February 1, 2008

Today's Reading - Proverbs 1
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Following Scripture Verses

1. The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
2. To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;
3. To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;
4. To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
5. A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
6. To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
7. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
8. My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
9. For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.
10. My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
11. If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
12. Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
13. We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:
14. Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:
15. My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
16. For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
17. Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.
18. And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.
19. So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.
20. Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:
21. She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,
22. How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
23. Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
24. Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
25. But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
26. I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;
27. When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.
28. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
29. For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:
30. They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
31. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
32. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
33. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

Today's Pathway:
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My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: For they [shall be] an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck. - Proverbs 1:8-9

Solomon opens this book by encouraging his son to pursue after wisdom (1-6). His first admonition to him is that he must fear the Lord is he is going to have the knowledge needed to function Biblically in this world (7). The second piece of wisdom that he gives is that his son needs listen to the instructions that his parents have given him (8-9).

There are three things that I see in these verses. First of all, parents have wisdom that their children should listen to. Under most circumstances the parent loves the child and wants him to turn out right. In addition, because the parent has had more experiences, he naturally possesses wisdom that the young person has not yet acquired. This is true even if the parent is not a believer. The wisdom of an unsaved parent will not be on the level with the wisdom of an Christian parent, but that does not mean that a child has the right to ignore his parent's instructions or rules simply because he or she may be unsaved. If you are a young person, thank God for your parents and put into practice that which they are teaching you.

Second, parents need to understand that they have an obligation to instruct their children and establish laws for them. We live in a generation that teaches that children have all the answers, and that adults would do well to allow their kids to come to their own conclusions without parental assistance. Regulations in the home are viewed as being stifling to a child's development. Do not allow the modern psychologist to dictate how you raise your kids. Give them the wisdom and standards that they need to have.

Third, young people need to understand that their parents' instructions are not designed to ruin their lives, but to enhance them. Solomon writes that adherence to this wisdom will be like a beautiful ornament or a golden chain: it will make the listener more attractive in his daily life.

Parents, impart wisdom to your children. They need it. Kids, listen to your parents. It will make your life much more wonderful.

Pastor Mark J Montgomery