Instruction (Studies in Proverbs)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/22/2013 9:13 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Instruction

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Studies in Proverbs

            Message of the verses:  We will continue looking at things that are involved in what the will of God is for our lives as talked about in Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary on the book of Proverbs and are also written about in the book of Proverbs.  Today we will look at “instructions.”

            3 Instruction:  “A wise son heeds his father’s instruction, but a mocker does not listen to rebuke (Pr. 13:1 NIV).”

            “Take hold of instruction; do not let go. Guard her, for she is your life (Pr. 4:13).”  “Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser, Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning (Pr. 9:9).”

            Our theme verses for this chapter in Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary is Proverbs 3:5-6, “5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.”  If we are going to trust the Lord then we will first have to be instructed by His Word which will instruct us, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Rom. 10:17 NKJV).”  Romans also teach us in Romans 10:8 that Scripture is the “word of faith,” and it generates and nourishes faith in our hearts.  We can depend upon God’s Word “Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him (Pr. 30:5). 17 Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply your mind to my knowledge; 18 For it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, That they may be ready on your lips. 19 So that your trust may be in the LORD, I have taught you today, even you. 20 Have I not written to you excellent things Of counsels and knowledge, 21 To make you know the certainty of the words of truth That you may correctly answer him who sent you?  (Pr. 22:17-21)

            Let us look again at Proverbs 3:5-6 “5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.”  What I want to point out from these verses is that this is a command for us to follow and if we do not follow this command then we will be sinning.  We have to follow the Word of God in our lives for that is what the Lord uses to guide us and as verse six states to “Make our paths straight.”  I have mentioned in and earlier SD that the word “direct” in verse six is a word that was used in another OT passage which spoke of how Hezekiah built a tunnel into the city of Jerusalem to provide water for the city.  The tunnels had to be directed in a certain way in order to get the water to where Hezekiah wanted it to go.  Verse six in the KJV states “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”  We acknowledge the Lord and He directs our path so we can accomplish what He wants us to accomplish for Him.  Jesus is our example as we know that Jesus came to do the will of the Father and we can see it in the book of Hebrews, “Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—I have come to do your will, O God.’" (Heb. 10:7) 

            Now if we deliberately act apart from these instructions that we see in the Scriptures we are actually rebelling against the God of the Word “He who despises the word will be destroyed, But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded (PR. 13:13 NKJV).”  “He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, But he who is careless of conduct will die (Pr. 19:16).”  When we decide to ignore the Word of God we are depriving ourselves of the guidance that we need to live a life pleasing to the Lord:  “Cease listening, my son, to discipline, And you will stray from the words of knowledge (Pr. 19:27).”

            The Bible has the answer to most every situation that we will need to find out about.  A good way to look these up is to use a topical concordance for the entire Bible or even just for the book of Proverbs.  Now the Bible is not going to give you the name of the person you are to marry or the job that you are suppose to take or where to go on vacation, but it will give you guidelines that will direct your path to help answer these questions.  “A man’s steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way? (Pr. 20:24).”  Dr. Wiersbe gives us the example from the life of Joseph, “God overruled Joseph’s brothers’ envy and used their evil deeds to build Joseph’s faith and save Jacob’s family (Gen. 50:20).  At the time, nobody could understand what the Lord was doing, but He was working out His perfect plan.  In the school of faith, sometimes we don’t know what the lesson is until we’ve passed—or failed—the examination!”

            Let’s review what we learned earlier in Proverbs 2:1-5 “1 My son, if you will receive my words And treasure my commandments within you, 2  Make your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline your heart to understanding; 3  For if you cry for discernment, Lift your voice for understanding; 4  If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures; 5  Then you will discern the fear of the LORD And discover the knowledge of God.”  We learned here that we are to receive the Word of God, we are then to treasure it, and next listen to it and apply it to our hearts, we are to cry out for it, and we are to search for it just as a miner searches for treasures, and then at that point we will be able to understand the “fear of the Lord.”  I suppose it would be safe to say that this is a lifelong project, but a worthwhile project.

            We have spoken before about the importance of reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating on the Word of God.  Psalm one is a great example of this:  “1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.

    “4 The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.”

            We must not forget the last factor in this process of instruction and that is prayer.  John 15:7 teaches us that the Word of God and prayer go together, “"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”  Let us look at a couple of more passages, “"But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word (Acts 6:4’”  “17 And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18  With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints (Eph. 6:17-18).”

            Proverbs 28:9 speaks of the importance of prayer, “He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, Even his prayer is an abomination.”  “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But the prayer of the upright is His delight (Pr. 15:8).” 

            Dr. Wiersbe concludes his commentary on instruction with this question:  “If I won’t listen to God’s instructions, why should God listen to my petition?”  God question!

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  There is another verse that Peter has in his first letter that goes along with the question that Dr. Wiersbe asks, and that has to do with a man not having his prayers answered because he does not treat his wife right.  We could ask then why would God answer our prayers when we are not treating our wife right?  1Pe 3:7 “You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.”   Understand that the word “weaker” means not as physically strong as the man.  This is more instruction from the Word of God that we can learn.  It is a lifelong process to continue to learn from God’s Word, but a worthwhile process.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  There are times when I get off the track of learning from God’s Word and try my own understanding of things, but it won’t be long before I know I have to get back on the track of following God’s Word, for that is the only way to go.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 32:1-7

            1How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!  2 How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!  3 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.  4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality wasted away like the fever heat of summer. Selah.  5 I acknowledge my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”; and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.  6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.

            7 You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah. 

Answer to yesterday’s Question:  “Follow Me” (Matthew 9:9)

Today’s Question:  “Who said "You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted.”

Answer in tomorrow’s SD.

3/22/2013 11:09 AM