The Word To Live By: 8-28-25
Phil Waggoner
For learning what wisdom and discipline are; for understanding insightful sayings; for receiving wise instruction in righteousness, justice, and integrity. Proverbs 1:2-3
The Word To Live By: The book of Proverbs was written specifically so that the child of God can “Know wisdom and instruction, and to discern the sayings of understanding.”
In 1 Kings 3:11-12, God said to Solomon, “Because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have asked for riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice, behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you.” Then Solomon wrote a book called Proverbs and gave us insight into obtaining the wisdom of God. The first thing he said was, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” A fool in the Bible is a person who acts unwisely or imprudently, a silly person, a person who lacks wisdom. The word “fool” in the Old Testament seldom, if ever, is used to describe the feebleminded, imbecile, idiot, or moron. Rather, it always has within it the meaning of a rebel, especially against God and the laws of order, decency, and justice. Which brings me to this. Notice in 1 Kings 3:12, God says, “I have given you a wise and discerning heart…” The wisdom of God comes from your spirit, not necessarily your soul. You don’t have to look very far in the world to find an absolutely brilliant mind that doesn’t have an ounce of wisdom that produces answers to the problems of the world or their lives in general. The fear of the Lord means reverence, respect, and admiration, a feeling or attitude of deep respect and awe. (It can be an attitude and not a feeling.) The fear of the Lord is where it starts, and then wise decisions are added to it. Wisdom is not only knowing what to do, but also when to do it and then acting on what you know. The wisdom of God is developed by not only knowing the Word of God, but by speaking it out loud. Psalm 49:3, “My mouth speaks wisdom; my heart’s meditation brings understanding.” Psalm 90:12, “Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.” Psalm 11:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His instructions have good insight. His praise endures forever.” Tomorrow we’ll look at some of those instructions from the book of Proverbs.
Read through the Bible in a year: John 7:25-52; 1 Chronicles 29; Zechariah 13;
Read through the New Testament and Proverbs: Proverbs 28, Mark 2:1-14, 1 Corinthians 15
The sum of Thy Word is Truth Psalm 119:160