“We want Christ to hurry and calm the storm. He wants us to find Him in the midst of it first.”
Beth Moore
Passage
24“Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention;
25And you neglected all my counsel And did not want my reproof;
26I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes,
27When your dread comes like a storm And your calamity comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you.
28“Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but they will not find me,
29Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the Lord.
30“They would not accept my counsel, They spurned all my reproof.
31“So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way And be satiated with their own devices.
Proverbs 1:24–31 (NASB95)
"Storm on the Horizon Rays of Hope" by Merrill College of Journalism Press Releases is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.
Background
Quote-first Wanda Elizabeth "Beth" Moore (born Wanda Elizabeth Green, June 16, 1957) is an American Anglican evangelist, author, and Bible teacher. She is president of Living Proof Ministries, a Christian organization she founded in 1994 to teach women to know and love Jesus through the study of Scripture. Moore is "arguably the most prominent white evangelical woman in America," speaks at arena events and has sold millions of books.
The ministry, in conjunction with LifeWay Christian Resources, conducted more than a dozen conferences, known as "Living Proof Live", around the United States annually. Moore teaches through her radio show, Living Proof with Beth Moore, and on her YouTube channel of the same name.
Moore writes books and produces video resources based on the Bible studies that she conducts at the Living Proof Live conferences.
Passage-The genre of Proverbs is mainly “Proverbs” as the name describes, there are also some Parables and Poetry. This book was written mainly by Solomon, the wisest king ever to rule. It was written during Solomon’s reign 970-930 B.C. He asked God for wisdom to rule God’s nation and He granted the request.
The main purpose of this book is to teach wisdom to God’s people. These are things which are typically true however, not always. They deal with life, principles, good judgment, and perception. They often draw distinctions between a wise man and a foolish man with parable type examples.
Lesson Notes
Opening Statement
Difficulties in life are a given. They will happen. Some will be our responsibility. Some will be because of things we cannot control. God can walk with us through either of those and help us get out, if we are willing to let Him.
Ask: In today’s passage who is speaking? Who called us but we didn’t pay attention?
Point: please read the following:
20Wisdom shouts in the street, She lifts her voice in the square;
21At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:
22“How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools hate knowledge?
23“Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.
Proverbs 1:20–23 (NASB95)
Ask: Why is Wisdom begging us to pay attention to her in verse twenty-three and what is her “spirit” that she will pour out on us if we do?
Point: Experience through life is a wonderful teacher if we are willing to learn from the experience.
Ask: What is Wisdom’s “reproof?”
Point: Things that don’t go the way we think they should and events in our lives that turn into, or we perceive as storms.
Ask: If we are in the middle of a storm, an event in life we thought would go one way but is going badly, how do we turn to Wisdom’s reproof and what does that get us?
Point: Instead of ignoring the lessons of life or other people let those past experiences teach us rather than ignoring them. We get to avoid the hardships others have already paid for through experience.
Ask: Is there a way to do that without going through the troubles and problems of the storm?
Point: Yes. Re-read today’s passage but instead of hearing it from the perspective of things we’ve done, listen to it as a warning of things not to do.
24“Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention;
25And you neglected all my counsel And did not want my reproof;
Proverbs 1:24–25 (NASB95)
Ask: What can we learn from this passage if we hear it as a warning?
Point: Study and learn from the experiences of life both ours and other peoples.
28“Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but they will not find me,
Proverbs 1:28 (NASB95)
Ask: What can we learn from this passage if we hear it as a warning?
Point: Instead of waiting until we are in the middle of a problem to as God or someone else to help us, heed the warnings to not get into that situation in the first place. Or, learn enough to be wise enough to avoid it rather than make the decisions that lead to those problems.
29Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the Lord.
Proverbs 1:29 (NASB95)
Ask: What can we learn from this passage if we hear it as a warning?
Point: Choosing “fear of the Lord” does not mean to be afraid of God. It means to learn the things that God says are bad, what He says will happen to us if we make those decisions, and to agree we don’t want those outcomes so we don’t do those things.
Ask: Where does “fear of the Lord” come from?
Point: Please read the following:
1The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:
2To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding,
3To receive instruction in wise behavior, Righteousness, justice and equity;
4To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion,
5A wise man will hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,
6To understand a proverb and a figure, The words of the wise and their riddles.
7The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
8Hear, my son, your father’s instruction And do not forsake your mother’s teaching;
9Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head And ornaments about your neck.
Proverbs 1:1–9 (NASB95)
Ask: Does that passage answer where fear of the Lord comes from?
Point: Yes, from three places. Studying God’s word (verse 7 wisdom and instruction), the things our mother tells us, and the tings our father tells us.
30“They would not accept my counsel, They spurned all my reproof.
Proverbs 1:30 (NASB95)
Ask: What can we learn from this passage if we hear it as a warning?
Point: Accept the things God’s wisdom tells us as truth, and internalize the hard-fought lessons of life as we experience them or others relate them to us.
31“So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way And be satiated with their own devices.
Proverbs 1:31 (NASB95)
Ask: What can we learn from this passage if we hear it as a warning?
Point: When we decide we know better than God’s wisdom, we will reap what we have sown because we decided we know better than God what we need.
Closing Statement
Is the storm my fault? Sometimes it is. That’s actually a good thing. Why? Because if I got myself into it because I didn’t listen, then the same route in is the route out. Listening. To whom? God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. How do we listen to God? By praying and then paying attention for the Spirit’s answers. Those can come through the people we meet, the things we see as we go about our day, or from the small still voice when we study God’s word. The key is to have a heart open to listening to the advice from outside our own prideful, stuborn insistence that we are right.