Well if you would please take your Bibles in hand and turn with me to the book of Proverbs. We’ll be looking at Proverbs chapter 10, verse number one. If you’re using one of the pew Bibles, that will be on page 533. Well as we’ve seen this month in our sermon series, Proverbs deals with a broad range of topics. Just in our short January series, we’ve studied topics like suffering, the sluggard, humility and prayer. But it also deals with a myriad of other topics like money, work, faithfulness in marriage and family life. And despite the wide variety of topics that are covered in this book, you can entirely sum up the book of Proverbs in two words – “Get wisdom.” Get wisdom. Chapter 2 verse 6 tells us where wisdom comes from. It says, “For the Lord gives wisdom.” And it goes on to explain something of what that is. From His, from the Lord’s mouth, “come knowledge and understanding.” We can also find the definition of wisdom in Solomon’s famous prayer for wisdom. You’ll remember that God appeared to Solomon and God asked him what he wanted to receive and Solomon said, “Give your servant, therefore, give your servant, therefore, an understanding mind to govern your people that I may discern that which is good and evil.”
So as we’ve talked about wisdom this month, that is what we have been talking about and that is knowledge and understanding that the Lord gives that enables us to discern between good and evil. That’s what we’ve been after all month in this series and that’s what we’re after this evening as well. But while gaining wisdom does often require hard work, it requires teaching and being taught, but it’s not for an exclusive club. It’s not something that’s only given to the smart or to the sophisticated. In the chapters preceding our passage, in chapters 8 and 9 of Proverbs, we find wisdom personified calling out to all. And the first verses of chapter 8 tell us that wisdom doesn’t whisper. Wisdom calls out. Wisdom raises her voice. And she does this from the heights beside the way. Wisdom stands at the crossroads, we are told. She is beside the gates in front of the town. She is standing in the doorways. Wisdom is offered out in the open to all. It’s not behind closed doors. It’s not only for those who know the secret handshake, as it were. It’s not just for men or women or adults or children or any other type of person.
And our passage this evening shows the value of wisdom through the relationship between a child and his parents. We’ll look at it under two headings. First, get wisdom. And second, give wisdom. Get wisdom and give wisdom. Before we read and think about this text, however, let’s go to the Lord in prayer.
O Heavenly Father, as we contemplate wisdom, how sharply are we aware that we need wisdom. We need more than what we have and we ask that You who generously give wisdom would pour it out on us. Lord we ask now that You would send Your Holy Spirit to illumine our hearts and minds as we look into Your Word. Lord, we ask that You would be with us now and that we would behold marvelous things. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
Proverbs chapter 10, verse 1. Hear now the Word of God:
“The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.”
Amen, and may God add His blessing to this, the reading and the hearing of His most holy, wise and inerrant Word.
There’s a famous quote that says, “To have kids is to forever have your heart go walking around outside your body.” And my experience is that this quote is pretty true. You can see parents experiencing this every day. And I’ve experienced one particular moment probably with both my kids, you might have experienced one similar, when one of them said to me, “Papa, watch me as I jump over this crack in the sidewalk. Just watch me.” And those little feet backed up and then they took off like a jet down a runway before they launched over this giant chasm before landing finally on the other side. And it felt like my stomach had gone down a rollercoaster right then. Of course the crack was actually nothing and it was just little toddler feet that were running, not quite jet engine speed, and the landing was pretty smooth all things considered. But still, there is a guttural feeling that you have inside your stomach as you see your kids doing something and you’re all of a sudden concerned for their wellbeing.
But it’s not just biological parents that have that. It’s also spiritual parents. I’ve seen this in particular as I hear our elders and deacons praying as they meet together. And they pray earnestly for their brothers and for their sisters and especially for the wellbeing of their spiritual children who are facing trials, who are suffering, and maybe even backsliding. And those prayers have the same type of guttural feeling about them. They’re gritty. It’s as if they are trying to will their spiritual children across that crack in the sidewalk, as it were, just by earnestness of prayer alone. And you can even see this reaction happening. One of the sweetest things that happens in this sanctuary each year is when our children’s choirs, who work so hard on Wednesday evenings in the children’s choir rehearsals on Wednesday nights, they come and they stand on a platform right here and they file on, and there’s always one who is the timid one – he’s looking around, not quite sure what to make of all of this going on. And then the music starts and they’ve memorized songs that are full of truth and we hear them sing, and of course there’s always that one who is just belting it out joyfully; there’s always at least one in every children’s choir. And it brings us all joy. It brings us gladness. And it’s an encouragement to all of us. And seeing their faces and hearing their voices makes all of us glad.
But I’ve sat up here on the platform for the past five years and I submit to you that the most interesting faces to watch during children’s choir are not the faces of the kids in the children’s choir but the faces of you, the people in the pews, who are watching as they see the children of the church singing God’s truth. There is so much joy and pride bursting on faces, on your faces, as you watch their children do what they were created to do – worship their heavenly Father. And these kids are hiding God’s Word in their hearts, they’re learning to worship, they’re learning to fear the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom. These kids are in church getting wisdom, and oh how glad we are to see them growing in wisdom and godliness. And that’s a picture of the proverb that we read this evening. Truly, “A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.”
Get Wisdom
So as we think about that first point, “Get wisdom,” let me speak first to our youngest ones who are here. It might be hard for you to believe when I tell you this, but one of the things that this proverb is teaching is that your behavior has a real influence on your parents. Your behavior, what you say and do, has a huge influence on your parents. And as you grow in wisdom and begin to demonstrate it from day to day, your godly parents are truly glad. And if they at any point sense that your heart is growing cold and it’s growing hard toward the things of God and to God’s Word and to church, there is sorrow and tears that follow. And it isn’t just your parents, but also all the members of this church here who have promised to help your parents raise you in the fear of the Lord.
And do you know why this is, I wonder? Well I’m glad you asked! I’ll tell you why. It is because they know that choosing wisdom or folly is the difference between choosing life or death. In our house we have a little tradition when any one of us gets a little bit worked up about something that might not be worth getting worked up about. As somebody is struggling with something, and we can all see it, somebody notices this and will inevitably look at that person and their eyes will get really big and they’ll say, “Is this the end of the world?” And of course that puts it in perspective. A smile comes over our faces and we have to admit that, “No, my coffee mug being dirty was not the end of the world at all!” None of these small things are the end of the world. But let me tell you, choosing between wisdom and folly is literally the end of the world. How we pray for each one of you here that you would embrace and cherish wisdom, both now and forever. And what we mean by that is that we want you to embrace the One in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and that One is Jesus Christ. Any other choice is folly. Jesus is a Savior strong to save. Hear His call and turn to Him for salvation. Don’t put it off. It is never too early to seek wisdom.
You can think of examples of this in the Bible. David was an unknown shepherd boy. He was the youngest one in his family, still living in his father’s house when he was anointed to be king, and do you think he needed wisdom for all that was to come before him? Absolutely. And you can think of one of David’s great, great, great, great grandsons by the name of Josiah who was also a king. He became king at 8 years old. And Chronicles 34 tells us that at 16, “He began to seek the God of David, his father.” And by age 20, he was chopping down altars to false gods. It’s never too early to seek wisdom. It’s never too early to seek wisdom.
And while you have breath, it is never too late to seek wisdom. Look back down if you would at our text and see that it describes sons. It talks about wise sons and it talks about foolish sons. Now the word “children” implies ones who are young. That’s why when people talk about their children who have grown up they have to specify that they are “adult children.” Adults aren’t really children anymore, but even as you grow out of being a child, you always remain a son or a daughter. So this proverb is actually not just children but it’s addressing us all. We all need to get wisdom. And this proverb is an opportunity for us to examine ourselves. And so as we look at the year that is ahead of us – What is it that you are looking forward to? What have you planned for this year to come? Have you planned anything that relates to increasing in wisdom? Or do you find that everything you have hoped and dreamed for in this coming year, this current year, will amount to nothing but folly? If the message of this entire book of the Bible is “Get wisdom,” have you thought about how to do that?
Might I suggest that planning your life around the church rather than fitting church into your life where it might work would be a good place to start. Planning your life around the church rather than vice versa. So rather than adding one more sport or one more club or one more activity to your schedule that will be begging for your attention, maybe you would consider joining a D-group or you might even lead one. Rather than hurrying home for a Sunday afternoon nap, you might consider having some of our college students to your home to have lunch and a mutually edifying conversation about what you learned in the sermon or what you learned in Sunday school. And this might all sound like a lot of time and energy and work, but I promise you that if you prayerfully spend more time this year devoting yourself to the work and worship of this church, to seeking wisdom, that in December when you’re looking back on this year that you will not regret it.
Give Wisdom
So we’ve seen that this proverb teaches us all that we need to get wisdom, so now we’ll turn to our second point which is to give wisdom. Look again at the text. “The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.” We’ve already noted that wisdom itself is given by the Lord, but perhaps the most common means by which the Lord gives wisdom is through the teaching of godly parents. Again, I’m not referring only to biological parents, but perhaps even more so to spiritual fathers and mothers who have experienced applying God’s Word to their lives and who can offer counsel to their spiritual children. This proverb is calling you to make good use of your wisdom by intentionally sharing it with those around you.
And again, opportunities abound for sharing wisdom. Don’t underestimate the importance of just sitting down with someone you’ve never met before at Midweek on Wednesday and sharing a meal with them and just talking about life. Before you know it, as the conversation continues that night or maybe over the course of several weeks as you get to know each other, you might find that you have wisdom that is really needed to this new person that you’ve just met. We even have opportunities to share wisdom in the announcements in the bulletin. Maybe instead of using some of those carryover days off for an extra week of vacation, you might consider using them to join Danny Story on the upcoming mission trip to Peru and to share the Gospel, which is ultimate wisdom, with the people that you would meet there.
It’s interesting that if you begin to pray about opportunities to give wisdom, you’ll discover that even the process of sharing wisdom requires wisdom. Look again at our verse. “The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a glad father.” Have you ever wondered how Rehoboam might have read this proverb? Rehoboam was Solomon’s son, and in Solomon’s day, people came from far and wide to consult him because of his wisdom. Even today, thousands of years after Solomon’s death, he is still famous for his wisdom. He is known the world over for his wisdom. God visited him, asked him what he wanted, he said that he wanted wisdom, and God Himself gave Solomon wisdom. So now, imagine Rehoboam growing up as that wise king’s son. And I wonder if he would have read this as a discouraging slap in the face? “I can’t believe they’re making me read Dad’s proverbs again! And what has to be the first one? ‘A wise son makes a glad father’ – but I’ll never have wisdom like his. He won’t be proud of me. He must have been thinking of me when he wrote, ‘A foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.’”
I can imagine that this would have been one of the most discouraging things that Rehoboam would have ever had to have read. And what happened when King Solomon died? Rehoboam’s very first act as king was to hear the request of the whole nation of Israel that had all gathered for his coronation and they told him that his dad had made their yoke heavy and they pleaded with him to lighten the hard service, that they would then serve him faithfully. And Rehoboam responded by saying, “Go and come back in three days,” to give himself some time to consider that request. And he consulted with, as Kings says, the old men that had worked with his father. They had worked with Solomon. And they advised Rehoboam to be a servant to his people, to speak kindly with them, to speak good words to them. And that if he did so, that they would then be his servants forever. That’s wisdom.
But then Rehoboam consulted with the young men that he had grown up with and their suggestion was a little different. They said, “Thus shall you speak to this people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy,’ but you lighten it for us. Thus you shall say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s thighs, and now whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” That’s folly. So here is Rehoboam, he’s finally stepping into his own out of the shadow of his father, and before him stands the choice between wisdom and of folly. Tragically, as we know, Rehoboam chose folly with tragic consequences. The kingdom of Israel was divided. So even the most famously wise man in all the earth apparently struggled to impart wisdom to his very own son. It takes prayer. It takes grace. It takes humility. It takes gentleness. It takes persistence. It takes wisdom to impart wisdom.
So we need to get wisdom and we need to give wisdom, but again, where is that wisdom coming from? James chapter 1 verse 4 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God who gives generously to all without reproach and it will be given him.” So first, we have to be humble enough to admit that we don’t have wisdom and that we are not the source of wisdom. Last week, Gary talked about the humility of Agur from chapter 30. And that’s a great example of this. Too often we get it exactly backwards. We don’t, as Agur did, see ourselves as too stupid; we see ourselves as the only one who actually knows what’s going on. We’re the only one who gets it. We really want to get that speck out of our neighbor’s eye rather than to admit that the problem might be with ourselves and with our lack of wisdom.
Here is an example of that. My life verse as a teenager was Colossians 3:21. “Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.” As a dad now, I find myself liking the fifth commandment a little more. “Honor your father and your mother.” In both cases, you see I am naturally inclined to think that the problem is not me; it’s just if dad wouldn’t provoke me or if my kids honored me better, then everything would be okay. We get it entirely backwards. But those who can humbly assess their lack of wisdom will be the most desperate to ask God for it. And as we read in James, he promises to freely give it. He freely gives it.
In 1940, it became clear that in order to protect the skies of Great Britain and ultimately to win the Second World War, that more planes were needed. So they launched a campaign to crowdsource funds in order to make as many of the famous British Spitfire planes as was possible. And there were all kinds of people that contributed to this. There were all different ways that they contributed to this. There were boxes where you could contribute your spare change that were up all over the country. Nations sent parts of their budgets to Great Britain so that they could continue to manufacture them. They dedicated them and were able to name them if they gave enough of part of their earnings to sponsor a large portion at least of one of these Spitfire planes. Small children contributed their pocket money to the Spitfire fund and counsels and businesses and volunteer organizations all had ways that people could give some of their earnings to this cause. There’s even a story of a man who owned a cinema and an air raid siren went off during the movie and he got out a wheelbarrow and started walking the aisles saying, “The more money you give, the quicker we can end this!”
There’s all kinds of ways that people gave, but there was one group of individuals who gave their entire monthly salaries to the Spitfire fund. They gave all that they had every month to this fund. And that was a group of British soldiers and they were soldiers who found themselves in a German prisoner of war camp. They contributed their entire salaries through the Red Cross and they knew, they knew how deep their need was. They knew that nothing else mattered. They knew that without those planes, that their situation was entirely hopeless. So as long as they were prisoners, all the money in the world didn’t mean a single thing to them. They were ready to give it all, to give everything they had, to acquire those planes because there was no hope of freedom without them.
How much more earnestly should we seek wisdom? Wisdom is more valuable than silver; it’s more valuable than gold. It’s more valuable than precious jewels. There are whole chapters in Proverbs that you can go back and read later this evening that recount the value of wisdom. And there’s no hope without it. Now we have alluded multiple times to the fact that the Gospel and Christ Jesus are true wisdom. They are ultimate wisdom. Christ is the personification of wisdom Himself. So let me close by speaking more directly in that regard. First Corinthians 1:30 tells us that “Christ became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” So when the Proverbs speak to us of wisdom, they’re speaking of more than a virtuous life, but they’re also speaking of Christ Himself. So we could also say that the theme of the book, yes, is “Get wisdom,” but we could also just as easily say that the theme is, “Get Christ.” Get Christ – the wisest choice that you can make is heeding the call of Christ to faith and repentance.
What can be more valuable than righteousness and sanctification and redemption? And what are we willing to do to get that? We should be willing to give all, but as the call to worship told us, we can come and buy without money. We talked earlier about how wisdom calls out from the heights beside the way. Wisdom stands at the crossroads. She is beside the gates, in front of the town, and standing in the doorways. Every single point where there is heavy traffic, where everybody can see and hear, that’s where wisdom calls out. Wisdom is offered openly to all and so also Christ calls to you at every point. He calls as you walk in these doors, as you head into work on Monday morning. He calls to you wherever you find yourself this week. He calls to you at every point and says, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls, for My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Let’s pray.
O Heavenly Father, how we desire to desire wisdom, and even in that we struggle. But You tell us that if we call upon You, if we ask for wisdom, that You will give it to us freely. Won’t You do that now? Won’t You give us wisdom, Lord, we ask. And we pray this earnestly in Your Son, Jesus Christ’s name, amen.