Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb20110410.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Proverbs: Motivating Teens And Adults To Align With God's Fixed Moral Order
Part II: Explaining The Value Of Heeding God's Fixed Moral Order, Proverbs 1:8-9:18
B. Desiring God's Fixed Moral Order As An Appealing Spousal Partner
(Proverbs 1:20-33)
  1. Introduction
    1. Heeding God's fixed moral order to maximize blessing in life may be a noble goal, but it can be hard to motivate especially the untaught to accept it as valuable if he doesn't see it at his level of experience!
    2. Solomon knew God's moral order was indispensable to a young man who valued a lovely lady as a future spouse, so, to motivate his princely readers to heed him, Solomon personified God's fixed moral order to be a lovely lady in the second of his sixteen-part section of his Egyptian sboyet format of Proverbs.
    3. We broaden the application of Solomon's sboyet format to instruct not only princes, but also young princesses in making the lesson applicable to both genders in our own era (as follows):
  2. Desiring God's Fixed Moral Order As An Appealing Spousal Partner, Proverbs 1:20-33.
    1. God's fixed moral order, His hokmah, is personified as a lovely woman who cries aloud in even the most public places in an effort to attract a young prince's attention and win his love, Proverbs 1:20-21 NIV.
    2. Thus, lovely lady hokmah [or attractive man hokmah for a princess] appeals publicly to three kinds of youths who need the blessings the desirable party offers (as Pr. 1:22 in the Hebrew Bible describes):
      1. The naive (peti) who is open-minded for every suggestion, good as well as the bad, greatly needs God's hokmah wisdom. (Kittel, Biblia Hebraica, p. 1156; Theological Wordbook of the O. T., vol. II, p. 742.
      2. The scorner (lason) who arrogantly resists all correction greatly needs God's hokmah wisdom. (Ibid., Kittel; Ibid., Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament , volume I, p. 479)
      3. The fool (kesil) who tends to make wrong choices in life greatly needs God's hokmah wisdom. (Ibid., Kittel; Ibid., Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament , volume I, p. 449.
    3. Thus, lovely lady [or attractive man] wisdom calls to the open-minded prince [or princess respectively] to ask how long he [or she] will love being dangerously open-minded, to the scorner who proudly resists correction, asking how long he [or she] will dangerously delight in scorning and to the youth who tends to make wrong choices, asking how long he [or she] will dangerously hate knowing God's order, Prov. 1:22.
    4. Lovely lady [or attractive man] wisdom calls to the young prince [or princess], saying that if he [or she] heeds her [or his] reproof with the respective area(s) of need in the young prince [or princess], she [or he] will pour out her [or his] spirit unto the youth to fill him [or her] with wisdom for God's fullest blessing, Proverbs 1:23. In other words, the blessing of God would be abundant and blessed akin to a lovely lady [or an appealing man] falling deeply in love with and marrying the young prince [or respective princess].
    5. However, if such needy youths fail to align with God's fixed moral order (Proverbs 1:24-25), the "spurned advice will haunt its rejecter," the meaning of lovely lady [or attractive man] wisdom's figurative laughter at the tragedy of those who refuse God's insight, Proverbs 1:26-27; Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 909.
    6. When those who reject the call of lovely lady [or appealing man] hokmah, and resulting tragedy spurs them to "start over and follow the wise path," this renewed effort will be futile as they are left to reap the effects of breaching God's order as if wed to a wretched spouse, Ibid.; Prov. 1:28-31 NIV with 2:16-19.
    7. Thus, lovely lady [or appealing man] wisdom summarizes that the open-minded (peti) youth are killed by their turning from God's order, and the complacency of those youths who tend to make the wrong choices (kesil) destroys them (Proverbs 1:32 NIV), but the young prince [or princess] who listens to lovely lady [or attractive man] wisdom [respectively] (1) will dwell securely, (2) will be at ease and (3) will not experience inevitable disaster in their lives, Proverbs 1:33 NIV; Ibid., Bible Know. Com., O. T.
Lesson: Solomon urged the naive, open-minded, the proudly resistant to correction and the ones who tend to make bad choices among princes (and princesses by application) to heed the appeals of God's fixed moral order as if it was a potential, appealing spouse, for doing so will richly make one dwell securely, be at ease and not fear disaster as if he or she were relating to a dear, godly, desirable spouse, but failing to heed that order yields unavoidable disaster as if relating to a wretched spouse!

Application: May we heed God's fixed moral order as being better than having a wonderful spouse!