THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Proverbs: Topical Applications of Proverbs

I. Introduction: The Core Of Skillful Living

(Proverbs 1:1-7)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

The recent invasion of a church by political activists reveals that we need to know how to live skillfully:

(1) Due to “rumors its pastor worked for ICE,” political protesters, “many . . . wearing masks, rushed into” a St. Paul, Minnesota “church and deliberately disrupted the service.” (Christine Flowers, “Church invaders deserve the FACE Act,” Republican-American, January 31, 2026, p. A6) They “blocked the walkways, so terrified parishioners could not escape. They blocked the staircase to Sunday School, so parents could not get to their children.” (Tyler O’Neill, “Do Democrats really want to carry water for church invaders?” op. cit., February 4, 2026, p. A6) This act violated the Freedom of Access to Clinics Entrances Act where it states, “‘Whoever – by force or threat of force or by physical obstruction, intentionally injures, intimidates or interferes with or attempts to injure, intimidate or interfere with any person lawfully exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship . . . shall be subject to the penalties provided in subsection (b) and the civil remedies provided in subsection (c).’ Those penalties include fines and the possibility of imprisonment of up to three years in a federal facility.” (loc. cit., Flowers.)

(2) Such unlawful protests are meant to unsettle the public: (a) The February 2^nd Republican-American editorial summed up the moral problem of such activism by citing Aldous Huxley’s 1921 novel “‘Crome Yellow’” where he wrote, “‘The surest way to work up a crusade in favor of some good cause is to promise people they will have a chance of maltreating someone. To be able to destroy with good conscience, to be able to behave badly and call your bad behavior ‘righteous indignation’ – this is the height of psychological luxury, the most delicious of moral treats.’” (“Storming churches isn’t journalism,” Republican-American, op. cit., February 2, 2026, p. A6) (b) In accord with Huxley’s statement, David Harsanyi’s piece, “Protest culture is annoying and also un-American” (op. cit., January 26, 2026, p. A6) claimed that “most of these efforts . . . are well-funded and well-managed by organizations that see political benefit in creating chaos and turning our country into a revolutionary battleground. From Lenin to Alinsky, forced confrontation has been a tactic of Marxist activists.”

(4) However, not content just to push Marxist ideology, Chauntyll Allen, the local Black Lives Matter leader who was arrested for her role in the church invasion, recalled her mother’s preaching as a pastor and asserted, “‘(O)ne of the things that I remember about Jesus Christ is that when things weren’t going right in the church, he went in and flipped tables.’” She thus implied that the protesters followed Jesus’ example of cleansing the Jerusalem temple as recorded in Matthew 21:12-13! (Patrick Reilly, “Minnesota Black Lives Matter leader brags about helping to organize church protest – and compares them to Jesus,” January 20, 2026; nypost.com)

Need: So we ask, “In view of the invasion of a church service by political activists, how can we live skillfully?”

I. The book of Proverbs provides insight for living skillfully in this life:

A. Proverbs was written in the form of Ancient Near Eastern wisdom literature when ancient men believed that “a fixed, eternal righteous order” existed to which one must align his life for success. (Bruce K. Waltke, “The Book of Proverbs and Ancient Wisdom Literature,” Bibliotheca Sacra, vol. 136, No. 543, p. 221, 233)

B. Solomon knew that his Scriptural God, the righteous, Sovereign Creator of the universe, had established the true fixed moral order, so he wrote Proverbs to expose his God’s true fixed, eternal righteous order!

C. In reality, then, Proverbs provides practical skill in living a successful life with God’s blessing!

II. The Hebrew word hokmah rendered “wisdom” (KJV) in many verses in the book of Proverbs refers to God’s true fixed, eternal righteous order (Ibid.), and Proverbs 1:1-6 introduces this order:

A. Solomon, David’s son, wrote much of Proverbs (Proverbs 1:1), and God gave him more insight into His hokmah, His true, fixed, eternal righteous order than other mortals. (1 Kings 3:4-12; Bib. Heb., p. 507-508)

B. Thus, Solomon sought to motivate his readers to heed his instruction on hokmah in Proverbs 1:2-5 as follows:

1. The proverbs equip one to know not only hokmah but also musar, the “moral discipline or correction” needed to align with God’s fixed moral order, Prov. 1:2a. (Ibid., p.1155; Bib. Know. Com., O. T., p. 907)

2. Solomon’s proverbs also provide one with the capacity to understand words of insight (Proverbs 1:2b), what provides a disciplined and prudent life (v. 3a), what is righteous, fitting and equitable (v. 3b) and what gives naïve people shrewdness and young, inexperienced people knowledge and discretion (v. 4).

3. Even people who are already basically aligned with God’s hokmah, His true, fixed, eternal righteous order, can add to their instruction and the discerning can gain greater guidance to understand proverbs, parables and riddles of those who more deeply understand God’s hokmah, Proverbs 1:5-6.

III. Then, in a statement that sums up the very core of God’s hokmah, Solomon declared that reverence for Yahweh, Israel’s God of the Bible, is the reshit, the “capstone, essence” or the very core (Ibid., p. 908) of knowledge, but morally deficient fools buz, or “belittle, ridicule” God’s hokmah and discipline in failing to align with it for blessing, thus only hurting themselves in this life, Proverbs 1:7.

Lesson: God authored the true, fixed, eternal righteous order to which man must align for blessing and success, and the very core of this order is revering God. However, those who ignore or reject that order, belittling or ridiculing it in moral deficiency, do so at their own great loss of success and divine blessing.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God's gift of eternal life, John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. (2) To live skillfully in today’s world, may we revere the God of Scripture, thus aligning with His true, fixed, eternal righteous order for success and blessing in life. (3) As believers in Christ, may we rely on the indwelling Holy Spirit to align with God’s order for blessing, Romans 8:3-4.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message and/or provide additional guidance . . .)

Each issue of concern in our introduction is adequately addressed by a reverence for God that leads us to heed His Word and thus His true, fixed, eternal righteous order for success and blessing in life (as follows):

(1) On the invasion and disruption of church services by political activists, (a) that invasion exhibits a lack of reverence for God and a misalignment with His true, fixed, eternal righteous order, cf. 1 Corinthians 14:40! (b) That invasion thus displeases God and will lead to His discipline and judgment in the end! (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14) (c) As for the Church people themselves, 1 Peter 3:14-16 calls believers facing such mistreatment to be ready to defend their faith with respect and humility to counter any slanderous accusations made by invading political activists.

(2) On the alleged employment of a pastor of the invaded St. Paul Church in the federal government’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, (a) 2 Timothy 2:4 NIV calls pastors to avoid getting tangled in civilian affairs that they might please their Commanding Officer, Jesus Christ! The occupation of being an ICE agent is itself credible, for it enforces our nation’s immigration laws, but pastors must give themselves fully to the ministry of the local church and not get involved in other such side employments, 1 Timothy 4:12-16. (b) Some pastors follow Paul’s example of being a “tentmaker,” working in a trade on the side while pastoring a church (cf. Acts 18:1-4), but Paul was single, not responsible to support a family (1 Corinthians 7:7-9 with 9:5), and his ministry as a travelling missionary lent itself to his working on the side opposite what Paul himself called pastor Timothy to do!

(3) On the Marxist ideology that employs intentional disruption of the social order in order to try to create unrest toward forcing a social change, Marxism was produced by atheist Karl Marx who lacked alignment with God’s true, fixed, eternal righteous order! Peter’s directive in 1 Peter 3:10-12 that calls believers to live lives that seek peace and to pursue it with others in truth and righteousness is just the opposite of the teachings of Karl Marx!

(4) On the claim by a local Black Lives Matter leader that she could righteously invade and disrupt the St. Paul church services since Jesus in Matthew 21:12-13 flipped tables in the temple, (a) Jesus is God come in the flesh, and He has authority as God the Father’s co-eternal and co-equal to administer judgment on people who were defiling the temple (cf. John 1:32-34). Significantly, the religious leaders in Jesus’ day did not object to his turning over the money changers’ tables, for they knew the money changers were essentially robbing the worshipers by their actions of greed. Rather, the religious leaders objected because they thought Jesus lacked the authority to cleanse the temple according to Matthew 21:23. When they asked Him by what authority He had flipped the tables, Christ referred them to the testimony of John the Baptist who claimed He was the Son of God. (Matthew 21:25 with John 1:32-34) (b) In contrast today, no mortal human being who is not Almighty God, including any Black Lives Matter leader, has the authority to upset the order of a church service (cf. 1 Corinthians 14:33, 40). The local church is the pillar and foundation of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15) so that even pastors are required to behave themselves in the local church of the living God (1 Timothy 3:14). (c) In addition, the local Black Lives Matter leader in St. Paul had no right to try to discipline a whole congregation for her opposition to what one alleged ICE agent in the Church did as an administer of federal immigration laws. Everything about the church invasion violated the laws of God and man, so it was sin!

May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God’s gift of eternal life. May we then live skillfully in today’s world, revering the God of Scripture in alignment with His true, fixed, eternal righteous order by the Holy Spirit’s power for blessing.