Be Wise & Otherwise What Is Wisdom? Proverbs On Wise

2/10/2019Be Wise & OtherwiseBe Wise & OtherwiseWhat Is Wisdom?Proverbs onWise LivingI. IntroductionA. Group Discussion1. Share with one another one thing youlearned in the market place2. Share with one another one thing youlearned from your parents or relatives3. What role do such lessons play in your dailylife, decision making, ethics etc?Rev Samuel Goh (PhD)B. Gaps: wisdom for everyday lifeWhat the churches seldom address: Where to find help to fix the toilet? How to tell a good agent from a bad one? How to deal with a talkative relative? How to do self medication? How to be first time parents? How to bring up an autistic son? How to tell a genuine need from a scam? How to develop your business/career?C. Filling the gaps: daily wisdomWisdom from experience, friends, family: Advice from experienced friends on goodplumbers, good agents. Advice from doctors or parents on parenthood Advice from experts and people with experiencedealing with autistic kids Education from an MBA program Wisdom from sages, experts on life, career etc. What to do with suchwisdom? Is it worldly or heavenly?1

2/10/2019II. Wisdom according to the OT2. Definition in HebrewA. Definition of “Wisdom”1. Definition in English:“The fear of the LORD is the beginning ofknowledge” (Prov 1:7)“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,and knowledge of the Holy One isunderstanding” (Prov 9:10)“I said to myself, ‘Look, I have increased inwisdom more than anyone who has ruled overJerusalem before me; I have experienced muchof wisdom and knowledge’” (Ecc 1:16)2. Ability of making good judgment: Ability to make a sound legal judgment(1 Kgs 3:16-22) Ability to make sound and effectivepolitical judgment (1 Kgs 2:6, 9) Ability to plan sound military tactics orstrategy (Prov 21:22; Ecc 9:13-16) Having good business sense (Prov 3:1316; 31:14, 18, 26)B. The Many Aspects of WisdomWisdom ability (able to )1. Skills: Ability or technical expertise of makingbroidery and Tabernacle instruments(Exod 28:3; 31:6) Ability of shipbuilding and navigation(Ezek 27:8-9)3. Ability to think intelligently: Competent to reason (IQ, Ecc 1:13) Ability to find solutions (Ecc 8:16-17)Application:Wisdom according the Bible: Science & technology Psychology Arts Military strategy Management Skills2

2/10/20194. Ability of spiritual/moral discernment:Worldly?Heavenly? Ability to discern the true God“The fear of the Lord is the beginning ofwisdom” (Prov 9:10) Ability to judge what’s right:“Do not be wise in your own eyes; fearthe LORD and shun evil” (Prov 3:7)C. God is the Source of all Wisdom1. Creation speaks of God’s wisdomWhere does wisdomcome from?2. Creation contains God’s wisdoma. Old Testament’s testimony:“By wisdom the LORD laid the earth’sfoundations, by understanding he set theheavens in place; by his knowledge thewatery depths were divided”(Prov 3:19-20) Originated from God (8:25) Reflects God’s attributes (8:7-8, 13-14) Wisdom as natural order (8:27-29) Wisdom is among humans (8:15-16, 31)b. New Testament’s testimony:“ For since the creation of the worldGod’s invisible qualities—his eternalpower and divine nature—have beenclearly seen, being understood fromwhat has been made, so that people arewithout excuse” (Rom 1:20; cf 2:14-15)3

2/10/2019D. Wisdom is God’s universal gift1. Wisdom is given through daily life: No “the Lord spoke to X” or “Thus saiththe Lord” Wisdom embedded in God’s creation canbe distilled from daily observations andexperience2. Wisdom is God’s gift for everyone:a. Universality of wisdom today: Wisdom is given to people of all walks oflife Wisdom is given to all religions(Christians and non-Christians)“At the window of my house I lookedout I saw among the simple, I noticedamong the young men, a youth wholacked judgment ” (Prov 7:6-7)“I have seen something else under thesun: The race is not to the swift or thebattle to the strong, nor does food cometo the wise or wealth to the brilliant orfavor to the learned; but time and chancehappen to them all.” (Eccl 9:11)b. Universality of wisdom in the Bible: Israelite parental teachings:“Listen, my son, to your father’sinstruction and do not forsake yourmother’s teaching.” (Prov 1:8) Foreign maternal teachings“The sayings of King Lemuel—aninspired utterance his mother taughthim” (Prov 31:1)c. Universality of wisdom in cultures:“Do not wear yourself out to get rich;have the wisdom to show restraint. Castbut a glance at riches, and they are gone,for they will surely sprout wings and flyoff to the sky like an eagle” (Prov 23:4-5)“Cast not your heart in pursuit of riches.Place not your heart upon externals they have made themselves wings likegeese and are flown away to the heavens”(Egyptian text, Amenemopet, ch 8)“Wealth brings many friends, but apoor man's friend deserts him”(Prov 19:4)“The poor in the crowded city areignored, the rich in the mountains havedistant relatives” (Chinese saying)4

2/10/2019But .what about this:For the wisdom of this world isfoolishness in God’s sight(1 Cor 3:19)E. The abuse of wisdom1. The use and misuse of wisdom:a. Joseph“Then Pharaoh said to Joseph,‘Since God has made all this knownto you, there is no one so discerningand wise as you’” (Gen 41:39)Can God’s wisdom turnworldly?b. Jonadab“But Amnon had a friend, whosename was Jonadab, the son ofShimeah, David’s brother. AndJonadab was a very crafty man”(2 Sam 13:3 ESV)“crafty” ḥākām“wise” ḥākām2. Worldly wisdom: God’s gift abuseda. The moral problem: Using God-given wisdom (science)to commit crimesb. The atheist problem: Using God-given wisdom (science)to deny God’s existence Ignoring the limits of science5

2/10/2019b. The Corinthian problem: Using God-given wisdom(philosophy) to preach anothergospel (sophia)c. The Prosperity gospel problem: Using God-given wisdom(marketing strategy) to preachanother gospel (prosperity)F. Building wise character1. The foundation of Proverbs:A Portrait of the Wise(ala Proverbs)2. Purpose: Character building Proverbs 1-9 about the character of awise person The fundamental trait of the character:the ability to make spiritual judgment The outcome: the fear of the LordRewards ofwisdomLife-skillSpiritual/moraljudgments6

2/10/20193. Importance of wise character To prevent misuse of God-given wisdom“Do not be wise in your own eyes; fearthe LORD and shun evil” (Prov 3:7) To guide the use of God-given wisdomfor God’s purposesIII. Conclusion1. Feel free to tap wisdom/knowledge2. Give priority to wise character building3. Guide the use of wisdom with Godfearing character7

Proverbs on Wise Living What Is Wisdom? Rev Samuel Goh (PhD) Be Wise & Otherwise I. Introduction A. Group Discussion 1. Share with one another one thing you learned in the market place 2. Share with one another one thing you learned from your parents or relatives 3. What role do such lessons play in your daily lif