Conditions for Knowing God
Proverbs chapter 2
This
brings us to the second lesson in this series. The theme of Proverbs really is
on the theme of making wise choices. As we have pointed out, Hebrew wisdom isnÕt
the same concept as we have in sophos
[sofoj] in Greek culture. In
the Hebrew culture of the Old Testament it has to do withy the application of
GodÕs Word in various circumstances and situations in life. A lot of times in
the decisions that we make the choices that we have are not always between sin
and not sin, they are choices between the good and the better, the not so wise
and the wise. It takes time to develop and mature in our understanding of the
Word, in our understanding of life, to be able to live wisely. It is not
something that happens over night, and it is not something we can ever develop
if we expose ourselves to the teaching of GodÕs Word once a week.
We
live in a world today that is so overpowering in its message and in its influence
in our lives that probably if we had a sort of a veil lifted from our eyes so
that we could truly and accurately see all of our opinions, ideas, thinking and
values exposed in the pure, blinding, righteous light of GodÕs holiness then we
would appalled at how much of our thinking is worldly and not biblical, and how
much of our thinking is human viewpoint and not divine viewpoint.
We
all reach certain comfort zones in our spiritual life and we also reach
plateaus spiritually but we have to stick to it, and that is one of tests of
spiritual growth—endurance. This means sticking it out in Bible study,
studying the Word, because no matter where we are in the Word of God, whether
we are dealing with prophecy, salvation, the spiritual life, marriage, or whether
we are dealing with things that are more abstract like the baptism of the Holy
Spirit, all of those that we learn are part and parcel of shaping the way we
are to think and look at the world around us and to evaluate the circumstances,
situations and decisions that come up. And it that change in the way we think
that enables us over time to think wisely and not foolishly, accurately and not
carelessly.
Proverbs
is focused on that: the lessons of a father to a son. But as we read through
these sections of Proverbs with the father saying to his son, the father isnÕt
just passing on his opinions, his ideas about life. This isnÕt the father
saying I want you to think like I think. The father in this case is Solomon who
has been gifted with wisdom more than any other human being in all of history,
and so the wisdom that he is giving to his son isnÕt SolomonÕs personal
opinion, it is the eternal wisdom of God. So the wisdom that he is teaching is
not just simply his own view. So there is this slight movement that goes back
and forth between what the father is instructing his son and then it becomes
apparent that this is what God is instructing all of us. And one of the primary
roles of the parent is to communicate divine viewpoint to the children.
The
issue ultimately comes down to volition. Volition just resonates behind every
single verse in Proverbs: that as we read these wise sayings we are struck by
the fact that each of us needs make a decision. Are we doing this, or are we
living by our own ideas, our own values, our own concepts and opinions, what
makes us comfortable; or are we focused upon that which will please God and
that which conforms to His creation, establishment principles, and what He has
revealed in His Word?
In
the second chapter of Proverbs is the second lesson, a challenge to the son to
protect himself from the wicked, from evil. And the way to do that is by
internalizing the Word of God into our heart, into our soul, so that every aspect of our thinking is shaped by GodÕs Word. One of
the problems that we will run into as we go through life is that the more we do
that the more we will be distant from the culture around us, the more our
friends and family will think we are just a little bit strange and that we are
taking this ÒBible stuffÓ just a little too seriously. But everything we think
and everything we do needs to be evaluated in the light of GodÕs Word. This what the writer of Proverbs is doing with his son. That
is why he addresses every issue he can related to life in the book of Proverbs
and why so many people love it because it is seems so intensely practical.
In
the Hebrew Proverbs chapter two is actually one poem, one whole thought; it is
not broken up. There are two sections to it and there is a division that occurs
between verses 11 and 12. Verse 12 starts a new pattern that is a mirror or
reflection, as it were, of what is taught in the first half of the poem.
The
first half of this poem pertains to the development of the sonÕs character.
Part of the responsibility of believing parents is to train children to develop
their character. And this involves some thinking on the part of parents.
Parents need to evaluate this and the best place to start is with the book of
Proverbs. So the first part pertains to character: how do you really train
children in terms of character? Now the application for all of us is that this
is what God is doing in our life as a part of our sanctification. He is
renovating our character and forming it into the image of Christ. So we are to
let the Word of God transform our thinking, as Paul says in Romans 12:2, so
that our character imitates ChristÕs character.
The
first four verses lay down the conditions for this growth. We see that as we
pay attention to the ÒifÓ word which is the expression of a conditional clause:
ÒÉ if you will
receive my words And treasure my commandments within you,Ó v. 1; Òif you cry
for discernment, Lift your voice for understanding,Ó v.3; ÒIf you seek her as
silver And search for her as for hidden treasures,Ó
v.4. That is the foundation. What does this entail? This entails making the
Word of God not only our priority but also our passion. No matter what our
vocation is our avocation should be to know the Word of God intensely,
passionately; and this should drive us where everything else that we do in life
is simply so that we can learn the Word and grow to spiritual maturity.
Everything else is to feed that. So the foundation for developing character is
the priority of the son to be humble and listen, and internalize the Word.
As
a result of that we come to fear God and to know God, and this is seen in vv.
5-8. Verse 5 tells us the result of the ÒifÓ clauses: ÒÉyou will discern the fear of the LORD And discover the knowledge
of God.Ó Then there is an explanation that comes in verse 6: ÒFor the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth {come} knowledge and
understanding.Ó It doesnÕt come from the science department or the history
department of the university. It doesnÕt come from human sources; it comes from
GodÕs Word. He gives us the information we need to ultimately organize,
interpret, understand that which we see in our created
world.
Proverbs 2:7 NASB
ÒHe stores up sound wisdom for the upright; {He is} a shield to those who walk
in integrity, [8] Guarding the paths of
justice, And He preserves the way of His godly ones.Ó
If we are following the ÒifÓ conditions then this is what God does on the other
side. He guards; He stores; He protects; He preserves.
All
of this is designed with a spiritual goal in mind. That is, we are to learn
righteousness so that this becomes part of our core character. Verses 9-11,
ÒThenÉÓ If you do this, vv. 1-4, then you will understand God, vv. 5-8. Then, v. 9 ÒThen you will discern
righteousness and justice And equity {and} every good
course.Ó This isnÕt a sort of academic understanding; it is an understanding
that permeates our thinking and how we do things. We do things according to
righteousness and justice. This occurs because Òwisdom,Ó verse 10, Òwill enter your
heart And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.Ó
This in turn protects us, preserves us through discretion and understanding.
[11] ÒDiscretion will guard you, Understanding will watch over you.Ó
Proverbs 2:12,
the second half of this chapter, NASB ÒTo deliver you from the way
of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things.Ó It
pertains to the way in which wisdom protects and preserves the son from the
influence of evil—that influence that comes via the culture, via the peer
group, via the television, the media, etc. If we want to protect our children
from the influence of the world the only way to do that is to instill the Word
of God into them from an extremely young age. It is never too soon to start
teaching them the Word of God.
So this
internalization of the world delivers us from evil and the man who speaks
perverse things. [13] ÒFrom those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness; [14] Who delight in doing evil And rejoice in the
perversity of evil. [15] Whose paths are crooked, And
who are devious in their ways.Ó
Notice
something as we go through these verses. This goes back to what we have seen
about making choices. Verse 7, God is a shield to those who walk
uprightly. There is this emphasis on the path, the way, the walk. All of these relate together. Which path
are we going to go down? Verse 8, Òthe way of His godly ones.Ó ÒEvery good path,Ó verse
9. As we go through the Proverbs we should circle these words that are similar
and used again and again. This helps to trace through these main ideas.
It is the Word
of God that protects us from the influence of the wicked and the evil in vv.
12-15, from the immoral woman in vv. 16-19, and as a result in the last few
verses we keep to the paths of righteousness. Proverbs 2:20 NASB ÒSo
you will walk in the way of good men And keep to the
paths of the righteous. [21] For the upright will live in the land And the blameless will remain in it.Ó In contrast, [22] ÒBut
the wicked will be cut off from the land And the
treacherous will be uprooted from it.Ó There are consequences to sin and evil.
That gives us
our overview. We now look at the first part, vv. 1-5. Proverbs 2:1 NASB
ÒMy son, if you will receive my words And treasure my commandments
within you.Ó The result, v.2, you ÒMake your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline
your heart to understanding.Ó Verse 2 is a parenthetical explanation inserted
in the midst of these conditions. The conditions are in vv. 1, 3, 4, 5. This is telling us that the foundation is really a course
or a path of knowledge. The challenge here is a volitional one, i.e. are we
willing to make this the priority to receive his words and to treasure his
commands? The first condition, Òif you will receive my words and treasure my
commandments,Ó is the foundation for everything in the chapter. If we are going
to avoid the path of unrighteousness, the path of divine discipline, the path
of self-destruction, the path that leads to temptation, then the starting point
is verse 1. We have to receive the words of God and we have to treasure those
commands.
What does that
mean? ÒReceive my wordsÓ doesnÕt sound like a very strong expression. What does
it mean to receive or accept? Does that just mean I believe that is true, or I
accept, or is there something more going on there? The two verbs are synonyms
of one another and they emphasize the significance and the seriousness that is
embedded in these two verbs. Receiving the words isnÕt just something like
somebody hands you something, you take it and appreciate it and put it in your
pocket and move on. It is the idea of taking something but it is also a word
for grasping or seizing it, taking and making it oneÕs own possession. The word
is often used in military contexts of a conquest where a city or a town is
taken by one military power, seized from another country and made part of oneÕs
own country. It is the idea of actively grabbing something and making it part
of oneÕs own thinking, oneÕs own being, where it is oneÕs very own thoughts. If
you acquire my words so that they become your words and your thinking, is the
idea.
This is
parallel to the second line, Òtreasure my commands within you.Ó It is the
Hebrew word tzafan which means to hide something. It has the idea also
of storing something up, of concealing something, but also the idea of
internalizing. So between these two words we get the idea that we are to take
the Word of God and stress its value and importance so much that we are taking
it into our own thinking. These ideas are repeated several times in Proverbs.
We have a statement of this at the very beginning of Proverbs in 1:3: that we
are to receive the instruction of wisdom—righteousness, justice, judgment
and equity. We are to take it and make it part of our own thinking. Proverbs
4:10, Òaccept/receive my sayings,Ó get them into your soul and make them part
of your thinking. The result: Òthe years of your life will be many.Ó Proverbs
8:10, ÒTake/receive my instruction and not silver, And
knowledge rather than choicest gold.Ó This is a theme that runs through
Proverbs: we are to buy the truth and sell it not. It is more valuable, as
David said in Psalm 19, than gold. The most valuable thing we can have is the
Word of God in our soul. Proverbs 10:8, 11 also talk about this. ÒThe wise of
heart will receive commands.Ó We think of that mistakenly as a legalistic thing
but in the Old Testament the commands and prohibitions of the Mosaic Law
established the protocols for their spiritual life, whereas in the New Testament
we may not be under law but there are still hundreds and hundreds of commands
and prohibitions for every believer. It is not a way of gaining GodÕs favor but
now that we are in His family it lays down the protocols and the standards for
living as a member of GodÕs family.
ÒBut a babbling
fool will be ruined.Ó He doesnÕt receive the commands and this leads to a
collapse in his life. [9] ÒHe who walks in integrity walks securely, But he who perverts his ways will be found out.Ó Proverbs 21:11 NASB ÒWhen the scoffer is
punished, the naive becomes wise; But when the wise is instructed, he receives
[embraces, makes knowledge his own] knowledge.Ó
This is also
seen in the New Testament. Colossians 3:16 NASB ÒLet the word of
Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one
another with psalms {and} hymns {and} spiritual songs, singing with
thankfulness in your hearts to God.Ó We are to internalize the Word of God.
This is the New Testament counterpart to a principle that is laid down in the
Old Testament in the Mosaic Law in Deuteronomy 6:4-9. Observe here the
importance of this passing on of truth generationally.
Deuteronomy
6:4 NASB ÒHear [listen, pay attention], O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone is one!Ó Technically this word echad doesnÕt
emphasize solitary monotheism (the Lord is one), but in the context it is an exclusiveness as opposed to worshipping the gods of the
pagan culture. In Israel there was one God, not many gods. [5] ÒYou shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul
[Heb. all your all, i.e. everything that you are] and with all your might.[6] These
words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.Ó We have to
internalize it. This is the same idea that we have in Proverbs 2:2, Òapply your
hearts to understanding.Ó It has to enter into us and become part of us. [7]
ÒYou shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you
sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when
you rise up.Ó This should be the norm always in family conversation. Every
issue in life should always be brought back to the Bible is some way or sense.
This is the heartbeat of our thinking. [8] ÒYou shall bind them as a sign on your hand and
they shall be as frontals on your forehead. [9] You shall write them on the
doorposts of your house and on your gates.Ó Everything we do in life needs to
be influenced by the Word of God because we have internalized it and made it a
part of who we are.
In the New
Testament in Romans 12:2 we have the injunction: ÒAnd do not be conformed to
this world, but be transformed by the renewing [renovation] of your mind
[thinking], so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good
and acceptable and perfect [sufficient].Ó We have to start there; we have to
know the Word of God.
There are a
couple of things to think about on how to internalize the Word of God. First of
all there is the challenge for everyone that we need to be better at memorizing
Scripture. That is one way in which we internalize it—not just listening
to the teaching of the Word, not just taking notes;
but to memorize Scripture. It is important because Jesus set this as a pattern
for us in His humanity. It wasnÕt just that Jesus knew all of the Scripture
that He quoted. In fact, He quoted from 24 different Old Testament books, and
some have said that He quoted the Scripture in one way or another over 180
times in the Gospels. Jesus was consistently quoting from the Old Testament. He
didnÕt do that out of His deity, He did that out of His humanity. That means He
had to learn and memorize Scripture as he was growing up as a child and as a
young man. He had to internalize the Word. We need to follow His leadership.
Second, we are
commanded to do it. Colossians 3:16; Deuteronomy 6:4-9.
The third
reason we need to memorize Scripture is Romans 12:2. It is fundamental to this
whole process of changing our thinking. The dynamics of memorization are
fascinating because what you have to do is repeat the verse over and over and
over again. You have to think about it, reflect on it, repeat
it over and over again. One way to memorize Scripture is to write it out
several times and to recite it several times. The more you do that the more you
think about what those words mean and what the connections are, the more it
drives your thinking into the underlying thought structure of the verse. So you
memorize not just the words but you understand what it expresses in terms of
its basic thinking.
A fourth reason
for memorizing Scripture is given in Psalm 119:11 NASB ÒYour word I
have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against
You.Ó It is vital for us in dealing with sin. Memorizing the Word of God,
internalizing it, is vital to winning in spiritual warfare and dealing with our
own sin nature.
A fifth reason
to memorize Scripture is that it enables us to develop a skill in terms of
utilizing the armor of God. Ephesians 6:17 NASB ÒAnd take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which
is the word of God.Ó Jesus used the Word of God to counter the temptation of
Satan. It is more of a defensive weapon and a counter attack weapon. That is
how we would use the Word of God. It is used in our defense, and so it is
developing that skill by memorizing the Word. When you need to claim a promise
and you donÕt know the promise, you canÕt do it. So we have to memorize
Scripture in order to do that.
Sixth, it is
the means for keeping us on the right path and not going down the wrong road.
This is seen in Psalm 119:9 NASB ÒHow can a young man keep his way
pure? By keeping {it} according to Your word.Ó
Seventh, it is
foundational to the whole principle of meditating on Scripture. Joshua 1:8 NASB
ÒThis book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate
on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is
written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will
have success.Ó This is not talking about material success, it is talking about
success in terms of GodÕs plan for your life, whatever that may entail. David
reflects upon this in Psalm 1:1 NASB ÒHow blessed is the man who
does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand
in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!Ó Notice the
progression: walking, standing, sitting. [2] ÒBut his delight is in the law of
the LORD, And in
His law he meditates day and night.Ó Result: [3] ÒHe will be like a tree
{firmly} planted by streams of water, Which yields its
fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he
prospers.Ó
Again and again
the Word of God relates success in life, successful living—not in terms
of business or professional success, but in success in living as God would have
us to live in terms of internalizing the Word of God.
Another reason
to memorize Scripture is that is strengthens our ability to communicate the
gospel to unbelievers.
Scripture
memory helps our prayers. John 15:7 NASB ÒIf you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it
will be done for you.Ó
Scripture
memory will improve our study of the Bible. As we read in one place in the Word
we are going to think of some other verse that we have memorized in some other
part of the Word, and so suddenly the Word becomes much smaller because we have
a much better grasp of it.
Practical
guidelines
Write verses out on note cards.
Stick them somewhere where you can look at them.
Audio Bibles. Listen to the Bible in
your car, family training with your children.
Set goals for yourself. Memorize a
verse a week or a verse a month, whatever it is.
Find an app!
Put it to song—kids in prep
school.
Read the verse over and over again.
We need to
memorize the Word. There may come a time even in this country when we donÕt
have access to a Bible. It has happened in many other places. All you are left
with is what you have memorized.