Scripture
"Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you." --Proverbs 1:23
Observe
Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, wrote the book of Proverbs to his children. He used Hebrew poetry and story-telling to give them tid-bits of wisdom for life.Throughout Proverbs, Solomon personifies Wisdom as a woman who stands and calls loudly at people. She stands out in the street, shouting out the differences between wisdom and folly and giving advice to anyone who will listen. It is literally impossible for people to miss her.
In this verse, she cries, "When I correct you, listen to me and apply my words to your life. If you do, I will give you all of myself."
If you take that out of quotes and put it in a direct statement, the verse says this: Turn back to wisdom when you are corrected / rebuked / disciplined. If you do, you will receive a "spirit" of wisdom--a living source that will constantly give you understanding.
Apply
Wisdom comes from God (James 1:5), and in this verse, Wisdom talks just like Him!- Turn. Wisdom says turn; God says repent (Mark 1:15).
- Reproof. Wisdom says, "Pay attention to my reproof"; God says His Word is good for reproof (2 Timothy 3:16).
- Spirit. Wisdom says she will pour out her spirit; God says He will pour out His Spirit (Joel 2:28-29).
- Known. Wisdom says she will make her words known; God says He will make Himself known (Ezekiel 38:23).
How does this apply to everyday life?
We make mistakes all the time. The Bible says that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23), BUT if we return to God (REPENT) when He corrects us, He will cover us in His Spirit and reveal Himself to us in greater ways.
Proverbs 1:23 is a picture of salvation--many many years before Jesus even came!
First off I like SOAP I have seen that before and I like it a lot. I really liked in verse 32 when it says " the complacency of fools destroys them." This is so true, how many times do we find ourselves being complacent in our relationship with God. We should never be satisfied and always striving to be closer to God. One of the ways to do this is by asking for wisdom and when does give us wisdom we should set it into action and not simply ignore his advice. Anyways thats just another thing that I got out of Proverbs 1 when I read it. I wasn't sure if thats what you mean when you asked what we got from it, but thanks for posting again I look forward to reading even more thanks Beki,
ReplyDelete-Cole
Cole, this is exactly what I was looking for! Thanks for responding, and I love your insights. If we all strove to be closer to God by asking for (and learning from) wisdom, there would be SO much growth in the body of Christ. Glad to see God's working in your heart, and I'm excited to see how God uses you to pass the message along!
ReplyDelete-Beki
I do like the fact that parents are important in providing wisdom to their children, as it should be, strong godly parents keep a family together. It makes me sad when I see many people getting divorced. I also like the fact that wisdom is something beautiful. I feel like in Prov. 1:9 wisdom can be visible to other people. I wise person carries him/herself differently from foolish people. Next, I think you are spot on Proverbs 1:23. I do not think I can say anything else, however I wanted to find another verse that shows God is always there waiting for people to respond.
ReplyDeleteRevelation 3:20
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
Philip, thanks for sharing! You're right: Strong, godly parents keep families together. That's one reason why we'll discuss being "unequally yoked" on Day 5. Great verse from Revelation, too! God is always so willing to give us access to Him. All we have to do is want it too. Like it says in 1 John 4:19, we love, because He first loved us.
ReplyDelete-Beki