Solomon was the third king of Israel. He wrote many of these proverbs. When he became a king, he prayed for wisdom, And God granted his request. Wisdom is the principal thing. The first message, I like the most is found in Proverbs 1:7.

1. Divine Wisdom
2. Honor the LORD
3. The Issue of life
4. Leaderships Lessons from the Ant
5. Divine Prosperity
6. Soul Winning
7. A Prudent wife
8. Our House Construction

Let us study about Divine wisdom:

1. Divine Wisdom

Proverbs 1:7Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)
7 The reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is the beginning and the principal and choice part of knowledge [its starting point and its essence]; but fools despise skillful and godly Wisdom, instruction, and discipline.

Proverbs 1:7GOD’S WORD Translation (GW):7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Stubborn fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Wisdom means living and thinking according to God’s righteous truth and ways. Gaining God’s wisdom is far better than possessing silver and gold. Wisdom comes to me when I seek it through a proper relationship with God. Christ, whom the NT says is the ultimate wisdom of God. When we abide in Jesus, And His words abide in us, we receive His wisdom. The fear of the LORD is a reverent awe of God’s power, majesty and holiness. Such reverence is essential to gaining a heart of wisdom. Here in this verse, 3 words are important:

1. Wisdom
2. Knowledge
3. Understanding

According to Oxford Dictionary, wisdom is the ability to make sensible decisions and judgments because of your knowledge or experience. It would be wiser to wait on the LORD. The right application of knowledge is wisdom. The wisdom which descends from Heaven is pure. We need this divine wisdom to get good success in life. God’s wisdom gives you victory.

2. Honor the LORD

Proverbs 3:9-10Amplified Bible (AMP)
9Honor the Lord with your wealth And with the first fruits of all your crops (income);10 Then your barns will be abundantly filled And your vats will overflow with new wine.

Proverbs 3:9-10King James Vers
9 Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

God is the owner of the land.Understamding this truth, the isralites brought theirfirst fruiys to the LORD.We also should give God the firstfruits of our income.This is the symbol of honouring the LORD.Then God will pour out His divine blessing upon us. This is the test of giving tithes. We need to pass this this test.Then,

1. Our barns will be filled with plenty
2. New wine will flow from your presses.

Giving our tithes and offerings to the LORD Brings us abundant life. The LORD showers on us abundant blessings, when we obey God in this matter.

Malachi 3:10King James Version (KJV)
10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive

The Hebrew word for “Tithe”(maser) literally means “ a tenth part”. Abraham offered a tithe to Melchizedek in gratitude to God for His blessing( Gen.14:18-20).The concept of tithe brings blessings when you actually tithe to God. In response to God’s blessings, we the spiritual Jews, who are born again and spirit filled and tongue talking, Luke 6:38:should give one tenth of the livestock and land’s produce, as well as our income. Suppose, I get a income of Rs.1,25,000/- per month, I should give Rs.12,500/- to God as my tithe( It is usually given to the local church). Then, God will fulfill His promise of Malachi 3:10 in your life. God loves a cheerful giver. It is blessed to give than to receive, Jesus the wisdom of God says in Luke 6:38King James Version (KJV)

Give and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

In conformity with the principle of love, we must give to those in need, we should care the poor and needy. God Himself will measure our giving and in return will give to us. Our generosity matters to God, in rewarding us, according to His proportion.

3. The Issues of Life

“ Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life”( Proverbs 4:23).
The heart is the well spring of affection, desire and decision. Out of the abundance of Heart man speaks. We should keep our hearts with all diligence. Our priority should be seeking God and His righteousness. Then our ways will be established in His favor and grace.

The Bible speaks of the heart as the center, “ out of it are the issues of life” It is not about our physical organ, but it is speaking of one’s intellect, emotion and volition.

Diligent means showing care and effort in your work or duties: a diligent student/worker.”Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings, he shall not stand before mean men”(Proverbs 22:29).

We should be careful and make effort to keep(protect)our heart. Because from it are the fountain of life, just like a fountain from the rock. It sends a flow of water. Good waters quench our thirst, heal our body, comforts us. Similarly, our words matter, because we are not only kings but also priests.

4. Leadership Lessons from the Ant

6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise :
7 Which having noguide, overseer , or ruler , 8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. (Proverbs 6:6-8)

Pay attention to the metaphor of the ant.It is the smallest of God’s creatures. It is amazing to know that it is a greatest teacher of God’s truths. The ants teach the following lessons:

A.N.T.S.

A – Attitude of Initiative
Ants don’t need a commander to tell them to get started.
N – Nature of Integrity
Ants work faithfully and need no outside accountability to keep them doing right.
T – Thirst for Industry
Ants work hard and will replace their anthill when it gets ruined.
S – Source of Insight
Ants store provisions in summer.

If we consider and learn from the ways of the ant, we can grow wise.

If you are a lazy person, you must go to the ant and humble yourself and become a student and see, perceive its ways, for it is having wisdom for life. Initiative, Integrity, Industry and Insight are the lessons we learn from the ant.

5. Divine Prosperity

“The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it”(Proverbs 10:22).

God promises to bless and prosper those who trust and serve Him. In order to receive God;s financial and material blessings, we must follow God’s rule of faith. God fully blesses us and supplies all or needs according to His glorious riches.

It is God who gives us power to create wealth.Prosperity is God’s will for our life.The blessing of the LORD,it makes us rich, and not our toil or hard work.Devil brings sorrow to it.But God does not add sorrow with divine wealth. God the Father knows all our needs.When we seek Him, all these things, spiritual, physical and financial things are added to us. God wishes us that we should prosper and be in health. Proverbs 22;4 is very important verse:

“By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life”.(Proverbs 22;4). “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” ( Prov. 29:13).

From the above verses, we learn that three characteristic virtues are needed for divine Prosperity:

1. Humility
2. The fear of the Lord
3. Holiness & Divine mercy

We should humble ourselves in prayer.We learn humility from Jesus the Son of God, King of Israel. He says: “ I am meek and lowly in heart”. We should reverence the LORD and plead His mercy.

6. SOUL WINNING

“The fruit of the righteous is tree of life;And he that winneth souls is wise”(Proverbs 11:30).

A man who wins souls is wise. You need God’s wisdom to win souls. “All souls are mine” says the Lord Almighty. Salvation of souls important in our ministry life. How to win souls for the kingdom of God? First of all, we must pray for all people and then, we should preach the gospel to them. The word of God says:

“ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the greek” ( Romans 1:16).

It is our responsibility to preach the gospel of the anointed. Jesus. God’s power is in it. When a person believes the preaching of the word of God, that soul gets saved into God’s kingdom. The Gospel is applicable for Jews and Gentiles alike, rich and poor, educated and uneducated, Male, and female. Soul winner should have a righteous ( right standing before Almighty) life. Then his fruit is a tree of life.

7. A PRUDENT WIFE

“ House and riches are the inheritance of fathers and a prudent wife is from the LORD”( Prov. 19:16 Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor of the LORD” ( Prov. 18:22).

When seeking a life partner in marriage, prudence is more important than outward physical appearance. She should be A God fearing virgin woman. “ Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain; but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised”( Prov. 31;30). God’s wisdom, guidance and blessing are essential if we want to have a happy marriage. A believer should seek to marry someone who is deeply committed to the LORD Jesus , His word, and the standards of His kingdom. Marriage to a person of godly character is a special blessing of God.

8. HOUSE CONSTRUCTION

“ Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; By knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches”( Proverbs 24;3,4).

These are two types of Houses: 1. God’s House, 2. Our own House. House is built through wisdom, and it is established by understanding. Somebody said: “ Build God’s House and God will build your house”. The statement is true. The priority is correct. God is also interested in building our own house. Jesus is interested in the construction of a house. At the end of the sermon on the mount, He gives instruction about that residential building.

As per National Building Code of India, buildings are classified into nine groups based on occupancy as follows:

• Group A: Residential Buildings
• Group B: Educational buildings
• Group C: Institutional Buildings
• Group D: Assembly Buildings
• Group E: Business Buildings
• Group F: Merchandise buildings
• Group G: Industrial buildings
• Group H: Storage Buildings
• Group I: Hazardous Buildings

A building is a structure used for primarily human habitation. House is is a building that is made for people to live in> It may be be a four bed roomed or three bed roomed house. I am working in house right now. Let us study the illustration of our LORD:

“ Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blow and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand; and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it fell; and great was its fall( Matt.7:24-27).