Proverbs 8:34 (Mini Sermon)

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34. Pro 8:34 - "Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors." A. Blessed is the man that heareth me, i. Wisdom is speaking (Pro 8:1, 12). ii. The man that hears wisdom is blessed. a. Hear v. - 1. a. intr. To perceive, or have the sensation of, sound; to possess or exercise the faculty of audition, of which the specific organ is the ear. 4. To exercise the auditory function intentionally; to give ear, hearken, listen. b. trans. To listen to (a person or thing) with more or less attention or understanding; to give ear to, hearken to; to give audience to. b. Blessed adj - 1. Consecrated, hallowed, holy; consecrated by a religious rite or ceremony. 3. a. Enjoying supreme felicity; happy, fortunate. 4. a. Bringing, or accompanied by, blessing or happiness; pleasurable, joyful, blissful. iii. Those who hear wisdom are happy (blessed) (1Ki 10:8). iv. Those who hear wisdom are fortunate for being able to do so and will experience happiness and joy as a result (Pro 3:13). v. Wisdom's ways are ways of pleasantness and peace (Pro 3:17). vi. A faithful man who hears and obeys wisdom's words will abound with blessings (Pro 28:20). B. watching daily at my gates, i. The man who will hear wisdom and be blessed has be looking for it. a. Watch v. - 1. a. To be or remain awake. 2. a. To remain awake for purposes of devotion; to keep vigil. 4. a. To be on the look out; to keep a person or thing in sight, so as to be aware of any movement or change. b. Wise men will seek wisdom and will attain unto wise counsels (Pro 1:5). c. There is wisdom to be learned from wise men if you seek them out (Pro 18:15) and draw their wisdom out of them (Pro 18:4; Pro 20:5). ii. If you want to hear wisdom's words, you need to be seeking them continually and habitually. a. Daily adv. - Every day, day by day. Often in a looser sense: Constantly, always, habitually. b. Be like the Bereans who searched the scriptures daily (Act 17:11). c. Wisdom exhorts us daily through wise men (Heb 3:13). d. We just need to be willing to hear and receive it. iii. If you want to hear wisdom's words, you have to go to where wisdom speaks, which is at the gates. a. Wisdom cries at the gates of the city where people congregate (Pro 8:3). (i) Gate n. - 1. An opening in a wall, made for the purpose of entrance and exit, and capable of being closed by a movable barrier, the existence of which is usually implied; said with reference to a city or other enclosure, or the enclosure-wall of a large building, formerly also to the bulding itself, where door or doors is now commonly employed. 2. In Biblical phraseology, after Hebrew; ellipt. for gate(s) of the city as a place of judicial assembly. (ii) "The gateways of walled cities, as well as the open spaces near them, were popular places to resort, being vaulted and cool, and convenient for the meeting of friends, or for a view of strangers, since all who went in or out must pass that way. They often resembled large stone halls, and had sufficient area to accommodate large assemblages. There the people assembled at the close of the day to tell the news, and to discuss various topics of interest." (James M. Freeman, Manners and Customs of the Bible, p. 20) b. Wisdom doesn't whisper in secret, but cries openly (Pro 8:1-2). (i) You don't have to go to a secluded mountaintop or a monastery to find wisdom. (ii) Wisdom cries from the pulpit in church every Sunday and at Bible studies every Wednesday. (iii) There are enough sermons on the internet to hear wisdom crying daily. c. Wisdom is easy to find if you want to find it. (i) It is found in God's word (Pro 2:6). (ii) It is found in wise men whom God sends out to His people (Mat 23:34). (iii) If you walk with wise men, you will learn wisdom and be wise (Pro 13:20). C. waiting at the posts of my doors. i. Hearing wisdom requires waiting patiently. ii. Wait v. - 1. a. trans. To watch with hostile intent; to spy upon; to lie in wait for. Obs. 7. intr. or absol. a. To remain in a place, defer one's departure until something happens. 9. a. To be in readiness to receive orders; hence, to be in attendance as a servant; to attend as a servant does to the requirements of a superior. iii. If we wait on God, He will teach us His truth (Psa 25:5). iv. Wisdom is acquired over time as one studies the scriptures, lives and gains experience, and finds wise men to learn from. v. It doesn't come over night. vi. To make a hyper-literal application of this verse (Pro 8:34), you may literally have to wait at a wise counselor's door for him to be ready to see you and give you advice.