The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom, And before honor comes humility.   Proverbs 15:33

There are few people who do not want to be wise. The rub comes when they learn how to become wise. There is even a higher cost when you learn the method by which God will bring us to the point where we become wise.

The first thing we need to grasp is that wisdom comes from God. If men, in their experience of life, manifest wisdom - it is only because they have stumbled across it over the course of their lives. Even a blind squirrel will find a few nuts as he wanders underneath the trees. Wisdom is defined best as seeing things as God sees them. Therefore if we are going to become wise - we will have to respect God and what He has to say. That is the crux of what Solomon is saying here when he states that the fear of Jehovah is the instruction for wisdom. If we do not respect and reverence God - we are fools. If we do not honor Him and give Him the honor which He deserves, we will not be wise in the end.

We note here that the fear of Jehovah is the "instruction" for wisdom. The word for instruction here is the Hebrew word "musar" which means to instruct with discipline. This means far more than just learning something in our heads. This involves both mental instruction of the head - and discipline to make sure that what goes into our heads is then applied and carried out in our lives. This often involves some correction, pain, and difficulty as we have to learn to value God's perspective more than our own. This is the process of wisdom - and depending on how stubborn or prideful we are in holding to our particular perspective - how painful and hard it will be to become wise.

The last part of this proverb lets us know the one overarching principle that will apply throughout this entire process. "Before honor comes humility." Humans (at least fallen ones - and that means all of us) want the honor now. They want honor immediately. If we want the honor of other men and the world that may be possible. If we want the honor that comes from God and that is lasting - we will have to take a different path. Honor from God requires humility first. It is the humility that is willing to empty ourselves and lay our own will and ego down. This is what Christ Jesus did according to Philippians 2, and God requires nothing less of us. Oh how hard the human will goes down. But in order to be wise - and to receive honor from God - that is what we will have to do. But such wisdom and such honor is better than anyting billion things the world can offer us in the way of its trinkets and trash.

Want to be wise? Want lasting, eternal honor? Then wisdom is what you want. You will haae to first admit you don't have any - and then turn to the only One Who can give it to you. You will need to see your view of God raised infinitely higher - where you find His wisdom and guidance impeccable in every way. You will need to embrace His thoughts and working in your mind even in the most difficult times when honestly, it does not make sense. You will need to lay your own thoughts in the dust - until you learn that they are in agreement with His - then praise Him for enlighening your mind to have such thoughts. This is the way of wisdom - which is also the way of humility. But I can promise you by the Word of the Lord that this is also the way of true happiness, true contentment, and a true reward that will last infinitely beyond any trophy, any medal, any certificate, or any human reward that will fade and fade away with time.

He who withholds grain, the people will curse him, But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it. Proverbs 11:26

Today's proverb is fascinating to me because it addresses an abuse that often happens in the area of economics. This abuse, though a proven way to make money, results in the inflation of prices for food.  What has happened over the course of economic history is that when this is done - and it reaches a critical level in food prices - it leads to riots and in some cases the overthrow of a government. 

Our proverb speaks of one who has much grain.  Here is a man who has worked hard and labored to produce a crop on his farm.  As a result he has a large amount of grain.  He can choose to withhold grain from the people and not sell it.  By doing this he will drive the price of grain up due to a scarcity of grain in the market place.  This will make him very wealthy, but in time it will backfire on him.  The people, who need grain, will begin to curse him because his actions are preventing them from eating - or is making it to where being able to provide food is becoming very expensive.  The cost is not coming due to natural reasons such as a flood or drought or crop failure.  The added cost is coming due to a man's greed.  But for the man who sells his grain there will be a blessing - not just a financial one - but one from God Himself.  This proverb allows us to consider the whole area of how Biblical authority addresses economic theory.

In our day it is considered a wise business move to hold on to goods until they wind up in short supply.  This allows the person who has them to artificially inflate the price of what they sell so that they can make huge profits from it.  Such actions eventually become accepted business practices on larger levels so that embargos are used by nations to boost the price of their domestic products.  In time groups of businesses form consortiums that try to corner an entire market so that they can set the price wherever they want.  The government then steps in a tries to enforce what they call "social justice."  They impose restrictions on businesses so that things will be fair.  The problem is that in time the government oversteps their bounds and corruption within the government (due to the sin nature in all of us) begins to crystalize.  It is then that officials learn how to use their power to corner their own political markets and do the very thing they initially were trying to prevent in the public sector.  The problem throughout all this is that the poor are hurt the most by such practices. 

Some think wrongly that the end of all labor is to make money.  But Scripture militates against that philosophy.  God desires us to work hard and be diligent to make a profit - but - He also desires for us to be compassionate in the process.  This sets up a very interesting tension in life and in the economic theory that governs Bible-believing Christians.  At one end is the philosophy of pure Capitalism.  This philosophy functions under the idea that life is about the profit motive at all times.  But God warns against a "love of money" which He says is a root of all sorts of evil.  At the other end is Socialism and Communism.  This philosophy functions under the assumption that a government should rule over all land and production efforts.  Their goal is then to take all profits and distribute them equally to all the people.  Both of these extremes will fail.

Pure Capitalism will fail because greed will so rule men's hearts that they will lack compassion for others - and especially for the poor.  In time their greed will consume them with a desire for more and more profit - and an insatiable desire for more and more wealth.  In the process they will shut their hearts to the plight of the poor.  This will lead to greater levels of abuse of the poorest - who will then curse those who have the economic power - and will ultimately lead to revolution and the overthrow of those who have the wealth and power in society.

Communism and Socialism will fail because of greed as well.  Though such economic philosophies sound wonderful at the outset, they fail because of several factors.  First, there is no man who is not fallen.  When given the power to confiscate the wealth of a society, they will NOT distribute it equally.  They will eventually treat themselves well - and let the rest of society live on the rest.  This has happened in every situation when such an economic system prevails.  Their goals may sound lofty, but their practices wind up eerily similar to the captialist.  Second, there is no motive in this system to work.  Actually there is a motive - to do what you do for the good of all others in the collective society.  But this equates good as distributing things equally among all in the society.  This will not work in a fallen world because over time some will sinfully decide that if they don't work hard - or at all - they will still get an equal part of the collective pie.  Others who intially work hard - will be greatly discouraged that it is their hard work that is allowing the lazy, the undisciplined, and the slothful to live just as they do.  In time there will be an equality - but it will be an equality of poverty and want - because no one will be motivated to work to the best of their ability.  No matter how hard they work - they only get the same part of the collective's goods.  These will never be enough for collective prosperity because sinfulness will move many to barely work at all - or at a level where they are forced to work. 

The system God will bless is one that encourages and rewards hard work and industriousness.  This is captialism - but there must be a restraint in this system as well, if it is to succeed.  This is what I call "Compassionate Captialism."  It is a system where the profit motive and self-interest is encouraged.  But it is also a system that values compassion and kindness.  Where a profit and self-interest motive might move a man to withhold grain so he can make an obscene profit - he does not do it.  He is moved by the desire to serve those who buy his grain.  Understanding this he chooses to sell his grain - not just for a profit - but for a profit that also allows those who are poor to be able to afford to feed their families.  In the end, this man is blessed with profit - and also is blessed with the favor of God for acting with kindness and compassion toward those who can easily be taken advantage of by the system.  He chooses a wise profit level rather than one driven by greed alone.  This promotes peace and the welfare of all those in the market. 

It is fascinating to see the wisdom of God address all areas of life.  One would not readily think that the Word of God would be a good place to learn economic principles.  Yet when we read and mediatate on God's Word - immeasurable benefit is gained from it.  Oh, that we would not divorce academic pursuit from the queen of the sciences - theology.  May God gives us wisdom to see that His perspective is best in all academic and lifestyle pusuits.  Then we can be blessed - not just a religious context - but in all of life.

“Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at my doorposts.”   Proverbs 8:34

Wisdom had regaled us with tales of creation and what it was like to watch and be a participant in the very creation of all that God has made.  We have seen from Wisdom's statements and from an examination of the world around us, that we can trust Wisdom and what God says to us through His Word.  Now we hear Wisdom calling us to be a listener - to be one who watches and waits for what God has to say to us.  Just as God has been true about His creation of this world - so He is now calling us to listen to what He has to say to us about life itself - and how to live it.

Blessed is the man who listens to me.  This is God's promise of happiness for those who listen - who heed what He has do say.  The word for blessed means one who is happy.  The happiness experienced is not a transitory happiness based on getting our own way and living for what we want to live for day to day.  It is a happiness at a much deeper level - more than happiness.  This is about a deep-seated joy that comes from knowing and walking with God.  It comes from knowing Him - and knowing His blessing in our lives.  But this blessing is conditional - it is for those who listen to Him.  We need to open our ears and more than that, our hearts, to what God desires for us.  There needs to be more than basic hearing.  Let me explain with a less than gracious example from my own experience.

I am a guy - which usually means there are times I have "listening" issues.  My wife is very gracious in spite of my listening disorder.  There are times when she is talking to me (come to think of it - I also have four daughters who struggle with this "lack" of mine as well) that she will pause and ask me if I am listening to her.  My response is to repeat the last sentence she has just said.  This is not amusing to her at all.  She did not ask if I heard words that she was saying to me - she wanted to know if I actually listened to her.  This, my dear fellow males, means was I listening for the purpose of furthering our relationship.  Was I listening so as to hear more than just words - was I hearing her heart.  If I had honestly answered that question I would have had to say no.  I was not listening - I heard some stuff - but I was not really hearing with understanding.  I was not hearing to have a relationship.  To put it in a way that maybe we can understand - I was not truly "getting her."  That would have required listening.  It would have required zeroing in on what she was saying with an intent to know what she said, why she said it, and respond in an intelligent and caring way that expressed that I loved her . . . more than the football game that I was currently watching.  (Wow - that was far more cathartic than I thought.)

God wants us to LISTEN to Him.  He wants us to do two things each day.  First He wants us to be "watching at His gates."  The "gate" was the place where important decisions were made.  This was serious stuff - because it was at the gate that the wisest and most influential men gathered.  God wants us to listen and watch for the really important stuff in life.  We need to watch for Him - because He will give us guidance on the major decisions and major life choices that we face each day.  But he also calls for us to be "waiting at His doorposts."  What a wonderful picture that this is.  The doorposts referred to the opening of the house.  This speaks of two things.  First it speaks of intimacy - of a relationship where we can talk about everything in life.  God tells fathers to talk to their children in this way.  He wants us to speak to our kids when we get up and go to sleep each day.  He wants us to talk to them about Him when we go out and come in.  He also wants us to write on our very doorposts the Word of God - so that is what we see when we go out and come in.  This is every day life - and the wonderful blessing of having a friend with whom we can talk when we are going through our day. 

The second thing this points to is redemption.  We wait for God at the doorposts of our house.  This was the place where every year the Jewish family would put blood for the Passover.  This blood was left on the doorposts overnight.  Over time the obedient Jewish family would wind up with permanent blood stains on their door frame.  But oh what a wonderful picture this is of how we wait for God.  Wisdom reminds us that we are God's people.  We are bought with a price - and we are redeemed.  When we wait for Him here - we experience intimacy - but we also are reminded that we are intimate because we are redeemed.

Wisdom calls us to walk with and know God.  This is done in every area of our lives.  It is in the big stuff - and in the little stuff.  It is in the huge decisions that will direct our lives - but it is also in the little decisions that set the daily course of where we will walk today.  The thing wisdom asks of us is that we listen.  That does not mean being able to quote Bible verses by rote - but not really know what they mean.  Listening means coming before God and hearing Him with a bent to know His heart.  When we do that - we will see that this is the true way to a deep abiding happiness that will last throughout a lifetime.

"I walk in the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice, to endow those who love me with wealth, That I may fill their treasuries. Proverbs 8:20-21 

What is the way to wealth in this world?  Today many would see that wealth and earthly riches are attainable by any means possible.  People do very ungodly things in order to get rich.  Yet from what we see here in today's proverb, wisdom says that she wants to give wealth to those who walk in righteousness and justice.  So which way is it?  The world's way or wisdom's way?

First of all we read in this passage that wisdom walks in a righteous path.  The words used here indicate that wisdom always walks this way.  This is the very lifestyle of wisdom - to embrace and to walk in righteousness.  Therefore we can rightly assume that those who receive the wealth that wisdom endows also walk in this way.  Second, we read that wisdom also walks in the middle of the path of justice.  The idea here is not that wisdom is trying to walk in the middle - meaning that wisdom sees the path of justice as a tightrope - and that walking wise is a difficult path to follow because it involves walking with a balance.  The idea is that there is the road of justice - and wisdom drives right down the middle of it.  Wisdom does not hug to one side or the other of the road, trying to live as close to the edge as possible.  Instead, wisdom drives right down the middle - choosing the right way every time. 

Wisdom walks in this way so that she can offer to men true wealth.  When wisdom says this to us, we need to see that she says that she wants to endow those who love her with wealth.  The picture painted though is not that our eyes are on the wealth.  Our eyes are fixed on wisdom.  It is not money we love - it is wisdom.  The wealth that she gives us is simply an offshoot of living for her.  This is emphasized even further by the next statement made here - "that I may fill their treasuries."  For those fixated on wealth and money - they see money as the goal.  For those whose hearts are right - they see that wisdom herself is filling their treasuries.  The wealth is wisdom and her ways - wisdom and her paths - wisdom and the ability to walk and choose rightly and justly. 

Will wisdom gives us money?  There are times when this is true - when making a wise choice will help us immediately in the bottom line of our finances.  But there are other times when the right and just choice will negatively affect our immediate bottom line.  No matter which one it is - the man who truly walks in wisdom and seeks her and her ways is not fixated on his bank account.  He longs for wisdom herself.  He desires for the wisdom of God to fill the treasuries of his heart and mind all his days.  This is the promise of wisdom - not a greed-motivated desire for a fat wallet, but rather a love-motivated desire for the fullness of the mind of Christ as we make every decision of life. 

The wise will inherit honor, But fools display dishonor. Proverbs 3:35

Proverbs is all about the difference between the wise man and the fool.  It is one of the major themes throughout this book.  Therefore it should not be too suprising to see at the close of chapter three that we have a comparison between the wise and the foolish.  The comparison that we see shown to us is what these two are receiving for their choices.  The wise man receives honor - while the fool gets dishonor.  What is most interesting though is how these two ends are described for us. 

The wise man is said to "inherit" honor.  The Hebrew word "nahal" which is used here means to take property as a permanent possession.  This was the word that was used to describe how Israel was to receive the promised land.  The whole idea of inheritance also brings into focus that there is going to have to be a death for us to receive what God gives us.  This points us to the sacrifices that were made when the Mosaic covenant was established.  There was no covenant without blood - and without death.  But for us the death is not ours - but the death of the sacrifice made on our behalf.  Throughout the Old Testament that was the death and sacrifice of the animals upon which they had laid their hands and confessed their sin.  But this was just a picture of what was to come.  It was a picture of Jesus Christ who would take sin upon Himself and pay the full price for it.  As a result, we would be able to inherit salvation - and honor from God.  Truly, as the passage says, the WISE will inherit this honor.  This reminds us that the ultimate wisdom from God, as stated in 1 Corinthians 1:21-24 is Jesus Christ as Him crucified.  "For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.  For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."  The wise turn to Jesus - who is the wisdom of God unto us - as well as our righteousness and our redemption.

The fool though is said to "display" dishonor.  Here is a wonderful illustration of not just truth - but even of salvation and how we can know that we are saved.  The wise inherits honor, but the fool displays his dishonor.  Here we have a picture of the fool.  Since he has no wisdom by which he can be honored in God's sight - all he has left is to live out his days displaying the dishonorable way that he lives.  He shows forth what is in his heart - which is sin and dishonor.  He has no work of grace going on inside of him - which is part and parcel of why he lives the way that he does.  The lack of grace - the lack of salvation - the lack of wisdom - all will be disaplyed daily in a lifestyle that greives God.  Dishonor will be given to God in how he lives because he is lost.  So what we see throughout his life is not grace working to show honor - but foolishness and sin revealing dishonor. 

What do people see in us?  What are we revealing or displaying to the world around us.  If we were burnt in a fire - we would display the effects of the fire in our bodies for the rest of our lives.  If we worked out 3 hours a day - there would be a display in our muscles of the fact that we have done this.  What we see in the physical is also true in the spiritual realm as well. When we live by God's wisdom - or better said IF we live by God's wisdom - it WILL be seen in our lives.  We will display an honorable life.  If we are NOT displaying an honorable life, we should not lie and tell people we are living by His wisdom.  IF we are being a fool - and living by the principles of the world - we will display dishonor in our lifestyle.  If we are living in a way that dishonors the Lord - it is proof that we are living by foolish principles. 

There are many who ask the question, "How can I know that I am saved?" They may ask, "How can I know that I am doing God's will?"  They want some kind of definitive thing that they can do once and say they know that they are saved.  Yet God's Word tells us in a myriad of ways that the proof is in the lifestyle.  This does not mean that we are saved by works - because God's Word is clear that it is only by grace we are saved.  But . . . if there are no works - no change - no godliness - no living for God's glory and honor . . . we can honestly say that there is probably no salvation.  If there is a continued lifestyle that displays dishonor to God - and dishonor towards His Word - dishonor when it comes to a righteous life - then we can know that we are living as a fool - and honestly - we don't know God through the grace He has given us in Jesus Christ.

Do  not envy a man of violence And do not choose any of his ways. For the devious are an abomination to the LORD; But He is intimate with the upright. Proverbs 3:31-32

Ours is a society that is enamored with violence.  We glorify it daily in our entertainment mediums - movies, television, magazines, books, and newspapers.  It is interesting that we also try to sit in judgment on cultures like Rome, saying that they were barbaric in their gladiator games and other forms of public violence.  Yet, if we were to look at what we do and how we consume it - there is little difference in our two cultures. 

God says not to envy a man of violence or to choose any of his ways.  The word for violence is very telling in this passage.  It is the word "hamas" in the Hebrew - and it means to do violence or wrong.  The word implies not just violence - but also cruelty, damage, and injustice as well.  We are to stay away from people who are like this - who are violent - and whose violence is manifested in being cruel, unjust, and in doing damage to that which belongs to others.

The reason some might "envy" this violent man is because of the gain that it brings him in the short term.  Think about the people who in history have gained money, influence, and power because of their violence.  Many of the world's most heinous dictators used violence to their advantage.  But Scripture tells us not to choose ANY of the violent man's ways.  This is because everything these men do is tainted by their violence.  This is why I've included verse 32 with verse 31.  There is another reason to reject the ways of the violent man - which is shown to us in verse 32.

The violent are also "devious."  The word devious here is the Hebrew word "luz" which means to be crooked or perverse.  God is telling us here that when a man is a violent man - he will also be a perverse or crooked man as well.  The idea behind this word is that being crooked and perverse is what a person is trusting in - as a way of walking through life.  This word is used in Scripture to describe those who are wicked, perverse, and who reject God.  They reject His ways - things like righteousness and truth - and choose instead to twist the truth to their advantage. 

When someone wants to trust devious and violent ways - they do not have a heart to seek God - or to learn from His Word.  They do not want to walk with Him.  That is why God says that these devious ones are an abomination to Him.  This is because they utterly reject Him and His ways.  We should also note the word, "for" that begins verse 32.  This links what is said here to the previous verse.  The devious are the violent ones - and the violent ones are those who function with a devious and God-rejecting mindset.  They choose violence and deceit because they do not want to trust God with their plans and purposes.  Since they do not have God's power at their disposal, they have to trust their own thinking (which is fatally flawed due to sin) and their own power. 

The last thing said in this verse is that God is "intimate" with the upright.  What a wonderful thought this is for us - that God is intimate with us when we walk in His ways and choose His paths.  The word "intimate" here actually means intimate counsel - and has the idea of being brought into a kind of inner circle where God shares His wisdom with us.  So God is promising us that if we reject the violence and deceit of this present world's ways - that God will bring us into the inner circle with Himself for the purpose of teaching us. 

This particular proverb is one we should consider - especially when we consider the way our current society is so enamoured with violence.  We see it in just about every form of entertainment we consume daily.  When there is not violence in a movie or television show - it is almost completely ignored.  We are inundated with violence - and the tendency is for this violence to more and more graphic in nature.  This is happening at a time when we are watching a corresponding decline in our desire for intimacy with God.  Is this just a coincidence - or - is it exactly what God is trying to get us to see in this proverb?    The more we embrace violence - the more we will embrace deception and a rejection of God and His ways.  The more we embrace violence - the less we will embrace God Himself - and with this we will also place a lesser value on the counsel of His Word.  May God bring to us a return to Him and a corresponding turn from loving violence.  Remember Jesus' name is the prince of peace - and His Word tells us, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."  (Matthew 5:9, NASB)

Have I not written to you excellent things Of counsels and knowledge, Proverbs 22:20

God's call to wisdom is a call to consider and live by excellent things - to live a life of the highest order.  Some would call living for God a life that is boring and mundane.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The one who considers the things of God and lives accordingly is one who sees the most excellent course - one that is spoken of in the highest terms possible.  To consider this is to deeply plumb the counsel and the knowledge of God Himself.  Far from boring - this is the most glorious pursuit a man can give himself to on this earth!

The wise man begins by asserting to his pupil that in speaking of wisdom, he is speaking of something of the highest order of all.  He speaks of writing to his pupil "excellent things."  This is an interesting term, because it speaks of something associated with the number three.  When referring to a a measure of something it usually refers to a large measure of a substance.  It is used in music of an instrument with 3 of something on it - such as a lute.  But when used in contexts other that this it refers to a high-ranking officer (who was called the third man in a chariot) or something that is of a very high worth.  What is being communicated though is that what the wise man has given his student is the most excellent thing he could give him. 

This is a thought we should explore for a moment.  Every parent wants to give the best things to their child.  Unfortunately for most parents this means things they can buy and things that require money.  But what the wise man is saying to his student - and what every father should say to his children is that what is most valuable you can receive without cost.  The gospel is the most valuable thing we can give our chidlren and our students.  Nothing can compare with it!  We should give them the gospel - and give it to them within the context of teaching and training them in the Word of God.  That is what is what is worth more than silver, gold, rubies, and diamonds!  But is that the way we present the Word of God to our children - to our students - to others?  No wonder they consider the things of God boring - we treat them like an ugly step-sister, rather than like a treasure that is worth searching a lifetime to find!  But that is how this teacher refers to the material (the Word of God and the wisdom of God in it) that he has presented to his student.

He speaks of counsels and knowledge next.  The Word counsels is "moetsah" which means a plan, a purpose, and in some contexts it infers intrigue and mystery.  The teacher says that the things of God are His eternal plans and purposes.  It does speak of how God desires for us to live every day, but there is so much more.  It speaks of what God is ultimately after in this world - and it ushers us into the very counsel of God Himself.  This will be good for every day decisions - but it will also thrill and astound us as we see the eternal mind of God working out His own eternal purposes and plans.  When Paul saw this in the book of Romans - he exclaimed in ecstasy, "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!  For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD , OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR?  Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN?  For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.  (Romans 11:33-36, NASB)  So infinitely far from boring, this is the stuff that thrills our hearts and makes our minds swoon at the very consideration of such grand things. 

He also speaks of knowledge.  This is the Hebrew word "daath" which communicates to us that this was a technical and specific knowledge.  It spoke of knwoing by experience, relationship, or encounter.  This was the word used by Balaam in describing that God had revealed Himself to him in a vision.  His response was astonished wonder and amazement.  So as this teacher speaks to his student - he speaks of the awe-inspiring knowledge of God that comes as we truly know and experience him.  Once again we say that this is far from boring.  It is the knowledge of the Divine Himself.  It is a thrilling thing. 

Let me ask a very serious question after looking at this proverb.  Do you look at the Word of God and find yourself lost in wonder, awe, and praise?  Do you see the Word and find yourself astounded by the glorious counsels and knowledge that it offers to you as the Holy Spirit takes you as His pupil and teaches you?  What the teacher does here is to make his students stand back in utter astonishment at the joy of having the Word and the Wisdom of God available to them.  He brings them to the point of panting after God and His wisdom - like a dog would pant for water on a fiercely hot day.  He shows them the living water - but only after pouring salt on their tongues.  He points them to a knowledge and an understanding that would make any sage jealous.  Yet all he is doing is sharing the truth about God's Word with them.  He is doing so with the hope that his students will long for it - and will desire to know it as he has in his lifetime.  Oh may God give us such teachers - men who will whet our appetite for spiritual things and make us literally long for more every time we open God's Word!

For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the LORD, And He watches all his paths. Proverbs 5:21

As was said yesterday, this is the main reason why the father is taking the time to counsel his son on the issues of moral and sexual sanity.  Our ways are before the eyes of the Lord - or said another way - GOD SEES ALL THINGS. 

This has to do with the very nature of God.  God is Spirit - and therefore can be all places at all times.  This truth has to do with God's omnipresence and omniscience.  God's omnipresence means that God is everywhere.  There is not a place in the entire universe where God is not present.  In Psalm 139 David wrote of this when he said,

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?  If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.  If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me.  (Psalm 139:7-10)

The idea of God's omnipresence is communicated when David tells Solomon that the eyes of Jehovah are on the ways of men.  God watches our paths.  David knew this because he thought no one was looking when he committed adultery with Bathsheba.  God was looking - and he watched David's path into sexual sin.  The day came when God sent one of His prophets, Nathan, to David to confront him openly about what David thought he had done secretly. 

The other doctrine that we see here is that of God's omniscience.  God knows all things.  He knows when we sin - and he knows when two people have agreed to get together and commit adultery.  There is nothing that we can hide from Him - because He is God!  His power and His might are unparalleled - but so is His presence and knowledge.  There is NO limit to either of these things.  Therefore, it is wise for us to remember this about Him - and act accordingly.  This means understanding and knowing His Word, which reveals to us His heart on moral and sexual matters. 

Here is a verse that should help to guide us when it comes to the matter of moral and sexual sanity.  Paul wrote to the Thessalonians about the need for each one of them to possess their own vessel in Ssanctification and honor.  Here the vessel is themselves - and especially their sexuality.  Here is what Paul said,

For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.  For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you.  1 Thessalonians 4:2-6

God desires to sanctify us - and part of that sanctification is helping us to maintain moral and sexual sanity!  We are to carry ourselves and our sexuality in "sanctification and honor" rather than in "lustful passion."  When Paul later says that we should not "transgress and defraud his brother in the matter," what he is speaking of is adultery.  The brother we transgress and defraud is the one whose wife with whom we've had adultery.  Paul then gives us a promise in regard to this - that God will be the avenger in this matter. 

God sees and knows all - and as a result we should be wise and fear Him by turning from sin - especially sexual sin.  This is not just a warning from a parent who is a little overprotective of his or her child.  It is God, knowing our frame and our weakness - and warning us about how sexual sin can take us captive and destroy our lives.  But I believe at the root of this admonition is not just a negative warning - but a positive one as well.  If we know that our ways are before Jehovah - and that He is watching our paths - we can turn to Him in time of temptation.  We can cry out to Him for deliverance and for strength to stand.  We can know, as Scripture tells us, that no temptation that has overcome us is not common to man - but God will provide with it a way of escape so that we may endure.  He is there - and when faced with serious sexual temptation we need to turn to Him, listen to Him, and in the process shut out the voice of the devil.  He truly is there - not waiting to smack us upside the head - but waiting to meet us and strengthen us so that we may stand - and having done everything - to remain standing!

The mind of the intelligent seeks knowledge, But the mouth of fools feeds on folly. Proverbs 15:14

Here we have a comparison between the mind and thinking of the intelligent and the mouth of fools.  One thinks and comtemplates on things while the other is far more interested in what he will say than what fills his mind.  Let's take a few moments then today to see what the intelligent man as well as the fool can offer as far as instruction.

Who is this intelligent man?  He is the thinker for he wants to discern.  He is observing and paying attention to what is before him, what is said to him, and what he sees in others.  He considers things diligently because in the end he desires the knowledge that only God can give him.  We read here that he is seeking knowledge.  "Daath" which is the Hebrew word for knowledge here means that he seeks to have knowledge by experience, relationship, and encounter.  He is not content with a knowing that is in his head alone.  That is why this particular statement is interesting to me.  It is the mind of this man that wants knowledge.  In other words, even though he is a thinker, thinking is not all that he wants to do.  He wants a thinking that results in action.  Some refer to "daath" kind of knowledge as a path or a way that one walks - thus a lifestyle.  So our thinker is contemplating and discerning a way to walk out his life. 

The fool here is living for a much more sensuous journey.  We know this because he is not contemplating or thinking - but merely feeding on something.  The word "feeding" means to graze in a pasture.  The fool is not using his mind - he is using his mouth.  He is spending his time grazing on folly.  Since folly (ivoleth) means to be one who hates wisdom and who chooses instead to walk in folly - we see here a man who despises the wisdom and knowledge that God offers.  This word also has a sense in which it also hates the morality that comes from a contemplated life.  He doesn't want to think - he just wants to graze on the contemporary philsophies of the day.  He is content to just feed on what is fed to him by the world system. 

Two paths are taken here - one toward disernment and knowledge - the other toward folly and whatever the world is slopping on his mental plate.  One thinks and considers his path - wanting to experience all that God has for him.  The other is hardly interested in God - unless the common talk is of him, her, or whatever mankind decides is god for the season.  One lifts his head and stops to discern and deeply consider his path - his very lifestyle.  The other pretty much takes the lifestyle that the world dishes out to him daily.  In the end one lives a life of purpose while the other is driven by the spirit of the age.  Consider well reader - for if you live only to consume what the world offers, a fool you will be.  If you think well and often about where you walk and what you do, a rich reward of wisdom will be yours - and that from God Himself.