To Be Teachable

 Proverbs 1:1-7[1] 

As preached at Rolling Hills Church on Sunday, December 19^th, 2010

 Do you want to learn how to live skillfully? Having some knowledge is good; learning to skillfully apply that knowledge in everyday life is wisdom. "Knowledge would be knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom would be knowing not to put a tomato in a fruit salad." That was the quote of the day on the board at Badger Brothers Coffee Shop the other day. If you desire to learn wisdom, Proverbs is a good book for you.

We are going through the first chapter of the Wisdom Literature – the books of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. Today we're in Proverbs 1:1-7. Let's read this text now, found on page 527 in the blue Bibles found in the chairs.

1 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

2 To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight,

3 to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity;

4 to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth--

5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance,

6 to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles.

7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

 Let's pray this morning, shall we? I've asked Bryan Paulsen to offer a prayer for us.

This being the books of wisdom, then a key term in Proverbs is of course "wisdom." The word (Hb. khokmah) can have the nuance of "skill" (as it does in Ex. 28:3), particularly the skill of choosing the right course of action for the desired result. You may have heard it said that to keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result is foolish; that's a well worn statement, but it's true. In the covenantal framework of Proverbs, wisdom denotes "skill in the art of godly living."[2] Let's keep that in our minds, and toss this notion that wisdom is some super-intellect, or that wisdom is some Confucius-type of man-on-the-mountain who knows more than us normal people. This book is written to and for normal people living normal lives – godly lives; skill in the art of godly living. Wisdom has to do with becoming skillful in honoring our parents and raising our children, handling our money and conducting our sexual lives, going to work and exercising leadership, using words well and treating folks kindly, eating and drinking healthily, cultivating emotions within ourselves and attitudes toward others that make for peace. Threaded through all these items is the insistence that the way we think of and respond to God is the most practical thing we do. In matters of everyday practicality nothing, absolutely nothing, takes precedence over God.[3]

This text is the introduction to Proverbs. Here we find the purpose for writing, the audience engaged, and the motto for Proverbs, for all of the wisdom literature.

1:1-6 The purpose for writing: to learn, and to teach wisdom. This is an active search and an active class. Listen to the verbs used here: to know, understand, receive, and give. This isn't a casual class that was required and dutifully done; this was a fully engaged learning process. Note also the subjects of these verbs: wisdom, instruction, and words of insight, instruction in wise dealing, righteousness, justice, and equity. Also included are prudence, knowledge, discretion, and guidance. This author is Solomon, and though he wasn't the only writer of the Proverbs, he was the main author, and is known as the wisest man to ever live. 1 Kings 4: 29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore,

30 so that Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt.

31 For he was wiser than all other men, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame was in all the surrounding nations.

32 He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005.

33 He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish.

34 And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.

Solomon is writing to increase this knowledge, and to give this knowledge as well. Now we also see in this introduction…

1:1-6 The audience engaged: all who are teachable. This is food for the hungry, water for the thirsty; it isn't of any value for the person who deems themselves full. It's a broad audience, one that includes the young, the simple (naïve), and the wise person. He even includes himself here; did you catch that? He is writing to know and to receive as well as to give wisdom. 24 times in the book the phrase 'my son' is used, so obviously it includes his own children. When you read these verses you'll find that his father (David) taught him, and he is teaching his sons. Should not the fathers teach the sons? Yes, we should give our sons skills in godly living. The attitude of the young, the naïve, and the wise should be the same – I need to learn more. I need to learn how to live what I know more skillfully. Have you ever seen a know-it-all? Let me pull your minds back in time a decade and a half to Tim the Tool Man and Al his trusty assistant. Who knew more? Al! Who thought and acted like he knew more? Tim! Who often burned down or blew up the set on the show? TIM. Who did he not listen to? Al. It was funny, but there is a seed of truth in any effective humor. You've met this lady or this man who knows it all and doesn't need your insight. You've most likely BEEN this person at one time (teen years) or another; people had good wisdom to give us but we disdained it, and paid a price for it. I think a good summary word would be teachability. That is the great virtue that this book seeks to instill; it is the willingness to grow in wisdom no matter how far along a person already is.

Wise people grow in knowledge because they are wise. The young and the naïve grow in knowledge, wisdom, prudence, etc., because they RECOGNIZE THEIR NEED. Here is a good foundation for being teachable…

The foundation for learning: fear of the LORD.  Here is where the rubber hits the road concerning teachability. The book begins (1:7) and ends (31:30, the excellent wife) with this mindset, this emotion, this belief that is foundational to learning to live godly. God requires a reverence, a respect for Himself from His creatures. God is the Creator; God judges all sin and God judges rightly. If we have any sin in our lives, there is a reason to be concerned here. God is all-powerful, and we are weak. God is eternal, we are here a short time, and we have a beginning. The reason that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of both knowledge and wisdom is that the moral life begins with reverence and humility before the Maker and Redeemer.[4] This is taken in the context that God is the Covenant-making and Covenant-keeping God of Israel, before Whom Solomon serves as king.

So you have the purpose for writing this book the audience he wrote to, and the foundation for learning, the motto of Proverbs, the fear of the LORD. Church, what wisdom does the fear of the LORD lead us to? I believe it leads us to see ourselves in light of His holiness, and to seek some mercy, some grace, some forgiveness for our sinfulness before this God. Here we will, if we seek it, find the highest wisdom of God. Let me allow Paul to teach us about this wisdom of God; turn with me to 1 Cor 1:21-25.

21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.

22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,

23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,

24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Church, Christ is the wisdom of God. Paul talks wisdom here with a tongue-in-cheek way of speaking; wisdom doesn't sound important. But hear him say that Christ is the wisdom that IS important for life. Proverbs tells us to live wisely, in a godly, holy manner. Don't think that we're saved by being good and living right; we are too sinful for that! We must be saved by repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ. And yet, don't think that God saves us and doesn't care if we live right – by no means! He requires holiness from His church! He saves us to obey Him; and brothers and sisters, those who do not like the obligation to obey Him have no part in the forgiving grace from Him.

You and I need to grow in obedience to God; we need to grow, as those who believe, in skill in the art of godly living.

 

How can we grow if we don't know?

How can we know if we don't learn?

How can we learn if we aren't teachable?

 

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death (14:12).

Humble people, teachable people – be they wise, young, or naïve – choose to learn wisdom. By God's mercy He has provided good, every-day, real-life wisdom for us. Let's choose to pursue it, to learn it, to become more skilled in the art of godly living.

Let us seek to be teachable.

 

 

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[1] All Scripture, unless otherwise noted, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (via E-Sword Software) © 2001 Crossway Publishing. All Rights Reserved

[2] From the Introduction to Proverbs in the ESV Study Bible, © 2001-2010 Crossway Publishing. All Rights Reserved

[3] From the Introduction to Proverbs in "The Message"

[4] From the study notes in the ESV Study Bible, © 2001-2010 Crossway Publishing. All Rights Reserved

How Blessed is the Man

Psalm 1[1]

As preached at Rolling Hills Church on Sunday, December 5^th, 2010

Get a look at this tree.

Britain's oldest oak tree is the Bowthorpe Oak in Bourne, Great Britain with an estimated age of over 1,000 years old. The tree is located on Bowthorpe Park Farm and visitors are welcome throughout the year. The Bowthorpe Oak is also featured in the Guinness Book of Records and was filmed for a short TV documentary about its size and astounding longevity.

Here's another tree.

This is the King Oak, an oak tree in Denmark. It is 1,500 – 2,000 year-old. It grows in on the island of Sjaelland. It may well be oldest living organism in northern Europe. It probably originally grew in an open meadow, to account for its short trunk and low branching, with other taller forest trees growing up around it subsequently. The taller trees around it are now shading it and slowly killing it[2].

Now let's take a look at this…

This is the modern-day version of chaff. Not the stuff in the field being combined and saved – that's wheat. The chaff is that dusty, tiny stuff blowing away to the right of the machine. How would you like to go and find that to save it? Here's another picture of wheat being harvested with a combine, this one somewhere in North Dakota. Nice, huh?

The difference between these oak trees and this chaff blowing in the wind is that one is lasting, fruitful; the other is fleeting, gone quickly. The oak is living, strong, and lasting; but the chaff is useless, brief, and dead.

So let's turn to Psalm 1. Psalm 1 is introductory, and it is a vast, panoramic generalization of all the Psalms. The main theme is simple; the righteous man is blessed, the wicked man is not. The writer beautifully contrasts these people in powerful, simple prose.  Let's read it.

1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

6 for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

This Psalm is more like a Proverb, really; it smacks of wisdom literature. The Proverbs are not a book of promises to be claimed, church, as much as a set of general observations about life, good and evil, wisdom and folly. Want to be wise with your relationships, family life, finances, work-ethic? Then get to these wisdom books.

Two types of people contrasted here in this Psalm: the righteous and the wicked. The righteous, in a big-picture, grand-scheme of things kind of way, leads a God-ward life. The wicked, in the same big-picture, grand-scheme of things kind of way, leads a godless life.

We can see the message of this Psalm and the contrast by reading the first and last verses.

1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

6 for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Let's consider the description of The Righteous Man.

The righteous man is blessed. Life is good. He is made joyful, happy, and pleasant.

This righteous man is wise. He is purposely pursues God by filling His mind with God's law and dwelling on it. He purposely avoids some people – the wicked, sinners, and scoffers.  He is intentional to gain and maintain and live off of God's wisdom; he is intentional to avoid the folly of the wicked. He doesn't walk, sit nor stand with those folks. That is a wise man.

The righteous man is fruitful. He is like a tree planted by streams of water. A fruitful tree is a pleasant tree, a useful tree.

The righteous man is successful. He prospers at his work, and in his life. He takes the high road and generally that pays off.

The righteous man is permanent. He believes God, seeks God, and obeys God, and he will face the judgment of God with pardon and acceptance.

Doesn't that sound like a good life? Blessed, purposeful, fruitful, successful, and permanent?

Now let's turn to The Wicked Man. This won't take long; you'll notice that the wicked have no such description here in this overview Psalm.

The wicked man is simply… not. "The wicked are not so", the ESV says; the NASB is more ominous; "Not so the wicked". Those are descriptive, strong, weather-changing words. That's like describing a sunny, perfect, pleasant day, then turning your head to see the dark, nasty clouds rolling in with high winds and hard, cold rain. It's like introduced President George Bush and listed off his accomplishments, then turned to Lil' Wayne!

The wicked man is not blessed, is not wise, is not fruitful, is not successful, and most important of all, he is NOT permanent. When the wicked stand before God in His judgment seat, they will be blown away like chaff; they will be destroyed! "Not so the wicked". The useless, fruitless, and godless will not make it through the judgment of God. It is good to note here that both the righteous and the wicked will stand before God's judgment throne. They walk on two different paths; God knows the path of the righteous (He approves, applauds that path): the path of the wicked ends in death.

All through the Psalms you'll read more about the righteous and the wicked. What we must consider here today in Psalm 1 is the judgment, and this is the question you must answer…

Will you stand in the judgment? Don't think God isn't watching and will not judge: He is and He will!

Have you meditated on God's law? Let me take this a step further for you: have you received the grace of God? Here is the only way prescribed for us to get through God's judgment alive, church: faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is foreshadowed in the Psalms; He is prophesied in the Psalms. He fulfilled those prophecies and has indeed become the Cornerstone, and will make righteous once and for those who have believed in Jesus Christ and turned from their sin to follow Him. Those who are in Christ are like trees planted by water; bearing fruit and lasting.

Those who are not in Christ are like the chaff; they won't stand in the judgment.

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[1] All Scripture, unless otherwise noted, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (via E-Sword Software) © 2001 Crossway Publishing. All Rights Reserved

[2] Information on these incredible trees – including the photographs – was found at this website, http://purpleslinky.com/trivia/history/famous-oak-trees-in-the-world/