Character Studies in Proverbs : Lesson #3 Understanding righteousness, judgment, equity, and every good path.
Proverbs 2:1-9
This is a unique passage in the Word of God. It gives us great insight to why many saved people and especially many saved young people get off course and fail in their spiritual life. They key is found for us in verse 9 and it should be the goal of every saved person no matter what goal they are trying to accomplish in their lives. The goal is to understand 4 things; righteousness, judgment, equity and every good path. If you can get an understanding of these four things it will make a huge impact on how your spiritual life turns out.
First of let us look at the steps that lead us to verse 9. The 1st eight of these steps are found spelled out very plainly in verses 1-4.
1) Receive my words. (John 14:23)
Obviously this is talking about receiving the words of God. Now it is one thing to read the words of God and hear the words of God but until you receive them they will not help you.
2) Hide my commandments with thee. (Psalm119:9-11)
This naturally follows receiving the words of God. Note what David said about this matter.
3) Incline thine ear unto wisdom. (Proverbs 11:14; 15:22)
It will make a big difference in your life on where you get your counsel. Fist it must come from the word of God, and then it must come from someone who has wisdom from the word of God. Be very careful who you ask for advice.
4) Apply thine heart to understanding. (Matthew 6:19-21)
Here we see two things. Number one we see that we are going to have to have some understanding in some matters. Now once again the best place for understanding is the word of God. Second we see that we must do these things from the heart. If our heart is not in these things it will not be very fruitful.
5) Cry after knowledge. (Proverbs 10:14)
We must be willing to ask questions and LISTEN to the responses that we get, especially when they come from the word of God and wise counsel.
6) Lift up thy voice for understanding. (Proverbs 9:10)
Sometimes when we ask a question and don’t understand the answer we just leave it at that and don’t pursue it anymore. We should not only cry out for knowledge we should cry out for understanding also.
7) Seekest for her as for as for Silver. (Proverbs 8:8-11)
Here we see how serious we are in our search. It is amazing when you think about the time, money and effort that men spend looking for lost or buried treasure. How much time do we spend looking for knowledge, wisdom and understanding from God’s word?
8) Searchest for her as for hid treasure. (Proverbs 8:8-11)
Same thought as mentioned under number 7.
The result of the 1st eight steps is found in verse 5. Only after we have done the things listed in verses 1-4 will we understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. Both of these things are missing from our generation today and as a result we the sin and wickedness in our country 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.
The results of understanding the fear of the Lord and finding the knowledge of God are found in verses 6-8.
1) You will have wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Verse 6
2) You will have the Lord as a buckler for you. Verse 7
A buckler is a shield or a piece of defensive armor. Here we see the Lord as our protector.
3) You will be preserved and have your way established. Verse 8
Now we come to verse 9 which is the goal that we are trying to reach. And the goal is to have understanding in the following things.
Righteousness :
In regards to salvation our righteousness is only found in the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:21
After salvation we should strive to live righteously. Which is not just doing what is right but doing what is right in the eyes of God.
James 4:17
Judgment :
We all know what judgment is but is seems very few people are capable of making good judgments today when it comes to things in life. Now once we know what is right by the word of God we should be able to make good judgments concerning things in our lives.
Now the trend is today if you tell someone that they shouldn’t do something or that what they are doing is wrong they will say don’t judge me or you shouldn’t judge. But if the word of God has said that they are wrong then you are not judging them but the word of God is.
1 Corinthians 2:15: Proverbs 21:15
Equity :
By definition the word means Justice, right, or the impartial distribution of justice or the doing that to another which the laws of God and man give him a right to claim.
This is like discernment. It is the ability to make a righteous judgment. Today we live in a society where even Christians have very little discernment about what is spiritual and what is not. Take for instance the rock music that dominates worship service or the way people dress for the house of God. We need discernment, but one of the main reasons that we don’t have it is because very few people are doing the steps found in verses 1-4.
Hebrews 5:12-14; Proverbs 7:7, 25-27
Every Good Path :
Once we have understanding of the above 3 things we will be able to choose what is the good path in our lives. Every day people are faced with choices and time after time they choose the wrong path and the solution is simple Proverbs 2:1-9 but people just simply refuse. How about you?
Character Studies in Proverbs : Handout Lesson #3 Understanding righteousness, judgment, equity and every good path
Proverbs 2:1-9
1) What is the goal that every saved person should try to obtain from verse 9?
2) List the 1st eight steps to achieving the goal in verse 9.
3) How does verse 5 relate to the first eight steps in verse 1-4?
4) What are the results the first eight steps?
5) Give an explanation and references for the 4 things found in verse 9.
Righteousness-
Judgement-
Equity-
Every Good Path-