February 2, 2008

Today's Reading - Proverbs 2
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Following Scripture Verses

1. My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
2. So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
3. Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
4. If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
5. Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
6. For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
7. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.
8. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.
9. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.
10. When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
11. Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:
12. To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;
13. Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
14. Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;
15. Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:
16. To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;
17. Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
18. For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.
19. None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.
20. That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.
21. For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.
22. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

Today's Pathway:
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So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, [and] apply thine heart to understanding - Proverbs 2:2

In January we pointed out that this chapter opens with eight steps that an individual must take in order to receive wisdom. The first two were found in verse 1: receiving God's words and making them a part of our lives. Steps three and four are found in today's verse. We are instructed here to "incline our ears unto wisdom". To incline has the idea of leaning over so as to be able to hear better. All of us have been in a situation where we leaned closer to someone or cupped our hand to our ear so that we could more clearly understand what was being said. This is what Solomon is saying to do. The wisdom of the Scriptures is so important that we need to do everything in our power to hear it clearly and correctly. We need to block out all obstacles that would interfere, and focus only upon the Word of God.

Once we have heard the truth we must work to understand it. The Bible is filled with examples of people who heard the Word but failed to grasp Its significance. Since we are to be "doers of the word and not hearers only" (James 1:22), it is vital that we be able to apply that which we have taken in. That can only be done when the Word is first comprehended. My experience has been that many people hear the Word; they attend church regularly and they read their Bibles periodically. However, they go away from those religious sessions in exactly the same condition they were when they arrived because they don't grasp what is being said, and thus never grow and change in their spiritual lives. Solomon says that the individual must choose to apply his heart to the work of understanding. It doesn't come easily, but when it is accomplished it yields great rewards.

When it comes to wisdom, are you listening, and are you learning?

Pastor Mark J Montgomery