The Ambassador Group

The Book of Proverbs

1. Proverbs: The Call of Wisdom

0. Proverbs: Introduction to the Book of Proverbs

2. Proverbs: From Ears to Feet

3. Proverbs: A Matter of Life and Death

4. Proverbs: Divine Wisdom

5. Proverbs: The Blessings of the Righteous

6. Proverbs: What You See Is Not What You Get

7. Proverbs: Dealing With Fights

8. Proverbs: Words of Wisdom

9. Proverbs: Words of Truth

10. Proverbs: Behind the Mask

11. Proverbs: Living By Faith

12. Proverbs: The Humility of the Wise

13. Proverbs: Women and Wine

Welcome to Words of the Wise, an introduction to the Book of Proverbs by Dr.

Edited for audio by the Ambassador Group.

Living by Faith The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe." Proverbs 29, 25, New King James Version.

So many voices call to us from so many directions.

How do you know what is right and what is wrong?

The answer is found in God and His written revelation.

We must learn to rely on God and to obey His law.

Jesus told us this when He said to, "...seek first the kingdom of God, and then all that we need will be supplied.

His words are recorded in Matthew 6, verse 33 in the New King James Version.

We are to make trusting and following God our first priority, otherwise we will make something else that priority, which is idolatry, pure and simple.

We can learn to trust God only by living a life of faith.

We have to make the choices to do the things that the Lord has told us to do, and then leave the consequences to him.

Keep the Law Keep the Law Out of 13 occurrences of the word Torah, Law, or Teaching in the Book of Proverbs, 4 are in Proverbs 28, twice in verse 4, and also verses 7 and 9.

Although this use in Proverbs applies normally to the teaching of the wise man, indicated in Proverbs 13, 14, in the Israelite tradition the word has a spiritual connotation and refers to divine revelation as attested in the book of Proverbs itself.

Let's listen to Proverbs 28 verses 4 7 and 9.

What do these verses tell us about the importance of the law in how we live?

Verse 4 says, They that forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them.

Verse 7 says, Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son, but he that is a companion of righteous men shameth his father.

And verse 9 says, He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.

What made the people of Israel different from other nations was not so much their way of thinking, or even their spiritual and abstract theological views.

It was their concrete choices in life about, among other things, food, rest, the natural environment, and their relationships with neighbors and family that made them holy or set apart from all the other nations.

And ideally, those choices were to center on the law and the principles found in it.

After all, We humans cannot be wise by ourselves.

We can't always even distinguish between good and evil.

So we need the divine law to help us acquire discernment.

In other words, The acquisition of wisdom does not depend on intellectual or spiritual exercises.

It is essentially related to obedience to a law that lies outside ourselves, our culture, our personal psychology, and our desires.

This law is, of course, God's eternal law, and to follow that law is indeed an act of faith.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every 1 that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

What troubles and problems have you been spared because you have made a commitment by faith to keep God's law?

Can you imagine how different your life would be were you not committed to keeping God's law?

♪♪ Seek the Lord No matter how crucial it is to a life of faith, the law, the Torah, is not itself the source of life.

On the contrary, the law points out sin, and sin leads to death.

Romans 7, verses 7-13 says this, 7-13 says this, What shall we say then?

Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law.

For I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence.

For I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment came, Sin revived, and I died.

And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.

For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, Deceived me, and by it slew me.

Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.

Was then that which is good made death unto me?

But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me, by that which is good, that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.

What makes the Torah effective is that it comes from God.

Apart from God, the Torah would be a legalistic creed that has nothing to do with his original intention.

A life of obedience to the law of God is related to a life with God.

The Torah does not replace God, it is just a teacher that, according to Paul's analogy, leads the students to their master.

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

Let's hear Galatians 3 24 in context, which is Galatians 3 verses 21-27.

Is the law then against the promises of God?

For if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law, but the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith, which should afterwards be revealed.

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster, to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster, For ye are all the children of God, by faith in Jesus Christ.

For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." How does the law point us to Jesus so that we can indeed be justified by faith?

The law depicts a perfect set of do's and don'ts, mirroring and reflecting God's character.

And because we can never become right with God by keeping his set of standards, consistently being perfectly loving and worshipping God, perfectly motivated, perfectly obedient, perfectly emotionally balanced, perfectly pure in our thoughts and actions, etc.

There's no way that we present ourselves with the acceptable credentials or a resume to prove our track record of worthiness to become a friend of, let alone a child of, God, part of His family, because on our own our understanding of obedience is so skewed.

So God, in His merciful love for us, His own creatures by designed creation, accomplishes an amazing rescue mission, which cost Him His life and an aspect of His nature, to reconcile us to Himself.

The Law raises the bar on God-likeness, with no compromises.

While God keeps His character description, the Law, He also provided a substitute and mentor whom could make it possible to grow towards those experiences, as adopted children of the Lawgiver, to enjoy the nurturing, growth-enhancing relationship with Jesus.

The book of Proverbs is not just a book of wisdom.

It is first of all a book about the God who has revealed wisdom.

Seeking wisdom by obeying the law will draw us nearer to the Lord and to the salvation He freely offers us by faith in Jesus.

Listening to Proverbs 28 verse 5, what do you hear is the key for us to understand all things?

Evil men understand not judgment, but they that seek the Lord understand all things." The word understand is used twice in verse 5, just as the word law is in verse 4.

The 2 verses are related, keeping the law, verse 4, and seeking the Lord, verse 5, belong together.

The scope of this activity, however, is not just knowing and doing what is right.

Verse 5 in the New King James Version translates the word right as justice.

This understanding concerns all simply because it derives from the God of all.

For ancient Israel, knowledge of all things was not separated from religious experience.

Faith was closely tied to intelligence and rational understanding.

It was inconceivable to have faith without thinking or thinking without faith, because God was the foundation of both domains.

In your opinion, Why is faith in God such a rational position to hold?

Again, in your opinion, is it more illogical and irrational to reject God or to believe in Him?

Words for the Rich First John 2, verses 15-17 include a warning.

What are we being warned against and how can you protect yourself from the danger these verses talk about.

First John 2, verses 15-17 say, Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.

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The Book of Proverbs

11. Proverbs: Living By Faith

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