Shownotes
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 122 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.
Proverbs – Chapter 1:8-33
Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 122 of our Trek. Yesterday we began the actual commentary of the book of Proverbs and completed Chapter 1 verses 1 through 7. Today we will continue on with verses 8 through 33. If you miss any of the commentary covering the book of Proverbs, I would suggest that you listen to any missed episodes. Every daily episode can be found at Wisdom-Trek.com along with the written daily journals.
If you have any of your own observations, comments, or questions, please share them in the comment section of our daily journal pages.
We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio, and today we worked all day at one of our client locations as we do each month to assist them with processing and printing of their customer billing. Being onsite also gives us an opportunity to catch up on some of the loose ends that need a little more attention. It was a good day of work, and overall everything ran smoothly. It is rewarding to be an integral part of our clients businesses and to bring them added value. In all of our interactions each day, we should nurture value and trust into our relationships.
During our Trek through the book of Proverbs, we will learn the correct trails to take each day. Some days these trails may appear very difficult for us as they will hit points in our lives that need correcting. This knowledge will be gained through the use of clear instructions, great truths, practical stories and experiences, comparisons and contrasts, and imagery and poems, all of which are contained in Proverbs. Using our skills of observation that we discussed yesterday, let’s head out for our Trek today as we continue on our trail of discovering wisdom in lessons from two different perspectives.
A Father’s Exhortation: Acquire Wisdom
8 My child, listen when your father corrects you.
Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.
9 What you learn from them will crown you with grace
and be a chain of honor around your neck.
In Solomon’s time, both parents educated their children. It is good when children can learn from both parents. If you have children or grandchildren, use every day experiences of life to impart instruction. Make it enjoyable.
We should listen to wisdom. Wisdom is beautiful, and it is valuable. To possess it is like a crown on your head. Or, it is like a gold chain round your neck. To obtain wisdom, we must study, and we need discipline. Just like our trek of life, we cannot become wise quickly. But, wisdom will improve our lives.
Some people imagine that they know a quicker way to improve their lives. Solomon warns about such people in verses 10-19. These type of people offer friendship (verse 14), but their friendship cannot last because their plan is evil. They offer rich rewards (verse 13), but really they will suffer a terrible fate (verse 19). Wisdom is much better than any evil plan.
· The thieves’ plan
10 My child, if sinners entice you,
turn your back on them!11 They may say, “Come and join us.
Let’s hide and kill someone!
Just for fun, let’s ambush the innocent!
12 Let’s swallow them alive, like the grave[b];
let’s swallow them whole, like those who go down to the pit of death.
13 Think of the great things we’ll get!
We’ll fill our houses with all the stuff we take.
14 Come, throw in your lot with us;
we’ll all share the loot.”
15 My child, don’t go along with them!
Stay far away from their paths.
16 They rush to commit evil deeds.
They hurry to commit murder.
In Solomon’s story, a band of thieves has a cruel plan. The thieves ask a simple young man to join them. (Remember a simple person is one that has not obtained or lacks wisdom and discernment.) Together, they will attack someone else. They will steal from him, and murder him. The young man and the thieves soon will become wealthy. The young man does not realize the true plot.
17 If a bird sees a trap being set,
it knows to stay away.
18 But these people set an ambush for themselves;
they are trying to get themselves killed.
19 Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money;
it robs them of life.
The truth is this. The thieves also intend to kill the young man. This means that the thieves will keep all the money. They just needed another accomplice for their plan to work.
Solomon’s story teaches us about evil behavior. An evil life is not fun. It may seem exciting, but it is dangerous. The evil person risks a terrible end.
The young man in the story thought that he would become wealthy. In reality, he lost everything, including his life. Solomon warns us not to make the same mistake.
Wisdom Shouts in the Streets
· The woman called Wisdom
In his second story, Solomon tells us about a woman. This woman’s name is Wisdom.
20 Wisdom shouts in the streets.
She cries out in the public square.
21 She calls to the crowds along the main street,
to those gathered in front of the city gate:
22 “How long, you simpletons,
will you insist on being simpleminded?
How long will you mockers relish your mocking?
How long will you fools hate knowledge?
23 Come and listen to my counsel.
I’ll share my heart with you
and make you wise.
24 “I called you so often, but you wouldn’t come.
I reached out to you, but you paid no attention.
25 You ignored my advice
and rejected the correction I offered.
We can clearly see that the woman called Wisdom is upset and angry, which is why she shouts. Her children, which is call mankind in their fallen state, are not obeying her. They refuse her advice.
She walks through the streets and she protests to everyone. She even goes to the city gate. In ancient times, judges were at the city gate. She wants to obtain a judgement against her children. They are simple, evil and foolish (verse 22). They deserve punishment (verse 26).
26 So I will laugh when you are in trouble!
I will mock you when disaster overtakes you—
27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm,
when disaster engulfs you like a cyclone,
and anguish and distress overwhelm you.
28 “When they cry for help, I will not answer.
Though they anxiously search for me, they will not find me.
29 For they hated knowledge
and chose not to fear the Lord.
30 They rejected my advice
and paid no attention when I corrected them.
31 Therefore, they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way,
choking on their own schemes.
32 For simpletons turn away from me—to death.
Fools are destroyed by their own complacency.
33 But all who listen to me will live in peace,
untroubled by fear of harm.”
We all have the opportunity to become wise – God will grant it to anyone who ask as mentioned in James 1:5, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” If you choose not to obtain wisdom, then wisdom obtains judgement. In our story here, the punishment is severe. This is because they refused wisdom.
They did evil things. Now they will suffer a terrible punishment. Their punishment is sudden, like a storm. It is powerful, like the wind (Verse 27).
Wisdom begins when we respect God (verse 7). If we respect God, then God will reward us. But if we do evil things, then we shall suffer a terrible punishment.
We realize that in life, everybody does evil things. So, we must turn to God. We must be sincere. Then God will forgive us and teach us his wisdom. He sent Jesus to take away our punishment.
Today we continued on our Trek of Proverbs and learned of a father’s exhortation to acquire wisdom and the woman called Wisdom. This leaves us with much to consider, so join us tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy. Tomorrow we will switch back to a topical search for wisdom nuggets as we consider how our beliefs affect our decisions which affect our outcomes.
That will finish our podcast for today. Remember to listen to your daily dose of wisdom on Wisdom-Trek.com, iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud, Spreaker, or YouTube. Please share Wisdom-Trek with your family and friends so they can come along with us each day.
The journal for today’s Trek can be found at Wisdom-Trek.com. Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.
As we take this Trek together, let us always:
- Live Abundantly (Fully)
- Love Unconditionally
- Listen Intentionally
- Learn Continuously
- Lend to others Generously
- Lead with Integrity
- Leave a Living Legacy Each Day
This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy your Journey, and Create a Great Day every day! See you tomorrow!