Posted on 08/01/2019 6:01:28 AM PDT by Pilgrim's Progress
“To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity” (Proverbs 1:3 KJV).
“To receive instruction” in verse 3 is to receive what wisdom teaches. That is, to sit down and listen to what wisdom has to say. It means that we are to realize that we are not the wisest person that ever lived. Learn from somebody that prayed, and asked God, to make him wise. The Lord appeared unto Solomon in a dream and said, “Ask what I shall give thee.”
Solomon told God, “Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy.” He sure did! He should have killed David after his sin with Bathsheba. He continued, “he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart.” People say, “Yea, well David sinned.” Yes, he sinned, but he got right with God. This is “uprightness of heart,” Nobody is not going to sin. “uprightness of heart” isn’t living sinless, “uprightness of heart” is when you sin, and God convicts you of it—you repent of it and you try to quit doing it.
Solomon continues, “thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day, And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child.” Look at that humility!
It started out like that, but unfortunately it doesn’t always end up like that. Saul started out—he had a pretty good estimation of himself. He knew he wasn’t anybody special, unfortunately, before it was over with, he thought he was really somebody, and he went down the tube.
“And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?” (1 Kings 3:7-9 KJV)
“discern . . .” Tell right from wrong, see what’s up or down, know from left to right, good and bad.
“And the speech pleased the Lord.”
So, here is a man that asked for wisdom. In James 1 we read, “if any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God.” Now that is a good prayer for you and I, and a good admonition. Solomon asked for wisdom and God gave it to him. The Bible says, He “giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not.” God isn’t going to get mad at you for asking.
There are two things about asking for it, though.
1. Solomon asked for it because he realized he couldn’t handle the job with the tools that he had. And that is what we need to remember. We can’t take care of the job that God has given us to handle. Raising a family is not just a matter of reading Dr. Spock. If anyone thinks that, they are crazy. You want to do it the way mom and dad did it? You don’t know how they did it, you weren’t there half the time when they did it. A lot of times they did it on their knees in prayer, talking things over or fighting things out. You don’t know how they did it. You need your own wisdom from God to do it! Maybe you didn’t have godly parents, a lot of us didn’t.
2. And then, be willing to give God credit when He gives it to you. A lot of people don’t get what they ask for because the Bible says when they ask, they ask amiss. That they can consume it upon their own lusts (Jas 4:3). A lot of people want wisdom to make money off of it. Forget it, you’re not going to get nothing from God but a bad time and hard days ahead, with that kind of attitude. We need to ask with the right motive. James says that a “double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (1:8). What is he asking for? A man ought to have “singleness of heart,” our eye ought to be on the Lord, and that ought to be purpose behind asking.
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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