. He wants to take you by the hand, to listen to his voice, to remember his words, and to walk in his ways. You are not saved or justified by your wisdom. You will not be justified on the last day based on how wisely you've lived. No, we are saved and justified by grace alone, through faith alone and the finished work of Christ alone. But having saved you and having called you and made you members of his covenant and being your covenant Lord, he desires to lead you and to grow you. in the way of wisdom to make you more like his son, the true and better son of David, the one greater than Solomon, the one in whom Paul says is stored all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And so, beloved, let us pursue this wisdom in the fear of Yahweh, our covenant God. And may Paul's prayer in Colossians 1-9 be our prayer. May you be filled with the knowledge of his will and all spiritual wisdom and understanding so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Let's pray. Our great God, the source of all wisdom and knowledge, the giver of all good things, we again come before you recognizing our need or lack. but also coming in confidence, for you are the covenant God who gives graciously and generously to his own. And so, Lord, give us wisdom that we might live wisely before you all of our days until that final day when we will be brought into eternity, where we will never sin again, never misstep, but we will be confirmed in that way of life. Lead us to Christ our Lord Jesus, in whose name we pray, amen.