June 2, 2012 … God’s “GPS”

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Proverbs, Chapters 1-3 To study these chapters, go to this link -
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Highlight Passage: Proverbs 1: 1-7: [NKJV]… 1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: 2 To know wisdom and instruction, To perceive the words of understanding, 3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, Justice, judgment, and equity; 4 To give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion 5 A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, 6 To understand a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles. 7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction. 
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Highlight Passage #2: Proverbs 2: 1-5: …[NKJV] 1 My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you, 2 So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; 3 Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, 4 If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; 5 Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, And find the knowledge of God.. 

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Highlight Passage #3: Proverbs 3: 5-6: …[NKJV] 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

My Journal for Today: Wow! I’m a bit in awe of where and how to start this journal entry now that my reading plan has led me into the Book of Proverbs; and here today to study the first three chapters. I like what my Parsons Commentary had to say about the Proverbs - ” What the book of Psalms is to prayer and devotional life, the book of Proverbs is to everyday life. Proverbs gives practical suggestions for effective living. This book is not just a collection of homey sayings; it contains deep spiritual insights drawn from experience. A proverb is a short, wise, easy-to-remember saying that calls a person to action.“

Solomon apparently wrote most of the Book of Proverbs, especially the first 9 chapters, early in his kingship; and he was probably led by God’s Spirit to write these poetic signposts to wisdom before his own pride and arrogance got in the way of his own walk with the Lord. In other words [and this is only my observation], … if Solomon had walked-the-walk of life as he wrote about it in his own Proverbs, he would not have ended up compelled to write the book of Ecclesiastes later in his life to confess for himself and to help others to realize that it is so, so easy for us to get complacent, lazy, and so filled with pride that we don’t do what he, Solomon, was trying to get others to do in following God and letting God’s Spirit guide us as believers to a wise and Godly life.

That’s certainly the purpose of the Proverbs, as you can read above in the first highlight passage (Prov. 1: 1-5), where we read Solomon challenging the believer, in this case young, immature, believers, like a father speaking to his son, … to become wise, … with the essence of wisdom coming from one’s fear of (i.e., reverence in following) the Lord. Certainly, Solomon had been given all the tools of intellect by God to have the ability to write what we read in Proverbs. God blessed him with the highest degree of human understanding and Spirit-led insight. But even though He had all of what a human would need to do to live a wise/Godly life; he blew it! What Solomon wrote in Prov. 3: 5-6, copied above, he simply either became prideful and arrogant or just plain lazy in seeking to grow further, motivated by the awe of His God, because we know that he was not able to live up to his own proverbial writings, and he got off track, … not walking-the-walk as he had talked-the-talk [i.e., written] from God’s Spirit.

In other words, somewhere along the way, using Prov. 3: 5-6 as truth, he followed his own, likely, fleshly, understanding, rather than following closely the understanding of life he had been given by God; and he went down the road of vanity as he ended up confessing in Ecclesiastes, which led him to crushing failure.

Dear one, … I hope we’re grasping the lessons which Solomon’s written warnings give us in Proverbs; and we don’t have to come back later in life, having to confess, repent, and be restored onto the path of righteousness from a life diverted into the tarpits of sin. God, through Solomon’s writings in Proverbs wanted us to seek His way and will from His word, living in awe of His holiness and following God’s road to eternal life, … rather than leaning on our own ways and going down the path of selfish pursuit, which can only lead to death.

Incorporating the Godly wisdom of the Proverbs into our life, with the assumption that we know and believe all that is written into the rest of God’s word (i.e., Scripture), we will be given God’s direction-finder, … a Spirit-enhanced “GPS” device [a “Godly Positioning System”], which will, if we follow it, lead us to walk-the-walk of a Godly life.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, I want You as my “GPS” for life; and I mostly find my way by seeking Your will and Your way from Your word. Amen