Proverbs 2:1-7 Chapter 2 1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, And lay up my commandments with thee; 2 So as to incline thine ear unto wisdom, And apply thy heart to understanding; 3 Yea, if thou cry after discernment, And lift up thy voice for understanding; 4 If thou seek her as silver, And search for her as for hid treasures: 5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of Jehovah, And find the knowledge of God. 6 For Jehovah giveth wisdom; Out of his mouth `cometh' knowledge and understanding: 7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the upright; `He is' a shield to them that walk in integrity;

Psychologists refer to a phenomenon known as dissociation to describe a mental state in which someone inhabits two worlds simultaneously. Many of us might have experienced this in its mildest form while driving. Our thoughts drift, and we fly right by our exit, traveling many miles before we recognize our mistake.

As Christians, we sometimes suffer from spiritual dissociation. With good intentions, we open our Bibles and begin reading only to realize several verses later that we have no idea what we just read. Although God was speaking, we failed to hear His voice. Usually, this situation can be easily remedied by rereading with focused concentration, but there are other times when we fail to hear God for more serious reasons.

Sometimes an inability to hear the Lord is simply the result of spiritual immaturity, but it could also indicate a perilous state of spiritual indifference or, worse still, rebellion. In that state, we run the risk of becoming like the man who hardens his neck after much reproof and is suddenly broken beyond remedy (Prov. 29:1).

Let’s not make it difficult for God to get through to us. He’s a loving Father who keeps speaking in order to turn us away from evil and direct us back to Himself. His goal is to transform us from stubborn children needing firm control to mature followers who can be counseled merely by a word or a nudge from Him. The more receptive we become to His instructions, the more we’ll experience His lovingkindness and the joy of obedience and righteousness.

Bible in One Year: Proverbs 5-8 Chapter 5 1 My son, attend unto my wisdom; Incline thine ear to my understanding: 2 That thou mayest preserve discretion, And that thy lips may keep knowledge. 3 For the lips of a strange woman drop honey, And her mouth is smoother than oil: 4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. 5 Her feet go down to death; Her steps take hold on Sheol; 6 So that she findeth not the level path of life: Her ways are unstable, `and' she knoweth `it' not. 7 Now therefore, `my' sons, hearken unto me, And depart not from the words of my mouth. 8 Remove thy way far from her, And come not nigh the door of her house; 9 Lest thou give thine honor unto others, And thy years unto the cruel; 10 Lest strangers be filled with thy strength, And thy labors `be' in the house of an alien, 11 And thou mourn at thy latter end, When thy flesh and thy body are consumed, 12 And say, How have I hated instruction, And my heart despised reproof; 13 Neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me! 14 I was well-nigh in all evil In the midst of the assembly and congregation. 15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern, And running waters out of thine own well. 16 Should thy springs be dispersed abroad, And streams of water in the streets? 17 Let them be for thyself alone, And not for strangers with thee. 18 Let thy fountain be blessed; And rejoice in the wife of thy youth. 19 `As' a loving hind and a pleasant doe, Let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; And be thou ravished always with her love. 20 For why shouldest thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, And embrace the bosom of a foreigner? 21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of Jehovah; And he maketh level all his paths. 22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked, And he shall be holden with the cords of his sin. 23 He shall die for lack of instruction; And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray. Chapter 6 1 My son, if thou art become surety for thy neighbor, If thou hast stricken thy hands for a stranger; 2 Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, Thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. 3 Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, Seeing thou art come into the hand of thy neighbor: Go, humble thyself, and importune thy neighbor; 4 Give not sleep to thine eyes, Nor slumber to thine eyelids; 5 Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand `of the hunter', And as a bird from the hand of the fowler. 6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; Consider her ways, and be wise: 7 Which having no chief, Overseer, or ruler, 8 Provideth her bread in the summer, And gathereth her food in the harvest. 9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? 10 `Yet' a little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep: 11 So shall thy poverty come as a robber, And thy want as an armed man. 12 A worthless person, a man of iniquity, Is he that walketh with a perverse mouth; 13 That winketh with his eyes, that speaketh with his feet, That maketh signs with his fingers; 14 In whose heart is perverseness, Who deviseth evil continually, Who soweth discord. 15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; On a sudden shall he be broken, and that without remedy. 16 There are six things which Jehovah hateth; Yea, seven which are an abomination unto him: 17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood; 18 A heart that deviseth wicked purposes, Feet that are swift in running to mischief, 19 A false witness that uttereth lies, And he that soweth discord among brethren. 20 My son, keep the commandment of thy father, And forsake not the law of thy mother: 21 Bind them continually upon thy heart; Tie them about thy neck. 22 When thou walkest, it shall lead thee; When thou sleepest, it shall watch over thee; And when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. 23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; And reproofs of instruction are the way of life: 24 To keep thee from the evil woman, From the flattery of the foreigner's tongue. 25 Lust not after her beauty in thy heart; Neither let her take thee with her eyelids. 26 For on account of a harlot `a man is brought' to a piece of bread; And the adulteress hunteth for the precious life. 27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, And his clothes not be burned? 28 Or can one walk upon hot coals, And his feet not be scorched? 29 So he that goeth in to his neighbor's wife; Whosoever toucheth her shall not be unpunished. 30 Men do not despise a thief, if he steal To satisfy himself when he is hungry: 31 But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; He shall give all the substance of his house. 32 He that committeth adultery with a woman is void of understanding: He doeth it who would destroy his own soul. 33 Wounds and dishonor shall he get; And his reproach shall not be wiped away. 34 For jealousy is the rage of a man; And he will not spare in the day of vengeance. 35 He will not regard any ransom; Neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts. Chapter 7 1 My son, keep my words, And lay up my commandments with thee. 2 Keep my commandments and live; And my law as the apple of thine eye. 3 Bind them upon thy fingers; Write them upon the tablet of thy heart. 4 Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; And call understanding `thy' kinswoman: 5 That they may keep thee from the strange woman, From the foreigner that flattereth with her words. 6 For at the window of my house I looked forth through my lattice; 7 And I beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, A young man void of understanding, 8 Passing through the street near her corner; And he went the way to her house, 9 In the twilight, in the evening of the day, In the middle of the night and in the darkness. 10 And, behold, there met him a woman With the attire of a harlot, and wily of heart. 11 She is clamorous and wilful; Her feet abide not in her house: 12 Now she is in the streets, now in the broad places, And lieth in wait at every corner. 13 So she caught him, and kissed him, `And' with an impudent face she said unto him: 14 Sacrifices of peace-offerings are with me; This day have I paid my vows. 15 Therefore came I forth to meet thee, Diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee. 16 I have spread my couch with carpets of tapestry, With striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt. 17 I have perfumed my bed With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. 18 Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning; Let us solace ourselves with loves. 19 For the man is not at home; He is gone a long journey: 20 He hath taken a bag of money with him; He will come home at the full moon. 21 With her much fair speech she causeth him to yield; With the flattering of her lips she forceth him along. 22 He goeth after her straightway, As an ox goeth to the slaughter, Or as `one in' fetters to the correction of the fool; 23 Till an arrow strike through his liver; As a bird hasteth to the snare, And knoweth not that it is for his life. 24 Now therefore, `my' sons, hearken unto me, And attend to the words of my mouth. 25 Let not thy heart decline to her ways; Go not astray in her paths. 26 For she hath cast down many wounded: Yea, all her slain are a mighty host. 27 Her house is the way to Sheol, Going down to the chambers of death. Chapter 8 1 Doth not wisdom cry, And understanding put forth her voice? 2 On the top of high places by the way, Where the paths meet, she standeth; 3 Beside the gates, at the entry of the city, At the coming in at the doors, she crieth aloud: 4 Unto you, O men, I call; And my voice is to the sons of men. 5 O ye simple, understand prudence; And, ye fools, be of an understanding heart. 6 Hear, for I will speak excellent things; And the opening of my lips shall be right things. 7 For my mouth shall utter truth; And wickedness is an abomination to my lips. 8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; There is nothing crooked or perverse in them. 9 They are all plain to him that understandeth, And right to them that find knowledge. 10 Receive my instruction, and not silver; And knowledge rather than choice gold. 11 For wisdom is better than rubies; And all the things that may be desired are not to be compared unto it. 12 I wisdom have made prudence my dwelling, And find out knowledge `and' discretion. 13 The fear of Jehovah is to hate evil: Pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, And the perverse mouth, do I hate. 14 Counsel is mine, and sound knowledge: I am understanding; I have might. 15 By me kings reign, And princes decree justice. 16 By me princes rule, And nobles, `even' all the judges of the earth. 17 I love them that love me; And those that seek me diligently shall find me. 18 Riches and honor are with me; `Yea', durable wealth and righteousness. 19 My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; And my revenue than choice silver. 20 I walk in the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice; 21 That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance, And that I may fill their treasuries. 22 Jehovah possessed me in the beginning of his way, Before his works of old. 23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, Before the earth was. 24 When there were no depths, I was brought forth, When there were no fountains abounding with water. 25 Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills was I brought forth; 26 While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, Nor the beginning of the dust of the world. 27 When he established the heavens, I was there: When he set a circle upon the face of the deep, 28 When he made firm the skies above, When the fountains of the deep became strong, 29 When he gave to the sea its bound, That the waters should not transgress his commandment, When he marked out the foundations of the earth; 30 Then I was by him, `as' a master workman; And I was daily `his' delight, Rejoicing always before him, 31 Rejoicing in his habitable earth; And my delight was with the sons of men. 32 Now therefore, `my' sons, hearken unto me; For blessed are they that keep my ways. 33 Hear instruction, and be wise, And refuse it not. 34 Blessed is the man that heareth me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at the posts of my doors. 35 For whoso findeth me findeth life, And shall obtain favor of Jehovah. 36 But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: All they that hate me love death.