The Grace and Wisdom of God

Welcome, friends, to our summer Bible study in Proverbs with the Good Morning Girls! I applaud you for making this commitment during what is for most a very busy season - the season of summer. There are many voices that are calling out to us now that the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the poolside is waiting.

There is truly so much to do - both in work and in play, but you have committed to that which is needful...time at Jesus' feet! This daily time in Proverbs for the next 7 weeks is going to be fruitful I can assure you. Time spent in God's Word never returns void. It will accomplish that for which God sends it out.

He longs to fellowship with us in the pages of Proverbs. So let's soak in some time with Him now. Today in chapter one of Proverbs we are learning about the grace and wisdom of God.

Proverbs chapter 1 opens with three voices:

1. The Voice of Instruction {vv. 8-10, 15-19}

2. The Voice of Temptation {vv. 11-14}

3. The Voice of Salvation {vv. 20-33}


The key word in Proverbs is "Wisdom". You'll find it capitalized for two reasons: it's God's design for living and it's a reminder to us of Jesus, who the Apostle Paul calls "the widsom of God...in Whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" {1 Corinthians 1:24; Colossians 2:3}.

Let's take a quick look the the 3 voices of Proverbs.

Voice of Instruction 

We hear from the voice of instruction in verses 8-10 and 15-19. This is Solomon's father speaking to his son about hearing his instructions on Wisdom and to obey what he hears about Wisdom. Notice also that the child's mother has also been involved in teaching their son about Wisdom. Deuteronomy 6:6-9 instructs parents to faithfully teach their children the Word of God. We see Solomon instructing his son about the dangers of yielding to temptations and how to avoid them.

Voice of Temptation

We hear the voice of temptation in verses 11-14. We learn very quickly from these verses that anyone who entices us to disobey God is definitely not our friend! There are some out there who will make sin sound exciting, but don't listen to them! Sin will take you where you never intended to go if you open the door to it even with a tiny crack. Don't reject the eternal treasures of Heaven for the temporary pleasure that the sins of this world tempt with. It's not worth losing your soul over!

Voice of Salvation

Finally we hear from the voice of salvation in verses 20-33. Hallelujah for the salvation offered through the precious and sinless blood of Jesus Christ! Wisdom speaks in a world that is filled with the noise of temptation and sin. It can be hard to hear the call of Wisdom unless we are spending time daily in the Word of God. But in order to recognize our need for time in God's Word, we must first deal with the issue of our heart's broken relationship with God. That's where Wisdom's first cry begins.

Turn at my rebuke;
Surely I will pour out my Spirit on you;
I will make My words known to you.
~Proverbs 1:23 

My friends, when we recognize the sin that has entrapped our hearts and make the conscience effort to confess those sins to God and cry out for His forgiveness, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness. Did you hear that?

That's the Good News of Jesus Christ!

Wisdom makes the call of salvation - asking us to turn at His rebuke. Rebuke is defined on Dictionary.com as "sharp, stern disapproval of". When God rebukes sin in our lives, He is identifying the sin in our lives that separate us from Him. His desire is that we turn from the sin and accept His free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.

We see in Proverbs 1:23 two things that will happen when we make this turn away from sin and walk instead toward Jesus:

1. God will pour out His Holy Spirit on us.

2. The Holy Spirit will teach us the wisdom of God found in the Word of God.

The Holy Spirit of God is a precious gift of grace. It's His empowering presence that lives inside our hearts that enables us to understand the Word of God and empowers us to live as God calls us to live in His Holy Word.

The grace and wisdom of God are gifts that God longs to pour into our hearts and lives. This journey through Proverbs is a wonderful place to begin. Thank you for walking on this path of life with me!

 

Walking in His Grace, 

Laurie

Are the grace and wisdom of God gifts that you desire to walk in every day? Let me know in the comments and I'll be praying for you throughout this study. It is certainly my heart's desire, so I would be thankful for your prayers as well.