Posted on 06/01/2019 5:47:42 AM PDT by Pilgrim's Progress
“The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel. To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding” (Proverbs 1:1-2 KJV).
1. “To know wisdom and instruction.” 2. “To perceive the words of understanding.” 3. “To receive the instruction of wisdom.” 4. “To receive the instruction of justice.” 5. “To receive the instruction of judgment.” 6. “To receive the instruction of equity.” 7. “To give subtilty to the simple.” 8. “To give the young man knowledge.” 9. “To give the young man discretion.”
Nine things. The number nine just happens to be the number of the ‘fruit of the Spirit.” And in I Corinthians 12 you’ll find that there are nine gifts of the Holy Ghost. Nine is connected with the Holy Ghost—that is a good number. There are nine fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5, nine gifts of the Holy Spirit for the ministry in I Corinthians 12, and here are nine purposes for the Book of Proverbs.
The Book of Proverbs is written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and of course, “holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (I Peter 1:21).
To “know wisdom and instruction.”
To “perceive” is to see a thing, to see it “as it is,” “the words of understanding.” Or “about understanding.” Sometimes the word “of” goes one direction, depending on the object, and sometimes the other direction depending on which one is the subject. It’s a strange little word to deal with. Take the expression, “The love of God.” What is the subject? You don’t know. That’s the problem, you see. In one verse, the subject may be love. In other words, the object may be God . . . the subject is you loving God. “The love of God,” in some other cases, could be reversed—and only the context can give you the differences. And in some places, it can be both.
In Romans 5 we are told that the “love of God is shed abroad in our hearts.” Well, God loves us, but not only that—but God gives you the ability to love others, even some that are unlovely. And you won’t really love Him until the “Holy Ghost is shed abroad in [your] hearts.” So, it can run both ways. In some other phrases, it may not. It may have to go in one direction; only one can be the subject, only one can be the object. And there you just have to search the context for the answer for it.
It is strange how some people get saved and then a year later they think they are a Bible scholar. I tell you what, there is a whole lot of the Bible you and I don’t know. I mean, you can get down to a little word like “of” and you can get into trouble, if you haven’t got the subject right, or the object right.
Not only does he say to “know understanding” but to “perceive the words of understanding,” but to “receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity” to “give subtilty to the simple.”
Let’s read a chapter of Proverbs a day and see what God might have for us. As the Lord leads, share with us what God has shown you in a special way and by His grace let us build up a devotional repository. Let’s keep our knives and forks handy for some daily bread!
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