Hear the instruction of wisdom!
[Proverbs 8:22-36]
We are busy with a lot of work while serving in the church (Lk. 10:40). Therefore, the brothers or sisters in Christ around me who has left me to do all the serving alone (v. 40) are considered unfavorable. So in dissatisfaction, we even go to the Lord and pray and complain: ‘Lord, do You not care that my brother or sister in Christ has left me to do all the serving alone? (v. 40) At that time, I wonder if the Lord is telling us: 'My name, my name, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary’ (vv. 41-42). Although the Lord wants us to sit at the Lord's feet and listen to His word like Mary (v. 39) and to obey His will, we have greedy heart in wanting to give a lot of glory to God by making many things busy according to our will. Although the Lord is saying, “only one thing is necessary” (v. 42), we are not satisfied with doing that one thing. After all, we aren’t obeying the will of the Lord, but serving the church according to our will. Although “May has chosen the good part” in the eyes of the Lord, we are busy with many things like Martha (vv. 41-42).
As we began meditating on Proverbs 8, we learned from verses 1 to 11 that in order for us to be prudent based on on the word of God, we must hear wisdom calling us and hear the instruction of wisdom and gain knowledge. I thought about four reasons why we should listen to the instruction of wisdom. The reason is because (1) It tells us the noble things (v. 6). In other words, the reason we should listen to the instruction of wisdom is because it gives us the right values. (2) It reveals right things (v. 6). In other words, the reason we should listen to the instruction of wisdom is because it guides us in the right way. (3) It utters truth (v. 7). In other words, the reason we should listen to the instruction of wisdom is because it allows us to acquire the right knowledge. (4) It speaks just (v. 8). In other words, the reason we should listen to the instruction of wisdom is because it makes us do right. Interestingly, in the words from verses 32 to 36 at the end of Proverbs 8, King Solomon repeatedly said, 'Listen to me (wisdom)' (vv. 32, 34) and 'Listen to instruction' (v. 33). In other words, he is telling us to ‘hear the instruction of wisdom.' I would like to learn the lesson God gives us while meditating on how to listen to the instruction of wisdom in three ways:
First, we must wait humbly every day to hear the instruction of wisdom.
Look at Proverbs 8:34 – “"Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at my doorposts.” Personally, as a pastor, there are many times when I struggle when it comes to preparing and preaching sermons. Among the many concerns, I especially struggle about how to correctly interpret the text of the Bible and how to properly proclaim it to the church members who listen to it. In the meantime, I sometimes think of this as well: 'I wonder how they really listen to my sermons?' When I think about this, I often think that believers need to be trained in how to listen to the sermons. So, in my memory, a long time ago, I learned how to listen to a sermon through Professor Jay Adams' book about how to listen to the sermons. And I thought it my church members based on his book. One of the reasons why we studied the book, which specifically sets out what we should prepare first, attitudes to take, and what hinders us from listening to the sermon, is to learn how to prepare out hearts before we listen to the sermons. In other words, the reason why we study the book is so that we who receive the seed of the word of God should learn how to make our hearts good soils so that the seed of the word of God may bear fruits. This is what Dr. Yoon-sun Park said: ‘The attitude of people who effectively listen to the word of God is to receive it with sincerity and trust’ (Park). That sincere attitude is to listen to the word of God with a humble heart and earnest longing. In Proverbs 8:34, King Solomon says that such attitude is ‘watching daily at His gates, waiting at His doorposts. This word seems to describe us waiting for the Lord, the King of kings, to listen humbly and earnestly to the voice of the Lord by the door of the royal palace where the Lord resides (Park). This is what Professor J. Adams said about one of the ways to listen to a sermon well: ‘It's eager anticipation. It means that attitude preparation is necessary. The Bible says to receive the word with great eagerness (Acts 17:11). We need to have anticipation to hear the sermon well. When listening to the sermon in church, we must pay attention to only one thing. ‘What is the word that God will give to me today?’ We must have a childlikeness. We can hear it only when we have pure heart and open heart. Even when we search the Bible, we must search the Bible because of our desire to find the truth. If we take prejudice, we get nothing. Listening to catching a pod for flaws or not is the sick ears. In Hebrews 5:11, it says, “Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.” It means that we have dull ears to hear. Listening to the sermon isn’t to find a fault, but to find the truth (Adams).
Why, then, must we humbly wait every day to hear the word of truth? The reason is because our Lord Jesus Christ is the word of truth. More specifically, since Jesus Christ is the wisdom that has been with God from the beginning, we must wait humbly every day to hear the word of the truth coming out of His mouth. If we look at Proverbs 8:22-26, we can see that King Solomon emphasizes that wisdom was with God in the beginning, even before the creation of the heavens and the earth: “The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old. From everlasting I was established, From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, When there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills I was brought forth; While He had not yet made the earth and the fields, Nor the first dust of the world.” Here, when we look at the words “Before”, “From beginning”, “When there were no depths”, “While He had not yet made”, King Solomon is referring to the fact that wisdom has been with God from the beginning and is similar to John 1:1-2: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” In other words, “wisdom” mentioned in Proverbs 8:22-26 refers to Jesus Christ, who was with God in the beginning (Park). And because that Jesus Christ is the Word, we must listen to Him humbly every day. The reason is because “man does not live by bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Deut. 8:3).
Second, we must listen and obey the the instruction of wisdom.
Look at Proverbs 8:32 – “Now therefore, O sons, listen to me, For blessed are they who keep my ways.” We do not end only by listening humbly and earnestly to all the words of Jesus, who had been with God from the beginning. We must listen to all those words and obey them. That is the true blessed life of the Christians. However, just as we have problems listening to the word of the Lord, we experience in our lives that there are problems in keeping and doing what we heard. For example, when we listen to the word of the Lord, we need to diligently break up the field of our hearts every day into a field where our hearts are good. In order for His word to bear fruit, we must obey it. But Satan takes it from our hearts so that we cannot bear fruit (Lk. 8:12). Also, the reason we cannot keep His word is because our faith is not deeply rooted. So when we first hear the word of the Lord, we receive it with joy and believe for a while. But when we are tested, we betray the Lord (v. 13) and disobey His word. And because of the anxiety, wealth, and pleasure of this world (v. 14), we are not fully fruitful because we can’t keep the word of the Lord properly. However, if we have “an honest and good heart”, we will live a fruitful life through patience by listening to and keeping the word of the Lord (v. 15). I think this honest and good heart is the heart that experiences the power of God's word that has made the work of creation. In other words, a wise person who listens to and obeys the word of the Lord has a wise heart to experience the power of the word of the Almighty who makes the work of the new creation. The power of the words of the Almighty, who makes this new creation work, can be seen in Proverbs 8:27-30: “When He established the heavens, I was there, When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep, When He made firm the skies above, When the springs of the deep became fixed, When He set for the sea its boundary So that the water would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth; Then I was beside Him, as a master workman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him.” Here, when he sees the words "I was there" and "I was beside Him," King Solomon says that wisdom has been with God from the beginning and that even when God created the heavens and the earth, He remained with God and became the creator. This statement is described in John 1:3: “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” In other words, the “wisdom” mentioned in Proverbs 8:27-30 means that Jesus Christ is the Creator God who created the heavens and earth. In other words, the words that come out of the mouth of the Lord, the God who created the heavens and earth with the Word, have the power to accomplish the work of new creation. Therefore, when we hear the word of His power and are led by the power of the word, we have no choice but to obey it. The reason is because the word of life is the word of vitality and our light (Jn. 1:4), and the word of life that has become the light defeats all darkness in our hearts. Blessed are those who listen to and obey God's word. What is the blessing? It is the blessing of prosperity. Look at Joshua 1:8 – “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.” The wise hears and observes the instruction of wisdom, so they enjoy the blessing of prosperity from God.
Third and last, we must receive wisdom by listening to the instruction of wisdom.
Look at Proverbs 8:33 – “"Heed instruction and be wise, And do not neglect it.” We can gain wisdom when we listen to and obey the words that come out of the mouth of the Lord, who is the wisdom who makes the work of the new creation. And when we gain wisdom, we have joy. Look at Proverbs 8:30-31: “Then I was beside Him, as a master workman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him, Rejoicing in the world, His earth, And having my delight in the sons of men.” Here, King Solomon says that when God created the heavens and the earth in the beginning, Jesus, who is the wisdom, was with God and saw God created the heaven and the earth and rejoiced. Especially Jesus, who is the wisdom, was pleased when God created man (MacArthur). However, when a man disobeyed God's command and committed a sin, and because of that sin, the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually, the Lord was sorry that He had made on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart (Gen. 6:5-6). Eventually, through one man Adam, sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men (Rom. 5:12). However, through obedience of Jesus Christ, the last Adam, to the point of death on the cross, we have received the gracious gift eternal life (v. 21). Those who listen to the words of Jesus who brought us to eternal life can gain wisdom. And the reason why we must hear the instruction of wisdom from Jesus and receive wisdom is to obtain life and to be favored by God. Look at Proverbs 8:35 – “For he who finds me finds life And obtains favor from the LORD.” However, those who lose Jesus, who is the true wisdom, hurt their own soul, and those who hate Jesus love death (v. 36).
I remember the words of Matthew 10:16 when Jesus sent out His twelve disciples: “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.” I think that we Christians must be truly wise in order to keep the purity of our faith while living in a world full of false teachers who are like wolves. And in order for us to become wise, we must hear the instruction of wisdom. Every day we must humbly wait before the Lord to hear His voice. And we must listen to the voice of the Lord and keep it. So we must get wisdom. Then, God will give us the right knowledge (truth) and the right values and make us walk the right path and live the right life. May we all have this grace of God.