Proverbs 1:1-7

The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

2 To know wisdom and instruction,
    to understand words of insight,
3 to receive instruction in wise dealing,
    in righteousness, justice, and equity;
4 to give prudence to the simple,
    knowledge and discretion to the youth—
5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning,
    and the one who understands obtain guidance,
6 to understand a proverb and a saying,
    the words of the wise and their riddles.

7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
    fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Sermon Recap

Proverbs is a part of a collection of books in the Bible known as Wisdom Literature. Proverbs specifically is a book written by Solomon and most of it is from the voice of a father speaking to a son, teaching him all about how to become wise. Solomon actually says that wisdom is one of (if not the) most valuable thing on the planet to be sought after. There are a lot of proverbs about a lot of different things. They aren’t promises, but they are statements that accurately describe how the world generally works.

The main point of Proverbs can be summed up like this: Wise people generally do better, and the way to become wise is to fear the Lord.

But what do we mean by “wisdom”? In the Bible, wisdom is the ability to discern God’s will and apply it in everyday life.

Here are three ways God fearing people become wise highlighted (among other things) throughout the Book of Proverbs:

1. Guard Your Heart

The father says to his son, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23). What he means is be careful what you feed your heart, what you take in, what you watch, what you listen to, what you read, where you go, etc. Everything about you flows from your heart. It’s where your desires are, where your motivation comes from. So don’t fill it with things that are foolish and ungodly. Fill it with the things of God and what will flow out is godliness.

2. Read God’s Word

Proverbs 30:5 says “Every word of God is flawless…” Wise people don’t lean on their own wisdom. Wise people understand that they don’t have any real wisdom on their own. They lean on God’s Word. How else can you know God’s will in everyday life if you are not well versed in his Word?

3. Walk With The Wise

Proverbs 13:20 says, “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.” An essential part of becoming wise is living life in proximity to wise people. More information will only go so far. We all need real, embodied, people who have gone before us that we can follow around and download wisdom for life from. Proverbs says to find those people and walk with them.

Application Questions