Power of the Proverbs
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POWERINTHEPROVERBS The purpose of this handout is to help you work through the book of Proverbs in one month. This is a devotional that you can do one month per year or do every month. For millennia, the book of Proverbs has proved to be a fount of wisdom for God’s people. One does not have to have a seminary degree or many years of Biblical training to understand the book of Proverbs. For example, Proverbs 25: 17 says “Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house, Lest he become weary of you and hate you.” Now where can you get that type of wise sage advice in the modern world? Proverbs is written by the wisest man that ever lived, Solomon. In 1 Kings 3: 13 God tells Solomon, “Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you.” (ESV) If the wisest person ever known were to offer you free advice, would you at least listen to it? Here is someone who has tried and done nearly anything and everything possible (read Ecclesiastes). His insights not only represent God-given wisdom but are topped with the clarity that comes from living in a very real world. Instead of reading the latest self-help book why not read from wisdom that is God-given and has stood the test of time? When reading Proverbs remember that not all of the book contains short, concise statements. Proverbs 1:1-7 discusses the value of wisdom, and then chapters one through nine praise wisdom and talk about how to get it and live it. This material is very powerful but is not in the form of “one liners” that make us smile and think and then realize truth. In other words, they are not as “proverbial” as we might expect in Proverbs! The first section of actual proverbs begins in chapter ten and runs through 22:16. In this section of Proverbs you will find the short pithy wise sayings that will stay with you for some time. Those proverbs are broken at the end of chapter twenty-two through chapter twenty-four with longer discussions on the way of wisdom. Chapter twenty-five starts again with those powerful short proverbs, and they continue through the book’s end. My prayer is that this guide will help you in your daily devotionals and prayer time. Each day there is a chapter from Proverbs to read along with thoughts to go along with your reading. There are thirty-one days of readings and thoughts in this package. If the month only has thirty days, you will need to ‘double up’ somewhere along the way to stay on track. Each day in this devotion will have the text of the Proverb from the ESV, things to think about, a memory verse, and prayer suggestions. I hope this guide will help you grow wiser, and in that wisdom grow to love the One who gives us that wisdom. God bless, Chris Much of the devotional thoughts and prayer contemplations were developed by Mike Turner in his study on Proverbs – “A Word To the Wise.” Proverbs 1:1-33 DAY 1 1 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of 19 Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy Israel: for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its 2 To know wisdom and instruction, possessors. to understand words of insight, 20 Wisdom cries aloud in the street, 3 to receive instruction in wise dealing, in the markets she raises her voice; in righteousness, justice, and equity; 21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; 4 to give prudence to the simple, at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: knowledge and discretion to the youth— 22 “How long, O simple ones, will you love being 5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning, simple? How long will scoffers delight in their and the one who understands obtain guidance, scoffing and fools hate knowledge? 6 to understand a proverb and a saying, 23 If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out the words of the wise and their riddles. my spirit to you; I will make my words known 7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of to you. knowledge; fools despise wisdom and 24 Because I have called and you refused to listen, instruction. have stretched out my hand and no one has 8 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, heeded, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, 25 because you have ignored all my counsel 9 for they are a graceful garland for your head and would have none of my reproof, and pendants for your neck. 26 I also will laugh at your calamity; 10 My son, if sinners entice you, I will mock when terror strikes you, do not consent. 27 when terror strikes you like a storm 11 If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, blood; let us ambush the innocent without when distress and anguish come upon you. reason; 28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not 12 like Sheol let us swallow them alive, answer; they will seek me diligently but will and whole, like those who go down to the pit; not find me. 13 we shall find all precious goods, 29 Because they hated knowledge we shall fill our houses with plunder; and did not choose the fear of the Lord, 14 throw in your lot among us; 30 would have none of my counsel we will all have one purse”— and despised all my reproof, 15 my son, do not walk in the way with them; 31 therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, hold back your foot from their paths, and have their fill of their own devices. 16 for their feet run to evil, 32 For the simple are killed by their turning away, and they make haste to shed blood. and the complacency of fools destroys them; 17 For in vain is a net spread 33 but whoever listens to me will dwell secure in the sight of any bird, and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.” 18 but these men lie in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives. THINGS2THINKABOUT As you read the first Proverb, you’ll see two themes that run throughout the book. First, pay attention to “Wisdom.” The whole book, of course, is about wisdom; but the first Proverb sets the table for everything to follow. What do you think wisdom is? Where does it come from? How is biblical wisdom different from secular knowledge? Second, be sure you notice the key phrase, “Fear of the Lord,” that occurs in this first Proverb (you’ll find many more times throughout the book). What does that mean to you? How do you experience the fear of the Lord? What role do you think the fear of the Lord plays in your everyday life decisions? How can you cultivate a greater sense of the fear of the Lord in your heart? How do you balance the fear of the Lord with the invitation the Lord gives to us to know him as our loving heavenly Father? KEYMEMORY VERSE “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7) PRAYER SUGGESTION Wisdom isn’t a function of education or academic achievement – it’s a choice you make to look to God’s Word to guide your life decisions. Pray today that the Holy Spirit would so illuminate God’s Word in your heart that you will choose to obey it. Proverbs 2:1-22 DAY 2 1 My son, if you receive my words 12 delivering you from the way of evil, and treasure up my commandments with you, from men of perverted speech, 2 making your ear attentive to wisdom 13 who forsake the paths of uprightness and inclining your heart to understanding; to walk in the ways of darkness, 3 yes, if you call out for insight 14 who rejoice in doing evil and raise your voice for understanding, and delight in the perverseness of evil, 4 if you seek it like silver 15 men whose paths are crooked, and search for it as for hidden treasures, and who are devious in their ways. 5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord 16 So you will be delivered from the forbidden and find the knowledge of God. woman, from the adulteress with her smooth 6 For the Lord gives wisdom; words, from his mouth come knowledge and 17 who forsakes the companion of her youth understanding; and forgets the covenant of her God; 7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; 18 for her house sinks down to death, he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, and her paths to the departed; 8 guarding the paths of justice 19 none who go to her come back, and watching over the way of his saints. nor do they regain the paths of life. 9 Then you will understand righteousness and 20 So you will walk in the way of the good justice and equity, every good path; and keep to the paths of the righteous. 10 for wisdom will come into your heart, 21 For the upright will inhabit the land, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; and those with integrity will remain in it, 11 discretion will watch over you, 22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land, understanding will guard you, and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.