Posted by Jeff Short on December 30, 2016 · Leave a Comment
For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favor of the LORD.
– Proverbs 8:35
Finding wisdom hearkens back to the admonition to seek wisdom (Proverbs 2:1-5).
Life is paired with the
favor of the LORD and speaks of spiritual life more than mere physical existence. From the following verses, we know life and death are in view. While wisdom does bring material blessings to physical life (Proverbs 15:27; 16:15), there are greater blessings of life in the immaterial and spiritual sense (Proverbs 3:22; 10:16).
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Posted by Jeff Short on October 31, 2016 · 1 Comment
Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.
– Proverbs 7:2
Wisdom is life and leads us into life. The many admonitions to keep, or guard, the commandments indicate how easily we can let them slip. We must stir up ourselves to actively keep them. We are to guard as “the apple of thine eye.” This refers to the pupil, but the figure is probably used because the commandments of wisdom give us spiritual sight and must be guarded.
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Posted by Jeff Short on October 20, 2016 · 1 Comment
For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.
– Proverbs 6:26
There are various takes on the first phrase of this verse. From the context, it is obvious the intention is to focus on the high price of this sin. The first devastation is to a man’s substance. This is a consistent warning in Scripture (Proverbs 5:10; 29:3; Luke 15:30). The second is to a man’s life or soul. The way of wisdom is the way of life and the way of folly is the way of death. The way of the adulteress is the way of extreme folly. She is compared to a hunter here who stealthily traps his prey. One might find here an underlying, ulterior motive that differs from her enticing speech and promises (Proverbs 7:13-21).
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Posted by Jeff Short on October 17, 2016 · 1 Comment
For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
– Proverbs 6:23
Solomon is not merely speaking of the homespun wisdom of the older generation. He is talking about God’s word and the wisdom in it. Commandment, law, and instruction are references to God’s word (Psalm 119:105). He is still mentioning benefits of wisdom and this verse explains the previous one. Lamp, light, and way of life speak of illuminating and guiding in the wise course of life. Reproofs are corrections that come through instruction, so wisdom provides a continual course corrective as we proceed through life.
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Posted by Jeff Short on August 27, 2016 · 1 Comment
For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
– Proverbs 4:22
Wisdom keeps men from the destructiveness of the path of wickedness. Wisdom brings a wholeness and soundness to life on earth. Wisdom also brings spiritual life that delivers from death. Life and health are here seen as good rewards of wisdom and good reason to incline the ear, keep the sayings in the heart, and keep them before the eyes.
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Posted by Jeff Short on August 18, 2016 · 1 Comment
Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.
– Proverbs 4:13
We have encountered several statements thus far in Proverbs that reveal the true seriousness of the issue. Wisdom is not a few tips for how to get along in life, it is life itself. The way of wisdom is an issue of life or death (Proverbs 8:36). Solomon three times exhorts what amounts to guarding judiciously—take fast hold, let her not go, keep her. The seriousness of the issue and the supreme worth of wisdom dictate that it be obtained at all cost and not let go for any.
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Posted by Jeff Short on August 9, 2016 · 1 Comment
He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.
– Proverbs 4:4
Solomon’s father’s instruction was the same as he has been giving his son. Solomon was admonished to get, keep, and pursue wisdom. He was likewise instructed in wisdom, the way of life. We infer from this also the eternal nature of wisdom. It never goes out of style or out of date. It’s perpetually relevant from one generation to the next. Wisdom’s value is never diminished by the passage of time.
Solomon also identifies the issue of life and death in his father’s instruction. True life is had through keeping the commandments of wisdom. This life is a theme throughout this chapter and appears in each of the three sections.
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Posted by Jeff Short on July 23, 2016 · 1 Comment
So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.
– Proverbs 3:22
Wisdom and discretion shall be life and grace. Life to the soul is primarily spiritual life that brings everlasting physical life. It is an undeniable theme throughout Proverbs (Proverbs 3:2, 16; 4:10, 22; 7:2; 8:35; 9:11; 13:14; 14:27; 15:4, 24; 16:22; 19:23; 21:21; 22:4). Grace to the neck is both an ornament that beautifies and an ornament that continually abides with you as clasped about your neck. Those that have wisdom have this life and grace that will not depart from them.
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Posted by Jeff Short on July 19, 2016 · 1 Comment
She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.
– Proverbs 3:18
This verse removes doubt, if there is any, about the spiritual nature of the gifts of wisdom. Here she is a tree of life, which tree is so called because it is life giving and a tree that never dies. The Tree of Life was in the Garden of Eden at the creation (Genesis 2:9; 3:22). The way to the tree was barred by the angels after Adam sinned and, I believe, taken from the earth before the flood. The next location that is given for the tree is in the new heaven and new earth, and specifically in the new Jerusalem (Revelation 22:2).
Here it is a figure that represents everlasting life, which is real life, and access to it means full communion with God (Revelation 2:7; 22:14). Laying hold and retaining mirrors the language of apprehending Christ in faith (Hebrews 6:18; John 8:31; 1 John 2:24). Every one that has wisdom after this manner is happy or makes good progress.
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Proverbs 8:35
Posted by Jeff Short on December 30, 2016 · Leave a Comment
For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favor of the LORD.
Finding wisdom hearkens back to the admonition to seek wisdom (Proverbs 2:1-5). Life is paired with the favor of the LORD and speaks of spiritual life more than mere physical existence. From the following verses, we know life and death are in view. While wisdom does bring material blessings to physical life (Proverbs 15:27; 16:15), there are greater blessings of life in the immaterial and spiritual sense (Proverbs 3:22; 10:16).– Proverbs 8:35
Listen to the Proverbs sermon series
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