Build Your House by Wisdom
Proverbs 22-24
November 23-24, 2024
We are in the section of the Proverbs where it's very interesting how the treasures of wisdom are just given one after the other, individual treasures not necessarily connected. One verse could be very different than the next verse that could be very different from the next verse, but what you see is that there are these wonderful themes that are woven through, oftentimes repeated, woven through the fabric of the tapestry of the Proverbs. One of those themes is the value of wisdom itself. As I mentioned before, it takes a certain degree of wisdom to understand the value of wisdom.
Not everybody does, but I think that many people here do. As we've done in past, a show of hands, how many people want more wisdom, not just more wisdom, but great wisdom? We want wisdom. We value wisdom. It's one of the main reasons why the book was written. To give you wisdom because wisdom is something valuable. In fact, we read it in Proverbs 3:13-15. It's so important to establish this theme. He says, "How blessed is the man who finds wisdom." As I mentioned before, there are two main words for the word blessed, translated from the Hebrew.
One is like when one blesses another. God blesses you. This one is a different one. This is the word for the soul that's happy, the soul that's satisfied, filled with the joy of the Lord. It will do blessed things for you. How blessed is the man who finds this wisdom, the man who gains understanding for its profit? "You'll have more profit to you, more benefit, more gain to you from wisdom than you will from silver," he says. The gain from wisdom is greater than even gold, even fine gold. Wisdom is greater than that in value. He says, "Wisdom is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire compares with her."
Whatever you desire in life, no, that does not compare to wisdom. Wisdom is higher than all of it. Long life is in her hand, her right hand. In her left hand, are riches, that's interesting and honor. It will come back to you. You'll be blessed not only in your soul but in your life. Now notice this. "Her ways are pleasant ways." We're going to see this. The ways, when you walk in that way of wisdom, is pleasant. It will bless your life. It will bring pleasant ways. "Happy are all who hold her fast." Job 28 said similarly. Job says, "Man does not know the value of wisdom."
That's what he wants us to understand. Oh, if you could only understand the value, pure gold could not be given for it, silver cannot be weighed for its price, the acquisition of wisdom is far above pearls. In these verses that we're going to look at today, that's the theme, that by wisdom, a house is built. He means here, of course, the spiritual understanding is that the foundation on which the house is built, the house is these proverbs as a metaphor for your life, a building, a wise builder will build his house with wisdom, the house that wisdom built.
It's talking about your life. Now, I love the metaphor, using a metaphor of building. I think maybe men would relate to this more, but he is speaking to sons here, so, building. I don't know, I love the metaphor of building. I love putting my tool belt on and the tools and the saws and getting the wood and getting the gloves on. It's just something. Don't you just love building? You see the thing constructed and you get done at the end of the day, and you realize, "Look at that, something was built today." You put up the doors and the windows.
There's just something about building. There's just something fun about building. We've done a number of projects here at the church, with our original building, we built here in 2002. We've been in this for 22 years. Then we added on, in 2008, and '09, and then we added on again and again and again. Actually, we're trying to do another ad edition for next year. I'm excited. Put my boots on, put my tools on, and let's do it. There's just something about building. It's a great metaphor that we could understand because you build a house with a vision.
This is going to be a place for my family. We're going to dwell here. We're going to have memories here. It's going to be warm and comfortable here. We're going to put stuff up on the walls, and we're going to have gatherings here. We're going to have dinners here. When you build you got all this vision, this is a place for our family to dwell. There's a pleasantness to that. That's what he means. That's why it's such a great picture, how to build your life like that. By wisdom, a house is built, by understanding it's established, and then by knowledge, the rooms are filled with precious and pleasant things.
Now, as I mentioned, we're going to look at several chapters here and see how this theme is woven into the fabric of these chapters. I want us primarily, to start with, by looking at Chapter 24, beginning in Verse 3. Proverbs 24:3. "By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established, and by knowledge the rooms are filled with precious, pleasant riches." Meaning things of great value to you. "A wise man is strong. A man of knowledge increases power." It has a result. It does something new. "By wise guidance, you can wage war." In other words, accomplish great things. "In abundance of counselors, there's victory," because wisdom is so great.
"Wisdom is too high for a fool. He doesn't open his mouth in the gate. He who plans to do evil, men will call him a schemer. The devising of folly is a sin and the scoffer is an abomination to men. If you are slack in the day of distress, your strength is limited. Don't be slack in the day of distress. Deliver those who are being taken away to death. Those who are staggering the slaughter, hold them back." In other words, rescue those that are trapped. Rescue those that are weak. Rescue those that are in trouble because wise men are strong and they stand up.
Verse 12, "If you say, Oh, see, we didn't know this," he says, "Does not He consider it who weighs the hearts? Does He not know it who keeps the soul? Will he not render to man according to his work?" Walking in your integrity is what he's saying, "My son, eat honey, it's good. Yes, the honey from the honeycomb is sweet to the taste." Know this, that wisdom is like that. Eat honey, it's good. It's a great picture. Wisdom is like that for your soul. If you find it, then you will find the future and your hope will not be cut off. Your hope will last.
It's a great verse.
"Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous, do not destroy his resting place for a righteous man falls seven times, but he gets up again." Now, you might underline that verse, I love that verse. A righteous man may fall, seven times he may fall, but he gets up, every time he gets up. He arises on his feet, every time he gets up, but the wicked fall and they don't get up. That's what he means. Great verses. There are many others we want to see, certainly with that theme, build a beautiful dwelling place.
I. Build a Beautiful Dwelling Place
That's the beauty of that picture he gives to us. Build a beautiful dwelling place.
The house that he describes, built upon wisdom, is a beautiful dwelling where the rooms are filled with precious and pleasant things. He's describing the beautiful work of God on the soul. You build your life on this wisdom. This work of God does pleasant things. It's your life. The rooms are filled with precious and pleasant things transformed by glory. It's a great spiritual illustration. The house is meant to be that beautiful dwelling place. When you think of all the stresses, and troubles, and conflicts in the world, you go to work and there's stresses, and trouble, and drama, and conflicts, and you look forward to coming home to a place where there's renewing and restoring.
You want to just come to a beautiful, comfortable place where your soul is rejoicing. That's the picture He gives to us. A place of rest. God is very interested. He's giving a picture of how you build your life. He's very interested how you build your house, your spiritual house. By this picture, He intends that you would build that beautiful, precious place to dwell, that God himself would dwell there in that house. In fact, Revelation 3:20 gives a picture. Jesus said to the church at Laodicea, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice, opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him, and him with me."
There's that picture of you open the door of your heart, and the Lord Jesus enters into your life. There's that picture, "We will dine together in your house." He gives that picture of the house. We're going to dine together in your house, your life. We're going to fellowship together in that house. When God instructed Moses to build a tabernacle, a house, it's a theme that runs not only in Proverbs but through the Scriptures. Build a tabernacle, a house that God would dwell amongst His people. You can see this theme from beginning to end, that God's desire is to be amongst His people.
That He would be Emmanuel, God with us. "Moses," He said, "Build a house for my glory to dwell there in the midst of your people." He gave Moses instruction to build a glorious house. He didn't want Moses to throw some sticks of wood together and an old tarp over it. No. He wanted to find his craftsmanship made from the finest materials placed for the glory of God to dwell amongst His people. Notice for example, in Exodus 31:2-5, where He says to Moses, "See, I have chosen this man, Bezalel of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the Spirit of God."
This is one of the first instances in the Bible of God filling with His Holy Spirit. "I have filled him with the Spirit of God, and with wisdom, and with understanding, and with knowledge, and with all kinds of skills to make artistic designs." This is for the house, for the beautiful glory to dwell amongst His people. "Artistic designs, work of gold, and silver, and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, to engage in all kinds of crafts. I will anoint him by the Spirit," because this is going to be a beautiful house. The glory of God is going to dwell there amongst His people.
This is what he means when he says, "I want you to be that spiritual house in which God will dwell." Paul says, "You are the temple of the Holy Spirit." He says, "The glory of God dwells on the earth today." Did you know that? In the days of the Old Testament, the glory of God dwelled there in the temple. The glory of God dwells on the earth today. It does. You know where? In this very place. In this very room, the glory of God dwells. You know why? Because you are the temple of the Holy Spirit. God desires that His Holy Spirit would dwell in a beautiful place.
Therefore, he says, "By understanding it is established." That is the foundation. "Build a foundation for this house on the rock." It is established on understanding. That word in Hebrew means to make firm. "Settled on the rock, the strong, solid foundation." He's speaking here, of course, on a house that's well built. You're going to build a beautiful, glorious house. You're going to put it on a good foundation, that it would be strong and resilient, able to withstand storms, troubles of life. It's interesting. We were on our footsteps of Paul's journey recently, and we ended in Rome.
A. Build a foundation on the Rock
I got to tell you, Rome is just amazing because you're walking around the city and these buildings are, some of them, like, 500, 600 years old. They're way older than our country. There's one after the other. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years old. They look beautiful. Just like they were built recently. Beautiful, and you realize these things are made to last. These are made with rocks. Made some stone here, and some great fine work done because they're glorious. They're amazing. That's what he means here. We're going to build that which is beautiful on a strong foundation, that it would be able to withstand storms, troubles, and doesn't fall.
Built well. Jesus said similarly in Luke 6:47-49. Jesus says, "Everyone who comes to me, and then hears my words," but hear this, "Hears my words, and acts on them." Now you see, you can't miss that part there. That's a very important part of the thing. "Everyone who hears my words and then acts on them, that's wisdom." See, if you take hold and then live them, you're wise. That's wisdom itself. He's using the same illustration. "I will show you whom he's like. He's like a man building a house who dug deep, laid a foundation on the rock. Then when that flood occurred," when troubles came, "the torrent burst against that house, but it could not shake it because it was well built."
This is what God intends. I want to build here something strong in you, in your heart, in your life. Spiritual house, strong, well built. "The one who's heard and not acted accordingly, he's like a man building a house on sand without foundation. Then when the torrent burst against it, it immediately collapsed, and the ruin of it was great." Such is wisdom. Wisdom, build your house that it will not fall. I mentioned last week that one terrible decision can destroy what it takes years to build. God intends that the house, He means your spiritual house, would be well built.
Built by wisdom, established on understanding, so that it would not fall. That you would be strong. Notice I emphasized that when we read in verse 5, a wise man is strong. Something happens. Wisdom is more than just gaining wisdom. Wisdom is empowered. God's wisdom is empowered by His Holy Spirit so that something happens in the soul of the man who takes hold of wisdom and then lives by that. Something happens in that man, in that woman. That wise man is strong. A man of knowledge increases in power. Proverbs 8:14. "Counsel is mine, sound wisdom is mine. I am understanding, power is mine."
B. Fill the house with pleasant spiritual riches
This is a great verse. Something happens in the man, in the woman. The Proverbs says, "Sin will reduce you to a loaf of bread." It's a great proverb. "Sin will reduce you to a loaf of bread, but wisdom strengthens." Something arises of power. Power comes from God's wisdom, from God's heart. Then notice that emphasis in verse 3, "God's intent to fill the house with pleasant spiritual riches." It's very important to see. "By wisdom, a house is built, understanding, it is established. By knowledge, the rooms of that house are filled with precious and pleasant things." The house is meant to be filled with precious things. Usually, people put up on their walls, pictures of their families, precious things. Now, in these modern days, you can get these electronic screens that keep changing the pictures all the time. You know what I'm talking about? Someone gave my wife one that was, I don't know, about that big. It was fun. Then Jodi said, "I want bigger ones. I want a bigger one for the living room, and I want a second one for our bedroom." She got a bigger one. It's that big, and she put it in the corner and it just goes through. You keep adding more pictures as life happens.
Guess where the most popular place in the house is? Right in front of that screen because whenever people come in, it's like, "Oh," and when our family comes, "Oh, I remember that. Oh, that was-- Oh, this, look at that." It's always changing. Their pleasantnesses fill the house. He gives it an analogy, something beautiful. A pleasant life filled with glory. Now, am I suggesting here that there are no troubles in this life? No, I'm not suggesting that at all. Jesus said that storms will arise, storms will come, the torrents will burst against that house, but when it's well built, it's strong.
It's resilient, and it's still filled with pleasant things even though troubles have come against it. Our family has gone through many struggles, many troubles, but there are many pleasantnesses. It's built. Notice it's built. You lay a foundation, and then you start building. Brick by brick, stone by stone, you begin to build. It's a very good analogy. You build. A house is not built in a day. A spiritual, victorious, strong life is not built in a moment because sinners come with baggage. When God redeems a sinner, that sinner comes with their baggage, but when God redeems a sinner and reconciles that sinner to God the Father, He then begins a work of building. He will take that sinner out of the miry mess of his life.
He'll take that sinner out of the clay, the mud, and He'll set his life on a rock. Then he'll start to build brick by brick, rock by rock. Building, building, always building. It's a journey of building something beautiful of glory. The journey can be difficult. Old lies have to be replaced by new truths. There's a refining process also. The refiner's fire. He mentions it in several places. Here's one, Proverbs 17:3, "The refining pot is for silver and the furnace is for gold, but the Lord tests hearts." He's giving an analogy just like silver is refined in the fire, just like gold is refined in the fire, the Lord tests hearts.
Fire. How does gold get refined by fire? You melt in the heat such that the impurities rise to the surface so they can be skimmed off. Then it's done again, and then it's done again. Some of you have been going from hot to cold to hot, and you're going through refiner's process, but it's a glorious process of removing the impurities. Sinners come with a lot of baggage. He said, "Oh, we're going to build, we're going to do something here. We're going to build something glorious here." God is refining the soul in the fire of life's troubles and difficulties.
It can be most unpleasant, but the result is joy. The result is precious, pleasant that rooms of the house of your life will be filled with precious and pleasant things. The result of that difficult process is joy that comes from the maturity of wisdom, the stature of honor. He mentioned it. Honor comes to the one who is building his life on this rock and brick by brick is increasing in the stature of it, but it's a difficult process. I use a demonstration. One of the challenges of parenting is that children are not born with the ability to listen obediently to the parents.
Wouldn't it be amazing if children were born? They're not. Every child is born in the nature and condition of man. The process of learning to listen to their parents can be a difficult and frustrating process for the parents and for the children because that child wants to do what that child wants to do. "I want what I want." Then when you say, "No, you cannot do that," "I want what I want." They get so upset and angry. Of course, what's interesting is how upset the parents can get. I liken it to, I used to teach this class every summer on parenting, and I would use the analogy of math, learning math.
Imagine this is our parenting class. I said, "How many of your kids," these are usually young kids, "know calculus? Raise your hand if your kid knows calculus." Oh, no hands raised. Does that make you mad? Does that make you mad that your kid doesn't know calculus? You say, "No. Why would it make me mad?" Right. How does a child learn math? You start from the beginning and you teach because they're not born out of the womb knowing math, and they're not born out of the womb knowing how to listen. Listening is calculus for the soul.
I can prove it to you. Show of hands, how many people in this room have this listening to God thing nailed? No hands because listening is calculus for the soul. It's still something we're working on. It's a process. Imagine what our lives would be like if we did have this listening to God thing down, if we did take hold of the words that Jesus spoke and lived according to them, all of them. What if we took hold of the wisdom contained in the heart of God and the wisdom revealed to us in His word? What if we took hold of that wisdom and lived by that wisdom?
Wouldn't you be blessed? Wouldn't it be amazing? Still a process. Painful at times. If you want your child to be successful in life, train them up to listen to the wisdom of God. It's one of the most important aspects. I remember one day many, many years ago our daughter was here with Avia, she was two. I said, "Oh, how's Avia today?" She says, "Ugh, she's naughty." I said, "No, she's not naughty, she's two. Big difference. She hasn't learned it yet. She hasn't learned how to listen yet. She wasn't born with the ability to listen. You got to teach her. That's your job, mom. That's your job. You got to teach her. You got to raise her up."
II. Wisdom Builds for the Future
If you want your child to be successful-- Do you want to give your child a future? Raise them up in this, to listen to God. Proverbs 22:6, when you read it, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he's old, he will not depart from it." God wants to build something that will withstand the test of time. God wants to build something that would be strengthened by the testing on the heart because, notice, wisdom builds for the future. Notice Proverbs 23, I said, we're going to look at several chapters. Proverbs 23:17-19, "Do not let your heart envy sinners, but live in the revering of the Lord." The fear of the Lord. "Live in the revering of the Lord always. Surely there is a future and your hope will not be cut off. Listen, my son, and be wise."
It's that listening thing. "Listen, my son, and be wise, and direct your heart in the way. Now, as I mentioned, wisdom gives a person the ability to predict the outcome. It gives a person the ability to see what they could not see. Predict the outcomes. "Do not let your heart envy sinners," he says, because it will not end well. It does not end well for sinners. Don't envy sinners. It's not going to end well for them. Interestingly, in Psalm 73, the writer, Asaph, said something very interesting. He said, "Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. I know this truth, but my feet came close to stumbling. My steps almost slipped because I was envious of the arrogant. I saw the prosperity of the wicked, and when I pondered to understand this, it was troublesome to me. It troubled me. Troublesome in my sight. That is until I came into the sanctuary of my God, and then I perceived their end."
It will not end well. He was troubled of heart until he came into the sanctuary, until he worshipped with the saints. Something happened there in the sanctuary. Something happened there in the presence of the glory because then he wrote, Psalm 73:25-26, "Whom have I in heaven but You? Besides You, I desire nothing on this earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, and God is my portion. God is my inheritance forever." See the light of the glory. "It troubled me until I came into the sanctuary of my God," and in the light of the glory, he worshipped with the saints.
The light of the glory changed his view, changed his perspective. He could see now further than he could ever see before. His circumstances didn't change, but he changed. His eyes could see in the light of the glory, "Until I came into the sanctuary." Back to Proverbs 24. Notice these verses we read, verses 13 to 14, "My son, eat honey. It's good. Yes, eat honey from the comb. It's sweet to the taste. Know this, that wisdom is like that for your soul." It's sweet. It will do sweet things. If you find it, then there will be a future. Your hope will not be cut off, it will be sustained.
There will be a future. This is a theme. I give you a future, a hope. It's a theme, it runs through the Bible. Jeremiah 29:11, God says, "I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. Plans for welfare, for good, not for calamity. To give you a future and a hope." This is God's heart for you. I give you a future. These are the equipping of your future. That's why He says, "You have a part in this. You have a part in this, your future." That's why He says, "Therefore, direct your heart in the way." Proverbs 23:18-19, "Surely, there will be a future. Listen, my son, and be wise, and direct your heart in the way."
A. Therefore, direct your heart in the way
See, you have a part in this. You. He says, "I'm giving you a great wisdom, you must understand how to direct your own heart." You got to see the value directing your own heart. There is something of the flesh that's drawn to the way of sinners. That's why he had to say to them, "Don't envy the way of sinners." He had to say that because there's something in the flesh that's drawn to the way of sinners. He says, "Be wise, it will not end well for them. It will not end well for sinners. No, you direct your heart in the way of the Lord, in the way of wisdom and there will be a future and a hope."
He says, "Direct your heart," back to Proverbs 23:7, "because as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." That's a famous proverb. Maybe you've read it. Maybe you've heard it. It's a very important proverb, as a man thinketh, I heard that in the King James. It just sounds good in the King James. As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is, so he will be. Paul said a similar thing. Romans 12:2, "Don't be conformed to this world, the world of sinners. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Direct your heart, it's the same idea. "The renewing of your mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that's good, acceptable, perfect, and pleasing," that word means.
Good, pleasant. Prove the will of God in your life. It's good, it's pleasant. Perfect. The word transformed is, we know it in English as metamorphosis, change from the inside. Wisdom gives you a wiser way of thinking. Direct your heart in the way. "You have a part in this," he says. How do you renew your mind? How do you direct your heart? The same way that Asaph did. "It troubled me until I came and worshipped in the presence of the Almighty. It troubled me until I came into the house of my God. I was changed there." John 8:31:32, Jesus says, "If you abide in my word, you dwell there in my word, truly, you're disciples of mine. You will know the truth and the truth will make you free."
Something happens when you know the truth. Something happens when you see the truth in the glory, in the light of the glory. As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is. The mind must be transformed not only by truth but by glory. In the house of the Lord, I was changed. It troubled me until I came and worshipped. There you will have a future and a hope. God wants to give you a future. In the New Testament, Peter reveals similarly in this. He says in 2 Peter 1:3-9, "His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness." Everything you need pertaining to life and godliness, "For He has granted to us His," notice, "precious, magnificent promises," glorious promises, "So that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that's in the world by lust."
Partake. How can you partake of the divine nature? When the glory of God dwells upon your soul, the very presence of the living God resides there, and it will change you. It will give you a future and a hope. Then lastly, we'll close with this, and thus, you will walk in your integrity. It's a theme. I could give you several places where he speaks of it. The revival of the soul, directing your mind towards wisdom will change how you conduct your life, how you live it, what you do. See, it matters to God what you do with your life. How you live it.
It's not just the condition of your mind, not just the condition of your soul, what you do, how you live it.
The affairs of your life. It's the theme of the Proverbs. Notice we read in Chapter 24 versus 10 to 12, "If you falter in the day of distress, your strength is limited. Rescue those who being taken away to death, hold back those staggering towards slaughter. If you say, "We didn't know this," does He not consider it who weighs the hearts? Does He not know it who keeps your soul? Will He not render to man according to his work?"
B. Walk in your integrity
God knows. God wants you to live it, by that integrity. Walk by it. The strong must defend the weak because they got integrity. Stand up because you got some integrity. Walk in it. In Proverbs 11:3, "The integrity of the upright will guide them." That's a great proverb. Memorize that one. It's a good one. "The integrity of the upright will guide them." Should I do those? The integrity of the heart will guide you. Proverbs 24, later in the chapter, verses 28 and 29, "Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause. Do not deceive with your lips. Do not say, I want to do to him like he's done to me."
Don't say that. That's in the Proverbs. Don't say that. "He was so despicable, I'm going to do it right back. He deserves it. I'm going to do it right back." Wisdom says, "Don't say that. Don't say that." Walk in your integrity. He means there that which God built, that which God is building. He built your house in wisdom established on the rock. The house is filled with precious and pleasant things. Don't ruin that. Walk in your integrity. It's a theme throughout the Scriptures. Romans 12:17-18, "Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men."
That's walking in your integrity, that which God built. Never pay back evil for evil. You know why? Because if you pay back evil, you have to do evil to pay back evil with evil. I don't want you doing evil, even if it pays back evil. Even if they deserve it, I don't want you paying them back with evil because you got to do evil to do it. I don't want you to do that because you will have compromised your integrity. You will have compromised that precious and pleasant glory that God is doing. There is strength of faith. There is confidence of faith when you walk in your integrity because it's the way of greatest blessing.
God is going to give you a future. God is going to give you a hope. God is going to give you the precious and pleasant riches of glory. Lord, we love you and thank you for how you've shown us glorious truths. How we can build our spiritual house with wisdom, established on that rock. The rooms filled with precious and pleasant riches of glory. Church, how many would say, "I want to build my life like that, that's what I want. I want to build my life like that. I want to walk in it. I want to, brick by brick, rock by rock, build it, that God would do a glorious, beautiful work."?
Church, is that your prayer in your heart? Would you just raise your hand to the Lord as the way of saying, "That's my heart, that's my prayer, that's what I want. I'm asking God, you do this in me, God, do this in me." We thank you, God, for everyone who says yes to the moving of the Spirit. We delight in you, we honor you for it all in Jesus' name, and everyone said--