The Instruction of Wisdom

Proverbs 15:18-33

18 A wrathful man stirs up strife,
But he who is slow to anger allays contention.

19 The way of the lazy man is like a hedge of thorns,
But the way of the upright is a highway.

20 A wise son makes a father glad,
But a foolish man despises his mother.

21 Folly is joy to him who is destitute of discernment,
But a man of understanding walks uprightly.

22 Without counsel, plans go awry,
But in the multitude of counselors they are established.

23 A man has joy by the answer of his mouth,
And a word spoken in due season, how good it is!

24 The way of life winds upward for the wise,
That he may turn away from hell below.

25 The LORD will destroy the house of the proud,
But He will establish the boundary of the widow.

26 The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD,
But the words of the pure are pleasant.

27 He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house,
But he who hates bribes will live.

28 The heart of the righteous studies how to answer,
But the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.

29 The LORD is far from the wicked,
But He hears the prayer of the righteous.

30 The light of the eyes rejoices the heart,
And a good report makes the bones healthy.

31 The ear that hears the rebukes of life
Will abide among the wise.

32 He who disdains instruction despises his own soul,
But he who heeds rebuke gets understanding.

33 The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom,
And before honor is humility.

We all live under God’s omniscient watch to understand that the fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom.  There are many ways we learn that fear and follow or reject His good counsel of the scriptures in the second half of this chapter.  It begins by controlling our untethered anger so we can slow down contention instead of adding fuel to the fire, a difficult task we all struggle with in many ways.  Again we see the exhortation to then avoid the inaction of laziness and instead get moving down the road to lead the way with the actions and example of good works in response to God’s goodness to us, especially made more clear in the work of Christ to deliver us from God’s wrath.  If we are truly wise, this goodness we live is towards the order God has set, especially for our parents in bringing them joy, not foolishly hating them.  This is as true in grown men and women as it is for the child and adolescent.  If we do not gain understanding for the wisdom to discern things as we find to live according to His word, we find empty joy in our foolishness instead of walking towards holiness and righteousness as He leads us down the narrow road through the wicket gate and along our road of sanctification until that day.  This is difficult without good counsel of godly men who went before and alongside us, who lead the way by explaining the way of righteousness and life more clearly (Acts 18:26).  Our intent may be good, but if left unguided by the continuing discipleship of godly counsel, we can go astray quite easily.  Then as we grow in knowing and understanding, our wisdom develops in speaking good answers at the right times to help others growing as disciples.  This ministry brings us great joy and satisfaction in the counsel we receive and give.  This leads us all together from the former downward path to perdition we all started on, turning us upward to our Lord for His good pleasure, glory, and honor (Philippians 2:13, Ephesians 1:4-5, 2 Timothy 2:21, 1 Peter 1:7).  We also acknowledge that God will blast our pride and help those who humbly acknowledge their need for Him to understand and live wisely, for He loves good words from a pure heart and cannot abide wickedly sinful thinking, nor can He endure our greed for selfish gain (Philippians 3:7-8, 1 Timothy 6:5-6).  Therefore, we study to show ourselves approved to God by studying how to answer righteously (Titus 2:8) and not with corrupt speech, for God hears the righteous but does not answer those pursuing evil.  May our eyes be full of light and not darkness (Luke 1:34) to find joy in our hearts with spiritual healthiness.  To be wise, we listen and heed the rebukes we need.  If we despise good instruction, we only hate ourselves and fail to gain right understanding.  Fearing God is key to this all, learning from Him humbly in the yoke of grace and goodness with humility that leads to true honor.  Amen.