Proverbs2

Proverbs 2

Good Things Come From Wisdom

 1 My son, accept my words.
      Store up my commands inside you.
 2 Let your ears listen to wisdom.
      Apply your heart to understanding.
 3 Call out for the ability to be wise.
      Cry out for understanding.
 4 Look for it as you would look for silver.
      Search for it as you would search for hidden treasure.
 5 Then you will understand how to have respect for the Lord.
      You will find out how to know God.
 6 The Lord gives wisdom.
      Knowledge and understanding come from his mouth.
 7 He stores up success for honest people.
      He is like a shield to those who live without blame. He keeps them safe.
 8 He guards the path of those who are honest.
      He watches over the way of his faithful ones.
 9 You will understand what is right and honest and fair.
      You will understand the right way to live.
 10 Your heart will become wise.
      Your mind will delight in knowledge.
 11 Good sense will keep you safe.
      Understanding will guard you.
 12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of evil men.
      It will save you from men who twist their words.
 13 Men like that leave the straight paths
      to walk in dark ways.
 14 They take delight in doing what is wrong.
      They take joy in twisting everything around.
 15 Their paths are crooked.
      Their ways are not straight.
 16 Wisdom will save you from a woman who commits adultery.
      It will save you from a sinful wife and her tempting words.
 17 She leaves the man she married when she was young.
      She breaks the promise she made to her God.
 18 Her house leads down to death.
      Her paths lead to the spirits of the dead.
 19 No one who goes to her comes back
      or reaches the paths of life.
 20 You will walk in the ways of good people.
      You will follow the paths of those who do right.
 21 Honest people will live in the land.
      Those who are without blame will remain in it.
 22 But sinners will be cut off from the land.
      Those who aren’t faithful will be torn away from it. Here is the Chinese version:

箴 言 2

 1 我 儿 ， 你 若 领 受 我 的 言 语 ， 存 记 我 的 命 令 ，  

2 侧 耳 听 智 慧 ， 专 心 求 聪 明 ，  

3 呼 求 明 哲 ， 扬 声 求 聪 明 ， 

4 寻 找 他 ， 如 寻 找 银 子 ， 搜 求 他 ， 如 搜 求 隐 藏 的珍 宝 ， 

5 你 就 明 白 敬 畏 耶 和 华 ， 得 以 认 识 　 神 。  

6 因 为 ， 耶 和 华 赐 人 智 慧 ； 知 识 和 聪 明 都 由 他 口而 出 。  

7 他 给 正 直 人 存 留 真 智 慧 ， 给 行 为 纯 正 的 人 作 盾牌 ，  

8 为 要 保 守 公 平 人 的 路 ， 护 庇 虔 敬 人 的 道 。  

9 你 也 必 明 白 仁 义 、 公 平 、 正 直 、 一 切 的 善 道 。  

10 智 慧 必 入 你 心 ； 你 的 灵 要 以 知 识 为 美 。  

11 谋 略 必 护 卫 你 ； 聪 明 必 保 守 你 ，  

12 要 救 你 脱 离 恶 道 （ 或 译 ： 恶 人 的 道 ） ， 脱 离 说乖 谬 话 的 人 。  

13 那 等 人 舍 弃 正 直 的 路 ， 行 走 黑 暗 的 道 ，  

14 欢 喜 作 恶 ， 喜 爱 恶 人 的 乖 僻 ，  

15 在 他 们 的 道 中 弯 曲 ， 在 他 们 的 路 上 偏 僻 。  

16 智 慧 要 救 你 脱 离 淫 妇 ， 就 是 那 油 嘴 滑 舌 的 外 女。  

17 他 离 弃 幼 年 的 配 偶 ， 忘 了 　 神 的 盟 约 。  

18 他 的 家 陷 入 死 地 ； 他 的 路 偏 向 阴 间 。  

19 凡 到 他 那 里 去 的 ， 不 得 转 回 ， 也 得 不 着 生 命 的路 。  

20 智 慧 必 使 你 行 善 人 的 道 ， 守 义 人 的 路 。  

21 正 直 人 必 在 世 上 居 住 ； 完 全 人 必 在 地 上 存 留 。  

22 惟 有 恶 人 必 然 剪 除 ； 奸 诈 的 ， 必 然 拔 出 。 

In China, people who do goods or get high scores at school are considered wise. What is wisdom? Where does it come from?

Wisdom is knowing God and his way of working in your life. It comes from a heart with which you see Holy Spirit.

Proverb chapter 1 is focused on wisdom calling people. But in this chapter it is about we seek wisdom so we can achieve the goal of knowing God and his goodness.Wisdom is “spirit of God”(Exodus 31:3), “ the law of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 4:6), “the fear of the Lord”(Proverbs 9:10), “righteousness”( Proverbs 10:31).

In the Bible it tells us that we should ask for wisdom (Colossians 1:9), sometimes we think we are doing very well in every aspect of life, in everything we say, but what we don’t know is that what we think the wisdom we have is actually from God, not only so, we also have to look for the true wisdom. Wisdom is the gift God gives us, but it is hidden from those who are proud and foolish, only when we go look for the wisdom from God, will we be able to have it. Once we find it we find the truth and wisdom is only from God and He will lead us to eternal life.

6-7: God gives us wisdom is not for abusing it or taking it for granted. Our faith is the key to hold the wisdom till the end and our faith is the only way to keep ourselves from evil and wrong.

9-10: We cannot learn wisdom in one day. There is a process to everything, we get wisdom from 1, believing in God and worshiping God; 2, the words of God—Bible; 3, keeping ourselves away from evil, always do good; 4, learning from mistakes and never do it again. We ask that God will show his wisdoms in our lives so we can be better servants.

16-17: wisdom will protect you from falling for adultery. satan uses sex to tempt people, because he knows we are the weak ones. Adultery and pride are two biggest sins that are hard to avoid. The pride says : “ I deserve it.” And the sex desire says, “ I want it.” These two always take people’s souls. Only when we have the power of God will we be able to stop the temptations, when we look up to God and ask for the wisdom we are filled with his love and will not want to commit sins. 

Let us pray together: Our dear Heavenly Father: we thank you for bringing us together to read and study your words. We ask that you will give us the wisdom we need to better our lives and souls, to protect us from sins and the evil. Thank you for giving your Son for us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.