The Big Picture Proverbs 8 continues the opening section of the book, the purpose of which is to instruct the young and simple to embrace wisdom and to persevere on its path. In this chapter, wisdom is personified first as a woman calling out to give understanding and subsequently as a workman intimately beside God at creation. In this we learn about wisdom’s accessibility along with her immense importance. Read Proverbs 8:1-36. Does anything surprise you? Breaking Things Apart Proverbs 8:1-5: In these verses wisdom is portrayed as readily available. Personified as a woman, Lady Wisdom places herself at the most traversed area of the community. As we’re reading it together consider the following questions: • In what ways does wisdom call and understanding raise her voice? How might the rest of the passage answer this question? Proverbs 8:6-9: As we’re reading it together consider the following questions: • How might Lady Wisdom’s truth be perceived as straight? • Conversely, how might it appear as crooked or twisted to those who won’t embrace it? Proverbs 8:10-11: Read Psalm 73:1–3, 25 and 1 John 2:15–17 below along with Proverbs 8:10–11. Based on these passages, what sort of desires can so easily mute the voice of wisdom? Psalm 73:1–3, 25 1 Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. 2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. 3 For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. Proverbs 8:12-21: Describing what wisdom hates (and therefore what the Lord hates) calls us to examine our heart, to guard it in the ways of wisdom, to walk in accord with what the Lord loves, and to seek wisdom for every aspect of life. • What aspects of Lady Wisdom’s appeal work to instill a hatred of evil in students of wisdom? Proverbs 8:22-31: In these verses the imagery of “Lady Wisdom” begins to be dispensed in favor of Wisdom being a master “workman” alongside God at creation. As we’re reading it together consider the following questions: • What do you think it means that God “possessed” Wisdom at the beginning of his work? • What word or phrase would you use to describe Wisdom’s work in creation? • What does this teach about the practical benefits of obtaining wisdom for day-to-day life? Excursus: Christ, the Wisdom of God One of the stunning things about the latter half of Proverbs 8 is that the New Testament leans heavily on its portrayal of Wisdom in describing Christ. Shooting from the hip, how might Proverbs’ depiction of wisdom explain Christ’s identity to us? See John 1:1–3 & Proverbs 8:22-23 See Colossians 1:15-17 & Proverbs 8:27-30 It’s been said that the Old Testament is revealed in the New Testament, while the New Testament is concealed in the Old Testament. In other words, what is not entirely clear in the Old Testament becomes clear in the light of the coming of Jesus Christ. That’s what’s going on in Proverbs 8. The New Testament declares that Jesus is the one, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col 2:3). Or as St. Paul puts it in 1 Cor 1:24, Christ is “the wisdom of God.” Therefore, as you read Proverbs, hear the voice of your Redeemer. As the eternal Word and Wisdom of God, these are his Words for you. Proverbs 8:32-36: Given Wisdom’s lofty identity, the gravity of this concluding appeal is understandable to say the least. How does seeing wisdom’s connection to Christ, add weight to the author’s words here, especially verses 34-36? Application What are some practical ways this week you can take seriously Wisdom’s appeal in Proverbs 8? Paraphrasing verse 34, how might you listen to her, watch at her gates, and wait beside her doors? And how might those activities bring you blessing, life, and favor from the Lord? *This entire lesson has been adapted from https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/course/knowing-the-bible-proverbs/#week-4-wisdom-personified-81-36 and the Lutheran Study Bible at cph.org

A sermon on Luke 17:5-6

Proverbs Session 3 The Big Picture In the first eight chapters of Proverbs, we find a series of appeals from a father to his son, issuing a call to participate in the benefits of a life governed by wisdom. A young man can choose either the path of the wise, which is characterized by the fear of the Lord, or the path of folly, which entails a rejection of God’s ways. The paternal appeals in chapters 1–8 set out in poetic form the themes that will appear in the proverbs proper in subsequent chapters. Breaking Things Apart Proverbs 1:8-19: This first paternal appeal is a warning against those who promise profit by taking advantage of others. As we’re reading it together consider the following questions: • Though sinful, what are some immediate benefits of the sinners’ enticements that might make them quite tempting? • What are some contemporary everyday examples of being “greedy for unjust gain?” • How might this path “take away the life of its possessors?” Proverbs 2:1-22: As we’re reading it together consider the following questions: • According to verses 6-8, what aspects of God’s character will be discovered by those who pursue wisdom? • In verses 9-22, how does wisdom benefit those who find it? • How does Proverbs’ vivid description of the “forbidden woman” in verses 17-19 accurately describe giving ourselves in to any sin? How might such a picture aid you in temptations? Proverbs 3:1-12: In this third parental appeal, we’re given the benefits of walking in wisdom. Verses 3–4 are a call to safeguard the love and life that God gives us; verses 5–8 teach the necessity of humility, which is firmly anchored here to trusting the Lord; verses 9–10 guide the hearer or reader to acknowledge in practical ways that everything comes from God’s hand; and verses 11–12 are a call to submit to God’s discipline. As we’re reading it together consider the following questions: • Rewards of success, health, and prosperity are held forth for obeying the instruction in this passage. Are these rewards always experienced in tangible ways? How should we best understand them? • Reread verses 5-6. Have you ever experienced this yourself or seen it in others? Proverbs 3:21-35: The fourth appeal encourages the one who finds wisdom to guard it, knowing that the Lord sustains and secures the path of the righteous. At the center of the appeal is a series of commands (vv. 27–31) prohibiting actions that violate love of neighbor and incur the Lord’s displeasure. As we’re reading it together consider the following questions: • What are some ways we lose sight of “sound wisdom and discretion?” How can we protect ourselves from this tendency? • What do you think verses 27-28 are talking about? See Lev. 19:13 & Deut. 24:15-16. • What might be a modern of example of “contending against a man for no reason?” Be honest… have you done this to your spouse? • Have you ever caught yourself envying “a man of violence?” Why? • Read James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5–6; and Psalm 138:6 below. Taken together with Proverbs 3:34, what do these passages reveal about the folly of pride? “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” -James 4:6 “Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you’” -1 Peter 5:5-6 “For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar.” Psalm 138:6 “Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor.” -Proverbs 3:34 Proverbs 4:1-9: In the fifth appeal to wisdom, we’re given a beautiful picture of a father passing down wisdom to his child. In its words we discover that the child is receiving wisdom from two preceding generations. As you’re reading consider the following questions: • In what ways have you received God-centered wisdom from your family? • Have you been intentional about passing it down to your own children or other children in your church? • Read Deuteronomy 6:4–7 and Psalm 78:1-8; Matthew 19:13; and Ephesians 6:1–4 below. How do they deepen your understanding of the significance of the theme of this passage? Adapted from https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/course/knowing-the-bible-proverbs/#week-3-a-fathers-invitation-to-wisdom-18-727

A sermon on Luke 16:19-31

Proverbs Session II

A sermon on Luke 16:1-9