Category: Chapter Notes

“-er!”

Proverbs begins by stating its assignment.  God through the proverbs makes his intentions crystal clear.  He wants to make you more than you are.  If you’re lost he wants to find you and bring you back.  If you are dumb he wants to make you smart.  If you are smart he wants to make you smarter.  If you are wise he wants to make you wise-er.

He is commited to “-er”.  God is so full of wisdom you can’t outgrow him.  You can’t move beyond his capacity to make you better.

All of us need to reach up to our full potential in God.  As the Army’s ad campaign said we need to “Be ALL we can be.”

Foundations

If the intent of this book is to build us, then we must begin with the foundation.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge…”

Shapiro says it this way, “wisdom’s foundation is the selfless awe of God.”

The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur are two of the tallest towers in the world.  They are a marvel of engineering and design, as are all of the world’s tallest buildings.

The Petronas Towers are 1485 feet, which is almost a quarter of a mile up in the air.  In order to build something that tall you have to have a foundation strong enough and deep enough to hold it up.  It has to be built on something strong enough to support the weight of the tower.  It has to be anchored to bedrock so that it does not move.

These towers required huge foundations.  Almost 400 feet deep!  37,000 cubic tons of concrete.

CENTRAL TRUTH

If you want to go higher, you’ve got to dig deeper!

God wants to build you up
“For I know the plans I have for you plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  Jeremiah 29:11

You need a strong foundation so you can stand the wind.

You need to be affixed to the bedrock.

You need depth.

You need reinforcement.

As you get bigger you bring glory to the God who made you.  People will want to know, “who built you up like that?”

“I want your architect to design my life.”

Wisdom’s foundation is the fear of the Lord.

If you don’t reverence and respect God you cannot hear him.

If you can’t hear him you won’t heed him.

If you don’t heed him, if you don’t act on the wisdom he gives you, you cannot benefit from that wisdom.

Do you really reverence God?

The Disciplines of Reverence

Prayer.

Studying the word.

Studying nature.

Fellowship.

Helping others.