The wisdom of Proverbs boils down to this:
- God is in control
- God has our best interest at heart
The first nine chapters of Proverbs demonstrate these two themes. Before reaching the actual proverbs, we encounter a father (a teacher) exhorting his son (a student) to follow the path of wisdom.
These exhortations center around the idea that the pleasures folly offers are fleeting. Only true wisdom from God will result in eternal satisfaction because it stems from a reverential awe of God.
Seeking after such wisdom is a lifelong pursuit. We need to be constantly vigilant, watching how we live and making sure that our hearts long for God above all else. It is easy to decline gradually through a series of small surrenders, giving in to folly and forgetting to trust in God.
In order to avoid these small surrenders, we need to know the times we live in. Particular temptations surround us, and we must be aware of them so that we can avoid them. We must wrestle with our thought life to determine what we pursue, because ultimately, if we pursue anything other than the One who created us for intimacy with Him, we will fall prey to the path of folly.
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The Proverbs transcripts used in this video are available online.
