31-Psalms 144 – Proverbs 22
Jul. 25, 2009
We will continue our study this week with the last few Psalms in the Book of Psalms, and then move into the Book of Proverbs. Last week we saw more and more how God’s character was revealed in the Jewish hymnal in songs and poetry. We will start off this week with Psalm 144, a prayer, and then look at the last six Psalms which are songs of praise to end the book. Psalm 144 is a prayer of David where he asks the Lord to rescue him. He again refers to the Lord as his rock in verse 1 and then talks of God’s power and strength. In verse 3 David writes, “O Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You think of him?” This verse is similar to the words he wrote in Psalm 8:4 “What is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him?” The question on why the Eternal God would take the time to notice something as insignificant as man was first brought up by Job in the Book of Job 7:17, and also was included by the writer of the Book of Hebrews in Chapter 2:6. The fact that the life of man is just a mere breath has also appeared before in the Psalms. In Psalm 145 David praises the Lord for how good He has been to His creation. In this Psalm David says that all people will praise the Lord and that the Lord is near to all that call on Him. Psalm 146 is a Psalm of praise to the Lord. In verse 3 the writer says, “Do not trust in princes, in mortal man, in whom there is no salvation.” Hope is in God alone because everything comes from Him. In Psalm 147 the Psalmist praises the Lord for Jerusalem. This Psalm seems to have been written during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah after the Jewish people returned from their captivity in Babylon. The last two verses of the Psalm tell us of Israel’s special place to God in His dealings with man. “He declares His words to Jacob, His statutes and His ordinances to Israel. He has not dealt thus with any nation; And as for His ordinances, they have not known them. Praise the Lord!” Where Psalm 147 is a Psalm where Israel is encouraged to praise the Lord, Psalm 148 encourages the whole of creation to praise Him. This includes everything He has made, Moon, stars, animals, trees, and of course, all people. In Psalm 149 the people of Israel are again encouraged to praise the Lord. The Psalmist says the Lord will bless Israel with salvation, and punish their wicked enemies. Psalm 150 is the last Psalm in the Book of Psalms. It is a song of praise. The Psalmist encourages us to praise the Lord with musical instruments. The last verse of the Psalm, verse 6, tells us what we all should do! “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!” This ends the Book of Psalms. We will now begin the Book of Proverbs. The English dictionary defines the word proverb as a short memorable saying that expresses a truth or gives a warning. The Book of Proverbs is a collection of five hundred thirteen of these sayings that were selected out of the three thousand that King Solomon wrote during his life. This number comes to us from the Book of 1 Kings 4:32 “He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005.” Solomon was uniquely qualified to write this book of wisdom because he was the wisest man who ever lived. Solomon was asked by God in a dream recorded in 1 Kings 3:5 “Ask what you wish Me to give you.” Solomon replied to the Lord that he wished to have the wisdom to rule Israel properly. This response pleased the Lord and He gave Solomon His answer in 1 Kings 3:11-12 “Because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have asked 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.” The words of the Book of Proverbs were God breathed to instruct us on how to live and be successful in life. The Book of Proverbs is divided into five sections. The first section is Chapter 1:1-7 which is the introduction to the book, and also describes the book’s purpose. The second section is from Chapter 1:8 through the end of Chapter 9 and cover Solomon’s proverbs addressed to his son. These sayings were directed towards the young, but we, as adults, should also heed their advice. The next two sections of the book are collections of proverbs by King Solomon. The first is directly from Solomon and covers Chapter 10 through the end of Chapter 24. The second collection from Chapter 25 through the end of Chapter 29 was a collection of Solomon’s proverbs organized by King Hezekiah who was king of Judah almost three hundred years after Solomon. The last section consists of two chapters that have the name of their author as their titles. Chapter 30 was written by a man named Agur who was possibly a student of wisdom during the time of Solomon. Chapter 31 is by King Lemuel who ancient Jewish tradition believes was Solomon. This chapter contains a glowing tribute to a woman that was very unusual to find in the literature of that day. The first seven verses of Chapter 1 introduce the Book of Proverbs to the reader. Verse 1 discloses the author of the book and the next six verses tell us the purpose of why the book was written. Verse 7 tells us where to start! “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Verse 8 begins the second section of Proverbs where Solomon addresses his son. Solomon describes the condition of those who refuse wisdom throughout the chapter to his son. He calls them in the text, sinners, naive, simple-minded, full of dread, scoffers, and wayward. In verse 33 Solomon gives us the reason to listen to his words. “But he who listens to me shall live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil” Chapter 2 continues Solomon’s words of wisdom to his son. In the first part of the chapter he says you should seek wisdom as you would hidden treasure. He also says that wisdom comes from the Lord, and without wisdom you will be subject to evil, and the ways of evil. The chapter also speaks of several paths a man can follow. First there is the crooked path that leads to the “ways of darkness”. Then there are the paths of uprightness, life, and righteousness, which lead to the Lord. Solomon lists the rewards of wisdom in Chapter 3. Verse 2 says that wisdom will add years to your life, and that you will live in peace. Verses 5-7 give us the key to the entire book. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.” Another good pair of verses to remember are verses 11-12 “My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord or loathe His reproof, for whom the Lord loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.” The Lord will correct us when we stray from His commandments, but out of love He will guide us back to Him. The Chapter goes on and repeats the value of wisdom in verses 14-15 “For her profit is better than the profit of silver and her gain better than fine gold. She is more precious than jewels; And nothing you desire compares with her.” Wisdom will give you peace and make your path through life straight. Chapter 4 is also written in the form of a father instructing his son. He wants to give him an understanding of the way to walk through the path of life. Solomon tells us in verse 7 “The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; And with all your acquiring, get understanding.” Wisdom is not something man is born with and possesses from birth. Wisdom is something that must be sought out and acquired. Solomon tells his son to hear his sayings and not enter the path of the wicked. He tells us in verse 24 some very wise words on how we should speak to others. “Put away from you a deceitful mouth and put devious speech far from you.” Chapter 5 continues Solomon’ s instruction to his son. In this chapter he warns of the temptation to follow immoral women. He says their words would “drip like honey” from their mouths, and be “smoother than oil” in verse 3. The truth is that this path only leads to the grave and is of no value. Solomon tells his son to “rejoice in the wife of your youth” in verse 18 as the Lord expects. He also tells us in verse 21 that no one can hide from Him. “For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He watches all his paths.” The instruction to Solomon’s son continues in Chapter 6. First he warns him against becoming responsible for someone else’s debt. He says that you will become trapped by it and that you should find a way out of the responsibility as soon as you possibly can. He then goes on and tells those of us who are lazy that we should use the example of the ant and how it works to supply its needs. Disaster will come upon us while we are sleeping when we should be working. In verses 16-19 lists some things the Lord “hates” and are an abomination to Him. “There are six things which the Lord hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers.” We all need to ponder these verses before we point our finger at someone else’s transgressions. The last part of this chapter and the next again deal with the temptation immoral women can have in the life of a man. In Chapter 6 Solomon warns of the adulteress. In Chapter 7 Solomon then turns his attention to advising against the temptation of the prostitute. Solomon tells his son to remember his advice. He tells him to live by the Lord’s commandments and “bind them to his heart” so that when the temptations come he can stand against them. Solomon says the prostitute will come in the night when you are most vulnerable and will entice you away for simple pleasures that will cost you your life. The path of the prostitute leads only to the grave. Solomon then shifts back in Chapter 8 to speaking about wisdom. He again talks about the value of wisdom in verse 10-11 “Take my instruction and not silver, and knowledge rather than choicest gold. “For wisdom is better than jewels; And all desirable things cannot compare with her.” And also in verse 19 “My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold, and my yield better than choicest silver.” Solomon describes wisdom as like a person who was with God from the beginning that He used to perfect His creation. Solomon tells his sons to listen to wisdom in all things. In Chapter 9 Solomon describes this same wisdom as the invitation from a woman to come in to her home. This is not the woman who was described in Chapters 5, 6, and 7, but a good woman who wants to instruct. The words of verses 9-10 are similar to Solomon’s words in the beginning of the book “Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser, teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” This ends the second section of Proverbs and Solomon’s instructions to the young. Chapter 10 begins the third section of the Book of Proverbs. This chapter contains proverbs that are made up of contrasting ideas. This theme is continued through Chapter 15. The contrasting style that Solomon used for this group of proverbs is one of the styles of Jewish poetry. These proverbs form a sort of checklist for you to follow to see if you can be counted with the righteous or the wicked. Here are some examples of some of the proverbs contained within these chapters to give you an idea of the range of topics Solomon covers.
Chapter 10:4 is about work “Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.”
Chapter 10:32 is about speech “The lips of the righteous bring forth what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked what is perverted.”
Chapter 11:1 is about truth in business “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight.”
Chapter 11:29 is about managing family “He who troubles his own house will inherit wind, and the foolish will be servant to the wise hearted.”
Chapter 12:16 is about personal conduct “A fool’s anger is known at once, but a prudent man conceals dishonor.”
Chapter 13:10 is about being teachable “Through insolence comes nothing but strife, but wisdom is with those who receive counsel.”
Chapter 15:16 is about the desire for stuff “Better is a little with the fear of the Lord Than great treasure and turmoil with it.”
The next three Chapters 16-18 are in a different poetic form. These proverbs, for the most part, are not contrasts but similar ideas expressed twice in each verse. It was done this way to reinforce the idea in each proverb to the reader. Here are a few examples of this form from these chapters.
Chapter 16:20 is about the Word of God “He who gives attention to the word will find good, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.”
Chapter 17:12 is about who you associate with “Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs, rather than a fool in his folly.”
Chapter 18:7 is also about your speech “A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are the snare of his soul.”
In the next chapters as we finish up our study for this week, the proverbs are now about how we should live and conduct our lives. These chapters give us sound advice on our behavior and attitude towards others. These proverbs are also two lines each that reinforce the thought of the verse. I will again give several examples from these chapters to give you an idea of the areas of instruction that are covered.
Chapter 19:3 is about the heart of man “The foolishness of man ruins his way, and his heart rages against the Lord.”
Chapter 19:11 is about temperament “A man’s discretion makes him slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook a transgression.”
Chapter 20:1 is about the danger of drinking alcoholic beverages “Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise.”
Chapter 20:20 is about the respect towards parents “He who curses his father or his mother, his lamp will go out in time of darkness.”
Chapter 21:4 is about pride “Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, is sin.”
Chapter 21:21 is about relationship “He who pursues righteousness and loyalty finds life, righteousness and honor.”
Chapter 22:6 is advice on proper parenting “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Chapter 22:19 is the reason we have this study “So that your trust may be in the Lord, I have taught you today, even you.”
These are only a few examples of the life giving wisdom of the Book of Proverbs. I would encourage you to read the entire book to learn what the Lord has to teach you on how to live. This ends our study for this week. Next week we will be covering a lot of ground. We will finish up the Book of Proverbs, cover the Books of Ecclesiastes and The Song of Solomon, and begin the Book of Isaiah.