PROFITING FROM PROVERBS

“Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge. For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips” (Proverbs 22:17-18).

Verses 17-21 all deal with the same thing. For the previous chapters each verse was a unit in that each handled a different subject, but now we have clusters of verses dealing with the same subject.

“Bow down thine ear [that is humility], and hear the words of the wise [that is pay attention, listen up, keep your mouth shut], and apply thine heart unto my knowledge [that is to study and work]. For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them [the words of the wise] within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips [study them, apply thyself to them and then when you need them you’ll have them to fit the proper occasion” (Proverbs 22:17-18).

You will find an example of words that are fitted in your lips in Matthew 10:19. Jesus said, “But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak” (Matthew 10:19). Don’t worry about what you will say, it will be given you what to say. Now, of course, you are going to have to had done a little sowing to your heart before there will be anything to come out, a little bowing of the ear to the words of the wise—the Word of God, and some application of the heart unto knowledge, to keep them. It is just as David wrote: “Thy words have I hid in mine heart . . .” (Psalm 119:11).

Besides 119:11, there are some great verses in Scripture with regard to memorization.

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (I Peter 3:15). Therefore, obviously, you are going to have to have done some memorization and mediation on the Word.

When someone asks you what you believe about a certain thing, give them chapter and verse. Let the Bible do the trick. Let them argue with God and the Bible about the issue, and not you.

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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