Understanding The Book of Proverbs

Context of the Book of Proverbs

Now, I think it's, some people might say, what does Proverbs have to do with Mother's Day? Well, let me tell you, because Mother's Day has much to do with Proverbs. Even though Mother's Day isn't a holiday known in the Bible, Mother's Day has much to do with Proverbs. I want to share three Proverbs. These are modern Proverbs. About moms, but this is, if you don't know what a proverb is, you've never heard a proverb. You have no idea how a proverb is formed. Listen to these three modern proverbs about moms and you'll get the gist of what a proverb is. Okay. All right. Your first proverb, not from the Bible. We'll get there. A mother's hug lasts long after she lets go. That's sweet, right? Yeah. Let me give you two more. A mother understands what a child does not say. These are proverbs. Okay. A mother that, that unique skill. That a mom might develop to understand what's in between the words. Okay. A mother understands what a child does not say. One more. Mothers hold their children's hands for a while, but their hearts forever. Everyone say, oh. Oh, that's sweet. Bundy brought you the sweetness today. All right. You hear that sound? It's like the rushing of many waters. The pen scribbling is many dads writing these downs hurriedly. Right now they're like, the card isn't finished. I can get the kids to put this in the card this morning. She holds your, how did it go? Your hand for a while, but their hearts forever. Dads are inscribing. Furiously, like Hallmark reps. All right, let's look at the slide. Collections of sayings. Now, you may not have ever read the book of Proverbs, or you may have a deep, decades-long relationship with the book of Proverbs, but there's still something to learn. We've all got something to learn about this book, even if you've Never read it. Collections of sayings. This is how Proverbs is organized. And so, you know, you may have read it and just thought, boy, it's a lot crammed together because it can feel that way. Or you may have never seen it. So here's how, how is it organized? Well, if you don't have book, uh, like chapter and verse organization, this is the way an ancient Hebrew would have seen the organization. Okay. They didn't have chapter and verse numbers. But at the opening of the book, the prologue, there are speeches about wisdom. And actually today we're going to read two of them. So when I do read scripture in a minute, I'm going to read Proverbs eight and Proverbs nine So you've now, hopefully you found the Bible. You can find chapter eight That's where I'm going to read in a moment. The opening speech is a prologue to the whole book. Uh, some scholars say there's ten speeches and some say twelve This just has to do with how they divide the poetry, but there's a handful of speeches. youreferencing lady wisdom and sometimes lady folly. So there's a father writing to a son or sons talking about the wise life and speeches. Using these literary women, wisdom and folly, as his example. The next part of the book is a bunch of little pithy sayings from Solomon. Solomon was the third king of Israel. He was called a very wise person. At least at one point in his life, he's the wisest in the world. The end of his life makes you wonder if it's stuck or not. But he had skill at least in some things. And look at how many there are. Say the number out loud. How many Proverbs of Solomon are there in that section? 375. which in Hebrew is the number of his name. So this is on purpose, okay? You take the letters in Hebrew for Solomon's name. They have numeric value. And it creates 375. That's how you write the number 375. So this, was this planned accidentally? Was this haphazard? This was a life project, everyone. This was a life project of someone and probably as many scribes Who are collecting wisdom sayings. He's giving wisdom sayings. They're hearing wisdom sayings and saying, write that down. This is what I say to you in church all the time, right? You better write that down. Do I ever say that to you? I will today. Hillary, write that down. Solomon would say to one of his scribes and they would write it down and they crafted these. They put them in some order. There's some themes and they came up with how many do we put on the scroll? Well, let's be cute. His name is 375. That's how many we put. Does that make sense? You got it? Okay. Now that you know that, I can move a little faster. Then there's thirty sayings of the wise. Why aren't they part of the Solomon section? I guess because he didn't author them or find them or it didn't fit in the number. I don't know. And then there's five more sayings of the wise. Why aren't they part of the first 30? Nobody knows. This is just, they must have got it on a different scroll. Somebody was like, it's a different collection, so we call it Further Sayings of the Wise. Okay, so it's another collection. And then you've got more Proverbs of Solomon. Why aren't those part of the first Proverbs of Solomon? Well, because it says in the Bible these were compiled by the men of Hezekiah. Hezekiah is a later king. Okay, so there must have been some verbal transmission of Solomon's sayings going around in Israel. People would say things like, well, Solomon once said. And eventually, Hezekiah was like, somebody, say it with me, write those down. Write those down. You guys didn't do well at that. Let's try it again. Somebody write those down. That's what they said. And so, and they did. And they wrote, and they were like, how many should we put on this scroll? And they go, Hezekiah's name is 130. So we'll put 130. All right. This is, this is how the Bible was often organized. Isn't it amazing? And then they have the sayings of Agur. Agur's not even an Israelite, but he's just some guy that apparently Solomon really thought he was wise, and so they put his stuff in here. And then they have the sayings of King Lemuel, which again is a non-Israelite, but they must have thought he was wise. And it says right there, which his mother taught him. So these, these aren't even King Lemuel sayings. These are King Lemuel's mama's sayings is what these are. And that's the last chapter of Proverbs, including that famous poem called the, the wife of noble character or the wife of virtue, the woman of virtue. That poem is an acrostic poem in Hebrew, which means every letter of the Hebrew alphabet starts one of the lines. But it's actually a poem that comes from Lemuel from his mom. So does the book of Proverbs have anything to do with Mother's Day? Well, yeah. The whole opening speeches are about a dad saying to boys this is the kind of literary woman that you should follow with your life and it ends with Some guy that Solomon liked because his mother was wise. This is how the book of Proverbs is framed. And I want to say on Mother's Day, one, one more comment before we just move deeper into Proverbs is that lady wisdom would be a good spiritual mother. We're going to read from her in a moment. You might have heard in Lisa's prayer I did that she prayed for those spiritual mothers. Sometimes there's a woman in our life that takes the place of what maybe our mother couldn't be or just does something more in the Lord for us, bringing about spiritual wisdom. Lady wisdom in the Proverbs would be a good spiritual mother if you lack one. Look here. Now, Tremper Longman, who's a Bible scholar, and a pretty good one, says that wisdom, Lady Wisdom, and here you can just see the book and chapter verses to help you if you need that. That lady wisdom stands for Israel's God. Okay, so in the speech we're about to read, Lady Wisdom, according to Tremper Longman, stands for Yahweh, Israel's God. And Lady Folly stands for The false gods of the Canaanites, Ashtoreth and Baal. So maybe if you've read Old Testament before at all, you've seen they'll put up Sometimes they fall into great sin and they put up idols to Ashtoreth and Baal. These are Canaanite gods that were in the land when the Israelites conquered it, but far too often because of the blessings these These false gods supposedly would bestow. They would turn to them and worship. Like if there wasn't enough rain, they'd be like, let's try those guys for a while. And so the speeches might be in part for the Israelites about staying faithful to Yahweh. There's a term that we use called synecdoche, which means when you use part of something to represent the whole thing. Okay. When you use part of something like wisdom is an attribute of God. It's not his whole self. But in his place, literary figure to say that this is God in the text. This is the use of wisdom here. It's like wisdom is God's attribute. But you'll see in the poem it stands in some way for God. Lady wisdom is a literary personification of God's wisdom. All right. Um, one more comment on what is a proverb before we read it. 

What is a Proverb?

What is a proverb? Well, it's a wise saying. In the Bible, it's often in the form of a couplet, so two lines together. And I'll say more about this in other weeks. There's different kinds, but it's usually two lines. A little quippy saying... It's important to note that they're, they're probabilities, not promises. And a short explanation is this. These need to be read differently than passages where God makes a clear promise and stamps his name on it. So it's like, I, the Lord say. Or when Jesus issues a command. Okay, there are parts of the Bible that are different in their weight or how they're to be applied. When Jesus says something to you like, um, that you should repent, you shouldn't take that as a suggestion. You should do it. He says to be baptized. It's not a suggestion. You should do it. But when a proverb says something, you need to think about whether or not it's the right time to apply it. Proverbs have also have one of the views of wisdom in the Old Testament that's very positive about most likely outcomes. There's another book called Ecclesiastes, which is like, here's all the things in life that don't work. Reading many books, will it make you have a great life? Well, for a little while, and then it won't work anymore. Building many buildings, and he goes on and on, all these things in life that won't work. And the book of Job is all about when wisdom doesn't hold true. What about when sickness and death and destruction come in spite of a life well lived? So there's other views of wisdom in the Old Testament. To account for complex life. But proverbs, they're not promises, they're probabilities. You could say it this way. So you might want to write this down. Okay. A proverb is a short sentence based on long experience. Okay, and this holds true in our modern proverbs and in ancient ones. A proverb is a short sentence based on long experience. It's the wisdom of many through the wit of one. 

How To Apply A Proverb?

And they're situation sensitive. Okay, Longman, again, Tremper Longman, this, he wrote this helpful little book on Proverbs. If you want it, I'll put it in some notes in an email for the church. Tremper Longman says that to use a proverb the right way, you have to understand it's situation sensitive. You need observation that comes through experience and You need instruction to learn from mistakes, but most importantly, divine revelation like prayer and the people of God to use a proverb well. Uh, here's, here's one proverb that from the Bible that illustrates this the best. Proverbs twenty-six nine says a proverb in the mouth of a fool is like a thorn bush brandished by a drunk. A proverb in the mouth of a fool is like a thorn bush brandished by a drunk. Don't put that in your Mother's Day card. Helpful tips. A thorn bush brandished by a drunk cuts both ways. Right? It hurts those that are being whipped with it. It cuts the hand that holds it. So Proverbs has a view of its own self. The biblical book of Proverbs has a view of its own self. But if you use these words wrongly, you'll do great harm to others and to yourself as well. Okay. So deploying them needs to be done carefully. Now we all have proverbs, whether we realize it or not. I think it's the third time I told you I'm about to read a speech from chapter eight, but here's one more thing. So one more thing. We have modern proverbs. Okay. So if you think I, if you think, This has no meaning for me. This is old literature. We need real action. There's problems in the world. We don't have time for this kind of preaching. Well, think about the things that you or your friends say all the time. You don't know that you've got a book of proverbs that's already in your cultural pocket all the time that's telling you how to live, that's giving you instruction. Okay. And by these proverbs, you're making real action, real choices. Uh, here's one. It is what it is. That's very Philly, by the way. It is what it is. Or another Philly as well. We'll see. That's, that's a proverb. It is what it is. It means, like, you should accept reality even if it's unpleasant and people live by this. What goes around comes around. Well, that's kind of antithetical to grace, but it fits really well with another global religious idea called karma. What goes around comes around has less to do with Jesus and more to do with poetic justice. But we live by it. We say it to one another. Uh, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. Wayne Gretzky popularized it. It means you should take risks. If you want something done right, do it yourself. What matters? Self-reliance. Especially over delegation. How about these? Work smarter, not harder. Don't put your eggs all in one basket. Every financier ever said that one. Fake it till you make it. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. There's no such thing as a free lunch. And on and on. Nowadays in the You know, the web is fear. We say don't feed the trolls, which means don't engage online antagonists. People will be like, I'm going to answer this one. They go, don't feed the trolls. Write that down. That's good. Don't answer the comments. Okay, life isn't fair. People say life isn't fair. And let me tell you, applying it at the right time makes all the difference. You say life isn't fair in the receiving line of a funeral. You say life isn't fair at the counseling couch. They're very different applications. One of them as comfort. It fails. As counsel, it might work if the person's ready to receive it. You've got to deploy these the right way. You've got them. You live by them. So we need to see, finally, everybody say amen. What does Proverbs eight say about this? 

Lady Wisdom in Proverbs 8

Proverbs eight say about this? So here we go. I'm going to read to you from Proverbs eight Now this is God's word. Okay. This, this is the heart of the issue. And what is this? What are you about to read? It's a speech from personified lady wisdom. Okay. This is near the end of the opening speeches. Does not wisdom call out Does not understanding raise her voice? At the highest point along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand. Beside the gate leading into the city at the entrance, she cries aloud, To you, oh, people, I call out. I raise my voice to all mankind. That word mankind in the Hebrew is to all sons of Adam. You who are simple. Gain prudence. You who are foolish, set your hearts on it. Do you notice that lady wisdom has hope for those who have already messed up their lives? So you're foolish. Like, there's something that can be done about this. You've lived like a fool. Set your heart on, on wisdom, on prudence. Listen, for I have trustworthy things to say. I open my lips to speak what is right. My mouth speaks what is true, for my lips detest wickedness. All the words of my mouth are just. She continues in verse eight. None of them is crooked or perverse. To the discerning, all of them are right. Now, do you see that line? To the discerning, all of them are right. This is Proverbs self-awareness. That you actually do have to use the sayings that are going to follow in the book the right way. You can't just brandish them like a drunk with a thorn bush. You got to learn to use them the right way. So the discerning, all of them are right. They are upright to those who have found knowledge. Choose my instruction instead of silver. Knowledge rather than choice gold. Now this, you, you know that that's currency, but that might not land for you the same way as saying, choose my instruction instead of retirement accounts. But that's what this means. Knowledge rather than great gobs of cash. Okay. This is what it means. She means it would be better for you to find my wisdom than to land that amazing salary. Wisdom is more precious than rubies and nothing you desire can compare with her. You see the personification like a woman. Okay. And what we're going to see in the next chapter is she's a woman who offers a relationship. But for right now, just see this, this woman. I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence. I possess knowledge and discretion. To fear the Lord is to hate evil. I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior, and perverse speech. Now, she's got a lot to say, so we're not quite through it yet, but let me read the rest, okay? People would have sat with this. It feels a little long to read it in church, but if you sat and read this on your own, this takes a few minutes. People would have sat and read this through several times and thought about how does this match up with my life? Okay. So she continues. She says, I'm going to read through the slide and then sum it up. By me, kings reign and rulers issue decrees that are just. By me, princes govern and nobles, all who rule on earth. I love those who love me and those who seek me find me. Doesn't that sound like what God says about himself? I told you I'd sum it up at the end. Here we go. Oh, ah, like, and um. I walk in the way of righteousness Now, she claims that all success in life belongs to her. Whether it is, and remember, this is a literary device pointing at Yahweh, at the Lord, but whether it's wealth or even better, Uh, prudence, discretion, knowledge, counsel, sound judgment, insight, and even power. All of this belong to Lady Wisdom. So she's laying a long, wide claim here to the things in life that make life worth living, to the things that you and I need for wisdom in our life. And here's the end of her statement. Okay, her statement will now end with a creation conversation where she says that she was The one at creation with God making everything that is. This is going to sound very familiar when we read some New Testament passages in the series. But read it with me. She says, So before God started shaping the world and making it lovely and, you know, have you ever thought about how did he design all these different kind of leaves and needles and so many feathers and so many insects? You know, were mosquitoes really necessary? And all of these questions you have about creation, wisdom is like, before he did it, he made me The first work, I was formed long ages ago at the very beginning when the world came to be. When there was no watery depths, I was given birth. Now, if you know your Bible, the Bible opens by saying, in the beginning, God made the heavens and the earth. And the earth was formless and void and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters. So the opening scene of Genesis, the waters are already there, which is why when wisdom says, When there were no watery depths, I was given birth. Wisdom is saying like this attribute of God existed even before the opening scene of Genesis. Everything comes by wisdom. When there were no springs overflowing with water, before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills I was given birth. Before he made the world or its fields or any of the dust of the earth. Just see the creation claims. The power of God's creative wisdom is on offer. This is no secondary gift of God on offer. It's the gift, the gift that made everything, that shaped everything. God's saying you can be in relationship, have participation with this gift. You think your life is a wreck? You wish you would have never made it the way you had made it. It needs to be unmade. Somebody needs to remake it. However you would talk about your life. God is saying to you that very creative power is at your disposal. Not for you to wield it however you will like a drunk with a thorn bush, but to be guided by God to be useful for remaking a life. She says I was there when he set the heavens in place when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep when he gave the sea its boundary So the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth, I was constantly at his side. Wisdom as an attribute of God is portrayed as being in relationship with God. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world, and delighting in mankind. Have you ever felt unloved that no one delights in you? That no one would remember if you departed. That you've got no value anymore. Wisdom in her speech, given by father to son in the mouth of Lady Wisdom, says, I was at the side of God, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind. Wisdom, God's attribute, God himself delights in you. These are these great, deep, ancient promises. It's somewhat hidden in translation, but the language used in that poem is the same language about cutting and shaping that craftsmen use whenever they built the tabernacle like we talked about before. So she offers a blessing. Okay, no great speech is complete without a blessing. This creative power of God. She says, now then, my children, listen to me. Blessed are those who keep my ways. Listen to my instruction and be wise. Do not disregard it. This part sounds like the Beatitudes of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. For those who find me find life and receive favor from the Lord. You remember Jesus talked about, I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. Okay, wisdom in the Old Testament is the woman who says that. Those who find me find life. But those who fail to find me harm themselves and all who hate me love death. You know that the blessing here, this blessing is not for specific proverbs. This is before you get to the pithy sayings. This is where Lady Wisdom says the pursuit of me is what brings about the blessing. You might learn half the sayings of Solomon. You might learn a third of them. You might apply a quarter of them well in your life. But pursuing me and the relationship with me is how you will find this life. Okay. And she's put it on offer. And in the next chapter, there's a little short speech. And then there's another little short speech. This is the long one in chapter eight. 

Lady Wisdom's Offer & Lady Folly's Offer

The next one's very short, but it's like, Wisdom is now being challenged by another lady named Folly, and they have these contrasting speeches because she's not the only contender. Okay, so I put, I put in the next reading here, there's, there's a couple of white slide backgrounds, which is wisdom again. And then we've got a dark one, which is going to be Lady Folly. So just listen to the contrast because there's More than one agent who is after your loyalty. Wisdom's built her house. She's set up at seven pillars. She's prepared meat and mixed wine and set her table. In the ancient Near East, if you eat with someone, it's to enter into a close or intimate relationship or a partnership. She sent out her servants and she calls from the high point of the city. So this part's much like the last speech. To those who have no sense, she says, come eat my food, drink the wine I've mixed. Leave your simple ways and you'll live. Walk in the way of insight. Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults. Whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse. So do not rebuke mockers or they'll hate you. Rebuke the wise and they will love you. So she's making her plea like who will Who will come and learn? If you're too good to learn, this is what she's saying. She's saying if you're too cool for school, I don't want you at my table. But she's saying, if you want to learn and be instructed, you'll be happy at my dinner. Verse nine instruct the wise, they'll be wiser still. Teach the righteous and they'll add to their learning. The fear of the Lord is beginning of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For through wisdom, your days will be many and years will be added to your life. If you're wise, your wisdom will reward you. If you're a mocker, you alone will suffer. You see that she promises days and long life. But here's the speech from Lady Folly, okay? The other, the antagonist. Folly is an unruly woman. Uh-oh. I'm not going to ask you if you've ever known one of these. Well, I did. Didn't I just asked you, but you don't have to answer. It's certainly not out loud. Folly is an unruly woman. She's simple and knows nothing. Now look at how she imitates wisdom. She sits at the door of her house. Do you remember how they raised up Ashtorea poles and altars to Baal at the high points, at the high places? They'd even fill God's temple grounds with these pagan idolatries at times. What about when you raise up in your life a standard, a wisdom standard for your life that's actually contrary to God's purpose, but you make it your guiding light. Okay. You've placed it at the highest point of the city. She calls out to those who pass by who go straight on their way and says, let all who are simple come to my house. I can throw a dinner too. She says to those who have no sense, stolen water is sweet. Food eaten in secret is delicious. You see how she takes this beautiful offer and she just turns, twists, twists, Mars it a little bit, but little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead. So the contrast to the blessing of life is, is this certainty of death if you follow her ways. Proverbs nine shows that we've got two offers on the table. We can grow close to wisdom or to folly and follow their ways. Um, I want to, I want to pause for a second and say there's a challenge here for us. The challenge is to seek the way of wisdom, and one of the ways to do it is for us to read Proverbs together several times in May and June. I want to invite you to read this book. You've heard the two speeches. You've heard two chapters already out of, out of thirty-one chapters. You just read two of them. Chapter eight and chapter nine And that's the end of the speeches. 

How To Study The Book Of Proverbs

After this, you get into the little pithy sayings. But I want you to open this book up. If you're Whether you're old and you've read it before, whether you're a teenager and maybe you need to figure out where your paper Bible is at and open it and read it and write in it and write question marks. Right? I don't know what this means. Read it and put a star and be like, I wish I would have known that when I was thirteen Okay. Read it, mark it, highlight it, think about it, discuss it with friends, pray and ask the Lord to have a relationship with you. Ask Jesus to be the center and foundation of your life as well as your afterlife. Discuss the hard and the confusing sayings. If you're a parent, read this with your kids. Even if they're small, the challenge is to read some of Proverbs with your kids in May and in June. You might be surprised at the connections they make. Okay, so this is the challenge. Let's read it together. I'm going to send out some resources to the church. If you need some help, we'll send some help. But crack a journal open, get your Bible, get a pen and read this stuff because the one thing that's certain in there is wisdom is like, if you don't try, okay, you're on your way to Lady Folly's house. In this instance, she agrees with Wayne Gretzky. That you need to take this risk. You need to take the shot and read her words. Um... And when Jesus comes on the scene and he's doing his ministry, we love Jesus, don't we? Good. We love Jesus, don't we? I mean, he's everything to us. And when he comes on the scene and he's doing his ministry and his preaching and his teaching, he does a lot of amazing things. Like you've probably heard, he gives the sermon on a Mount and it takes up three chapters of Matthew. And like, my gift to you on Mother's Day is we're not reading all that today, aren't you? Yeah, and that, we're not gonna read all that today. You get to go home soon. But you should read it. 

Jesus and Wisdom

After this, you get into the little pithy sayings. But I want you to open this book up. If you're And I want to share the end, just the end of his Sermon on the Mount. Because what happens when Jesus comes on the scene is Proverbs eight and Lady Wisdom become a key resource for the apostles to In their initial attempts to describe who Jesus was in his humanity and his deity. Okay, so the apostles like Paul will write this to the Corinthian church. one Corinthians one twenty-four Christ is the wisdom of God. It's straight from Proverbs eight Paul's like, do you want to unlock the mystery of who that woman is in Proverbs 8? It's, it is Jesus. And this isn't, remember, this is a literary device. Okay. This is a literary device to say who best lived that life, who lived their whole life as if they dined at the table of Lady Wisdom and never took a step down the alley towards Lady Folly's meal. It's Jesus. Or John's prologue, the beginning of the Gospel of John, opens by calling Jesus the Logos, the Word. And it's this long, beautiful section, but the Logos term for the Greek philosophers is like the characteristic, the divine attribute of That brings order, reason, and rationality of the divine. So when the Greek philosophers say logos, they're thinking about who orders the world and makes things make sense and gives wisdom to everything. They're thinking about creative acts. John, the apostle, just picks this up and he goes, do you know who we should use that about, guys? Peter's over there going, hmm. And John's like, let me write it for you. And he writes this beautiful prologue to his gospel that's about Jesus, the logos of God, which is the wisdom attribute of God. So here's what Jesus says. This is his offer at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine, it's very much like Proverbs eight and puts them into practice. It's like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The kids know this song, okay? The rains came down and the floods came up and the wise man's house stood, everybody do it with me if you know it, firm, right? I'm glad three of you know that. But everyone who does not know them is like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. This is the one everybody wants to do. So I'm giving you, I'm giving you one more chance. Okay. One more chance. Rains came down. The floods came up and the foolish man's house went. There you go. Okay. Come on. Let's do it. You ready? The foolish man's house went. There you go. Now, like, 200 of you learned this for the first time. This is really good. The foolish man's house went splat. It fell with a great crash, Jesus says. I want you to notice this offer. Jesus' offer is for those who put my words into practice. Okay? Jesus has more to offer than merely... The salvation of your soul in the afterlife. He's big enough for that. But he offers you a relationship today, not only to come and eat with him, but to found your house, meaning your life on his teachings, the teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, the other teachings in the Gospels. He said when he commissioned the disciples to go into the world, teach them to obey everything I've commanded you. This is what he viewed discipleship to be. Teach them to obey everything I've commanded you. That's not just about how to get saved, although Jesus is powerful to save. But it's also about how to live the life of blessing and salvation and even to put a life back together with Jesus as your closest relationship and guide. When the people heard him say this. Okay, they listen to the sermon, they hear him make this claim. He makes this Proverbs eight claim for himself. It says, the crowds were amazed at his teaching because he taught as one who had authority, not as their teachers of the law. When the people heard him make this claim, They walked away and they said, now that is a guy we should follow. That is a guy who knows what he's talking about. They were all looking at each other as Jesus was saying these things and they were, write that down, write that down, write that down. This is better than Solomon. One, in fact, it'll say in the gospels, one greater than Solomon is here. And his name is Jesus. He's the wisdom of God. He's the logos. He's the son of God. He's our savior and our friend. Look to him now. Pray with me. Lord Jesus, we look to you and we ask you. Not as you're not just a poem about the attribute of God's wisdom. You're the person that embodies the fullness of God. Jesus, Lord and Savior, we give you praise and glory. We praise your name and we praise the Father through you. Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty. We praise the Father through the name of Jesus, through the work of Jesus, through the promises of Jesus. That Jesus, he made sense of the woman in the poem in Proverbs eight And you made it even more clear than we had ever seen before that this is a real way of life. A real choice with real consequences and real promises and blessings. And so I pray, Jesus, as we read Proverbs and James this summer, as we seek wisdom, that you would give it. Your brother James, after living a life around you and finally becoming a follower of yours, Said that if we would ask God for wisdom, that he'll give it. So we pray for it now. I invite every heart in the room, every heart within hearing. If you're willing to ask God, give me wisdom. Ask God and he'll give it. Ask God, give me wisdom. Give me wisdom for my life. Give me greater skill in living. If you've never asked him to save your soul and your afterlife, Ask him that too. Jesus, save me. Save my life. I believe in you, Jesus. And if you've known him for a long time, he's been your savior and your friend, you ask him for that wisdom, say, put my life back together, Jesus. Put it back together. Lead me in your way. Let me sit at your table. Teach me your words. Help me to know how to use them. Help me to be a craftsman, not a drunk with a thorn bush. Jesus, help. To him be all glory and praise forever and ever. Amen.