Simon O'Grady - Unlocking the Proverbs - Class 1 - Keys to the Book of Proverbs

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

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   Good morning, brothers and sisters, and welcome to our first study in this fantastic subject of looking at unlocking the book of Proverbs. And the purpose we have this week, God willing, is to unlock this book, to know why it's here in the Scripture, understand what it's about, and to unlock some of its deep practical wisdom that we can take away into our lives and embark on the path to becoming what the Scripture calls the wise.

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   So today in our first session, we're going to look at a set of keys. They are thematic keys that are going to help us set the scene today, and are going to help us build on it as we unlock the secrets of this book. And here they are. These are the four keys that we're going to look at this morning.

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   The first key to the book of the Proverbs is having the right spirit or approach or attitude, and we're going to have a look at that and answer the question, what is the right approach and spirit? Our second key this morning is going to be looking at the biblical foundation of the book, because the book doesn't just come from nowhere.

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   It taps into pre-existing biblical foundations, and it connects itself into future themes, into the New Testament, and into Jesus Christ. So we need to understand the context and foundation biblically of this book. So we're building on a solid foundation. Our third key is to understand the purpose statement. Now, very usefully, in the first eight verses of chapter one, there is a purpose statement, and it explains to us what the book's about, and it tells us what will happen and what's in it for us if we engage with the book.

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   And finally, our fourth key is we're going to look at four key words. They are active verbs. They are foundational or root verbs, and they found four key themes running through the book of Proverbs, and they will help us connect it all together so that what might appear at first to be disconnected and unstructured is beautifully connected together.

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   So that's our task in this session to look at these four keys. The right spirit approach, the biblical foundation, the purpose statement, and four key words or ideas. Now, one of the things we want to do as we go through these sessions is we want to do our studies, God willing, and approach it like a personal Bible study.

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   So we're going to be following a Bible study approach. We're going to begin each session as imagining we don't know anything about the subject, and we'll begin a discovery process that builds our level of understanding. But we want to go beyond that to the practical application, biblical wisdom, so we're doers of the word as well as hearers.

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   Now, one of the first steps to the Bible study is to become familiar with the scriptural text. So let's begin this morning with a very quick review of the structure and content of the book of Proverbs. We're going to do a short page turn. And here it is. Now look at chapter 1 and verse 1.

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   Chapter 1 begins a section that goes to the end of chapter 9, and it's headed up in verse 1 of the Proverbs of Solomon. And in chapters 1 to 9, we find these chapters liberally sprinkled with the phrase, my son, with various appeals and requests from a father and a mother to their child, from wisdom to listen and to hearken.

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    It repeatedly puts forward and advances the virtues and the benefits of knowledge, understanding of wisdom. We most particularly come across large tracts of texts that talk about two women, a woman wisdom and a strange woman, and they cry out to various different audiences. They have various characteristics, interactions, and they are set out as fundamentally antagonistic.

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    They don't like each other. And that's in chapters 1 to 9. Let's turn over to chapter 10, verse 1, our second section of the structure of the book. It's headed up again, the Proverbs of Solomon. But this is the second section which we typically think of when we come to Proverbs, where it's headed up the Proverbs of Solomon.

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    But it's full of these little couplets, these dynamic, pithy little paired statements or parallelisms. And they give this deep, insightful wisdom captured in these little statements and little pearls and gems, seeds of truth, framed in terms of a fool versus a wise, a good versus the evil, the wicked versus the righteous. And it's typically about contrasts.

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    See in verse 1 of chapter 10, the Proverbs of Solomon, wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son in the heaviness of his mother. Verse 2, treasures of wickedness profit nothing, but righteousness delivers from death. Yahweh will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish, but he casts away the substance of the wicked.

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    And so there's these couplets, these comparisons, typically with the term but as a contrast. Come to chapter 22, verse 17, which is the next section, to chapter 24, verse 34, which is headed up the words of the wise. And so there's a collation of different texts as the words of the wise. Chapter 22, verse 17, bow down thy ear and hear the words of the wise and apply thine heart to my knowledge.

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    And then in chapter 22, verse 17 to 24, verse 34, we have all of these little statements. There's little couplets again in a series of Proverbs. And they've all been written by a group called the wise. You can see in verse 22 of chapter 22, rob not the poor because he is poor, neither oppress the afflicted in the gate, for Yahweh will replead their cause and spoil the soul of those that spoiled him.

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    Or verse 24, make no friendship with an angry man and with a furious man thou shalt not go, lest thou learn his ways and get a snare to thy soul. Or verse 26, be not as one of them who strike hands or of them who are shorties for debts. If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?

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    Or finally, verse 28, remove not the ancient landmark which thy fathers have set. And so there are these little statements of wisdom from the words of the wise. Then back to chapter 25, just flick over to chapter 25, verse 1, the beginning of another section, again headed up the Proverbs of Solomon, but this time they are copied out, which the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, copied out.

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    So they're collated by Hezekiah's men. In chapter 25 to 29, we're back to the Proverbs of Solomon, but they're a little bit different this time. The subject matter, the tone changes a little bit. There's a bit more structure, a bit more flow to the section of the book, but all deep insight for wisdom.

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    And then there are three addendums. Chapter 30, you just come over to chapter 30, verse 1, headed up the words of Ogur, son of Yoker, the prophecy the man spake to Ithiel, even the Ithiel and Uchel. And so there's a chapter addendum from the words of Ogur, son of Yoker. And then chapter 1, verse 31, 31 verses 1 to 9, the words of King Lemuel, the prophecy his mother taught him, where he is taught to avoid alcohol and strong drink because it will pervert judgment.

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    And finally, the well-known and well-loved, chapter 31, verse 10 to 31, the virtuous woman. Who can find a virtuous woman? Her price is far above ruby. So that's the book in its structures and its parts. But what's it all about? What's the purpose of it in scripture? What does it mean for us today?

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    Well, today we begin our journey to unlock this book, God willing, and we have these four keys. So here's the first key, the right spirit and attitude. And we briefly touched on this in our introductory session. We saw that the approach should be as if we are the Son, Jesus Christ, listening to the words of the Father himself.

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    They are personal words of God the Father to the Son, Jesus Christ. And we ask the question, how would Christ have understood these words from the Father? Chapter 1, verse 8, my son, hear the instruction of thy Father. Chapter 1, verse 10, my son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. Chapter 1, verse 15, my son, walk not in the way with them.

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    Chapter 2, verse 1, my son, if you will receive my words. 3, verse 1, my son, forget not my law. Chapter 3, verse 11, my son, despise not the chastening of the Lord. And so on, right way through the book. So that's our first key. The book is, in the first instance, the personal words of Father, God the Father, to the Son, Jesus Christ.

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    So it's a special book. How would a 12-year-old Jesus, who had told his parents, I must be about my father's business, how would he read these words? How would he understand that direct appeal of my son? So we see the point. This book is a standout book. We get to listen to the instruction of God the Father to the Son, Jesus Christ, in its first instance.

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    It's a very powerful key, and it will help us unlock the book. But there's a lot more to this idea. Come with me to Hebrews chapter 12, verse 5, which quotes the book of Proverbs in the context of a father and a son, but it gives us two deep insights into the book of Proverbs and what it is about.

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    Hebrews chapter 12, verses 5 to 6. So in Hebrews chapter 12, verse 5, it says, And you have forgotten the exhortation, which speaks as unto children, my son. And he quotes now Proverbs 3, verse 11 to 12. Despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him.

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    For whom the Lord loves, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receives. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons. For what son is he whom the father chastens not? So there's a direct quote here from Proverbs 3, verse 11 to 12, which reads, My son despise not the chastening of Yahweh, neither be weary of his correction.

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    For whom Yahweh loves, he correcteth, even as a father the son in whom he delights. So we must read this book as if we are the son of God, Jesus Christ, and in him the children of God. And the book of Hebrews gives us the direction, the authorization, the mandate, to read them in a broader sense.

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    Did you see that? They're the words of our heavenly father to the children. So wherever it says, my son, says Hebrew, and appeal from God to the Christ, it includes us as God's children in the one son, male and female. But there's another vital point hidden in this word in Hebrews quotation. Did you see the repetition of the idea of chastening or correction?

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    Let's just reread it, but this time looking for that repetition of idea. Verse 5 of Hebrews 12, you've forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as unto children. My son despised not the chastening of the Lord or faint when you are rebuked of him. For whom the Lord loves, he chasteneth, and he scourgeth every son whom he receives.

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    If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons. For what son is he whom the father chastens not? And so we find that not only is the right spirit and approach to this book to read them as if the words of the father to the son and by extension to us as the children, but there's something about this book that is about the correctional, chastening process of the father to the children.

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    Because he chastens and corrects every son who he receives. So the book's going to be about that correcting, that chastening of our heavenly father. And so the right spirit and approach to this book is one that says, I accept. I welcome the chastening and correction of my heavenly father as I engage with this book.

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    So for us, the Proverbs unlocks when we come to it with that spirit and attitude. We're prepared to be corrected. We're prepared to be chastened. We're prepared to be shown that we're making mistakes so we can make changes, so that we can improve, so we can be instructed, so that we can learn.

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    And it means we come to this book with humility. I want to learn. And you know, the fundamental quality of a good listener is that they hear and they listen and they want to learn and be corrected. So that's the insight that Hebrews chapter 12 gives us about the book of Proverbs. And guess what?

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    When we come to the book of Proverbs, one of its key themes is chastening and correction. And the term that Hebrews 12 refers to as chastening when it quotes Proverbs 3 is the Hebrew word Mosawa. It's the Strongs, 3, 2, 5, 6, and its derivative, H4148, and it occurs 35 times in the book of Proverbs.

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    It's translated in our King James as chastening or instruction. There's a related and similar term, the Hebrew Tokicha. It's 3198 in the Strongs and its derivative is 8433, and it's translated correction, reproof, another 26 times. Now I'm going to read for you just a selection, just a handful of these 60 odd occurrences.

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    In each of these, it's the Hebrew term Mosor that Hebrew 12 refers to and translates as chastening. But as I do, just listen to see if you get the gist of the concept. These are all from Proverbs. Proverbs 3, verse 11, My son despised not the chastening of Yahweh, neither be weary of his correction.

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    Proverbs 4, verse 1, Hear ye children the instruction of a father and attend to no understanding. Chapter 4, verse 13, Take hold fast of instruction. Let her not go. Keep her, for she is thy life. In Proverbs 29, verse 17, Correct thy son and he shall give thee rest, yea, he shall have delight in thy soul.

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    So you see the idea, the father corrects, chastens, and his children hear it, take fast hold of it because they know it's their life. I'm going to give you two more passages. This time, both the words Mosor, chastening and correction, and Tekitia, reproof and correction, are put together. Proverbs 6, 23, The commandment is a lamp and the law is light and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.

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    Proverbs 10, verse 17, He is in the way of life who keeps instruction, but he that refuses reproof erreth. And finally, we're going to flip it because this passage turns it upside down and tells us what will happen if we ignore the reproof and correction. Proverbs 15, 10, Correction is grievous to him that forsakes the way and he that hateth reproof shall die.

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    Well, that's just a selection of the 60 odd times in this book. So it's clear, isn't it, that it's a book about correction. It's a book about the father's chastening, says Hebrews 12, of every child and son that God receives. That's what the book's about and that's the right spirit and approach to it.

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    It's the father to the son and to his children, to you and me, as a chastening and correction. In it, he will show us the right way so we can walk in them. He will show us the wrong way so we don't and he'll correct us when we need to be. All right, now that we've locked on to the theme in the book of Proverbs of the father and the son, where have you heard that before?

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    The father and the son. Where might be a passage where it talks about the father and the son that's really important to the book of Proverbs? Well, here's a hint. I will be his father and he shall be my son. So come over to 2 Samuel 7 and we'll find out the book's founded in the Davidic covenant.

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    The book of Proverbs is anchored there in its foundation. I will be his father and he shall be my son. 2 Samuel 7 verses 12 to 14.

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    David is told in verse 12, When thy days be fulfilled and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels and I will establish his kingdom and he shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever and I will be, just note that's Hayah, it's the root verb of the Yahweh name.

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    I am his father and he shall be, there it is again, the root verb of the Yahweh name. My son, if he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the children of men. And just note a couple of things. There's no conditional if in the Hebrew text.

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    Literally, the term iniquity means in being bound down, I will chasten him. And also, it's in a present continuous sense. I am his father, he is my son. And that's consistent with its application in paralog text in Isaiah 53. So it's a book about relationships, the book of Proverbs.

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    I will be his father, he will be my son, and I will chasten him, is the Davidic covenant statement. So the book's going to have something to do with chastening. It's going to correct and reproof and chasten and instruct us. It's going to tell us where we're going right and we're going wrong so that we can change and become the sons of the father, his children.

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    And think, brothers and sisters, about the process of correcting and chastening as it's not that much fun. Hebrews 12 verse 11 says, No chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous. Nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to them who are exercised thereby, by the father's correction. So we're going to be challenged this week by this book.

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    We're going to feel uncomfortable at times. But in the end, it should yield the peaceable fruits of righteousness in our lives. Our behaviors get corrected. We are changed. There will be more of the good, less of the bad, more of the wisdom, less of the foolishness. And so when we study this book together, this is the spirit and attitude and approach that we need to bring.

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    For in 2 Timothy 3 verse 16 it says, All scripture is given by the breathing of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction and for instruction in the things that are right, righteousness. So it's a great privilege, isn't it, that we're going to get to listen to these words of the father, to the son, and to us as children.

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    How many hours did Christ pour over this book and figure it all out to understand the instruction of the father as he's told over and over again in the pages, my son, my son. How would Christ understand this book is the question that we'll constantly ask ourselves this week. All right, well that's our first key.

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    Our second key is this. The entire book is founded in an event that occurs in 1 Kings 3 verses 9 to 12. So come with me to 1 Kings 3 verses 9 to 12. We'll see the foundation of this book. This is where Solomon is king and in a dream he is told by God, ask what I shall give thee.

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    And it's a Sunday school story, isn't it, that we all know that Solomon could have asked for anything but he didn't. He asked for wisdom. But what he said exactly is important because it's the foundation to the book of Proverbs and it gives us our second key. So 1 Kings 3 verses 9 to 12.

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    Now as we read this, these are Solomon's words and look for the reason he gives for asking wisdom. Look for why he wanted wisdom and what sort of wisdom was he after. What? Exactly. Verse 8. Thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.

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    Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people that I may discern between good and bad for who is able to judge this so great a people. So why did he ask for wisdom? What was it for? To discern between good and bad, the Hebrew term normally translated evil, to know good and evil.

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    So he could judge his people. And verse 11, God says to him, because thou hast asked this thing and has not asked for thyself long life or riches for thyself or asked the life of thine enemies and has asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment, behold, I've done according to thy words. I've given them a wise and an understanding heart in the context to discern between good and bad and make a judgment between the two for your people.

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    So that's the foundation of the source of the wisdom of the book of Proverbs. That's its reason for the book. It's the book of the wisdom that God gave to Solomon to answer this request. To discern, it's the Hebrew term bened, typically translated to understand what will become a key term in the book of Proverbs.

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    To understand between good to Hebrew and Ra, evil. Wisdom and understanding to discern between good and evil so that I can bring true justice to my people was the request that's now reflected in the wisdom of this book. So that's our second key to unlock this book. It's not a book about the generalised idea of wisdom and all that we can possibly have wisdom and understanding in.

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    It's about wisdom, knowledge, and understanding in something quite specific. The ability to discern between good and evil, what we might call morality, right and wrong in our thoughts, in our behaviours, in our interactive relationships. And everything about this book now is given to the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and us, the children, so we can have knowledge, understanding, wisdom, in the discernment between good and evil in our lives, in our thoughts, our actions, and our interactions.

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    So that's the purpose of the wisdom that Solomon was given by God. So he could establish in the kingdom a principle of truth and right at the heart of his kingdom and for his people. You know, every nation that has ever tasted success or prosperity in a human sense has a robust system of justice built around a discernment of right and wrong.

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    They have a legal and a justice and a police system to enforce the concept of truth and right in the interactions of its people at its heart. Now we know, of course, that it's a miserable mimic of the righteousness of God but nevertheless every society knows it must have an answer to the question of a discernment between good and evil and justice.

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    And that, in a nutshell, is the purpose of the book of Proverbs. So that's our second key. To discern between good and evil. And guess what? In the book of Proverbs the word tobe, good and evil ra is found throughout the book. The word good tobe 65 times. Other words and synonyms for good 79 times.

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    The word ra for evil or bad 68 times. Its derivative ra sure 78 times. It's all over the book of Proverbs. But there's more to this theme. Because this book and its quest for a knowledge of good and evil is a continuation of an age-old theme from the very beginning where there was a tree of the knowledge of good and evil tobe and ra.

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    A tree desired to make one wise. To be like the Elohim, to know good and evil. evil. And it was a key factor brothers and sisters in the beginning in the first sin that led to shame and fear and nakedness and expulsion from the garden and a curse and the way of the tree of life being inaccessible and guarded by a flaming sword and cherubim.

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    The desire for this was the introduction of evil into the world. And this book brothers and sisters is from the father where he will instruct his son the promised seed of the woman in the subject of that knowledge of good and evil so that his children might discern between the two and choose the good not the evil and walk on a path of good that in the end will lead them to the way of the tree of life.

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    Proverbs 3.18 She, wisdom, is a tree of life to those who take hold of her. Happy are those who retain her. So that's our second key. Foundation of the book is in this request to discern between good and evil. And it runs right through the book, tying it all together. Here the son learns from the father the skill to discern between good and evil, says Isaiah 7.15.

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    Butter and honey, symbols of the word of God in the context of the promised land. Butter and honey shall he eat that he may know, have the knowledge to refuse the evil and choose the good. On this basis, the Lord Jesus Christ becomes our righteous judge. 1 John chapter 1 verse 9, if we confess our sins, he is faithful just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

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    the So that's our second key. Here's our third key. The book of Proverbs has a purpose statement. First eight verses and it's really, really helpful to understand what the book's about. So come with me to chapter 1 verses 1 to 8 and we'll spend some time looking at this purpose statement in the book of Proverbs right at the start.

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    Now Bible study process, we need to become familiar with the text. We don't add to it, we don't take away because adding something to what we've heard or leaving something out that we have is bad listening. So every word is important. So let's read it together now as we do, see if you can find five key purpose statements in verses 2 to 7.

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    Put it on the screen for those who want to read it there. So I'll give you a moment just to read through there. See if you can find five purpose statements in verses 2 to 7 of chapter 1 of Proverbs. Here's a hint though, we'll start with two.

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    Alright, did you see the five purpose statements based on five active doing verbs? I'll put it here on the slide so you can see it. Verse 2, to know wisdom and instruction. Our second one, to perceive the words of understanding. So this book is supposed to give us these things. As we read that, did you see this tumble of similar terms being used?

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    What idea is evoked in your mind when you hear these words? Knowing, perceiving, instruction, knowledge, wisdom, understanding, counsel, learning, interpretation. What sense do you get from those words? Maybe that we're going to learn something in this book that we didn't know before. Maybe that there's a transition in this book from a state of having no understanding to where we do understand.

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    we can see in this purpose statement that we will get this from this book if we engage in the instruction of the father to the son. Is that worth having? Sure is. Then we have in verse 3 our third purpose statement. We see an echo of the request give me wisdom to discern between good and evil that I might judge.

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    These are all judgment terms to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment, inequity, evenness. Our fourth purpose statement is in verse 4. This one's interesting. There's someone called the simple, the young man who's going to get subtlety and knowledge and discretion which means a plan. I wonder if it could be for us.

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    Our fifth is in verse 6 which is also interesting. In this book we're going to get to understand something that's obscure, something that's hidden, something that needs an interpretation. We're going to understand a proverb. What's a proverb? We're going to know how to interpret them. We're going to see the words of wise people that said things in riddles and dark sayings.

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    Now can you see how packed this text is? How awe-inspiring it is that the creator, the father, packs so much information to such a tight little DNA package here at the beginning of Proverbs.

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    But if that wasn't complex enough to condense five complex purpose statements and we will see that each of them is complex into just a handful of purposes. Do you know the whole purpose statement is framed as a chiasm?

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    Right there at the heart of it is the statement. A man of understanding shall attain wise counsels to understand a proverb and the interpretation of purpose of the book. So that's our third key this morning. The book has a purpose. It's to transfer wisdom and instruction from the father to the son. So we should be expecting to engage with this book as one that will transition us from a position of not knowing or understanding to understanding and knowing.

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    We will increase in learning and attain to a wise counsel as we come to understand a proverb and its interpretation will get something called subtlety that stops us being simple. We're going to get knowledge and discretion. And we're going to see the rest of the books going to keep reaching back into these purpose statements frequently.

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    And that's going to be our third key. All right, well, here's our fourth key. Did you notice that we read through that purpose statement? There were another four key terms repeated over and over again. Other terms, knowledge, understanding, wisdom, and instruction. Now, I've highlighted them here very colourfully for you on the screen.

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    So you can see that these are repetitions and it really pops out, doesn't it, when we colour them in. You know, it's a really good idea to go through the book of Proverbs and take these four terms plus a handful of others and colour them in. You'll just see them repeating over and over again.

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    Knowledge, understanding, wisdom, and the term we've already looked at, instruction, that Hebrews translates as chastening. Now, these four words are base root Hebrew verbs. That is, they are doing or action words. And each of them is a base from which other terms are derived. So we have the term yoda. It's a root verb.

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    It means to know. But there's a derivative, the subject of knowing itself, knowledge, and another, to be knowledgeable. And those words occur 75 times in the book of Proverbs. We have the root verb bene, to understand. Bene, understanding, and to ben, the one who understands, 67 times in the book. We have the root verb, shakam, to be wise, shakma, wisdom itself, and shakam in its feminine form, shakmath, the wise, 98 times in the book of Proverbs.

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    And finally, the root verb, yasra, to chasten, instruct, or masur, correction, rebuke, chastening, 35 times. Well, actually, it's over 60 when you put both of them together. So these four key words are used throughout the book of Proverbs, to almost an extreme level, because they are its thematic keys. We've already seen the idea of chastening, instruction, correction, as a key concept, haven't we, throughout the book, because that's what the father does with the son to every child that he loves.

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    But we also have these three other key terms or words or ideas, knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. And the purpose statement is founded in these terms that are then used throughout the book of Proverbs. So we need to become familiar with these three terms, and we understand why it is that these terms are used, why they're in the purpose statement, what they mean if we are to engage and unlock this book.

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    So let's explore these three terms just for a moment now. Knowledge, understanding, wisdom. We've looked at instructional correction already to see why that's so important. Now the first thing we discover when we look up in our concordance is we find that these words knowledge, understanding, wisdom are a key biblical trio. They go together.

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    Now come with me to Exodus 31 verses 1 to 3 where we have the instructions for the creation of the tabernacle and the dwelling of God in the wilderness and lo and behold it's built. With knowledge, understanding and wisdom. Our three key terms. Exodus chapter 31 verses 1 to 3.

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    Yahweh spoke to Moses saying, See, I've called by name Bezalel, son of Uriah, son of Hurah, the tribe of Judah. And listen to this, I've filled, so the source of this is God himself, always the source of it is from God, with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship.

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    So these three terms go together. They describe the spirit of God in all the manner of workmanship and creation of the tabernacle of God's dwelling. And of course we understand the spiritual import of this, that Bezalel represents the Lord Jesus Christ. The tabernacle represents the dwelling of God and people, both individual and collective.

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    And the spirit of God that inspires all manner of work in that is called knowledge, understanding, and wisdom, who sources God himself. Now here's another one. Come to Daniel chapter 1, verses 17 to 20. We find the same three terms are used to describe the wisdom of Daniel and his three friends. Daniel chapter 1, verse 17.

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    As for these four children, God gave them, always from God, knowledge, skill in all learning, and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding. There's our three terms in all visions and dreams. And after examination in verse 20, in all the matters of wisdom and understanding the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.

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    So it's a transcending knowledge, understanding, and wisdom from God that's ten times better, utterly better than all that were in all his realm. So did Jesus Christ the Son, as he read these words, think it was going to be important? You see, the point the Father is saying to us, if you engage with this book, it will record for you the essence of the Spirit of God in his knowledge, understanding, and wisdom that inspired Daniel and his three friends, that was the founding and creative force in the dwelling place of God, that was there at the beginning we're going to see, and was the foundation of creation itself, life.

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    And it all revolves around these three key root verbs, knowing, understanding, wisdom, and their derivatives that drive the spirit of the book. knowledge. But why these three terms? And what do they mean? So I'm going to go through two slides now, which is my best attempt to capture the essence of the difference in the interaction of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.

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    And if anyone can improve on these, please come and give me some advice. Here they are. knowledge can be viewed as information. Understanding is the meaning in that information, and the wisdom is the application of it practically in something in life. Knowledge can be equated to facts, or principles, or exhortation. Now I remember my Sunday school teacher, Uncle Dave Bailey, using these three terms to say, these are the heart of good Bible study, facts, then to principles, and exhortation.

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    But of course it's the same process, isn't it? Knowledge, understanding, the application of it, and wisdom. We can view knowledge, understanding, wisdom, generally as a student in the position of taking knowledge in, a teacher who comprehends and understands and pass that, but a practitioner is one who takes that understanding, wisdom, and puts it into life.

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    You know, we can see it in the parable of the sower, where that sea which falls on good ground are those who hear the word of God, understand it, and bring forth fruit. They are doers and hearers. Now there's a few things really to note with that. You'll see that all wisdom includes understanding knowledge within it.

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    You can't have it without understanding a knowledge. All understanding includes knowledge within it, but you can understand but not have wisdom, not apply it. So we need all through, and it's describing a process of instruction. The process of instruction that the father takes his children through in the scriptures is going to be laid out for us here in the book of Proverbs.

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    Here's some practical examples of the relationship of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom to each other. Knowledge is if it is cold and where I should wear a coat. I know that. Understanding is because if I wear a coat, it will keep me dry and warm. And wisdom is it's cold and wet. So I'm wearing a coat.

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     What if I knew that and I understood that and it was cold and wet and I didn't wear a coat? What would the Bible call me? Foolish. So there's an example of how knowledge, understanding, and wisdom apply and go together. There's another example. Algebra. I know the rules of algebra. I won't ask for a show of hands, but how many can think back to algebra those fun days at school and we had the set of rules we had to apply and had no idea why we were doing it and it was so exciting that sometimes we got the right answer.

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     We had no idea, but at some point we understood, oh, that's why you do it. And wisdom would be the application of that so that we could work out what time we needed to leave home in order to get Bible school on time. I'll give you a little example of that.

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     So this is our formula, our algebra that we needed. All right? So start time when we leave home, plus the distance we travel over at speed in kilometres, plus TS1, that's toilet stop one, plus JDTS2, that's we've just had a toilet stop ten minutes ago, why didn't you go then? God, I didn't need to.

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     Plus EMT3, which is emergency toilet stop, plus B1, that's bath one, so I'm not feeling well, just got over the hundred lees. And all the cows come round to the paddock to see what's going on. Then there's B2, that's bath two, I'm still not feeling well. And there's NB, which is not bath, that's I don't feel well, but I can't because there's nothing left.

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     But then there's lunchtime. Then there's CS1, this might or might not apply to it, it does die, and it's sort of CS1 as a, oh, there's a craft shop. Oh, there's another craft shop. Right? And that equals arrival time. Right? So this is the, this is the knowledge and the understanding of algebra that we need to apply practically to revive at the Bible school on time.

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     Now, what I want you all to do is solve this equation for the time you need to leave home. Now, I can already see a vague look of panic on about 75% of the brain and sisters of people's faces here. And you're being taken back to a dark time in life when you were 15 and you sat down, you turned over the exam and it was algebra and we had to solve the problem.

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     And we went, we know there's a trans, something like transgression or transport or transcendental or transpose or something we have to do to this thing to work it out. Right? But you know, I can already see around the hall, there's some who don't know what we're talking about. So, brother Ben Brinkhoff, I can see.

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     There's brother Paul Teal, brother TJ, he's a teacher, right? And all teachers love algebra and they're actually feeling pretty excited at the moment. In fact, maybe a bit emotional, but math. You know, there's a few engineering students sort of nerding out a little bit here as well. They've already put, oh I can see something here.

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     They've already put some differential equations out there and rates of acceleration, deceleration to make it a lot more complex. But the point is, that's the application of something that you know, you understand why it works and you put it into practice in life. Knowledge, understanding, wisdom, it's the process of all education and instruction of the father.

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     So we have knowledge, we have understanding, we have wisdom. And like with all those brethren who love maths, they're never late, always on time. So let's put all of this into the book's context. We know how to discern between moral good and evil, this book says. We will come to know that discernment.

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     We'll come to understand the difference between good and evil and their consequences. We will come to learn how to choose and apply in practical wisdom the principles of good and reject the evil to become the wise. And at the end of it, the book of Proverbs says, and you'll see this theme all over it, at the end of the path is the tree of life.

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     So it's a process, the process of knowledge, understanding and wisdom. All right, well, if that's the process the book of Proverbs is going to give us, where do we start?

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     Well, you've got to start here, don't you? At the beginning of knowledge. And the beginning of knowledge is what? Well, it's the fear of Yahweh, isn't it? And this becomes a key theme. And it's right back in our purpose statement. Come back to chapter 1, verse 7, you'll see just tucked into the end of the purpose statement is this little statement about the fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge.

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     knowledge. But fools despise wisdom in instruction. It's a term Hebrew rashith. It means the first, either in order, as in Genesis 1, verse 1, in the beginning, or in importance, as in principle, and both are appropriate. It's used in Proverbs 8, verse 22, that Yahweh possessed wisdom in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.

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     So that's where it's all going to start for us. Excuse me. It's where it all starts. The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge of good and evil. And in the beginning, the first transgression that unleashed the knowledge of evil into the world, the very first lie, was that there was no consequence for sin.

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     Thou shalt not surely die. There was no fear of the justice or judgment of Yahweh. And so fear of Yahweh is the beginning of the knowledge of good and evil. And the fear of Yahweh is another powerful thing through the book. It's dropped in at the end of the purpose statement. It's regularly referred to throughout the book.

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     But what does it mean? How is the fear of Yahweh the beginning of knowledge? Fear of what? Well, it's a fear of the judgment of God as the consequences on moral evil. The fear of Yahweh is in the context of judgment on evil and the evil way. The fear of Yahweh is a recognition of what evil is and a fear of its consequential judgments.

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     And that's the beginning of knowledge that leads us to wisdom. At the end, says John, perfect love will cast out that fear and we can have boldness in the day of judgment. Now, I've got a few passages here. I'm just going to read through these quickly. But as I do, just see how in each case the fear of Yahweh is associated with the idea of judgmental consequence on evil or wickedness.

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     also associated with a motivation to choose good and not evil because of the outcome. Job 28, verse 28. Unto man, he said, behold, the fear of Yahweh, that is wisdom. And to depart from evil is the understanding. Psalm 19, verse 9. The fear of Yahweh is clean and enduring forever. The judgments and the parallelism of Yahweh are true and righteous together.

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     The fear of Yahweh, the judgments of Yahweh, is clean and enduring forever, are true and righteous altogether. Proverbs 8, verse 13. The fear of Yahweh is to hate evil, pride, arrogancy, the evil way in the froward mouth do I hate. Proverbs 16, verse 6. By mercy and truth, iniquity is purged. By the fear of Yahweh, men depart from evil.

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     Finally, Proverbs 23, verse 17. Let not thine heart envy sinners, but be in the fear of Yahweh all the day long. Fear of what? Fear of the consequential justice and judgment of God. I'm going to put two more quotes up here on screen for you. See the same point being made. Revelation 15, verse 3 to 14.

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     Where we get to sing the song of Moses and of the Lamb and say, great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God almighty, just and true are thy ways, thy King of saints. See the principle of justice and truth. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? For thou only art holy, for all nations shall come and worship before thee, for thy judgments are made manifest.

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     Finally, Ecclesiastes 12, verse 13 to 14. Same point. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God, keep his commandments. It's the whole of man, for God shall bring every work into judgment, every secret thing, whether it be tob, good, or ra, evil. So that's the fear of Yahweh. That's the beginning of knowledge.

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     When we first realize that there is moral right and wrong, there is good and evil, and that God does and he will bring into judgment whether good or evil. And what he says is true and it's not a lie. And that's the beginning of the process. Without it, we can't even start. So the book of Proverbs now is going to present to us the great contrast between good and evil.

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     Between the wise and the fool. Between the righteous and the wicked. Between the woman wisdom and the strange woman. And running right throughout the book over and over again is going to be the point that God will bring every work into judgment. Every secret thing, whether it's good or evil. There will be life.

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     There will be eternity. There will be prosperity. There will be reward. There will be salvation for those who are tob, good. But there will be death. There will be destruction. There will be nothing for the wicked, for the evil way. And at the very start, at the beginning of knowledge, is the comprehension of that truth.

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     So how did the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, understand this book? Well, in this book, the Father directly talks to his Son and to his children. Despise not the chastening, the correction of the Lord. In this book, he gives us the knowledge and understanding and wisdom of good and evil so that we might love the good, hate the evil, choose the good and depart from the evil.

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     The themes of discernment between God and evil will run right through the book. The theme of chastening and correction will run right through the book. The process of knowing, understanding, wisdom, comprehending it and taking actions will run right through the book. That's how the Son understood the book of Proverbs. Because it's the Spirit of the Father to the Son.

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     It's an answer to what ultimately turned out to be a request of the Son. Give me knowledge, understanding and wisdom so I may discern between good and evil in my thoughts, in my speech, in my actions, in my interactions with those around me so I might live truth, justice, equity and righteousness for my people.

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     You know, I often try and find a beautiful summary quote that pulls all the ideas together in a talk or a session. I found one. You want to hear it? Come with me to Isaiah chapter 11 verse 1 to 4. Beautiful passage. Brings all these things together now and centers on the purpose of the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

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     Amen. Isaiah 11 verse 1 to 4. Prophecy. Messianic prophecy. There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse and a branch out of his roots. It's Davidic covenant founded. The Spirit of Yahweh shall rest upon him. The Spirit of eye, wisdom and understanding. The Spirit of counsel and might. The Spirit of knowledge and the fear of Yahweh.

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     And it will make him of quick understanding in the fear of Yahweh. He shall not judge after the sight of his eyes or reprove after the hearing of his ears. But with righteousness he will judge the poor and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. And he will smite the earth with the rod of his mouth.

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     And with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. And righteousness will be the girdle of his lines. And faithfulness and Oman de River of divine truth will be the girdle of his reins. So that's the essence of the book of Proverbs. Now we have a set of keys. We know what the right spirit and approach to the book is.

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     It's the father to the son, his chastening and his correction. And we say, I'm willing. I want to be corrected. Correct me father. Our second key is that the biblical foundation is that it is all based on a knowledge, understanding, wisdom to discern between good and evil so we can choose the good and not the evil.

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     We can see its purpose laid out for us in five key statements in a beautiful chiasm at the beginning of the book. We can see it's a book of process, the book of all instruction and learning, knowledge to understanding to its application and wisdom in process. process. We can see that at the beginning, a fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge.

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     So in conclusion, I can see all perk up because that's the signal. I've only got a couple of minutes left so I get attention for two more minutes. In conclusion, this is what happens now with this book. It's wonderful. So on the screen here, this is our purpose statement. You see all the beautiful highlighted colors there of knowledge, understanding, wisdom and instruction.

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     And after dealing with the evil ways of the wicked and a cry of woman wisdom, in chapter two it comes back and it expands it all. And this is chapter two. Come with me to chapter two of Proverbs. It's probably better if we read it there directly, but see the words knowledge, wisdom, understanding, knowledge, wisdom, understanding, knowledge, wisdom, understanding, as it keeps getting expanded in chapter two of the book of Proverbs.

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     Now we're going to read this as if we are the son listening to the words of the father with all the knowledge and understanding that we've gained this morning about the principles of this book. And we're also going to do so seeing that it's structured around three progressive terms. So chapter two is built and you should color these in.

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     The words if, then, to. If you do these things, then this will be what you get so that you can do something with it. It goes through if, then and do. So here's the spirit of the son. Verse one, chapter two. If thou shalt receive my words and hide my commandments with thee, so that you incline your hair to wisdom and apply your heart to understanding.

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     If you cry after knowledge and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as sewer and search for her treasures, then, verse five, you will understand the fear of Yahweh and find the knowledge of good and evil of God. For Yahweh gives that wisdom out of his mouth comes understanding, knowledge and understanding.

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     He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous. He's a buckler to those who walk uprightly. He keeps the paths of judgment. He preserves the way of the saints. Then, verse nine, thou shalt understand righteousness, judgment, equity, yea, every good moral choice and path. And when his wisdom enters into your heart and knowledge, it will be pleasant to your soul and discretion shall preserve thee and understanding will keep thee so that, to, verse 12, you will be delivered from the way of the evil man, from the man who speaks froward things, who leaves the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness, who rejoices to do evil and delights in the frowardness of the wicked and whose ways are crooked and they are froward in their paths.

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     You'll be delivered from that, verse 16, and it will deliver you from the strange woman, from the stranger who flatters with her words, who forsakes the guide of her youth, who forgets the covenant of her God, her house inclines to death, her paths to the dead, none who go to her return again.

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     Do not take hold of those, they do not take hold of the paths of life, that thou mayest walk in the way of the good and keep the paths of righteousness. For the upright shall dwell in the land and the perfect shall remain in it, but the wicked, they will be cut off from the earth and the transgressed shall be rooted out of it.

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     And so there it is, brothers and sisters, the purpose of the book laid out in chapter 2, if, then, to deliver thee from these two arch nemeses. In the process of knowledge, understanding wisdom, we will be given a practical wisdom to deal with these two enemies in our life, the two great biblical archetypes, individually, collectively, and in systems of sin.

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     Where the apostasy of the first and second century of the truth, the mystery of iniquity that already worked, will be painted entirely in terms of a man of sin and a harlot woman. And the purpose of the book of Proverbs will be deliverance from these two so that we can walk in the ways of righteousness.

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     Because when we come to understand, brothers and sisters, we will come to love good, hate evil. We'll cry after the knowledge and lift up our voice for understanding and we'll search out wisdom as head treasure and as silver to know both good and evil so that we might choose the good and despise and eschew the evil.

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     This truly is in conclusion. Proverbs 3, verse 13 to 18. Happy is the man that finds wisdom and those who get understanding. For the merchandise of it is better, the merchandise of silver and the gain thereof than gold, fine gold. She, wisdom, the knowledge of good and evil, is more precious than rubies.

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     And all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared to her. Length of days is in her right hand. And her left hand riches in honour. And her ways are ways of pleasantness. And all her paths are peace. And in the end she's a tree of life to those who lay hold upon her.

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     And happy is everyone that retaineth her.