STUDIES IN PROVERBS … No. 1
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James M. Gray, President of the Moody Bible Institute during the Roarin’ Twenties, and author of many best-selling Christian books, dates his conversion from the time he read “Laws from Heaven for Life on Earth” by W. Arnot. It was an aptly titled volume explaining the Book of Proverbs.
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1. ITS
NEGLECT
Whoever hears a sermon from the Book of
Proverbs? But we could say the same
thing about a score of other neglected Bible books!!
2. ITS
AUTHOR …
… or should we say ‘authors’. Whilst most of the books comes from
Solomon’s pen (see 1:1; 10:1; 25:1), there is also mentioned the ‘scribes
of Hezekiah’ (25:1 … who copied out Solomon’s proverbs some 250 years later),
and two unknown characters, Agur (30:1) and Lemuel (31:1).
3. ITS
STYLE
“Proverbs” are short pithy sayings designed to stick
in the mind. Thus much of this book has
no consecutive theme … just proverb after proverb, often unrelated to that
which comes before or after. (A good
way to study, or preach, this book is to gather all the verses relevant to one
theme … e.g., “Pride”. See 3:34; 8:13;
11:2; 15:33; 16:5;
etc…
It should also be noted that the Book of Proverbs
was written originally in poetry.
Hebrew poetry usually has a parallelism, not of sound (rhyme) as in
English … but of thought.
The two phrases in the text will express the same
truth in two slightly different ways, e.g. :
11:25 The liberal soul
shall be made fat:
And
he that watereth shall be watered also himself.
16:23 The heart of the
wise teacheth his mouth,
And
addeth learning to his lips.
17:21 He that begetteth
a fool doeth it to his sorrow:
And
the father of a fool hath no joy.
19:5 A false witness
shall not be unpunished,
And
he that speaketh lies shall not escape.
And sometimes there is a contrast between the first
and second phrase :
21:31 The
horse is prepared against the day of battle:
But safety is of the Lord.
28:1 The wicked flee
when no man pursueth:
But the righteous are bold as a
lion.
28:13 He
that covereth his sins shall not prosper:
But whoso confesseth and
forsaketh them shall have mercy.
4. ITS
TIME FACTOR
Remember, as we study, that this is Old
Testament. That does not mean it is any
less inspired … but the promises of God’s blessings upon His people, Israel, in
O.T. days were material. The New
Testament emphasis is upon spiritual blessings for His people, the Church. For us, material blessings may … or may not
… come!
5. ITS
KEY TEXT … 1:7 …
… “The fear of the Lord is
the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.”
Two classes of people will feature in the pages of
this Book … the man who has a godly reverence for his God and seeks to live by
His commands. And the fool who goes his
own way (Proverbs 14:12!!)
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1. THE PURPOSE OF THESE PROVERBS … 1:1-3 …
… “To teach people who to live!” (The Living Bible.)
These Proverbs are like an
Old Testament version of the Sermon on the Mount … advice (and commands) as to
how we ought to live now that we are the people of God. We do not get saved in the first place by
‘being good’. But after
conversion … here are “laws from Heaven for life on earth”!
2. THE PRECAUTIONS RECOMMENDED … 1:8-9
The honouring of parents is
a New Testament truth as well as being enshrined in the Ten Commandments. And what a difference it would make to
society today if folk lived by this Divine dictum.
3. THE PERILS TO BE REJECTED … 1:10-19
These verses describe the evils of bad company. So many young people are afraid to say “No” for fear of what their ‘friends’ will think of them.
Hear Solomon’s plea … and the Holy Spirit’s … “… my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths;…”
4. THE PLEA OF WISDOM
PERSONIFIED … 1:20-33
God’s voice cries out for people to follow His ways …
It is possible to deaden one’s ears to God’s cry until that voice is no
longer heard. Dr Ironside of the Moody
Memorial Church tells that it was these verses that led to his conversion.
If you still hear Him calling to you … be not a fool … turn to
Him now.
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STUDIES IN PROVERBS … No. 2
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Four things that
leave the author of this chapter … dumb-founded!
Peter Ruckman
things we have here a prophecy of the Great Tribulation (!), and dear old
Bishop Wordsworth saw a reference to the Virgin Birth.
No. The inspired author looks with wonder at the
soaring eagle and the serpent that glides over inaccessible places and the ship
that catches the wind in its sails (even when blowing in a contrary direction)
… and the wonders of pro-creation.
But it is also
true to say that these wonders present us with illustrations of some New
Testament truths!
1. THE WAY OF A MAN WITH A MAID
(a) The Imagery … is used by
Paul when he describes the relationship between Christ and the Church. There was a time when I said “I do” to Him.
(b) The Illustration … from the Old
Testament is found in Genesis 2:23.
Paul quotes this verse in Ephesians 5:30 to show that we are “one flesh”
with our Saviour.
(c) The Incomprehensibleness … to think that
He should love me enough to die for me!
It is a thing most wonderful …
almost all wonderful to be …
That God’s own Son should come from Heaven
And die to save a child like me. (W.W. How)
2. THE SHIP IN THE MIDST OF THE SEA
The Church has
often been likened to a ship by artists and hymnists.
(a) The Port … is the
Heavenly harbour! (Philippians 1:23,
Way’s Translation).
(b) The Perils … are
manifold. This old ship has faced
storms and pirates and mutineers and hidden rocks. But still she sails on.
(c) The Pilot … is the Lord
Jesus.
With Christ in the vessel
I can smile at the storm…!
3. THE SERPENT UPON A ROCK
(a) Opposition to the Saints! The serpent is a reminder of the one who
is out to destroy our spiritual life … the Devil (Revelation 12:9).
(b) Preservation of the Saints! Christ is our Rock … our Hiding Place. If we “abide in Him” there is no way the
serpent can get at us.
4. THE EAGLE IN THE AIR
Not only do we
have a new relationship (the Man…), and a new destination (sailing Home to
Glory!), and a security (in the Rock that was cleft for me!), but a new power
to overcome the things that would drag us down.
(a) The wind that enables the eagle to rise
above the storm is a picture of the Holy Spirit who enables us to overcome the
problems that confront us day by day.
We are to set
out affections on the things above (Colossians 3:2).
We are to live
as citizens of the Heavenly kingdom (Philippians 3:20, Moffat Translation).
(b) We are to see things “afar off” (Job
39:27-29). Our ‘eagle-eye’ looks beyond
this world to our Home which the Saviour has gone to prepare.
There’s a land that is fairer than day,
And by faith I can see it afar …
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The Man … a reminder
that I am His and He is mine!
The Ship … we are bound
for Glory with a faithful Pilot.
The Serpent … I’m safe in
His keeping from Satan’s wiles.
The Eagle … He gives me
Heave to go to Heaven in!!
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Proverbs
30:29-31 introduces us to four creatures that “go well” …
“There be three things which
go well, Yea, four are comely in going:
A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for
any; a greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up.”
There are a
variety of views as to whether “greyhound”, as the K.J.V. has it, is the
correct translation. But nobody seems
to be sure what the Hebrew word really means, so we will stick with
“greyhound”.
And we are
going to use this as an illustration of spiritual truth. Four aspects of our Lord’s ministry will
unfold before our eyes. It may not have
been the author’s original intention … true!! … but let’s just use it as an
illustration.
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1. THE LION
(a) It is a title given to the Lord Jesus in
Revelation 5:5.
(b) It is the description of our Lord’s
powerful ministry as we see Him still the storm, heal the leper, cast our the
demons, open blind eyes … and raise the dead.
Even raise Himself from the dead!!
(John 10:17-18). He is the
Strong One.
(c) As Lord Nelson said after the
Battle of the Nile … “Victory is not strong enough a word to describe such a
scene!” And such a testimony can be
uttered with even greater assurance concerning the Victory of Calvary.
2. THE GREYHOUND
The ancient
Egyptians used dogs … similar to our greyhounds … for hunting. They are depicted upon the walls of their
buildings. And we are reminded that the
Lord Jesus came to be the Pursuer of Souls.
He came to “seek and to save” those who were lost. And that was all of us!!
Francis
Thompson wrote a poem in which he described the Lord as “THE HOUND OF HEAVEN” …
I fled Him,
down the nights and
down the days;
I fled Him,
down the arches
of the years …
I fled Him,
down the labyrinthine ways of my
own mind;
and in the
midst of tears I hid from Him,
and under
running laughter.
Up vistaed
hopes I sped; and shot, precipitated.
Adown Titanic
glooms of chasmed fears
From those
strong feet that followed, followed after.
The greyhound
is a reminder that our Lord Jesus is still the great Seeker of souls.
3. THE HE-GOAT … the Sacrificial One
Even on the
night of the first Passover (Exodus 12) deliverance was found as the one doomed
to death took refuge beneath the blood of the lamb “or a kid of the goats”
(Exodus 12:5). The goat, like the lame,
was a sacrificial animal.
And it is only
’neath the Blood of the Lord Jesus, as we shelter there by faith, that
deliverance is ours.
4. THE KING … against whom there is no
rising up!!
The Book of
Revelation reminds us that the Lord Jesus is our soon-coming King. Again and again John describes the glory and
the terror of His Advent in vivid word pictures.
Revelation
6:14-17 tells of the futility of seeking salvation on that Day … for He is not
coming to seek and to save on this occasion (by His sacrificial death), but as
King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16).
When Heaven
splits. Too late to pray!
Be ready now,
the Scriptures say,
For Christ
WILL come again.
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