“Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded. The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.”
- Proverbs 13:13-14
“ Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: ( For until the law sin was in the world: but ——sin is not imputed when there is no law——- …) …… Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. “
- Romans 5:12–13, 20-21
The Law, Wisdom, and Life
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The Queen of Sheba heard about the wisdom of Solomon, so she came to see for herself, and “ to test him with difficult questions”. ( 1 Kings 10:1 ) She brought a great retinue, checked out how he lived, but more importantly, she had QUESTIONS!
“So she came to Jerusalem with a very large retinue, with camels carrying spices and very much gold and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. —-Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was hidden from the king which he did not explain to her.——
When the queen of Sheba perceived all the —-wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built,the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the attendance of his waiters and their attire, his cupbearers, and his stairway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.
Then she said to the king, “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. Nevertheless I did not believe the reports, until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, —-the half—- was not told me. You exceed in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard. How blessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom.
—— Blessed be the Lord your God who delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel; because the Lord loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness.———-.”
“She gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a very great amount of spices and precious stones. Never again did such abundance of spices come in as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.” — 1 Kings 10:2-10
The exposition of Solomons wisdom ended in the glorification of God!
( Solomon himself, was paid a consulting fee which was pretty handsome, don’t you think? )
Our introduction, long as it was this week, should serve to make us sit up and take notice, because Solomon’s wisdom is made available to us in the books of Ecclesiastes and Proverbs ( our current study )!, and there is a treasure trove of information ( and QUESTIONS ! ) in this weeks text.
Wisdom, is connected to the commandment, and the hearing ( = doing/ keeping ) of the commandment is connected to both —-destruction— and —— life ! …. In particular, please observe the phrase, “ law of the wise, to depart from the snares of death”.
What do we know of the snares of death?
Our companion text from Romans points us to the origin of death and the Law. Sin, came through Adams transgression, and death, was the only solution God had, to —-limit—- the amount of Sin mankind would commit …And they did….
Sin is departing from the commandment of the ONLY ONE WHO IS TRULY WISE….
Law is the expression of a commandment, yes …. and disobedience has consequences….. but the Law —— is the benchmark —— that shows us the face of Sin, and “foolishness”.
If somebody posts a sign, “ No jumping off the roof”, are they trying to take away your freedom? No, I think you would agree that they want to keep you ALIVE ! … and if you didn’t know, now you are educated that it is injurious to your health….
If you jump, is the building owner responsible? No, his/her lawyers are going to point to the sign!
The Lord loved Israel and humanity so that He freely gave us His Law and wisdom, fully knowing that transgression would now MANDATE a penalty. His Grace and Wisdom made provision for it….
Intentionally jumping, being pushed, or just falling off the roof —- His everlasting Arms underneath are what bear us up,lest we be dashed to pieces on the rocks of our own folly!
His Law in Leviticus gives us a picture of how He wants to be with us… Bread of provision, fresh daily…an altar of incense to offer our prayers to His ear, the Light of His Spirit, morning and evening, and communion and atonement from the Mercy Seat, of our Ark, the Lord Jesus!
Truly, in this world, the half has not been told to us! Let us be grateful for the Lords’ gifts of Wisdom, Grace, Law, and the Word!
Hallelujah!!