BACK TO PROVERBS

As I have been browsing many weblogs recently, one thing has hit me square in the jaw. The need for a better understanding of grace is very, very high. I find myself needing to understand how God’s grace changes my life every moment. It is no surprise that I am not alone in this. How I wish it were different.

Why can’t we remember grace? Why do we pepper nearly everything in our lives with graceless attitudes and ideas? I wish I knew the answer to that. Then I would be truly rich in Kingdom currency.

So, back to Proverbs I go. I bet you are wondering why I just said that. Here’s why:

The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:
To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding,
To receive instruction in wise behavior, Righteousness, justice and equity;
To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion,
A wise man will hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,
To understand a proverb and a figure, The words of the wise and their riddles.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:1-7

Did you catch it? Read it again, slowly.

The very first part of the book of Proverbs tells us why it was written. These seven verses explain the reason the book exists.

What is the book of Proverbs good for? To know wisdom and instruction. What more wise thing in this world is there than grace?

To receive instruction in wise behavior, Righteousness, justice and equity. Isn’t that what we are really looking for? Righteousness comes not by our own hand, nor understanding, but through the blood of Christ.

The book of Proverbs gives both the young, and the old and wise instruction in wise counsel, knowledge, and discretion. I am seriously lacking in all these things.

To understand a proverb and a figure, The words of the wise and their riddles. Hmm, ever read a parable Jesus spoke and wonder what it really meant? Maybe the answer isn’t in the parable, maybe the answer is in wisdom, and where are we going to find wisdom? Certainly not in me, so where will we go?

Read the last line. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. We are not fools, though, we who have been washed by the blood of Christ. We are full of grace, and the words of Proverbs will have their way with us, whether we realize it or not. I have read the book of Proverbs too many times to count, and each time I do, I learn far more than I can remember that I learned. Did that statement make sense? It means I learn more than I know I learned.

Some things that I have learned will show up immediately, others only when I need it. One thing is true; do not read the book of Proverbs and expect instantaneous results. We may receive some wisdom immediately, but the book is too deep for our waking minds to grasp in one take. That is why I revisit it often. That, and the promise made in the first seven verses,

There is a book called Purpose Driven Life which makes a promise that if you read it, it will change your life. That book broke its promise to me. That’s okay, it was a misguided statement, and I probably had no business holding a book to its word. The book of Proverbs , though, has fulfilled its promise, and continues to do so. You will understand the sayings of the wise, you will gain discretion, and you will see how wisdom is not knowledge, but rather everyday experience in living the right way, the way of the Lord, which is also the way of grace.

I need grace like rain every moment. Proverbs helps me remember how little I know, but how much I have been given, not just when I read Proverbs, but when I read every other book in the Bible, and when I live. It may do the same for you. Try it, and see what happens.