Today is the 22nd, so we read Proverbs 22.....again :) It is absolutely amazing how we can read God's word over and over again and each time it still has something new to show us. I guess that is why it is called the LIVING Word of God!
In Proverbs 22:17-18 we see the followiing:
17-Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge.
18 -For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips.
Verse 17 really caught my attention today. Bow down thine ear. What could God mean by "bowing down my ear". Sure, I've always though of bowing down before God --like getting on my knees -- but bow my ear?
And then I understood. Bow down my ear - humble myself - put myself out of this high and lofty place I all too often hold myself in and allow myself to be teachable - bow my ear to the Lord's words. In otherwords, humble myself to be a student, a learner, a child of God.
Verse 17 gives us 3 commands.
1. Bow down thine ear
2. and hear the words of the wise
I like to think the "words of the wise" are not so much words from wise men, but from Wisdom herself as she has revealed herself to men. This verse really made me think about what it takes for someone to humble themselves in order to hear -- really hear. So often we "listen" and take in what people say or what we read, but we fail to "hear". But in this verse, God says : bow down thine ear and HEAR the words of the wise.
Dictionary.com tells us that the definition of "listen" is:
"to give attention with the ear; attend closely for the purpose of hearing; give ear."
and the definition of "hear"is :
1.to perceive by the ear2.to learn by the ear or by being told; be informed of
So often, we, as people listen but we don't hear. We "give attention" but we don't "perceive". Perceiving implies a form of application of what we are listening to. Some sort of understanding beyond knowledge.
Why is it that we have such a hard time getting and staying humble for God? The distractions of this world are so many it is hard to even hear the word of the Lord with the chaos all around us. But yet, we are commanded to Bow down thine ear and hear the words of the wise.
3. The third command in this verse is "apply thine heart unto my knowledge". So we are to 1. become humble, like students of the greatest teacher of all. 2. Hear, perceive and understatnd the words of the wise. and 3. apply it in our hearts --causing change.
We are to apply the word of God in our hearts. These three commands build upon each other. We cannot hear unless we are humble and open to teaching. We cannot apply unless we have perceived, heard, and understood. And the application can't take place in our heart if we are not humbled and our hearts are not open.
So many times I read scripture and it teaches me something new. Other times, I read scripture and it confirms what I already knew, and yet other times, times when I am distracted, I miss the point entirely.
Will you pray next time, before you read your Bible that God will humble you, help you hear and apply what HE wants you to learn?
God Bless
i believe there may be a part 2 and 3 to this one. We've still got verse 18 to look at and a much deeper application I would like to share.
Tags: Proverbs 22 Awesome Study
