Epistemology
Opening Prayer
Lord, allow me to perceive that the divine wisdom issued three thousand years ago still works in this day and age.
Read Proverbs 1:1–19
The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
2 for gaining wisdom and instruction;
for understanding words of insight;
3 for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,
doing what is right and just and fair;
4 for giving prudence to those who are simple,
knowledge and discretion to the young—
5 let the wise listen and add to their learning,
and let the discerning get guidance—
6 for understanding proverbs and parables,
the sayings and riddles of the wise.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Prologue: Exhortations to Embrace Wisdom
Warning Against the Invitation of Sinful Men
8 Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
9 They are a garland to grace your head
and a chain to adorn your neck.
10 My son, if sinful men entice you,
do not give in to them.
11 If they say, “Come along with us;
let’s lie in wait for innocent blood,
let’s ambush some harmless soul;
12 let’s swallow them alive, like the grave,
and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
13 we will get all sorts of valuable things
and fill our houses with plunder;
14 cast lots with us;
we will all share the loot”—
15 my son, do not go along with them,
do not set foot on their paths;
16 for their feet rush into evil,
they are swift to shed blood.
17 How useless to spread a net
where every bird can see it!
18 These men lie in wait for their own blood;
they ambush only themselves!
19 Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain;
it takes away the life of those who get it.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
“Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? And where is the knowledge we have lost in information?” (T. S. Eliot, 1888–1965).
I begin by thanking God for Solomon, a wise though flawed king. I also thank
God for my own father and mother, without whom I would not exist, for wisdom I gained from them and instruction in God-fearing love and obedience. As I reflect on the (at least fifteen) wisdom nouns in the prologue (1–7), I wonder how my children or the young people for whom this book was written may gain and practice the qualities described here, especially the most fundamental one: an affectionate and awe-filled regard for and obedience to God’s good laws (7). Do I myself know this? Exhibit this? Embody this?
The father’s first lecture to his son is about avoiding gangs and resisting peer pressure—a key necessity for young people (and for older people). Which way shall I go? Which house shall I enter? Which voice shall I heed? These questions echo throughout Proverbs. One truly fundamental question is How do I know what I know and how do I know it is true? The father’s teaching and the mother’s graceful garland seem so much less enticing than the gang, the lots and the loot! Verse 17 notes the obvious truth that no
bird flies deliberately into the hunter’s net! In this past century, we have seen in different parts of the
world whole nations stampeding into the arms of tyrants! Do I have the guts or the moral courage to stand
against collective lunacy, even when pelted with insults, mud and stones? Or threatened with jail time?
The father concludes his warning with a blunt, global (“all,” 19) statement: “The rippers-off will be
ripped off!” (19a, literally). Sin has a boomerang quality (Prov. 26:27; 28:10; Psa. 9:16), though I may
not see its payback in my lifetime. If the vindication seems delayed, I wait for it.
Apply
Lord, make me wise. Give me a surgeon’s eye. Give me a musician’s touch. Give me an inventor’s insight.
Closing prayer
Lord, You are the fountainhead of all wisdom. Grant to each of Your children a measure of the very wisdom bestowed upon Your servant Solomon that we may serve You acceptably.
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Encounter with God is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.