Someone once said: Lord, protect me from my friends; I can take care of my enemies. The book of Proverbs is concerned with the vulnerability of friendship; it counsels us on how to keep our friends and also, if necessary, how to protect ourselves from them. The Hebrew word forfriend also means neighbor, the one … Continue reading –>
Once we determine to walk in the way of wisdom, we still need great caution because we will meet obstacles along that way (see 1 Pet. 5:8). One of the greatest dangers we face deals with our families, the most precious, sensitive, and intimate domain of life. Read Proverbs 5. What dangers must we guard … Continue reading –>
Read Proverbs 4. What practical truth is found here, and how can we apply this to our own lives as we seek to live in faithfulness to God? The act of hearing marks the first step in education. In Hebrew thought, the seat of wisdom or of intelligence is located not in the brain, but … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Proverbs 4, 1 Kings 3:9, Matt. 13:44, Proverbs 5, 1 Cor. 10:13, Prov. 6:1–19. Memory Text: Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil (Proverbs 4:26-27, NKJV). Science has demonstrated that hearing impacts how … Continue reading –>
Life was hard in the western Washington town of Humptulips during the 1930s. Located on the Humptulips river on the Olympic peninsula, the town had seen better days for the commercial fishermen trying to earn a living. One family, the Moodys, found life so difficult in Humptulips that they decided to follow Mrs. Moody’s brother … Continue reading –>
Further Study: Read Ellen G. White, Hidden Treasure, p. 111–114, in Christ’s Object Lessons; A Blessing in the Home, p. 334, in Messages to Young People; Study of Physiology, p. 197, 198, in Education; Ellen G. White Comments, p. 1156, in The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 3. The youth need to understand the deep truth … Continue reading –>
Read Proverbs 3:7. What is the trap of being wise in one’s own eyes? To be wise in one’s own eyes will lead to the illusion that one does not need God to be wise. This is a hopeless situation. There is more hope for a fool than for them (Prov. 26:12, NIV). Again, wisdom … Continue reading –>
Read Proverbs 2:1–5. What are the conditions for understanding the fear of the LORD? What choices do we have to make in this matter? Three times the discourse is introduced with the conjunction if, marking three stages in the progression of education. The first if introduces the passive stage of listening; that is, simply being … Continue reading –>
Read Proverbs 1:20-21. How is wisdom presented here? What is being told to us? While the sinners lie in wait and lurk secretly (Prov. 1:11, Prov 1:18, NKJV), wisdom calls aloud outside (Prov. 1:20, NKJV), cries out in the chief concourses (Prov. 1:21, NKJV), and speaks her words (Prov. 1:21, NKJV). Wisdom is here personified, … Continue reading –>
Read Proverbs 1:8–19. What two contrasting ways of education are presented in these verses? What’s the basic message here, not just for parents, but for everyone who fears the Lord? Education is, first of all, a family matter, and true education comes, first and foremost, from the parents. In these verses, this education is called … Continue reading –>
