The Family Bible Journey Podcast

As a preacher, I know that I have my audience's attention much more at a funeral than at a wedding. It may seem or sound morbid, but it is absolutely true, because all the distraction and noise is dead silent when the congregation is looking at an urn or casket. Solomon also knows that God has our attention in times of sadness and encourages us to think with sober judgment about this life, so that we live one that is worth living.

There was a literal wall that separated gentile believers from the Jewish believers in the Temple area. It was a physical barrier of exclusion. It demonstrated the separation of God and men by sin and the religious and ethnic divisions between the Jewish people and others. Paul uses this feature of the Temple to describe God crossing all barriers in Christ Jesus.

Paul teaches that we weren't saved to become bumps on a log. Rather, we've been saved to be productive as members of God's family. God has created good works for us to do, that we might walk in them. It is a calling and challenge from God to put our faith to good work.

A much depressed old King Solomon warns us against the evil of seeking lasting fulfillment and satisfaction in the fleeting pursuits of this life. The same vices he fell headlong into, pride, greed, lust, these are still what the world is selling as the keys to a happy life. May we learn from one who was the richest, most powerful and influential man of his time, that none of these things satisfy. Only God can give us lasting fulfillment and contentment.

Old King Solomon had everything, yet ended up depressed and reflective. In this chapter, we are encouraged to find the blessing in our place in life, wherever we are and whatever we may be doing. There is great blessing in honest labor, and much vexation if we seek satisfaction in the passing things of this life.

Ephesians is a bright light of Paul's epistles because it emphasizes the communion we have with God through Jesus Christ. Many passages of promise and confident assurance are found in these pages. As we explore the blessings of communion with God, we will be challenged to expand our understanding of the importance of our relationships with others in Christ Jesus. Our communion with God leads to a deeper understanding of the community of believers.

"A strand of three cords cannot be broken!" The old saying goes, "if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, bring others along." In this chapter, we hear of the benefits of togetherness, and going through life with God and those you love.

We hear the wisdom of embracing life in its seasons. For everything, there is a season, and there is beauty and wisdom to behold everywhere. We pray that God will show us this beauty wherever we find ourselves and whatever this life brings.

There are those who are going to insist on outside markers of spiritual purity, trying to delineate between true and false believers. We resist such temptation, knowing that we are not the judge. Only God gets to judge. Instead of judging others, we do better to judge ourselves in Christ, knowing that when He returns, He will welcome us into His presence not because of what we have done for Him, but simply for all He has done for us.

Solomon sought fulfillment in entertainment, wealth, building great monuments and sex. In the end, everything he did for himself was a disappointment. We will fare no better if we think the things of this world will satisfy our craving desires.

Even though Solomon had everything the world could offer, when he sought lasting joy and peace in his earthly wealth, he felt empty. This king who once prayed for wisdom proved to be the fool. Let us learn from his mistakes not to try to find fulfillment in the fleeting things of this world, but in God alone.

For freedom Christ has set us free! Paul gets a little testy with his children in the faith who were testing him and took to task those who were leading them astray from Christ. We will learn how to use our freedom to honor God in Christ Jesus without forfeiting the blessings of His love.

We return to Proverbs 8:35-36, where we hear the Second Person of the Trinity tell us, from before the beginning of time, the blessings of Wisdom. May we seek to live in a way that brings God's life and love to bear on those around us, and by so doing, enrich and enliven them as He has us.

A most blessed spouse is described for us in this passage. The greatest earthly blessing we can attain in this life, besides the gift of salvation itself, is a godly spouse. Here, she is described in beautiful poetry, as a blessed gift from the Most High.

We grow in our understanding of God as Father when we consider the significance of God's invitation to pray to Him as, "Abba," "Father." This old Aramaic word is rich with meaning, all of it pertinent to a mature understanding of our relationship with God.

This prophet's identity, place and time have been lost to history. Yet, the wisdom of his words endure! He challenges the godly with "number" proverbs. These riddles give us much to ponder as we persist in patient faithfulness.

Worldly "wisdom" teaches that might makes right. In this final chapter of Solomon's proverbs, we are reminded that only the righteous will endure forever. God's promised justice brings His children comfort, even, maybe most especially, when they suffer for righteousness, as Jesus did.

What are the benefits of being God's child? Here, Paul begins a chapters-long discussion of our relationship with God as His children. It begins in this chapter by reminding us of God's faithfulness to all generations. The same loving care of the Heavenly Father that God's people have always known is ours in Christ Jesus.

When nations, businesses and even the Church are governed by those who are primarily concerned with power, or selfish aims, the whole organization suffers. The anitdote to human pride and selfishness is the wisdom of God, putting the other first, to serve the common good. May God grant us so to do!

We hear an encouragement to walk in the Lord's wisdom and to surround ourselves with good and faithful friends. When we do, we need not praise ourselves, because good and faithful people are praised as a blessing by others. How much more satisfying this is, to be praised by others, than to fall into the trap of self-promotion that is all too common in the world today.

In the middle of a heated debate, Paul proclaims one of his most confident assertions of faith. "I am crucified with Christ! It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me!" The faith that we have is the gift of Christ's righteousness as our own. This great exchange-God's righteousness for human sinfulness, is the basis of our salvation.

Many of the proverbs in this section are repeats or tweaks of earlier proverbs. Often times in ancient and Biblical literature, important parts are repeated towards the end of books, psalms and songs, so that we don't miss the most important parts.

Jesus uses one of the proverbs in this chapter a number of times in His earthly ministry. St. Paul also quotes another in Romans. The fact that both Jesus and St. Paul revered these words as God's unchanging truth, gives us great confidence as we seek and follow the Lord in faith.

Paul's spiritual children in the faith were being attacked by a group who were teaching that the work of salvation wasn't completed by Jesus. Paul takes to task those who were teaching that Christians had to accept portions of the Old Testament law to be "true" Christians. He begins his epistle on the offensive by correcting the false assertions of these false teachers.

We live in a world full of people intent on blaming everyone else for what's wrong in the world, and even what they don't like about themselves. As God's chosen and redeemed people, we pay attention first and foremost to ourselves. We will seek the Lord and His way, even when our way is dark and dreary.

We live in a world without discipline. Everyone is engouraged to indulge every desire and seek happiness as the goal of life. Proverbs teaches that a little discipline goes a long way if we want to live a truly successful life.

We dare not judge others, knowing that there is only one Judge Who will matter in the end. How does the coming judgment affect our understanding of and relationships with others?

We are warned about the dangers of poverty, both financial and spiritual, in this chapter. It is the spiritual poverty of greed that leads many to financial ruin, as our financial system is designed to reward the rich and further impoverish the poor. But worse than suffering the effects of financial poverty is the corrosive effect of spiritual poverty, which allows one to justify impoverishing another for greedy personal gain.

When we walk in the Lord's way, there is confidence that comes from following a true path. Even if we get distracted, or sidetracked, or stumble along the way, so long as we seek the Lord's way, we are heading in the right direction.

Paul was very concerned about the Corinthians who seemed to be prepared to accept any false teacher, but were reluctant to embrace his tried and true words. We do well today to test the spirits, to see if we are listening to those whose words are in accord with scripture or contrary to it.

We live in a world full of people who have been conditioned to think that projecting an image of self is not only acceptable, it's the way to be. Even if their projected image is a fiction, they expect to win acceptance for who they are pretending to be. God's people don't need to project or imagine, because we know who we are, and know that everyone will be known for who they are (not who they pretend to be) in the end.

We used to talk of common sense, but so many are so far from the Lord that I now refer to wisdom as not-so-common sense. We explore the blessings of not-so-common sense in general and particularly in family life.

Paul compares his ministry to the swindlers and counterfeits who had plagued the churches in Corinth. He served the Christians in love and would rather be impoverished than impose upon them. We serve a loving Master, who moves us to serve in love, even when we serve those who are not so lovable.

We often feel justified when we speak our opinion, but the wise person knows it is always better to listen before speaking. If your lips are moving, you're not learning. Let us resist the temptation to speak first, so that we may been seen as wise, instead of playing the part of the fool.

A patently false proverb!?! We will learn how a proverb that is 100% wrong found itself in holy scripture, and what it tells us about superstition, and putting our faith in the wrong places.

Acrocorinth is the name of the ancient stronghold that guarded Corinth. Perched atop a rugged ridge, it was an imposing fortress. Paul uses this mountaintop stronghold as a parable for the strongholds satan builds in our lives and communities when we aren't led by godliness.

Pride is deceptive and persuasive. Because the human heart is easily turned inward, and away from others, our conscience can deceive us. In order to avoid the foolishness of pride, we need to pay careful attention to God's Word, which can never steer us wrong.

Nowadays the world confuses loudness with leadership and confidence (I dare say arrogance) with competence. In this chapter, we learn the blessing of speaking kind, not harsh words. When we use our tongues to lift others up, we share the love and life we ourselves have first received from the Lord our Maker.

Paul teaches us that those who are generous will reap generously. We will learn how the parable of this chapter naturally grows out of the large agricultural economy of ancient Corinth.

It has been said there is no shortcut to success, and this is true! We reflect on the wisdom of hard work in this chapter. God has given us our strength, intellect, hands and feet to do good work. Let us honor the Lord by making good use of all that he has given to us.

We are wise to recognze how the people we surround ourselves with affect the trajectory of our lives. While we want to be friendly with all, in order to win some with the gospel, we are also careful to spend much time with people whose goals and aspirations are similar to ours. This protects us from ungodliness and prepares us for greater service in the Lord's kingdom.

We explore different cultural motivations for generosity. Paul encouraged the Corinthians to demonstrate their faith by giving gladly to the saints who were impoverished by a famine in Judea. We consider how our own notions of generosity square with Biblical wisdom, so that we too may excel in godly generosity.

God's Word is life for His people, because only in His Word does He reveal His wisdom, His will and His ways to us. When we live into HIs Way and speak His Words, we are a blessing to others in both this life and the next.

We consider the earthly and eternal blessings of living our lives with a 10,000 year perspective. When we share Christ's love and righteousness with others, they are blessed both now and forever. This gives us great reason to live godly lives by investing ourselves in the eternal welfare of others.

The Greek Justice system was more interested in restoring relationships, and holding others accountable in healthy social systems. The "Bema," or, "Judgement Seat," was a place where legal decrees were made in the interest of reconciliation within healthy accountability systems. The goal was not to win or punish, but rather to restore social order that was threatened by crime or deviations from accepted societal norms and traditions that promoted the welfare of all.

Anger, hate and greed. These three attitudes define our age. In this chapter, we learn God's response to sinful selfishness.

Twin parables in this chapter highlight the blessing of wisdom and the curse of foolishness. The proverbs excel at highlighting competing worldly wisdom and God's way. One leads to life. The other to death in all sorts of forms.

Corinth was full of so many Temples, they were hard to miss. The allure of these unholy houses of worship proved a constant temptation and trap for the Corinthian Christians. Idols of our day may not be as easily recognized, but they are equally seductive. In faith, we flee such ungodliness and pursue holiness.

The Son of God professes His love for you in this epic chapter! He rejoices in you. He delights in you. God's love is an excellent antidote for all that assails us.

This is the Wisdom chapter of the Wisdom book of the Bible! In it, the Second person of the Trinity speaks to us from before time. He calls loudly and freely to all who receive his Word and blessing.