Proverbs 1:1-7
1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
2 for attaining wisdom and discipline;
for understanding words of insight;
3 for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life,
doing what is right and just and fair;
4 for giving prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the young-
5 let the wise listen and add to their learning,
and let the discerning get guidance-
6 for understanding proverbs and parables,
the sayings and riddles of the wise.
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
Luke 11:29-31
29As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. 30For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.
Related Text:
2 Chronicles 9:1-12
Proverbs 10:1
Proverbs 25:1
Jonah 3
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
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Solomon was the son of David and Bathsheba; yes, that David and that Bathsheba. He followed his family line, and became king of Israel following his father. He had great wisdom, wealth, and respect. But he also had his share of problems and mess ups, as so many people in the Bible have had. Although he appeared to “have it all”, he made some bad decisions by marrying ungodly women and allowing them to weaken his commitment to God.
Everyone lacks wisdom at some point. As you read through the proverbs, you will probably come up on some scripture that will make you think, “man, if Solomon could have followed his own wisdom and advice, he could have avoided some of his mistakes.”
So here’s what God has hit me over the head with this morning, and it’s going to be hard to admit to. What good does reading my Bible, asking for wisdom, learning about God’s commands and seeking His desire for my life; what good does all of that do if I never apply any of it to my life? What benefit is there if we read about loving the unlovable, but never actually love anyone who is hard to love? What difference do we make if we read about going everywhere and telling everyone about Jesus, but we never go anywhere or tell anyone about Jesus? What’s the point of spending time studying about serving others in Christ, if we use our freedom in Christ to do anything but serve others?
James 1:22-25 confronts us about this exact problem. “22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it-he will be blessed in what he does.”
As followers of Jesus, we must make His teachings real in our own lives. We must apply what we read in scripture, we need to live according to God’s perfect Word. Don’t hesitate any longer. Take your Bible study, take your personal time with God, take your corporate worship at church, take all of this to heart and live it out without pause or hesitation.
