Proverbs 1:1: What would your wish be?

“The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:”
Proverbs 1:1

If God gave you one wish, what would you wish for?

If He came to you, right now, and said, “Ask what I shall give you,” how would you reply? I know we all have our tidy “religious” answers dealing with peace and joy and salvation for all, but be honest with yourself for a minute. A lot of us would ask for money, or fame, or power.

It’s a rather pointless question, right? I mean, God, despite what some churches say, is not a vending machine where you tell Him what you want and He gives it to you.

Except that He did exactly that at least once, and it pertains to our topic of Proverbs very deeply, because the person who received the wish was Solomon, who wrote most of Proverbs and probably two other books of the Bible.

God gave him a wish, and here’s what happened after that:

”Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”

It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days.”

-1 Kings 3:9-13

There are two things I want to point out here. The first is that Solomon understood something that we do not always understand, that some things are better than money. Don’t get me wrong, Solomon did not think that money was evil. In fact, we’re going to see that Solomon has some nice things to say about money. I don’t think money is evil either. But it’s a matter of priority.

I’ll be honest. I cringe when I hear a preacher talk about how we can be wealthy and healthy and powerful through Jesus. It’s not even that they are necessarily wrong. Some of us will, in fact, be wealthy. Not all, certainly (we worship a homeless man, remember), but some. But it’s just that they vision is so very small. Take a look at what the Bible lists as “the fruit of the spirit”: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).

If I’m going to pray for myself, this is the stuff I want to pray for. Money would be fine, but I would much rather have love. Power would be grant, but peace better. Perfect health would be lovely, but joy far better.

You see, there are eternal things, and there are things that pass away. Solomon knew that, and even though he could have asked for money and power, he realized that these things would pass. He was looking to something higher.

He got money anyway. Maybe that will happen for you too. If so, I’m happy for you. But if money is your priority, then you should consider my second observation from this passage:

God was pleased when Solomon did NOT ask for money.

Did you catch that? How strange that there are so many churches that tell us to pray for the very thing that God tells us would not please Him. How selfish and unloving! Certainly, God wants to give us things, and He wants us to seek Him, but He wants to give us those things that are most important, and we are sitting here begging for the lesser things.

Solomon knew better, and it pleased God that his sights were not cast so low.

Is money a priority for you, or is God the priority? Having money is not a problem as long as God remains on top, but you must ask yourself what you are truly seeking.

If you are caught up in the frenzy to make a name for yourself, to get rich, to have all this world can offer, I urge you to turn your attention from this world and to the next one, for it is there that true treasure will last.

Turn to Christ; repent of this world and give yourself to Him. Ask Him for forgiveness and to fill you with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

And wisdom.

The richest man in the world wrote three books of the Bible and is remembered to this day not for his wealth, but for that piece of eternity in him. In Christ, we can understand the true importance of things, so I urge you to seek him.

Proverbs 1:1: Listening to counsel

“The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:”
Proverbs 1:1

I cannot overstate the importance of godly counsel in my life. Certain pastors or friends who have taken the time and patience to help guide me through the Word and prayer have been invaluable. Not all of this has happened in the church, and some people in the church have given me some rotten advice, and so it is sometimes difficult to know what is godly and what is not.

There have been several times when advice sounded really great, but later I would look back and realize it was really rotten. Sometimes I would look in the Bible and realize it was not only rotten, but also unbiblical.

Once such time happened when I was a kid, and an older kid was picking on me. It was really the only time in my life I was bullied, because I was always a big kid. But some people told me to stand up to him.

And I got in trouble.

It was rotten advice, but it sounded good at the time.

Sometimes great advice doesn’t sound that great. Sometimes you don’t realize it’s good. Sometimes you just have to have faith in the person giving the advice. If you have faith that this is a wise person who will not lead you astray, then you are more willing to follow the advice, no matter what it is.

That’s one reason I love the Bible so much. It is a source I have learned that I can trust in all things. In countless ways, the Bible has proven itself to me. When it gives advice, I know I can trust it.

That’s what Proverbs is. It’s wise counsel on a variety of subjects that may not be explicitly commanded in one way or another. It’s just a practice handbook on how to live like Christ in this life.

I think it’s worth our study, and so I plan to walk through it, verse by verse, on this blog.

But let me add this disclaimer right up front: You can follow every word of Proverbs to the letter and it ultimately won’t matter. You can keep every commandment in the Bible from now on and it won’t help you when you step before the Throne of God for judgment. The truth is that we are sinners; we have messed up in the past and we will mess up in the future. We cannot hope to stand to the great moral perfection of God and heaven.

If you approach Proverbs or any part of the Bible with the idea that you are going to start living right and that will make God like you, you’re not going to make it. “The wages of sin is death,” and we have stumbled in some incredible ways. We have lied, stolen, used God’s name in vain, and approached others in hatred.

We deserve death, and you cannot earn your way out of that.

But that is why Christ came. In His death, He paid the price of death that we have earned while giving to us His righteousness. All we have to do is yield to Him, confessing our sins, and He is faithful to forgive and to impart that righteousness.

Now free from sin, we can approach the Bible in a new way, not as one trying to earn his way out of sin, but as one freed and trying to love Christ by obeying His Word.

I urge you to seek the Grace of God before coming to this book to learn God’s advice on how to live. The only way this can have a lasting effect on you is if Christ is already within you. First thing’s first: get right with God through His mercy, not by your inadequate actions. Then move forward, deeper in His Word to get closer to Him.

Thanks for staying with me so long. I doubt the future entries will be this long. God willing, I will continue to comment on verse 1 once or twice more this week and then move forward. My plan is to write three times a week, spending one entry per verse, unless it strikes me that I need more (as with the first verse, since I want to say some things on Solomon).

I look forward to seeing more of you.

Welcome, pilgrim . . .

So perhaps I should say something about myself. Perhaps not, since there is no way I could possibly tell everything there is to say. As I go, I find more meaning in the words of Solomon:

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.

He has made everything beautiful in its time.

-Ecclesiastes 3:1-11a

And great wisdom also in the very next part of verse 11 as well: "Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end."

Isn't that true? Such a small part of God I see, and yet the view is so grand.

The more I see, the more I see that I have not seen at all, the bigger seems this wonder that is God. He occupies so much of my vision now, and yet I long for more.

Here's what it comes down to. A thousand roads I have walked, and a thousand feelings felt. Each one has drawn me more and more to Christ, and the more I am drawn to Christ, the more I am drawn to the perfect little book that tells us about Him. There's no time to tell of all those roads, but my goal is something worth the telling.

So I'm going to tell you, verse by verse and line by line. As I prayerfully go through the Word, I'm going to write down what I learn and what I think. This is my pilgrimage; this is my path. This is how God is making me more like Him.

Maybe you'll come along with me. I wouldn't mind the company, but it would make me happier still if you turned to the Word meekly and willing. Here is the story of our Lord, the only way to be saved. I would love for you to "receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. "

I'll be talking more about all of that as we go.

As I mature, Solomon has meant more and more to me. I began this blog by quoting his words from Ecclesiastes. I don't think it would be a bad idea to make a journey through Proverbs as our first stop.