What is more costly than gold, stronger than ten rulers in a city, and older than dust? Now, I know that's not the best crafted riddle or even the most difficult one, but it's what we'll think about this morning. What is more costly than gold, stronger than ten men, ten rulers in a city, and older than dust? The ironic thing is, the sad thing is, that the answer just might bore us. And that would be ironic, indeed. Well, listen to the following, and you tell me the answer to the riddle. What is more costly than gold? Proverbs 3.13, Blessed is the one who finds wisdom and the one who gets understanding. For the gain from her is better than the gain from silver, and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. As for what's stronger than ten rulers in a city? Proverbs 21. A wise man scales the city of the mighty and brings down the stronghold in which they trust. Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city. Older than dust? Ages ago, Proverbs 8, I, wisdom, was set up at the first, before the foundation of the earth. When there was no depth, I was brought forth. When there were no springs abounding with water, before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills I was brought forth, before he had made the earth with its fields or the dust of the world. So what is more costly than gold? What is stronger than ten mighty men that rule the city? and older than dust. It's wisdom. And no matter who you are this morning, I think you would admit it's something you wish you had more of. There's actually a whole book in the Christian Bible that's occupied with this very topic, and if you're not there already, it's roughly in the middle of the Christian Bible. If you kind of open it up and let it fall to the middle, you'll find a book called Proverbs, and it's right next to a book called Psalms. Last week, we looked at another book that talked to us about wisdom called Ecclesiastes. And this week, we're looking at another wisdom book that is Proverbs. The great thing about this book is that even if you are a secularist, you're bothered by some of the supernatural elements of the Bible. You can read this book without being bothered by that. There are no fantastic stories like the sea dividing or bread falling from heaven or the sun standing still or water turning to bread. Just good old fashioned wisdom sayings. If you're not familiar with the Bible, maybe you could think of the Proverbs like a collection of wise sayings that you might get from a bunch of fortune cookies or something. Now, these Proverbs are far, far more than that. But the point is, this book is full of short, pithy statements that are made to be memorable and arrest our attention, to help us skillfully navigate life. Just listen to the opening purpose. If you're there in Proverbs 1 and you'd like to follow along, Proverbs 1, I'm reading the purpose statement in verses 2 to 6. Here's why this book has been written. To know wisdom and instruction. To understand words of insight. to receive instruction and wise dealing and righteousness and justice and equity, to give prudence to the simple knowledge and discretion to the youth. Let the wise hear and increase in learning and the one who understands obtain more guidance to understand a proverb and a saying and the words of the wise and the riddles. Well, there's the purpose of the book. And it says if you're a person who wants to gain more wisdom and instruction and be more wise in your dealings, if you want to be just, Well, then listen this morning. You might learn something that you don't know and that could change the rest of your life. That's particularly true if you're a young person. Now, the strange thing about saying what you hear when you're a young person is we all think that we're young relative to a different category. And the book does take a form of an older person, particularly a father, addressing a younger person, addressing a son. So we read in verse eight of chapter one here, my son, your father's instruction and forsake not your mother's teaching. In fact, the first verse of the first seven chapters begins almost the same way. Verse one of chapters one to seven, two to seven begins like this. My son, hear me, listen to my words of wisdom. So this book is clearly oriented towards instructing the next generation. And that's what you would expect, wouldn't you? I mean, wisdom is supposed to belong to the aged, to parents, to those who are in authority. And the parent is teaching a child in this book, and sometimes the son, the child is addressed in some pretty stern terms. The parent isn't angry, calling his child names, but he addresses them in categories like this. They're stern sounding. If you don't hear my wisdom, son, you'll be a fool. Don't be simple. Don't be naive, son. And if you fail to heed my advice, son, you'll be a scoffer. This book warns us. It's a father enticing his son with wisdom and warning him what happens if he doesn't pursue wisdom. He's warning us again and again and again. It's even striking to me that the need for us to hear wisdom from even our parents carries even into old age. So we read in Proverbs 23, 22, Son, listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother, even when she is old. Well, all this is to say, friends, that if you consider yourself in need of more wisdom, you see yourself young in any sense of the term, or you have children, this book is for you. Now, we need to make friends with this book. And we need to make friends on one level with the wisdom sayings. How do you understand these proverbs, these short, pithy sayings? So let's just lay out some principles, some ways to greet, to introduce ourselves to the proverbs and to make friends with the book. Many people get into real trouble when they read the proverbs because they treat them like promises. But the proverbs aren't promises. They're proverbs. I think we understand that for the most part with proverbs in our own language. Early to bed, early to rise. Well, not always. The early bird catches the worm. Usually. But sometimes getting up early means you get sick and you don't catch the worm. You see, not always. The first thing to note is that proverbs by definition, the form themselves, they admit exceptions. They're proverbs, not promises. Moreover, broadly, more broadly than that, the proverbs are statements that are found to be generally true. They aren't communicating something that's irrevocably true, and a wise person will recognize that. Because if you don't, you'll drive yourself crazy, you'll bring unwarranted confusion and guilt into your life. For instance, the famous Proverbs 22 6, whatever the right translation is and whatever the right interpretation is of train up a child in the way he should go. And when he's old, he'll not depart from it, whatever the right understanding is. It's meant to be taken as something that's generally true, not always true. A seminary professor of mine put it like this, a proverb is an instructional statement about what is generally true, not an ironclad promise of what is universally true. Moreover, it's not just that the literary form of the individual proverbs themselves that help us understand these statements and proverbs, but the book as a whole. When you take all of the statements as a whole, the book itself introduces qualifications for how you understand what's being said. So, for example, the Book of Proverbs encourages sons, children's people to live a righteous life because the life will go better, their life will be much more successful. But having said that, Proverbs admits it's not always the case under the sun. So in Proverbs 10, verse 2, we read about the treasures of the wicked. Well, that's not supposed to happen. The wicked are supposed to not be successful. But here we have a passage that Proverbs does admit the wicked can amass treasure in this life. But it goes on to say treasures gained by wickedness are of no lasting value. You see how two qualifications have been introduced? And such qualifications are introduced by the book itself. The wicked indeed can gain treasure. They can prosper in this life. But a wise person will know that such treasure is of no lasting value and it can't help them escape death. Perhaps that would lead us to say that when Jesus returns and the curse is utterly reversed, what you find in Proverbs will be ultimately true. So they're Proverbs, not promises, they admit exceptions, they're generally true, and one day they will be seen as ultimately true. And here's the last here's the last point that we'll we'll just highlight for us. These proverbs are devoid of any kind of historical context. It's kind of like having a bunch of punch lines with no jokes to go with them. Or like Jeopardy having an answer, but you're supposed to figure out the question that goes with the answer or the situation. It takes a good bit of wisdom to figure it out. Now, that's important because just because you might read two proverbs that appear to be contradicting each other doesn't mean that they are. Again, we understand this in our own proverbs that we have. We might say, we might say, many counselors provide safety. But we might also say, but too many cooks spoils the stew. Those aren't contradictory at all. And a wise person will know when to apply which proverb to which situation. Sometimes people point out contradictions in the Bible, and they point to, you know, another famous verse in Proverbs, like Proverbs 26.4, Answer not a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him. And yet the very next verse says, Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes. Probably like you, I've actually had people point out to me this is one example of how the Bible contradicts itself. Well, perhaps the best response to that kind of uninformed objection is to reply with yet another proverb. Proverbs 26.9 says, Like a thorn bush in a drunkard's hand is a proverb in the mouth of a fool. We might say, As a gun in the hand of a drunk man is a proverb in the mouth of a fool. You see the point? Such a response and objection is not a reflection on the Bible, but on you as an individual. You can do much damage with the Proverbs if you don't handle them soberly. You can even make yourself look like a fool. Well, the point in taking time is that we just orient ourselves and that we remember that it takes wisdom to apply the wisdom of Proverbs. One writer put it like this. Ironically, the person who desires to use Proverbs in the pursuit of wisdom must use wisdom in reading the Proverbs. It takes wisdom to apply wisdom. Now, even with all of these kinds of footnotes put in place, some of the problems will still be confusing, won't they? Why is that? Well, surely some of that is because of our historical distance from the text. Some phrases or metaphors we just don't get so far removed from it. But some of it is simply because not everything has been revealed to us. Think for a moment of how the unique contribution that Proverbs make. It's a wonderful piece of inspired literature that helps us navigate the gray areas of life. The Old Testament law is very specific, regulating even the types of food and clothing that the individual is to wear. Similarly, you have the Old Testament prophetic books with specific, clear, precise denunciations. But when we come to wisdom books, here now is a body of literature that helps us deal with those areas of life that don't fall in those specific categories. Proverbs deals with those areas that don't fit into the precise regulations of the law or the specific denunciations of the prophets. Now, maybe this is saying too much, maybe it's saying too much, but as I read the Proverbs this week and reflected on it, I wonder if the wisdom books don't actually predict the Christian liberty passages of the New Testament in which much wisdom is required to know what is best and when is best for things that aren't explicitly regulated. Now, don't understand me. Don't don't don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying that the Proverbs is doing something other than it intends to do, that is to impart wisdom. But again, Proverbs himself admits that there are things in life that we don't understand. That language is even used in Proverbs 30, there are three things too amazing for me, some things I don't understand. And isn't it a part of wisdom to actually admit how little you really have? I think you would agree, at least in part, that it's wise to be humble and admit there are limitations to your knowledge. So we read in Proverbs 11, verse 2, when pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom. Friends, I wonder if you are a humble person. Do you come across as a know-it-all? Do you ever ask for advice? Not just when there's an emergency in your life and you do it because your life depends on it, but are you generally a person who seeks counsel? Far more than that, are you willing to humble yourself before the God who made you and everything around you? Are you willing to confess that you were utterly helpless before Him? That you would actually put your hand in your mouth and put your arms down at your side to stop keeping Him away And in the words of Proverbs 3, 5 and 6, that you would trust in the Lord with all your heart. Proverbs 26, 12, do you see a man who was wise in his own eyes? Well, there is more hope for a fool than for him. You see, Proverbs is really about the God who makes us wise. And God uses a book like Proverbs to make us wise by first humbling us before his own wisdom. This is the God who makes us wise. And you might be here this morning as a relatively self-made person. Maybe life is going rather swimmingly for you, or you've come through a rough patch in your life. And you feel a bit proud that you have been able to weather the storms of life. Well, friends, this book of Proverbs calls you to forsake your own wisdom and trust Jesus Christ, who has been made wisdom for you. Well, having made friends with this book as these individual sayings, let's let's now consider the whole structure of the book. If you've read Proverbs at all or you've tried to read it straight through like another part of the Bible, you've probably felt like, man, this is a random book with very little structure. Well, that's only partly true. The book is a collection of Proverbs and many of them are stacked one on top of the other and they flow right on one from the next without any apparent connection between what goes before or what comes after. That's particularly true when you get to chapter 10 and you run to the end of the book. But there is an overall structure, a method to the madness, we might say. We've already read from the book's opening purpose statement in chapter one, that it's to impart wisdom. Then beginning at verses eight and nine, we have the first major section of the book, and the first section of the book runs from chapter one, verse eight, all the way to the end of chapter nine. And in chapters 1-9, you don't find many pithy, unorganized proverbs, but what you will find is appeal after appeal to pursue wisdom and heed its instruction. It's a wise father in chapters 1-9 who's enticing his son to pursue wisdom, and he entices his son by holding wisdom up as something incomparably beautiful and beneficial. So listen to one such appeal that the father makes in chapter 3. Verses 13-18. You're welcome to follow along or just hear his appeal. Verse 13 of chapter 3, Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, the one who gets understanding. For the gain from her is better than the gain from silver, and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand, and in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are the ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her. Those who hold her fast are called blessed. So, my son, pursue wisdom. The first nine chapters, then, are a record of a father praising wisdom so his son will pursue wisdom. The second collection begins in chapter 10, verse one, and I know it's a bit pedantic, but I'll invite you just to turn there so you can kind of get a feel for the structure as we work through it. Chapter 10, verse one. What does that say? Now we're introduced. These 10 verse one are the Proverbs of Solomon. Well, this is the second collection of Proverbs having been enticed and prodded to pursue wisdom. Now we're now a collection of Proverbs lays out. Here is what wisdom looks like in a collection of about 375 Proverbs that runs all the way through the middle of chapter 22. So section one is chapters one to nine. The second collection runs from chapter two to the middle of chapter 10 to the middle of chapter 22. And would you turn there? Because in the middle of that chapter, we are introduced to another collection that's in the Proverbs. Chapter 22, verse 17 is a third collection of wisdom sayings. These are not written by Solomon. And so we read. Incline your ear, verse 17, and hear the words of the wise and apply your heart to my knowledge. Verse 20, have I not written for you 30 sayings of counsel and knowledge to make you know what is right and true that you may give a true answer to those who sent you? And this section runs all the way through verse truth, chapter 24. So already we've seen there are three units, three collections. Chapters 1 to 9, then 10 to the middle of 22, then 22 to 24, and then we come to the fourth collection in chapter 25. And in chapter 25, here's another collection of Proverbs. These are written by Solomon, but they've been organized long after his death by the great King Hezekiah and his men. 25 verse 1. These also were the Proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, copied. Now, that verse is important because it lets us know there's some editor who's gathering together the various collections, the volumes of wisdom sayings, and he's organizing them now and placing them into one book. The fifth collection is found in chapter 30 that's written by a king. Another king writes chapter 31 where we're told that Lemuel actually writes down the wisdom he receives from his mother. And you know an important part of the advice that his mom gave to him in chapter 31 is the kind of wife that he should look for. And the book ends with a beautiful acrostic poem detailing the virtuous woman. So there you have it. What you have in these 31 chapters is actually six small collections of wisdom sayings that an editor has compiled and taken together and put a six-volume collection and he's put it into one volume that is the Proverbs. Well, why has he done that? Well, just like we saw that the point of wisdom literature as a whole is that only God can make us wise. So we're supposed to see from the structure and the content of this book, they're laid out in such a way that we're reminded that the God who makes us wise is to be feared. The God who makes us wise is to be feared. He gives us wisdom that we might fear Him. That's the purpose of the whole collection, all of the collections. What does it mean to fear the Lord? And again, let me just give us this very, very basic definition of fearing the Lord. To fear the Lord is to live in awareness of Him. What does it mean to fear God? It means to live in awareness of Him, just like When you fear man, you live an awareness of everything that he thinks and it shapes your conduct and your actions and your thoughts. So you must fear God, live an awareness of him. The reality of his existence should shape everything about your life. To fear the Lord is to live an awareness of the Lord. And if you were here last week, you will notice that living in the awareness of God is a major theme and fear of God of Ecclesiastes. Without fearing God, life will only frustrate you. Without fearing God, you won't enjoy life to the fullest like you should. So if it's true, the fear of the Lord is this overlapping theme between all of these wisdom books in our Bible, Proverbs and Psalms and Job and Ecclesiastes, they're written to teach us to fear God and what it looks like. I just want to show you that from this book, that it's given that we might fear God. Go back to Proverbs, chapter one, turning back now to Proverbs, chapter one. I just want to impress upon us how important the fear of God is and that without it, you can't call yourself wise in any sense. And we'll see that from the structure of the book. We've already noticed the introduction where he says, I am wanting to grant you wisdom and I'm wanting to teach you to be wise. But where does that all start? Proverbs one, verse seven. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. So the book begins with a connection between true wisdom and fearing God. And if you remember that we've already said that section one of the book runs from chapter one to chapter nine and chapter one to nine serves as a guide for understanding the rest of the book. Well, how does chapter nine end? How does this first collection end? Well, turn to Proverbs nine, you'll turn to Proverbs nine and we're told in verse ten, Proverbs nine and verse ten. This concludes, this book ends, this first collection, The Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom and the Knowledge of the Holy One is Insight. Now it should be obvious to us that by starting and ending Volume 1 in the same way, which is the prologue for the entire book, the editor is reinforcing the crucial point of our need to fear God. Truly wise people, he said. Truly wise people fear God. And this pursuit of wisdom is nothing other than a pursuit of the all-wise God. The fear of the Lord is parallel with the knowledge of the Holy One. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the fear of the Lord is nothing else than the knowledge of the Holy One. Understanding this is crucial. That's why in chapter one, just listen, wisdom is pictured as a street vendor who stands up in the marketplace and calls out, listen to wisdom's urgent cry. Proverbs 120. Wisdom cries aloud in the street, the markets, she raises her voice at the head of the noisy streets, she cries out at the entrance of the city gates, she speaks. How long those simple ones will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? If you turn at My reproof, behold, I will pour out My Spirit to you. I will make My words known to you. And if we should reject wisdom's call, then hear this chilling condemnation. If you reject, verse 26, I will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when terror strikes you. When terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish comes upon you, then they will call upon me for wisdom, but I will not answer. They will seek me diligently, but will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would have none of my counsel and they despised all my reproof. Therefore, they shall eat the fruit of their way and have the fill of their own devices. Did you hear the connection? It's wisdom that calls out to be pursued, but in verse twenty nine, wisdom says what you're really rejecting is God. You're rejecting the fear of the Lord. So wisdom is will mock you when calamity strikes you. But it's not just wisdom that will mock you when calamity strikes you. God himself will laugh at you. The God who makes us wise is to be feared. Chapter two opens. At this time, wisdom isn't compared to a street vendor, but it's compared to a treasure. It's that opening Scripture meditation that we had in our order of worship where wisdom is compared to something like treasure, so valuable that the wise father says, son, pursue wisdom more eagerly and diligently than you would pursue treasure because it's more valuable than treasure. Verse four, if you seek it like silver and search for it as hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. Because to seek wisdom is to seek God. Verse six, for the Lord gives wisdom. What he's saying is that the God who makes us wise, it's the God who gives wisdom. Wisdom comes from Him. And pursuing wisdom, you're pursuing God. The God who makes us wise is to be pursued. And chapter three opens and wisdom's value is highlighted again. When we're told that wisdom is what God used to create the world. Proverbs 3.19, the Lord by wisdom founded the earth. By understanding, He established the heavens. By His knowledge, the deeps broke open. The clouds dropped down the dew. My son, do not lose sight of these. Teach sound wisdom and discretion. And the point is simple. If God used wisdom to establish the world, don't you think you should pursue His wisdom as well? Where does the pursuit of wisdom begin? With living in a light of God's existence. Live in the fear of God. So what we've been saying as a whole, as a whole, Proverbs encourages us to fear God. The God who makes us wise must be feared. And apart from fearing God, you cannot claim to be wise. And when we come to the middle or the beginning of chapter three and words that many of us are familiar with, the connection between the pursuit of wisdom is actually the pursuit of God is made crystal clear. Proverbs three, five and six, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not into your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him. That's what it means to fear God. Fearing God means acknowledging him in all your ways and he will make your paths straight. Verse seven, don't be wise in your own eyes, but fear the Lord. I just want you to notice that verse seven is just verse five restated. Be not wise in your own eyes and verse seven answers to trust in the Lord with all your heart. And fear the Lord. Be not wise in your own eyes. Answers to lean not your own understanding. And fear the Lord. Answers to trust in the Lord with all your heart. Friends, what we need to understand is that when the Bible calls us to pursue wisdom, it isn't calling us to pursue a list of rules or a code of conduct. It's not calling us even to pursue good works. To live in the fear of God is to pursue a relationship with God. And that relationship is built fundamentally on what, according to verse five? Not law keeping. It's built fundamentally on Proverbs three, verse five, trust, faith. You see, pursuing wisdom, fearing God is not a matter of legal adherence. That's what every other world religion will tell you. The way you become wise is to do certain things or to pursue noble truths. No, the true pursuit of wisdom begins by admitting you have none. Admitting. You have no wisdom. admitting that you need to trust in this God with all of your heart. It begins with trusting the all-wise God. What Proverbs says as a whole can be summarized in Proverbs 3, 5, and 6 that your relationship with God reveals whether or not you are wise or whether you are a fool. Your relationship with God determines whether you are wise or you are a fool. And the book entices us. It calls us to live by faith in God alone entirely. With all your heart. Exclusively, lean not to your own understanding, and exhaustively, in all your ways, acknowledge Him." That's how one author describes Proverbs 3.5. It's a call for faith in God entirely, with all your heart. Exclusively, lean not to your own understanding, and exhaustively, in all your ways, acknowledge Him. This is such a beautiful picture. It's as if the wise dad says wisdom is standing up and calling out to you, son. And he wants the son to realize that the only way that he can have wisdom is if he offers a call of his own. Please make me wise. That's what I want. Be my wisdom. Deliver me. I place all my trust in you. Entirely and exclusively and exhaustively. And call out to him because I realize that he himself is wisdom. and that he alone can give wisdom, for the Lord gives wisdom. Now that verse safeguards our pursuit of wisdom from becoming a grouse of boasting. Yes, it's true, you will not find wisdom unless you seek for it, but you will not ultimately find wisdom unless He gives it, Proverbs 2.6. That's why the call is so urgent, friends. There may come a time when you will no longer be able to pursue Him, to pursue wisdom. Proverbs 29.1, He that stiffens his neck, hardens it, being often reproved, will suddenly be destroyed without remedy. So seek the Lord, not while He may be found. More literally, seek the Lord while He allows Himself to be found. Call upon Him while He is near. So today, wisdom calls out to you in the street. It raises its voice and says here today, friends, trust in the Lord exclusively. With all your heart. Be not wise in your own eyes. This is the God who makes us wise. That, I say, is the overall thrust and import of the book. It's almost like a religious tract calling you to conversion. Or it's like a prophet who stands up and reminds you, Christian, stop living life independently. Repent and humble yourself before Him and those around you. Now, when you get to Proverbs 10, I say there's a change. And what we have this is the God who makes us wise reveals to us how to be wise. That's the second half of the book. Trusting God, fearing Him will change the way you think about everything. And if you should ask, what does it mean to fear God? What does it mean to acknowledge Him in all your ways? Well, let me just lay out for you chapters 10 to the end of the book. This is what it looks like to fear God. They come in rapid succession and random sequence. And we just see how pervasive there's almost a topic that's not addressed. There are topics not addressed, but it is pervasive. It changes everything. The fear of the Lord affects everything about life. Everything about character and friends. Just remember, here's a dad. Here's a dad who's trying to prepare his son for life. He's got lots of things to cover before he just sets him free on his own. Now, you'll be glad to know that we're not going to go through all of the topics that are here in Proverbs, but I just want to pick three and just kind of go up high and just kind of fly over them from God's perspective. I'm just going to pick three. Here's one of them. The topic of friendship. The God who makes us wise gives us wisdom regarding friendship. You've heard it said that you can't be too careful who you hang out with. Well, Proverbs certainly confirms that. I love how one writer explained it. He pictures Proverbs like a Dickens novel packed with colorful, memorable characters. And when you flip through Proverbs 10 and on through, and even the beginning, one memorable character after another is paraded in front of you. So in Proverbs we meet the farmer, the courtier, the dropout, the dishonest trader, the adulterous woman, the husband absent on business, the street gang, the schoolboy and the teacher, the rather simple young man, The prostitute, the thief, the gossip, the royal messenger and many more. You almost see this father saying these are the kinds of people you're going to meet in life. And I want to tell you how a wise person makes friends with those kinds of people. And the first thing that Proverbs tells us is really, really simple. The people you hang out will affect you. If you don't believe that, you'll do great harm to yourself. Proverbs 13 20. Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but a companion of fools will suffer harm. It's not legalistic, beloved, for people to inquire about your friends or your acquaintances. It's a mark of true wisdom for parents or for your fellow members, church members, to be concerned about your friends. And by friends, I mean the people you spend time with, but I can also speak of it in a depersonalized way. Like entertainment choices or the literature that you read consistently. Friends are those people or things that influence you constantly. And don't be a fool, the dad in Proverbs says, a companion of fools will suffer harm. Because friends matter, he tells us some friends that you should flat out avoid, have nothing to do with. Proverbs 22, 24, avoid friendship with a man given to anger. Anger can take many forms, but it ought never inform Christians. Avoid friendship with angry people. Also, avoid friends who like to party, who never limit their times of recreation. Proverbs 23, 19. Hear, my son, and be wise. Don't be among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat, for the drunkard will come to poverty. Partiers have impoverished pockets and even more impoverished souls. Avoid them. The Bible does have a category for befriending people for the sake of the gospel, but don't be naive. It also has a category for avoiding people. for the sake of the gospel. And it's the wise person who knows when that is. Well, just like there are some people we should avoid as friends, it tells us the kinds of people that we should pursue. Pursue friends who are loyal, 1824. A person who has many friends may be harmed by them, but there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. Pursue that kind of loyal friend. I think there's a subtle warning about Us seeking to be popular, having many friends. Derek Kidner writes, a few close friends are better than a host of acquaintances. Seeking popularity through friends can harm you. Many friends can harm you. But pursuing friends who are loyal doesn't mean they're loyal to us, even when we sin, it doesn't mean that you surround yourself with people who are more loyal to you than they are to the truth. What you want is the kind of friend who will get in your face and speak the truth to you in love. Proverbs 27 6. Faithful are the wounds of a friend. Profuses are the kisses of an enemy. Friends wound. Friends wound. Enemies kiss. If your friends have never wounded you with the truth, they are not your friends. You should thank God for your parents or for your friends who have wounded you and hurt you deeply with the truth. Because friends wound and enemies kiss. Pursue friends who are loyal, friends who wound you, and friends who sharpen you and counsel you. You know the famous proverb in Proverbs 27, 17, Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another, and one writer notes, constructive criticism sharpens character. The use of wits in interaction makes two people sharp as a razor. So the general advice of Proverbs is don't be naive about your friends. Don't be a fool. You walk with a wise, you'll be wise. You walk with a fool, you'll suffer harm. Don't be naive. And a wise person will know that just because every category of person hasn't been told that we're to avoid will know that the people we are to avoid in Proverbs, it just provides us with saying there are people in life you ought to avoid. Who are those people in your life? Who are they? And if we think that talk about friendship is only for small school children battling peer pressure, then we're thinking like a fool. There are two Old Testament examples that reveal the astounding influence friends can have. No one served David so well in his life as his friendship with Jonathan. And nothing harmed one of David's sons so much as his friendship with a man named Jonadeth. We read in 2 Samuel 13, Amnon, David's son, was so tormented with a lady named Tamar that he became ill. She was a virgin and Amnon thought he would never have her. Then in verse 3 we read these chilling words, but Amnon had a friend. And Jonadab was a crafty man And when the account ends, that friend influenced Amnon to rape Tamar. And so the scripture is fulfilled, he who walks, he who makes himself a companion of fools will suffer harm. This is the God who makes us wise concerning our friends. Related to the topic of friends, God makes us wise concerning the way that we view counsel and correction. Let me introduce you to Mr. Stupid. Proverbs 12.1 Whoever loves discipline, loves knowledge, and he who lets correction is stupid. Mr. Stupid has a friend. His name is Mr. Fool. He's also in Proverbs 12.15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man heeds advice. And believe it or not, Mr. Stupid and Mr. Fool have a friend. His name is Mr. I-Hate-Myself. Proverbs 15.31 The ear that listens to life giving reproof will dwell among the wise. Whoever ignores this instruction despises himself. Now, stop for a moment. Are there people in your life who have offered you correction, maybe even from this church, maybe even a number of people, and you're rejecting it? Is there correction that you're rejecting from someone in your life? And if so, I'm not being funny, but go grab a white t-shirt and a big magic marker and say, Mr. Fool. And on the back write, I'm Mr. I hate myself. Because a wise person, a humble person, welcomes correction like a person welcoming painful but corrective surgery. We not only need correction, we need counsel. Just listen to these two references in 1114. Where there is no guidance, the people fall. But in the abundance of counselors, there is safety. 1522, without counsel, plans fail. But with many advisors, they succeed. Beloved, one of the means of grace God has given to us in making wise choices is a local congregation, a body of believers. And when a member of this church makes a decision, not saying this is happening now, I'm just throwing it out there. OK, so don't think, well, what's going on? Just throwing it out there. OK, when a member of this church makes a decision without consulting an abundance of counselors, that's a very dangerous and a recipe for failure. It's not safe. Those plans will probably fail. Just let me put myself in the spot. And if I should ever just walk in here one day and announce I'm leaving the church and I've never consulted the elders, you can think I'm a very angry, I'm a very arrogant person, and it's very dangerous. Because in the multitude of counselors, there's safety. In the same way, if you should ever make a decision or leave this church without consulting the elders or your dear brothers and sisters here, that would be very arrogant and dangerous of you because in the multitude of counselors, there's safety. See, Proverbs forces us to stop and think, is there counsel in my life I have heard repeatedly from the kind of good friend I should have that I'm not heeding? You're in danger. Your plans will fail. Is there even anything in your life, do you even seek counsel from others? Don't you think it would be wise to? Oh, son, before you do that, just let's come and talk about it. Wouldn't that be wise, son? This is the God who makes us wise concerning counsel and correction. And then thirdly, trusting God will change the way that you view friends and correction and counsel and even your children. It is a sign of God's blessing to this congregation, the number of children that we have. They're a gift to us. Proverbs, Psalm 127, 3 says children are a gift from the Lord. And the wise God even tells us how to care for these precious gifts. It has much wisdom to give us about treasuring our children. And one of the most important, beloved, is how we discipline our children. In a passage that's so important, it's quoted in Hebrews 13. We read in Proverbs 3, My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, neither be weary of his correction. For whom the Lord loves, He corrects, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights. Whenever our culture talks about the discipline of children, they quickly point out the disciplining of children is child abuse. Let's just make it crystal clear, no one should be more concerned about child abuse than Christians. And Proverbs itself warns parents against child abuse, like Proverbs 1918. Discipline your son for there is hope, but do not set your heart on putting him to death. Now, there are various meanings of that, but one very likely one is that discipline your son, but don't abuse him. Fathers, don't provoke your sons to wrath, Paul says in Ephesians. But at the same time, A time out can be just as emotionally damaging and painful form of discipline as a physically form of discipline can be damaging. It's true, painful methods of discipline can lead to child abuse and if you ever abuse your children and are particularly unrepentant, I will be the first to testify against you. You cannot, you cannot abuse your kids. They are made in the image of God. Let the little children come to me and forbid them not. When my father and my mother forsake me or abuse me, then the Lord will take them up and you're in big trouble. But there is another form of child abuse that is just as damaging and destructive. Failing to discipline your children lovingly and painfully and consistently is child abuse. Listen to the all-wise God who knows better than us about our kids. I'll read them in chronological order and hear wisdom calling out to you who are parents. Proverbs 13, 24. Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he loves him. He is the one who is diligent to discipline him. Reading from the New Living Translation, Proverbs 20, 30. Physical punishment cleanses away evil. Strokes make clean the innermost part. Proverbs 22, 15. Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but physical discipline drives it far from him. Proverbs 23.13 Do not withhold discipline from a child. If you discipline him painfully, he will not die. Physical discipline will save his soul from death. Proverbs 29.15 The rod of reproof give wisdom. But a child left to himself brings shame to his mother. The child who acts out, who throws a temper, who says no to you at two, will spit in your face and punch a hole in the wall when he's 16. It's not acting out. It's not cute. It's sinful. And a child left to himself will bring shame to his mother when he's older. Don't abuse your children by failing to discipline them. Proverbs 29.17 Discipline your son and he will give you rest. Proverbs 29.19 By mere words a servant is not disciplined, for though he understands, he won't respond. You know how I hear that? Don't reason with a two-year-old. You know why? Not because they're not incapable of reasoning with you. Though he understands, He won't respond. A servant is not disciplined by mere words. God says wise people say no to child abuse. They discipline their children. This is the God who makes us wise concerning our friends, correction and counsel, and the God who makes us wise parents. Now, you've listened long as we've talked along and I want to conclude by looking at Proverbs 30. The first few verses. Proverbs 30. Let me just quickly mention two more topics Proverbs is a sobering warning about sexual temptation. And in Proverbs 2, 5, 6, and 7, there is explicit warning about sexual temptation. And dads, no one should talk to your children first about sexual temptation besides you. And those of you who are married should spend some time reading this week, Proverbs 2, 5, 6 and 7 and talk about it with honesty. Those of you who are not married, find a close friend and read Proverbs 2 and 5 and 6 and 7 and talk about it honestly. It isn't just a struggle for men either. Proverbs gives a model for handling the topic head on. Then there's the issue of beauty. Our culture bombards us with a certain way a lady should look, and if she isn't that way, she's not beautiful. And this has even started to work its way into our own house with our daughter, Catherine. Like many of your daughters, she loves to be a princess. She loves to dress up. She loves to be beautiful. And one Sunday morning, she said, I want to be beautiful like Princess So-and-so. And it just kind of took me a little bit by surprise. I guess I should have known that's what was happening. She wants to be beautiful like Princess So-and-so. Nothing wrong with that. But I said, I just thought for a moment, Catherine, you know you're beautiful to daddy. Now the truth is, even if she had one eye and buck teeth and one leg, she'd be beautiful to daddy. But your daughters need to hear they're beautiful and they should hear it from their dad again and again and again. Catherine, you know that you're beautiful to daddy, but daddy doesn't want you to be beautiful like those princesses. Why? Because, you know, the Bible says that charm is deceitful and beauty is fleeting. But a woman who fears God, that's the kind of woman that will be praised, Catherine. So from then on, we see that pretty princess. You know, it's far more important than beauty, Catherine. Remember that Bible verse in Proverbs, fearing God. That's more important. And now she'll say, I don't think I've warped her or ruined fairy tales for her. But now she'll say, Daddy, she may be beautiful, but if she doesn't fear God, that's not very good, is it? No, sweetie, it's not. It's sad because the Bible says that charm is deceitful and beauty so fleeting. But a woman who fears God, she will be praised. That's the God who makes us wise about beauty. Now, Proverbs 30. Proverbs 30, and this really summarizes the whole shape of the book, and I'm thankful for Bruce Walkie. It's one of the references I've recommended to you as we've gone through the book overviews really helped open this up to me. Let's read verse 30, chapter 30, verse one, where he he calls us to seek true wisdom. The words of Agar, son of Jekah, the Oracle. The king, the man declares, I am weary, O God, I am weary, O God, and worn out. Surely I am too stupid to be a man. I have not understanding of a man. Why? I have not learned wisdom, nor have I the knowledge of the Holy One. Just like we've seen, this king says that true wisdom begins by admitting you have none, and he engages in a bit of hyperbole. I'm too stupid to be a man. I don't have understanding of a man. I haven't learned wisdom. He's using hyperbole to say I really don't have any true wisdom at all. Waltke notes, this honest confession sharply contrasts with the self-assurance of the Enlightenment. After having been tried for three centuries, the Enlightenment philosophy has enabled the human race to make achievements that before the Enlightenment would have been regarded as miracles. Remarkably, physicists and engineers enable us to walk on the moon. Chemists have eliminated some dreaded diseases. But in the social and moral skills, the Enlightenment has proved to be a colossal failure. In a book called Astor Virtue, Alasdair MacIntyre documented how the Enlightenment moved Western civilization from the Greek virtues to Friedrich Nietzsche's will for power. In its wake came Nazi genocide and ethnic cleansing. Geneticists, social scientists, and medical practitioners sometimes play God and kill unwanted human beings. Today, no human life can be assured that its life is precious. Just look where being wise in our own eyes has led us. True wisdom begins just like this king. I'm too stupid to have any wisdom. Then after this admission, the king throws down a challenge. It's not unique to me, he says. Verse four. Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? These are beautiful postmodern questions which essentially say you can't really have understanding that's comprehensive. I mean, have you gone up to heaven and seen the whole picture and come back down again and told us about it? He's saying my my admission isn't unique and I'm inviting you to the same perspective. Have you gone up to heaven? Have you come down? Do you really understand about creation? You've gathered the winds in your fists. Have you formed the foundations of the earth? When I say I have no wisdom, what I'm really saying is, isn't that true of all of us? Surely you profess to be wise, know this, don't you? And then he asks. Who is this man? Who can meet this description? And what is the name of his son? You see what he's doing. Who is the only one within the whole shape of the Bible that fits this? Who do you know that's ascended to heaven and come down? Who's gathered the wind in his fist? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? Tell me, what is his name? That question begs to be answered only God can do that. What is his name? And who is his son? The answer to the first question is that the only way to escape our moral and social inadequacy is by answering the question, who is his name and who is his son? So who is his son? Well, at one level, the son is none other than the student who's listening to his father. Isn't that the form that Proverbs takes? A father giving counsel to his son? And in this case, it could even be us, the reader. We are sons trying to gain wisdom from the author of Proverbs. So we're asking who is the wise God and who is the wise son? Well, it's God and the wise son in the Old Testament is who? Who in the Old Testament does God instruct? His son, the nation is called his son and Exodus 422, God says, let my son go. And the rest of the Old Testament is God leading and instructing his son in the path of wisdom, the nation is being led by God. The Book of Proverbs is God is the wise father imparting instruction to his son, the nation. But let me ask you. Did that son listen to God's wisdom? No, they went to exile. In fact, the warnings of Proverbs 1 came to pass on God's people in exile. Because in Proverbs 1, he says, if you don't listen to my wisdom, I'll laugh at your calamity. I'll refuse to hear your cries when terror engulfs you. That's the same condemnation he puts on them when they go into exile. And then when the Old Testament closes, Proverbs We found who the name is, the man is, who it is, but we're still looking and longing for a son who will hear the wisdom of the one who's gathered the wind in his fists. Will anyone listen? Is there any son who will hear wisdom's call? We know what his name is, but where is his son? Then we hear of a baby born in Bethlehem who's taken to Egypt by his parents as they flee the decree of an angry king. The king dies and the baby comes out of Egypt. And we hear these words out of Egypt. I've called my son. The next time we hear about this baby, he's a young child in the temple answering deep theological questions. And at the end of Luke, chapter two, Luke, the medical doctor, takes a look at Jesus and he says, and Jesus grew in wisdom. and favor with God. Then years later, this Jesus is baptized in the heavens open and we hear the voice of God saying, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. And Proverbs 23, 24 is fulfilled. He who has a wise son delights in him. This is finally the son worth delighting in. And then Jesus hangs his head on the cross and dies. And the Roman guard looks up at him and says, truly, this is the son of God. And three days later, God raised up Jesus from the dead and God declared him to be with power, the son of God. Jesus is the quintessential son of God who heard the wise teachings of the wise father and oh. It's a call for us, beloved, to admit our lack of wisdom, to confess our sins before the Creator, the one who's gathered the wind in His fist. Admit your lack of wisdom before Him and put all your hopes in His one Son, Jesus Christ, who was wise in our place and died in our place, that we might be made the wisdom of God. And the New Testament understands it in the same way. And so I end by reading this passage penned by a converted Jew named Paul, who upon placing his faith in Jesus said, all of my learning and good deeds are worthless. Then he calls out to us. The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God, for it has been written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, The intelligence of the intelligent, I will frustrate. Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God, the world through its own wisdom did not know him. God was pleased to the foolishness of what was preached to save those who are believed. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified. We admit he's a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards. Not many of you were influential. Not many of you were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose lowly things of this world and the despised things, things that are not to nullify the things that are so that no one may boast before him. It is because of God that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God. That is, Christ is our wisdom, our righteousness, our holiness, and our redemption. Therefore, as it is written, let him who boasts, boast in the Lord. This is the God who makes us wise through Jesus Christ. Fear God. and turn from evil and you'll be wise.