God Speaks
A Contrast of Wisdom and Folly
Verse of the Day: “I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion. To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have insight, I have power.” (Proverbs 8:12-14 NIV 2011)
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Watch TBR Day 156
We Respond
Reflection: Consider the following questions regarding Proverbs 7-9:
1. What does this chapter tell me about God?
2. What does this chapter tell me about the human beings He created?
Here is one possible answer to each of these questions. Ask the Holy Spirit if there are any others for you personally to ponder.
Proverbs 7
1. God does not want His children to be led into sin. He forewarns those who will listen and pay attention.
2. People, especially the young, are often naïve, easily deceived, and led into destructive situations.
Proverbs 8
1. God used wisdom as He created the heavens and the earth.
2. People need wisdom in order to rule properly, to live in right relationship with each other and the world around them, and to prosper in all that they do.
Proverbs 9
1. God is the source of wisdom. Here God’s wisdom is portrayed as a gracious, wealthy woman inviting the naive to a banquet.
2. People, because of our sin nature, are attracted to folly, which is portrayed here as a rowdy woman who leads people to ruin and death.
Prayer
3. How might I pray regarding Proverbs 7-9?
Dear LORD God who teaches His children wisdom and showers us with grace, thank You. How I treasure Your commands. You enrich my life as I obey them. They are as precious to me as my eyes and fingers or as my family members. I secure them in my heart. They protect me from being led astray by an immoral woman or a flirtatious man. In Proverbs 7:6-27, You give a vivid example of how this kind of baiting could happen. Please help me follow Your loving instructions and be alert to such schemes. The woman made several statements and acted in ways that should have set off alarm buzzers if the young man had been paying attention to Your commands. The biggest was that she was married. If he had only remembered Your instruction not to commit adultery and walked away, he could have saved himself much grief. Holy Spirit, please bring relevant scriptures to mind when I am in similar situations and help me to act on them. Please don’t let me go down a path that leads to destruction and death. All-wise God, please teach me wisdom. Please help me and all the people I hold dear to turn to You to gain wisdom and the ability to control ourselves under Your direction. May our mouths speak only what You say is right and true, avoiding whatever is crooked or perverse. Possessing Your wisdom, O God, is more valuable than gold, silver, or precious jewels. The fear of the LORD is what will bring us good government, true riches, honor, enduring wealth, and prosperity, along with righteousness and justice. We need to apply wisdom in every area of life just as You used great wisdom in every aspect of creation. As we follow the path of wisdom, we will find delight in every day, rejoice in Your presence, and view the entire world and all of mankind with delight. May we be blessed by keeping to Your ways, listening to Your instructions, and finding Life and favor from You. May we hate evil and avoid death. Father God,You grant wisdom to Your children, if only we will ask. You have everything prepared for our benefit. You invite us to learn from You through Your Word the Bible. You invite us to a banquet where we will learn to leave behind our simple (ignorant and uninformed) ways and begin to live using good judgment. You warn us of mockers who will be offended, hate us, and lash out against us, but others who are wise will love us. May I recognize people who are wise and seek to learn from them. I want to grow in my knowledge and fear of the LORD: Your Word says that will result in good judgment. I want a good, long life and the other benefits of wisdom. I don’t want to suffer the consequences of the folly of ignoring or rejecting wisdom, You, and Your ways–going my own way, doing my own thing. Following Folly (who is no lady) only leads to disorder, destruction, and death. I do fear doing what displeases You because I love You, Father. I want to live fully in Your wisdom and bring You glory, LORD. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
4. What action does the LORD want me to take in response to Proverbs 7?
- I will ask God for wisdom, as Solomon did, so that I can make prudent decisions.
- I will study of the book of Proverbs to learn what God’s wisdom looks like.
- I will memorize Proverbs 9:10 to remind myself where wisdom comes from.
- I will fight evil by, instead, doing good to those who mock God, His people, or His ways and principles.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.