“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge”- Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding”- Proverbs 9:10 “To fear the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and it was created with the faithful in the womb”- Psalms 111:10

PRE-AMBLE by Robert
There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed. There is nothing kept a secret that will not come to light. Yeshua says the person who has ears listen!” He went on to say, “Pay attention to what you’re listening to!” Knowledge will be measured out to you by the measure of attention you give. “This is the way knowledge increases.” (Mark 4:22 – 25)

THE book of Proverbs belongs to a group of works in the Hebrew literature the subject of which is Wisdom. It is probably the earliest of them all and may be regarded as the stem, of which they are the branches. Without attempting to determine the relative ages of these compositions, the ordinary reader can see the points of contact between Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, and a little careful study reveals that the book of Job, though fuller, and richer in every respect, belongs to the same order. Outside the canon of Holy Scripture we possess two works which avowedly owe their suggestion and inspiration to our book, viz, “The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach,” commonly called Ecclesiasticus, a genuinely Hebrew product, and “The Wisdom of Solomon,” commonly called the Book of Wisdom, of much later origin, and exhibiting that fusion of Hebrew religious conceptions with Greek speculation which prevailed in the Jewish schools of Alexandria.

Now, the question occurs, What are we to understand by the Wisdom which gives a subject and a title to this extensive field of literature? And in what relation does it stand to the Law, the Prophets, and our Salvation which form the Old Testament and New Testament Scriptures? Where do I find my share?

OPENING PRAYER by Robert 

We come before you, Lord, to thank you for the love and compassion you have bestowed upon us Father in heaven. Fill us with strength so we might share the living water which has welled up in us, so others may never thirst again. Teach us, Lord, so our presence may be the only joy for those we are present with, as we share our moments with them. Fill us with your words, so we might gentle our spirit and words, as we share your love and peace through them. Bring us your strength so we may go forward within the shadow of your Spirit, sharing to those in the darkness your presence, guiding us to be a part of their lives Father. Fill us with the knowledge of how to conduct them to the edge of the river, so they may be nurtured healed and lifted up and rooted in your word, love, and guidance. This we pray in the name of Yeshua Amen and Amen.

Yeshua, by now had taught, the only good ground was that in which the good seed bore fruit. Adding explicitly, that men receive the truth in order to spread it, and are given Grace that they may become, in turn, good stewards of the manifold Grace of God. The following, answers an earlier question, what do we use this received wisdom for?

No moral system is complete which does not treat with clearness and force the subject of wealth. The material possessions of an individual or of a nation are in a certain sense the prerequisites of all moral life; for until the human being has food  he cannot be virtuous, he cannot even live; until he has clothing, he cannot be civilized; and unless he has a moderate assurance of necessaries, and a certain margin of leisure secured from the toil of life, he cannot live well, and there can be no moral development in the full sense of that term.

And so with a nation: it must have a sufficient command of the means of subsistence to maintain a considerable number of people who are not engaged in productive labour before it can make much advance in the noblest qualities of national life, progress in the arts, an extension of knowledge, and spiritual cultivation.

The production of wealth, therefore, if not strictly speaking a moral question itself, presses closely upon all other moral questions. Wisdom must have something to say about it, because, without it, Wisdom, in a material world like ours, could not exist.

Wisdom will be called upon to direct the energies which produce wealth and to determine the feelings with which we are to regard the wealth which is produced. Moral problems weightier still begin to emerge when the question of Distribution presents itself.

For a society in which every individual is striving with all his strength or cunning to procure for himself the largest possible share of the common stock, in which therefore the material possessions gravitate into the hands of the strong and the unscrupulous, while the weak and the honourable are left destitute-such a society, if it ever came into existence, would be a demoralized society. Moral considerations lie at the root of this question; and Political Economy, so far as it attempts to deal with it apart from moral considerations, must always be mere, a speculative, and not a practical or a fruitful science. If Production is in a sense the presupposition of all moral and spiritual life, no less certainly correct moral conceptions-may we not even say true spiritual conditions are the indispensable means of determining Distribution.

Such a demoralization is always probable when the means of production have been rapidly and greatly improved, and when the fever of getting has overpowered the sense of righteousness and all the kindlier human feelings. Such a demoralization is to be averted by securing attention to the abiding moral principles which must govern men’s action in the matter of wealth. And by enforcing these principles with such vividness of illustration and such cogency of sanction that they shall be generally accepted and practiced.

In our own day, this question of the distribution of wealth stands in the front rank of practical questions. Religious teachers must face it, or else they must forfeit their claim to be the guides and instructors of their generation. Socialists are grappling with this question not altogether in a religious spirit: they have stepped into a gap which Believers have left empty; they have recognized a great spiritual issue when Believers have seen nothing but a material problem of money supply and demand, of labour and capital.

Where Socialism adopts the program of Revolution, Wisdom cannot give in her adhesion; she knows too well that suffering, impatience, and despair are unsafe, although very pathetic, counsellors: she knows too well that social upheaval does not produce social reconstruction, but a weary entail of fresh upheavals.

As quoted from the article “FINDING GOOD IN THE GREATEST EVIL!” published August 15, 2019, in Trumpeters Call.” Follow the link. https://romboughrobert.com/2019/08/19/finding-good-in-the-greatest-evil/

“He that walks uprightly towards God and man, that is faithful to both, that designs as he ought and means as he says, walks surely; he is safe under divine protection and easy in holy security. He goes on his way with a humble boldness, being well-armed against the temptations of Satan, the troubles of the world, and the reproaches of men he knows what ground he stands on, what guide he follows, what guard he is surrounded with, and what glory he is going to, and therefore proceeds with assurance and great peace, Isaiah 32:17; Isaiah 33:15, Isaiah 33:16. Some understand it as part of the character of an upright man, that he walks surely, in opposition to walking at all adventures. He will not dare to do that which he is not fully satisfied in his own conscience concerning the lawfulness of but will see his way clear in everything. That men’s dishonesty will be their shame: He that perverts his way, that turns aside into crooked paths, that dissembles with God and man, looks one way and rows another, though he may for a time disguise himself, and pass current, shall be known to be what he is. It is a thousand to one but some time or other he betrays himself; at least, God will discover him in the great day. He that perverts his ways (documento erit) shall be made an example of, for warning to others.”

Remember, these messages are given by a humble servant obedient unto our Lord

Yeshua as a Watchman. This I pray for all. ”Our Heavenly Father brings us to the river which bringeth forth fruit so we may partake of its sustenance and be filled spiritually with nurturing wisdom, and humble dedication in service to Yeshua. “Blessings to All.” As you go forward in peace, knowledge, and strength.

Robert