The fear of ADONAI [the LORD] is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Proverbs 1:7, TLV
Why I Don’t Believe in Studying Proverbs. What? Terri doesn’t believe in studying Proverbs? Yep. My dear friends, this verse is one of the primary supports of why
we don’t simply study Proverbs and move on to our next study. It is because wisdom begins with the fear of the LORD. It’s the same with the Torah [the Law]. We can study the the definitions of what scholars tell us the fear of the LORD means, but because the fear of the ADONAI is intrinsically woven into our pursuit of wisdom, discernment, and knowledge, it is to be lived.
The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: to acquire wisdom and discipline, to understand the words of insight … (vs. 1-2[1])
One or two reading or studies of Proverbs will not help us to acquire wisdom and discipline. Sorry. Acquiring wisdom means we’re living it. And if you have read Proverbs through, you know it is so packed with seemingly random wisdom and insights — like a million-piece puzzle — a few reads isn’t going to do it.
It began twenty years ago . . .
I remember that moment twenty years ago, when hubby and I realized we needed a way out of our foolish decisions. The uninformed and unwise way we ran our life had caused heartache for us and our daughter. So, when a wise pastor in Kent, Washington preached a message about how he — who at the time was an atheist — came to faith reading Proverbs, our spirits perked. Then when he counseled his congregation if we wanted to be wise, we needed to read a chapter of Proverbs every day for the rest of our lives, I wondered if that would work for us.
… to give discernment to the naïve, knowledge, and discretion to the youth (vs. 4)
Now, one would think we began this reading regime that very day. *Sigh* No. It took another message for our rabbi in Philadelphia years later, who said nearly word-for-word, the same thing. Wisdom he had learned from his father. Read a chapter of Proverbs each day for the rest of your life and “wisdom will come into your soul.”
Fortunately, we listened that time.
And each 1st of the month, we begin Proverbs again. And each day of that new month, we learn something new, and dig deeper into what He has shown us, and are reminded of lessons we’ve forgotten. Every day, as best we can. And if we miss the readings for too long, we can feel it. It is reflected in our poor choices.
By the way, I have over 500 Proverbs devotions and blogs archived, if you need a little assistance in getting started. Just click on https://authorterrigillespie.com/category/proverbs/ Also, if you sign up for my newsletter below, one of the free gifts is a little booklet of my method for getting the most out of Proverbs each day. Folks have said it has really helped them. May it help you as well.
