You Can Read the Bible Guided Podcast

Hear, O sons, a father's instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight, for I give you good precepts; do not forsake my teaching.  – Proverbs 4:1-2

As you read our first four chapters today, keep in mind the introduction to this section.  These are words of wisdom passed on from a father to his sons.  When he says, “The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble…” imagine a father comforting his son after he’s tripped in the darkness.  When he admonishes, “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise…” picture him throwing open the curtains to his son’s bedroom at noon.

Remember this also during the lengthy passages today that address adultery.  These conversations are sprinkled with other instruction, but it seems adultery is of significant interest to the father, addressing it in chapter 5 and then reinforcing it in chapters 6 and 7, spiraling around the same tale of woe.  The father, speaking to his son, warns about the forbidden woman whose steps follow the path to Sheol.  His father’s commandment and his mother’s teaching will preserve [him] from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. 

This is bold, and sometimes distressing language, but also consider what the father has seen: For at the window of my house I have looked out through my lattice, and I have seen among the simple, I have perceived among the youths, a young man lacking sense, passing along the street near her corner, taking the road to her house.  Curious…What might the father be hinting at?  How would you respond if your son was in danger of taking the road toward destruction? 

When you turn to chapter 8 you’ll have to shift into another mind, for this chapter, like Job 28, is a celebration of wisdom: “Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice?” the author asks.  And in verse 12, wisdom answers: “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion.  The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil… By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just… Furthermore, as in chapter 3, wisdom is about more than accumulating knowledge; it is about connecting with the God of the universe: The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His work… When He established the heavens, I was there…

Our verse for this week is Psalm 119:105: Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Proverbs 4 through 8.  Now let’s read it!

Hear, O sons, a father's instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight, for I give you good precepts; do not forsake my teaching.  – Proverbs 4:1-2

As you read our first four chapters today, keep in mind the introduction to this section.  These are words of wisdom passed on from a father to his sons.  When he says, “The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble…” imagine a father comforting his son after he’s tripped in the darkness.  When he admonishes, “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise…” picture him throwing open the curtains to his son’s bedroom at noon.

Remember this also during the lengthy passages today that address adultery.  These conversations are sprinkled with other instruction, but it seems adultery is of significant interest to the father, addressing it in chapter 5 and then reinforcing it in chapters 6 and 7, spiraling around the same tale of woe.  The father, speaking to his son, warns about the forbidden woman whose steps follow the path to Sheol.  His father’s commandment and his mother’s teaching will preserve [him] from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. 

This is bold, and sometimes distressing language, but also consider what the father has seen: For at the window of my house I have looked out through my lattice, and I have seen among the simple, I have perceived among the youths, a young man lacking sense, passing along the street near her corner, taking the road to her house.  Curious…What might the father be hinting at?  How would you respond if your son was in danger of taking the road toward destruction? 

When you turn to chapter 8 you’ll have to shift into another mind, for this chapter, like Job 28, is a celebration of wisdom: “Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice?” the author asks.  And in verse 12, wisdom answers: “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion.  The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil… By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just… Furthermore, as in chapter 3, wisdom is about more than accumulating knowledge; it is about connecting with the God of the universe: The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His work… When He established the heavens, I was there…

Our verse for this week is Psalm 119:105: Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Proverbs 4 through 8.  Now let’s read it!

And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before You in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward You. And You have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this Your great people?”  - 1 Kings 3:6-9

The book of Proverbs is by no means biographical, but since almost the entire collection is attributed to King Solomon, it’s fitting to remember that the wisdom compiled here was done in a place, in a time, and by a king whose heart was, initially at least, attuned to the LORD.  Solomon’s father had secured the kingdom and subdued the nations around Israel, but this endowment could not guarantee his son’s success.  Solomon’s desire for wisdom, and his understanding of its origin, would allow tribute and honor to flow toward Jerusalem in ways his father couldn’t have dreamed. 

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.  This is the end of the introduction to chapter 1, and it may well be used as a conclusion to this book as well.  Later on in the first chapter Solomon personifies wisdom, which “cries aloud in the street…”  If one listens to this cry, he affirms in chapter 2, then wisdom will act as both guide and shield: “Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path… discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you, delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech…”  

Pay attention to this observation in the middle of chapter 3: The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens; by His knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew.  That clause “by wisdom” at the beginning of this thrusts the quest for wisdom beyond individual gain and protection, beyond simple advice: it is to connect with the means through which the universe was created. 

Our verse for this week is James 5:16: Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

Proverbs 1 through 3.  Now let’s read it!

And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before You in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward You. And You have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this Your great people?”  - 1 Kings 3:6-9

The book of Proverbs is by no means biographical, but since almost the entire collection is attributed to King Solomon, it’s fitting to remember that the wisdom compiled here was done in a place, in a time, and by a king whose heart was, initially at least, attuned to the LORD.  Solomon’s father had secured the kingdom and subdued the nations around Israel, but this endowment could not guarantee his son’s success.  Solomon’s desire for wisdom, and his understanding of its origin, would allow tribute and honor to flow toward Jerusalem in ways his father couldn’t have dreamed. 

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.  This is the end of the introduction to chapter 1, and it may well be used as a conclusion to this book as well.  Later on in the first chapter Solomon personifies wisdom, which “cries aloud in the street…”  If one listens to this cry, he affirms in chapter 2, then wisdom will act as both guide and shield: “Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path… discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you, delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech…”  

Pay attention to this observation in the middle of chapter 3: The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens; by His knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew.  That clause “by wisdom” at the beginning of this thrusts the quest for wisdom beyond individual gain and protection, beyond simple advice: it is to connect with the means through which the universe was created. 

Our verse for this week is James 5:16: Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

Proverbs 1 through 3.  Now let’s read it!

“And when the LORD your God brings you into the land that He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. It is the LORD your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by His name you shall swear. – Deuteronomy 6:10-13

Just before this passage in Deuteronomy the Israelites had been commanded to love the LORD your God with all their hearts…to sear It is the LORD your God you shall fear on their hearts…to teach these words to their children…to write them on the doorposts of their houses…

If you were to build a collection of songs and prayers about the God who had commanded this…the God who had produced the food that your children eat and the beds in which they sleep… the God who has provided such security that vines and olive trees have time to mature… were you to compile a book of worship for His people…how would you end it?  What impression, guidance, or wisdom would you include in the final pages that would instill a sense of what it’s like to witness, and respond to, the works of this LORD? 

As you read the conclusion of the book of Psalms, consider what impression is being left.  As I’ve said before, assume that there is intention behind the manner in which these are compiled.  Yesterday’s theme of threat-and-refuge gives way to grateful praise.  Notice that the LORD is faithful to the righteous while the wicked are vanquished.  Notice how Israel’s special status and Jerusalem’s unique role are celebrated.  And notice how even sun, moon, and stars, trumpet, lute, and harp, strings and pipe and clashing cymbals – how everything that has breath – is commissioned to praise the LORD. 

Our verse for this week is James 5:16: Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

Psalms 145 through 150.  Now let’s read it!

“And when the LORD your God brings you into the land that He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. It is the LORD your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by His name you shall swear. – Deuteronomy 6:10-13

Just before this passage in Deuteronomy the Israelites had been commanded to love the LORD your God with all their hearts…to sear It is the LORD your God you shall fear on their hearts…to teach these words to their children…to write them on the doorposts of their houses…

If you were to build a collection of songs and prayers about the God who had commanded this…the God who had produced the food that your children eat and the beds in which they sleep… the God who has provided such security that vines and olive trees have time to mature… were you to compile a book of worship for His people…how would you end it?  What impression, guidance, or wisdom would you include in the final pages that would instill a sense of what it’s like to witness, and respond to, the works of this LORD? 

As you read the conclusion of the book of Psalms, consider what impression is being left.  As I’ve said before, assume that there is intention behind the manner in which these are compiled.  Yesterday’s theme of threat-and-refuge gives way to grateful praise.  Notice that the LORD is faithful to the righteous while the wicked are vanquished.  Notice how Israel’s special status and Jerusalem’s unique role are celebrated.  And notice how even sun, moon, and stars, trumpet, lute, and harp, strings and pipe and clashing cymbals – how everything that has breath – is commissioned to praise the LORD. 

Our verse for this week is James 5:16: Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

Psalms 145 through 150.  Now let’s read it!