“Without Dread of Disaster”
Proverbs 11
Proverbs 1:1-33 1 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel: 2 To know
wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, 3 to receive instruction in wise
dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; 4 to give prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the youth— 5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning,
and the one who understands obtain guidance, 6 to understand a proverb and a saying,
the words of the wise and their riddles. 7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
8 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, 9 for
they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck. 10 My son, if
sinners entice you, do not consent. 11 If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for
blood; let us ambush the innocent without reason; 12 like Sheol let us swallow them
alive, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; 13 we shall find all precious goods,
we shall fill our houses with plunder; 14 throw in your lot among us; we will all have one
purse”— 15 my son, do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their
paths, 16 for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood. 17 For in vain is a
net spread in the sight of any bird, 18 but these men lie in wait for their own blood; they
set an ambush for their own lives. 19 Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for
unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors.
20 Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; 21 at the head
of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: 22 “How
long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their
scoffing and fools hate knowledge? 23 If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out
my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you. 24 Because I have called and you
refused to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded, 25 because you
have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof,
26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when terror strikes you, 27 when terror
strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and
anguish come upon you.
1
All Scripture references are quoted from the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible unless noted
otherwise.
28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will
not find me. 29 Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord,
30 would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof, 31 therefore they shall
eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices. 32 For the simple are
killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them; 33 but
whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”
Friday morning while driving I passed a semi-truck with a simple advertisement on the side. It
was the capital letters G-N-C and the phrase "Live Well."
I was intrigued that I had innocently landed on a nutrition company's slogan as the title for my
sermon series. So I visited the company's website. I previewed one of the TV spots. Images of
beautiful people exercising shared the screen with banners like: Live healthy. Live charged. Live
toned. Live intense. Live bold. Live sculpted. Live well.
Christians who take the Bible seriously can affirm the goodness of healthy, energetic living. But
we must make two serious objections. The first is that physical image cannot last. The most
sculpted body will fail and fail sooner than expected. The second objection is that, even with a
perfect body, this cannot be the essence of living well.
Living well requires wisdom. Wisdom refers to the skill for living well. One writer noted, "The
goal of wisdom is that you might achieve a life of beauty and significance so that at the end of
your days you will have accomplished something worthwhile and lasting."
Wisdom is both practical and philosophical. Wisdom literature like Proverbs in the Bible
explains both how life works (practical) and why life matters (philosophical).
Proverbs teach life skills by drawing word pictures in memorable sayings. For example, “The
sluggard says, ‘There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets’” (Proverbs 22:13)! The
lesson comes through. We will not live well by hiding in fear from all potential dangers. Working
hard and taking reasonable risks will bring reward.
Chapter 1 introduces the entire book of Proverbs.
To All Kinds of People.
It tells us that wisdom makes a difference to all kinds of people. Proverbs understands that
world has three different kind of people in it.
The Simple. Wisdom is for the simple. These are also called the naive. They are young and
untrained. Solomon puts his son in this category. He urges him not to remain there but move
from simplicity to wisdom. One purpose of Proverbs is “to give prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the youth” (Proverbs 1:4).
If you are young, Proverbs is for you. God comes to you with a sense of urgency. Youthful
simplicity is dangerous if it lasts. Our society glorifies youth and makes it a goal not to grow up.
Grownups have to take responsibility and forfeit fun. Precisely. Living well involves the wisdom
to keep commitments and enjoying life in moderation.
Wisdom is for the young. It is not natural from birth. It must be learned and developed.
The Wise. Wisdom also makes a difference for the wise. Another purpose for the book is found
in 1:5: “Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain
guidance.” True wisdom does not rest content. It continues a life-long pursuit for more wisdom.
The Foolish. Wisdom also makes a difference for the foolish. This is the third group of people.
They are also called scoffers, wicked, and scorners. They suffer from the condition that sets in
when, as simple ones, they refuse wisdom.
It grows worse if not addressed. The foolish eventually become hardened so that they are
beyond hope. Wisdom says, “Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek
me diligently but will not find me” (Proverbs 1:28).
We do not know when someone reaches the point of no return. So there is warning for the
foolish. “If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words
known to you” (Proverbs 1:23).
So Proverbs serves every kind of person.
In All Areas of Life
Proverbs also make a difference in all areas of life. “Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the
markets she raises her voice; 21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance
of the city gates she speaks” (Proverbs 1:20-21).
Wisdom is not just at church. She is in the marketplace and the halls of government (the gates).
Wisdom applies to life when we are in class as well as in Bible study.
It governs our relationships in the bedroom and the boardroom. Wisdom takes vacations. It
must go with us everywhere. It applies as much to leisure activities as to legal responsibilities.
For All of Life.
Wisdom also makes a difference for all of life. Wisdom is a life-long pursuit. You do not grow
wise just by growing older. But you cannot gain wisdom instantly. It takes time. Wisdom is too
great a subject to try to grasp in a single sermon or even a series. We study Proverbs to make
progress in the journey that lasts a lifetime.
Every person here needs godly wisdom. If you have decisions to make, you need wisdom. You
may be a teenager wondering how to choose friends or decide how much texting is too much.
How do I honor my parents' authority in such matters?
If you're older you face decisions about a major in college or career choice. You wonder about
how to pursue relationships leading to healthy marriage. You wonder about how to use your
summer in the most God-honoring way.
Parents face a myriad of decisions related to children. Some face issues related to adoption.
Older people face bewildering challenges. What does retirement mean? What about end of life
care decisions.
The decisions I've mentioned presume that life follows a fairly predictable path. Many of you
face decisions that have resulted from significant moral failure on the part of a significant
person in your life.
The greatest asset in facing all of these is godly wisdom. How we pursue wisdom will be the
central concern of this series.
This morning, I mention three introductory elements in the pursuit of wisdom. The pursuit of
wisdom...



Begins with the Gospel.
Exposes Counterfeits.
Adopts New Affections.
The Pursuit of Wisdom Begins with the Gospel.
A keen observer will object that the word gospel does not appear in Proverbs. Solomon is
writing 1,000 years before the earthly appearance of Jesus Christ. In response, I refer you back
to the principle we mentioned last week. The whole Bible points to Christ.
How does Proverbs point to Christ? We will answer this question in many ways throughout this
series. One answer appears in 1:7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.”
Who is the LORD? LORD is the personal name for God. It identifies Him as the One who enters
into a personal relationship with his people. He is the God who brought them out of Egyptian
slavery and into a special covenant with Himself. He is the God who makes and keeps promises
to those who do not deserve his faithfulness. He is the God who forgives those who do not
deserve his mercy.
God revealed himself to Moses through this name on Mt. Sinai:
Exodus 34:5–8 The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and
proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The
LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast
love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and
transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of
the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth
generation.” 8 And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped.
True wisdom begins in a relationship with this personal God. Today we live after the coming of
this God to earth in the person of Jesus Christ. True wisdom begins in a personal relationship
with Jesus Christ.
But, someone objects, how can fear be present in a genuine relationship? In response, we
acknowledge that apart from the forgiveness of Jesus Christ, the fear of the LORD is fear of his
wrath. He is the one who does not clear the guilty. He has to punish sin.
The person who truly understands that God is holy and is perfectly good to punish all who sin
against him will fear him. But that fear will lead him or her to seek God's mercy in the gospel.
The gospel describes how Jesus Christ came as the God-Man. He lived a perfect life that
deserved nothing but God's commendation. Yet, on the cross, he submitted to God's
condemnation. He died and then rose again to prove that the Father accepted his offering for
sin.
All who turn away from sin and trust Jesus Christ enter into a relationship with Him. Faith in
Jesus Christ is the first step for those who understand the fear of the Lord.
But how does fear continue in this relationship? Doesn't the Bible say that perfect love casts
out fear? It does. That's 1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.
For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”
The apparent contradiction resolves this way. The gospel removes the fear of punishment.
Christ's perfect love casts out that kind of fear. It purifies the remaining fear of the LORD.
Worship and obedience result. This pure fear involves awe, honor, adoration, and submission.
Let me illustrate this way. Imagine a person dropped onto the earth in the middle of the ocean
during a storm. Water is surging all around. Danger threatens to swallow the life of this person.
The immediate response would be intense fear of the water.
Now imagine a rescuer snatching this person out of the water. He sets the victim on the solid
ground of shore. One who used to be terrified by the water now looks out at the beauty of the
ocean. Calm waters reflect the sun's rays. The water's edge becomes a place of rest.
This person still has a fear of the water. He knows the power of a storm. But fear has been
purified through rescue.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. And such fear begins with the gospel. Do
you know Christ this way? Has He rescued you? Have you understood the danger you face
because you have sinned against God? Do you know something of the fear of the LORD?
Then the step you must take is to forsake sin and cry out for Jesus Christ to save you. The
Pursuit of Wisdom begins with the Gospel.
Second, the Pursuit of Wisdom Exposes Counterfeits
We will be able only to introduce this theme. Simply note how much of chapter 1 is negative. It
warns against foolishness. One of the dangers of foolish living is that it promises good things.
Wicked fools try to trap simple ones in unjust practices: “we shall find all precious goods, we
shall fill our houses with plunder; 14 throw in your lot among us; we will all have one purse”
(Proverbs 1:13–14).
The wicked fool says, “Come with us. You will get rich. We'll be friends. We'll share our wealth
with you.” But these are false promises. Verses 17-19 make it clear that, in the end, their evil
will turn back against them. Unjust gain destroys life. Notice that the section made of verses
24-31 is a long poetic section about how Wisdom (a way of referring to God Himself) will judge
and punish those who reject her. One cannot pursue Wisdom while seeking satisfaction
through empty promises. Pursuing wisdom exposes counterfeits.
It then Adopts New Affections
Wisdom is not a trick to get what we want out of life. It gives us a whole new outlook on life. It
redefines the good life. "Live Wise, Live Well" does not mean live wise so that you can live well.
Rather, it means that living wise IS living well. Wisdom becomes its own reward. Wisdom says,
“but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster”
(Proverbs 1:33).
There are material blessings associated with following wisdom. We will see this often in
Proverbs. The greater blessing is that one can live secure even if disaster strikes. When one
fears the Lord, he need not fear anything else.
The wise person knows that when the All-Wise God withholds some blessing in this life it is
because He has something better in store. So I commend to you the good life. I commend to
you wisdom.
Ask yourself the questions listed in the bulletin. Examine the course of your life. Are you
pursuing wisdom?
There are 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs. June 1st is just around the corner. Plan now to
read a chapter a day for the month. You will finish on July 1. The youth are memorizing 3:1-12.
Why not join them?
May God strengthen our hunger to pursue wisdom in this series and throughout our lives.