Caution
to students of God's Word - Please remember
two things when using our studies: #1.
Our
commentary is not God's Word. It is only our interpretation or understanding
of "His Word" and even though we try our best to be accurate we may
or may not be correct. #2.
The King James translation, or any other translation, of the original Hebrew
text has some words which were given different translations at different
places probably because of the interpreters preconceived ideas of what
they think God meant to say.
For example:
According to the notes in the "Dake's Annotated Reference Bible" the Hebrew
word hayah in the KJV is Trans. (became) 67 times, (becamest or came to
pass) 505 times, (become) 66 times, and (come to pass) 131 times, but for
some reason in Genesis 1:2 it is translated (was)! That
sure changes the way a person perceives the original creation of the earth,
doesn't it? Gen. 1:2 And the earth
was
(became) without form, ... Having said that,
let us continue with our "Key Knowledge" lessons.
These
are pamphlets containing knowledge, we believe, you must have to fully
and accurately unlock and understand the Word of God.
Also take note:In the newer versions (published since the 1970s) of the Bible;
publishers have chosen to leave some verses out of their Bibles. For
example: The New International Version has left out almost 40 verses
from their version (they just skipped them when they went to press,
verse number and all), for example, if you have a NIV Bible, see Acts 8:37.
We invite you to visit our web site http://americanwisdomseries.com and log unto and read our study titled "The Famine has Started"
John 15:26)
But when the Comforter is
come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which
proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
John
16:13-14
[13] Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he
will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever
he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. [14] He
shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto
you.
This Bible Study was originally written by Roger
Christopherson,
published at http://www.theseason.org/
You can view it at the season`s web site (address above) as originally published
or here, as now edited by people at
The American Wisdom Series
Without the leading by the Holy
Spirit, there is no understanding of the truths, for all the truth of the
Scriptures are revealed to us by God's Spirit.
Now here is our revised study of:
THE PROVERBS
Chapter 1
"Wisdom's Call."
Proverbs, in the Hebrew tongue is "Mishlai", it means "to rule",
and in the Greek the word is "Paroimiai", "any dark sententious
saying". Thus it is a rule or saying to govern your life. It is not a
collection of human wisdom, but a Divine set of rules from YHVH, our
heavenly Father. We could say that the Proverbs is a set of
comparisons, and as we study through the Proverbs, we will see that
there is much more to these set of rules than is written. This book
requires us to use common sense in applying it to our lives. God is
telling us how to govern and rule our own life. This book of Proverbs
is the sister to the book of Ecclesiastes, God's instructions to the
man that walks under the sun; The man living in his flesh body; in
order to have peace of mind and be happy.
This set of instructions is given by Father to help us control and make
our decisions in our personal life [civil order], as well as our
religious and business life. This book of Proverbs tells us how to
operate a business and be successful. Even though they are called "dark
sayings", it does not mean that these sayings are Satanic, it means
that these points of wisdom are hidden from a foolish person; those not
seeking instruction from God. The foolish man will never obtain true
wisdom. When you read these sayings, and apply them to your life, it
will always work: Because God will be the one to make it work. God
takes care of His own, and those that seek to follow His set of
instructions; those that stay focused on His Word.
God removes those problems and things that you cannot handle yourself.
However, God also expects us to use our common sense, to tend to
those things that we can do for ourselves. Remember that when it gets
too rough for the people of this world, that is when God's people get
focused and back to work. Christians can handle it, because we have
Father with us.
Proverbs 1:1 "The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;"
Solomon was the wisest of the wise, except for Jesus Christ. Before
David died, he gave his son Solomon a charge as to how he should rule
the kingdom.
I Kings 2:2-3 "I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong
therefore, and shew thyself a man; and keep the charge of the Lord thy
God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, and His commandments,
and His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the law of
Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and
whithersoever thou turnest thyself;"
I Kings 2:4 "That the Lord may continue His word which He spake
concerning me, saying, `If thy children take heed to their way, to walk
before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there
shall not fail thee' (said He `a man on the throne of Israel.' "
Solomon asked God for wisdom, and even with all of Solomon's wealth and wisdom, he still messed up at times. He was human.
Proverbs 1:2 "To know wisdom and instruction; To perceive the words of understanding;"
When you know and follow wisdom and instruction, it is using just good
old common sense. Common sense plays an important part to perceive
words of understanding. It is important to start the teaching of these
words of understanding to your small child, to make it become part of the
child's thinking process as the child grows into adulthood.
Proverbs 1:3 "To receive the instruction of wisdom, Justice, and judgment, and equity:"
Most people today reject simple instruction, they don't want to know
God's instruction, but seek to follow their own self-made set of
standards and rule.
"Equity" as used here is "prudence", the ability to
use good common sense and wisdom [insight]. Wisdom takes control of
your actions during your daily life, by speaking to you through the
conscience of your mind, warning you of those dangerous and unwise
things that face you. Wisdom and common sense is a wonderful companion
in your everyday life.
Proverbs 1:4 "To give subtility to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion."
The word "subtilty" in the Massorah Hebrew text is #6195 in Strong's
Hebrew dictionary "`ormah" means "discretion, prudence"; It's an
economic word that tells us to be skillful managers of our money and
wealth. The "simple" as used here are the "silly and foolish", and
God's wisdom will change a person and set him [her] changed in a new
direction. God's Word will give the you the best knowledge and sound
counsel you could ever obtain. It is simple, when you read the word,
follow the set of instruction you get from it's direction; just do it.
The counsel is free from our Heavenly Father. Father will give His
wisdom absolutely free, but He requires that you search it out of His
Word. The pattern for every detail of your life is all there in the
Bible.
Proverbs 1:5 "A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; And a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:"
The wise man will read and listen to the instructions that God has given him [her] and take it all into his or her mind.
Proverbs 1:6 "To understand a proverb, and the interpretation: The words of the wise, and their dark saying."
The "dark sayings" are only hidden to those that do not have the
understanding from God. Otherwise, they are live and real in the mind of
the follower. This next verse is the secret for your entire life, and
is the key to getting wisdom and the very foundation of all wisdom
comes to those that revere ["fear"-give reverence] to God.
Proverbs 1:7 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction."
"Your reverence of the Lord "YHVH" is the beginning of knowledge:"
If you do not "give reverence to the
Lord", then no matter what you do or think in your life, you are
missing the entire point of direction in life. That
is the first principle of wisdom. This is the first step
that you take within your life, and it is the key to what mom and dad
should have drilled in your mind while you learned to take your first
step as a child.
The fool is one that always tries to do it his own way, with a quick
snappy way to shortcut the sound path of wisdom and instruction. These
people deceive no one but themselves. These people are closed minded
and think that the ways of the world are the only wisdom that there is.
The true wisdom from our Heavenly Father is hidden to them. It become
nothing but dark saying to them, in their blindness.
The fear or reverence of the Lord is the beginning of all knowledge, it
is the start of understanding the times that we live in today, or the the
first earth, or the eternal nature of God and the life we will live in,
in the Millennium and the eternity. If you love someone, you will
listen to their words because you want to please that person. That is
why the reverance of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge,
because you have to understand what it is that pleases God, before you
can follow that path to obtain all the blessings and protect that He
gives.
Proverbs 1:8 "My son, hear the instruction of thy father, And forsake not the law of thy mother:"
"The law of thy mother" is given it the last chapter of Proverbs
[31:1-9]. It is the set of instruction of a mother to her child, to set
the direction for that child's life.
Proverbs 1:9 "For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, And chains about thy neck."
Your mind or brain is in your head, and this set of instructions from
God's Word becomes an ornament of grace worn in your mind. It's not
around your neck for other to see, but, in your mind to light your path
and give you directions for your life. This set of instructions is
something that you always carry with you, just a chain about your neck
that you never take off. Wisdom and knowledge become chained to you to
give you counsel when it is needed. It starts with your reverence to
the Father, and your desire to please Him; and when you do that,
everything you do and say is built around the instruction He gives, and
the wisdom and blessings you receive from Him. You simply can not help
prospering in all areas of your life.
Proverbs 1:10 "My son, if sinners entice thee, Consent thou not."
"Sinners" as used here is "chatta" in the Hebrew text. He is one with a
sinful or criminal mind. Those are the ones that lead you into doing
those things you know are just not right. Those things that they will
say to you will be contrary to the Word of God.
Proverbs 1:11 "If they say, "Come with us, lets lay wait for blood, Let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:"
They have their plans to rip off the people, and deceive them into
buying their junk, or shortcutting the job to a point to where when it
is found out, they will be long gone. That seems to be the way of
business in the world today; false advertising, doctoring of the books,
deceptive wording in contracts, products that appear to be what they
are not...on and on the list grows..."Come with us in our deceptive
plan for we lurk secretly on the innocent, for they don't know...".
"Blood" means pure homicide, and as it is used here it means that you
could care less what happens to the individual you are dealing with. It
means to rip off the poor and innocent and even your brother, and this
is one of the fastest ways to have God turn on you, when you are of
this frame of mind.
God is the chief Shepherd and He is the caretaker of the flock. When an
outsider starts messing around with His sheep, look out. If you have
been placeed as a caretaker of God's sheep, the warning to you is to feed
them, not rip them off. (preachers beware!) Remember Jesus' instructions to Peter after His
resurrection? Three times Jesus said, "Feed My lambs", "Feed My Sheep",
"Feed My sheep". Then see that the sheep are fed from the Word of
God, all of it from Genesis to Revelation, book by book, chapter by chapter, and verse by verse, with understanding.
Proverbs 1:12 "Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:"
Again, this is what the sinners say. Be aware from this verse that man
sentences himself. Anytime you pass sentence on an innocent person, to
send them to the pit or cause their good name to be darkened, that is
the judgment that God passes upon you. God will see to it that you will
go to the pit, when you bring something on an innocent person, to lay
in wait to rip off someone, that is the judgment coming upon you. You
right your own ticket.
Proverbs 1:13 "We shall find all precious substance, We shall fill our houses with spoil:"
This is the sinners continuing in their planning. What will your house
full of riches gain you in the eternity? When someone becomes rich by
ill-gotten gains, the riches become a barrier to their soul in reaching eternal
life.
Proverbs 1:14 "Cast in thy lot among us: Let us all have one purse:"
This sounds like the workings of communism, everyone sharing what they
have, and no one becomes rich. In every system that it has been tried,
it has failed. God blesses those that have worked and earned it, and He
expects those that live their lives according to His ways to prosper.
That is the opposite of communism [socialism]. Think about it the next
time some lazy person wants you to share your wealth with him. You put
the money into the purse, and he take is out giving himself an equal
share. This is the basis of all communal living, where all exist out of
one purse. It is not God's way, except God expects us to take care of
the needy, the handicap, and the sick and aged. You don't need a
communal purse.
Proverbs 1:15 "My son walk not thou in the way with them; Refrain thy foot from their path:"
This is real easy to do, simply by selecting those that you run around
with, and tie yourself to. If you run with those that put God's Word to
the front of their life, then God's Word becomes the center of your
conversations. The ways, wisdom, direction, and things of importance to
you have become the ways God's ways. However if you follow after those
with deceit and wickedness in their mind, that in time becomes your
ways and goals.
Proverbs 1:16 "For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood."
This type of people always look for ways to rip off somebody, that is their mindset.
Proverbs 1:17 "Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird."
Proverbs 1:18 "And they lay wait for their own blood; They lurk privily for their own lives."
What this is saying is that there are some birds, that even when they
see the net before them, they will still fly into the net to get the
food. They just don't care about the danger that is around them. Even
if it causes their own death. The metaphor within this, is that
likewise, it is the same mindset that the sinner has. He just doesn't
give a second thought to his eternal soul, nor his standing before God;
the only thing that matters is the here and now. Sure, they can see the
net and see exactly what they are doing that brings them into the trap,
yet it doesn't matter to them that they are flying to their own death
or destruction. This is the basis of the trouble in our major cities
where children are killing children...they see the net before them, but
they just don't care.
Wisdom sounds the alarm and alerts your mind of the trap that is set
before you. It keeps you from falling into those traps. When one does
not seek wisdom, it is like having a death wish, blind to the dangers
around you. However, in God's eyes, there is no perfect crime, God sees
all and knows all, the only one being fooled is the one that planned
the foolishness. The warning here is; "Don't be trapped, open your
eyes."
Proverbs 1:19 "So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; Which taketh away the life of the owners thereof."
God is warning us that there is no getting away with any mischief
anyone plans. You will face your wicked deeds. Deuteronomy 19 tells us
exactly what happens to those that take part in the taking of an
innocent life by homicide, yes, abortion too! Those that do will stand before God's
throne, with the murdered soul standing before them, and there will be
no one defending your wicked ways. The Judge then sees right into your
mind, and there are no hidden secrets.
Proverbs 1:20 "Wisdom crieth without; She uttereth her voice in the streets:"
My Fellow Man or Woman, common sense [wisdom] is all around you. Common sense cries out
for you to take hold of yourself. Wisdom demands that you be a good
citizen for your family, within your neighborhood, nation and the human
race. Wisdom [common sense] utters that voice no matter where you are
on the face of the earth.
Proverbs 1:21 "She crieth in the chief place of the concourse, In the
openings of the gates: In the city she uttereth her words, saying,"
"She" [wisdom speaking] cries out in your business, at the judgment
seat at the court house, and even in your home and schools; and this is
what she says.
Proverbs 1:22 "How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? And
the scorners delight in their scorning, And fools hate knowledge?"
This word "simplicity" in the Hebrew text is "pethiy", it is
"silliness, foolishness". This scorning is in an anti-religious sense.
Scorning at another person's beliefs and faith in God. Remember back in
verse seven; "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but
fools despise wisdom and instruction." The scorners are those fools
that despise God's wisdom and instruction and they take pleasure in
what they do. However when these fools are in great danger and facing
death, their whole outlook on life, eternity and the Father changes.
They want to come back to the Father through repentance, however, most
of them try to do it their own way and not God's way. They then recognize
that there is a God, but they refuse to accept His path through His Son
Jesus Christ and the cross to obtain their salvation. These fools that
say there is no God are trapped by their own hatred of knowledge and
wisdom from God's Word.
As these scorners reach their old age, the scorning and ridicule seems
to stop, and they start seeking the truth. Once truth comes into their
life, they will either accept the truth, or become one miserable
person. Man without hope is a miserable person.
Proverbs 1:23 "Turn you at my reproof: Behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you."
"Reproof" is God's "chastisement, and correction" of you when the
Spirit of God is making His Word known to you. Some people are slow to
get the point, and have to sink to the bottom before they catch on.
However God is promising you here that if you reach out, He will help
you. Wisdom is promising that if you just try, I will help bring to
your memory, and God promises that; "I will pour out my spirit unto
you, I will make known my words unto you." My Fellow Man or Woman, when "wisdom"
corrects you, it is time to stop, and head in the opposite direction
from where you were going. Do what is right.
Proverbs 1:24 "Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;"
Proverbs 1:25 "But ye have set at nought all my counsel, And would none of my reproof:"
You sat under my counsel, but you would not listen to My Words. This is
talking about those flying into the trap, they would not listen to the
truth, but would scorn at the truth.
Proverbs 1:26 "I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;"
Who is going to have the last laugh? God will, but He's not laughing! As you fall into those
traps and calamity that you fall into when you reject Wisdom and common
sense, it will be sad to God. Have you ever laughed at someone
when in ignorance they fell, or had something happen to themselves?
Well, that is exactly how your calamity appears to Father as He watches
you refuse to accept the wisdom that is promised to you, free for the
taking. Wisdom will laugh at them for their biblical illiteracy.
Proverbs 1:27 "When your fear cometh as desolation, And your
destruction cometh as a whirlwind; When distress and anguish cometh
upon you."
In the crises of your life hits you with sudden destruction, and it will.
Proverbs 1:28 "Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; They shall seek me earily, but they shall not find me:"
Then after all the destruction come, these fools will call upon the
Lord, but do you know what wisdom is going to say? Nothing, that's
right nothing, "but I will not answer." If you chose throughout your life
not to seek wisdom and truth, when that truth is necessary for your
help, it will not be there. They will seek the Lord early when the pain
hits, but not before; but they will not have the knowledge and common
sense to even see the direction back to God. There is always one day too
late, in a given situation, and at that point in time you are either
going to have to swim, or drown. Should God allow you to pull yourself
to the river bank, you had better pray and seek wisdom, for all wisdom
comes from God.
Don't look for wisdom in the world, for today there is
nothing but confusion. Then and only then will there be hope for you.
You seek wisdom before it is needed, or it will stand laughing at the
calamity you got yourself into. It is up to you, you either choose
wisdom, or you choose to be stupid and biblically illiterate.
Proverbs 1:29 "For that they hated knowledge, And did not choose the fear of the Lord:"
It is up to you personally to make the choice; To hate knowledge, or to hate wisdom. Remember what verse seven said? "The fear of the Lord is
the beginning of knowledge: But fools despise wisdom and instruction."
The beginning or starting point of all wisdom, is to give reverence to
our Heavenly Father. If you love God, you can not help but following
His Word and His ways.
Proverbs 1:30 "They would none of my counsel: They despised all my reproof."
Those that reject God's counsel from His Word, you just can't tell them
a thing of wisdom. Every time God puts a warning in their path, they
fall into it and blame God for all their troubles. The only thing that
matters in their minds is themselves.
Proverbs 1:31 "Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, And be filled with their own devices."
This is important to understand: "Therefore shall they eat of the fruit
of their own way," What happens to them is exactly what they deserve.
As you live and choose to live, you set the outcome by the acts you do
and the words you say. You set the sentence that will be placed upon
you. It is real easy for God to judge you, because you chose the sentence
upon yourself. Those things and deeds that you set on others is the
same thing that will be turned around and placed on your own head. Stop
and look around you, and you can see it coming to pass in the lives of
those around you. Those that lack wisdom never learn the lesson; if I
do people right, then they will do me right. God's wisdom is a
beautiful thing in getting along in life. You make your own way by the
way your treat others.
Proverbs 1:32 "For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, And the prosperity of fools shall destroy them."
Their riches and ill-gotten gains will eat them alive and destroy any
enjoyment in their lives. A person without wisdom is dead, and doesn't
even know it. He [she] is a fool, for God and wisdom already have their
sights set on him, and there is no getting away with anything. There is
a time when all sins not repented of in Jesus name, will be accounted
for. The poisons of your own words and deeds will destroy you and your
soul, as far as the eternity is concerned.
Proverbs 1:33 "But whose hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, And shall be quiet from fear of evil."
Don't read over this, "And shall be quiet from fear of evil." Why? You
don't have to be in fear of evil, because you're under God's protection.
Evil will not be with us very much longer anyway. Wisdom is from God
and with in His Word. God has fortified us in His Word as to what we
shall face, and what shall take place in these latter days. If you know
what to expect and the outcome of the those things, you know that you,
as one of God elect, will be protected anyway.
God gives us permission to turn any evil deed by the fools of the world
against us, to turn it on their own head. If someone tries to rip you
off, God gives you the right to seek to right the wrong. We do that
under the laws of whatever land we live in. If you know the ways of the
evil mind, be on guard against those things being done to you. Don't
fear evil, protect yourself with wisdom to have the knowledge to defend
yourself against those things.
To study the Bible is the noblest of all
pursuits; to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the
guidance of the Holy
Spirit, you accomplish both.
The
American
Wisdom Series
is
Published
by:
Rhine
Publishing Co.
E-mail address - americanwisdomseries@verizon.net
Here at the American Wisdom Series our goal is to make you think about and question the wisdom of the current:
doctrine of many of our Christian churches, (The Man on a White Horse)
political direction of our country, (The Man on a Red Horse)
economic direction our country has taken, (The Man on a Black Horse)
and teaching of our schools and media, (The Man on a Pale Horse)
The
Four Hidden Dynasties of the New World Order Revelation
6:1-8
"The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse"
Did you know all four are
being ridden by Satan?
