Grace Fellowship Church

1. Pastor/TeacherJim Rickard Grace Fellowship Church Tuesday,August 7, 2012 www.GraceDoctrine.org

2. DoxologyPraise God, from whom all blessings flow;Praise Him, all creatures here below;Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.—Amen.

3. Introduction to the Book of ProverbsPart 2

4. The First Objectiveof Proverbs is to show a person how to become clever and skillful at the greatest skill of all, the skill of living.

5. The Second Objectiveis to impart understanding of wisdom, vs. 2b, 6.

6. “Understanding” - בִּיָנה - BINAH, refers to discernment. The person who is truly wise is able to separate, to discriminate, to read between the lines.

7. To be wise, we must pierce the meaning of proverbs, satire, and riddles; thoughts that deal with the mysteries of life experiences.Cf. Prov 16:1-3, 9; 25:2-3

8. Wisdom is the ability to understand a situation so as to know how to respond in a way that pleases God.

9. Discernment is the ability to see to the heart of something or to understand its true nature.

10. Prov 1:2 confirms what God said to Solomon, that he would be wise so that he might discern good from evil, and so judge equitably.1 Kings 3:11f.

11. The Third ObjectiveTo impart moral insight, vs. 3. “To receive discipline of insight, righteousness and justice and uprightness.”

12. שָׂכַל - SAKHAL, “insight”: refers to skill, especially the ability to understand history and foresee future consequences. The ability to have insight into what is moral, just and upright.

13. “Righteousness” - TSEDHEQ Here it means the idea of “what is right.” It refers to God’s standard of right conduct.

14. “Justice” - MISHPAT It involves dispensing justice.

15. “Uprightness” - MESHAR “Straightness, or evenness.” Therefore, judgment which is “straight” means that which is correct, just, right and proper.

16. Isa 26:7,“The way of the righteous is smooth; O Upright One, make the path of the righteous level.”

17. True wisdom is never exhibited apart from a moral framework of right standards.

18. Proverbs was not written to sharpen an individual’s ability to be crafty or cunning. There must be a moral component which transforms a person of evil devices into a person of discretion, from craftiness into prudence.

19. The proverbs themselves are teachers, pointing their students to whatever is righteous, just and honest (or upright).

20. Biblical wisdom yields fruit in the wise, because it transforms their lives so that they live according to the standards of God Himself.

21. The responsibility of each believer is to uphold rulership over his own soul with honesty and righteousness.

22. The Fourth Objective, Identify the intended recipients of wisdom, vs. 4. “The naïve and youth” with the backdrop of wise men and men of understanding.

23. The naïve are gullible, and do not understand situations because they have not had enough experience.

24. “Naïve” - PETHI, suggests an openness to influence and instruction, whether good or bad, an attitude common among the immature.

25. These pithy sayings are designed to stick in the heart of the naïve and will come back to their minds as they face situations.

26. If they obey what they know, even if they do not yet understand, they will act wisely.

27. Verses 4-5 also state that wisdom is off limits to the fool.

28. He is not invited into the sage’s classroom because he will only despise the wisdom of the sage’s words.Prov 14:9; 18:2; 23:9

29. Prov 14:9,“Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favor.”

30. Prov 18:2,“A fool does not delight in understanding, but only in revealing his own mind.”

31. Prov 23:9,“Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.”

32. Grace Fellowship ChurchTuesday, August 7, 2012Tape # 12-088 Introduction to Proverbs, Part 2The Objectives of the BookProverbs 1:2-4; 14:8; 18:2; 23:9; Isa 26:7James H. Rickard Bible Ministries 2012