Ecclesiastes 1:1-3 (KJV) 1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. 3 What profit hath a man of all his
labour which he taketh under the sun? 

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (KJV) 1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is
planted; 3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. 

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (KJV) 13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. 

What a message.  Vanity of vanities
The word simply put means futile, worthless, meaningless.
The phrase is an ancient way of stating something in the superlative.  It is like the phrase king of kings or Lord of Lords, it is the mostest.
And Solomon opens our book with the statement, Futile, futile all it futile.

Now don't that just bless your heart on a Sunday morning!

Most evangelical scholars take the three books of the Bible written by Solomon this way: Song of Solomon was written when the king was young and in love; Proverbs was written when Solomon was truly living a life and fellowship with God; and Ecclesiastes was the product of an old man who had become bitter and resentful about life. 

Israel had three kings before the divided kingdom. The first of these was Saul. He was man's choice
and ended up the suicide victim on the field of battle against Philistines.  God took David then a man after his own heart and enthroned him. David took the kingdom militarily and materially and expanded it to its greatest point.  Following David's death at age 70, his eldest living son by Bathsheba, Solomon, took the reigns of power. About 18 years old.  He was to become the richest man on earth in massing all the fame, money, power, and women that he could ever desire. He had it all and it is at this pentacle of worldly success that we find him in the book of Ecclesiastes. 

1. People look for fulfillment in pleasure.

Ecclesiastes 2:1 (KJV) 1 I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity. 

Hedonism – The basic philosophy is to maximize pleasure and minimize pain
physical pleasure is the narcotic of choice
R. C. Sproul

Hedonism
If you pursue pleasure and find it you will become bored,
If you pursue pleasure and never find it you will become frustrated
The ultimate end of hedonism is either boredom or frustration!

1 Corinthians 15:14-32 (KJV) 14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. 16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: 17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.  ...32 If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die. 

Pleasure, without Christ, is worthless.

2. People look for fulfillment in Wisdom

Ecclesiastes 1:12-14 (KJV) 12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. 14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. 

We looked a lot last week about wisdom, so I won't spend much time here this morning.

Wisdom is celebrated today unlike any other time in world history.  We have coupled with wisdom technology that is absolutely mind blowing.  Yet with all of our wisdom and with all of our technology, we cannot hold back age and death.  Now we have found tricks and gimmicks that will
add a few years, but death does not discriminate.

Wisdom, without Christ, is worthless.

3. People look for fulfillment in Work
 
Ecclesiastes 2:17-19 (KJV) 17 Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit. 18 Yea, I hated all my labour which I had
taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. 19 And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity. 

No matter what you build.  No matter what you establish.  No matter what the goal of your work, if Christ does not come back, you will leave that work, that ministry, that farm, that building to someone else.  

Work, without Christ, is worthless.

4. People look for fulfillment in Wealth

Ecclesiastes 5:9-12 (KJV) 9 Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field. 10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. 11 When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes? 12 The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. 

John D. Rockefeller was asked how much money was enough, he replied: A little bit more.

Luke 12:15-21 (KJV) 15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. 

Wealth, without Christ, is worthless.

What Solomon is sharing with us in Ecclesiastes is the foolishness of seeking the meaning of life outside of God.

The phrase that is used so often in Ecclesiastes is the phrase, under the sun.

The repetitions of vanity and under the sun (see Background) constitute the most prominent emphasis of a single word or phrase in any biblical book. 
Willmington's Bible Handbook.

What is there that is under the sun that profits any man.  Because we all face the same demise.
Lets be careful here.
We look at and understand the foolishness of worldly gain.
We look out at the world and we chastise them and scold them and say what fools are they that work for the world.
But be careful.
We say we would never forsake the Lord in search of pleasure, in search of wisdom, in search of fulfillment in work, in search of wealth.
And most of us wouldn't volunteer for it in a moment, but that is not usually how it happens.

Let me give you an example.
Let's take for example a young married man that gets a new job and things are looking good for him and his family.  He is a devout Christian and has his family in the church every time the doors open.

Then a promotion comes along at work, with this promotion his wife and his family can afford some nicer things and so he takes it.  Well the overtime and hours begin to take his toll so they no longer come to Wednesday evening Bible study, Wednesdays are his toughest day at work.  But they are still faithful every Sunday.

Well a couple of years goes by and he is doing so good at work that they make him district manager, which is great, but once a month he has to travel out of town on the weekends.  No big deal his wife and kids are still faithful and he is there when he can be.  Now he and his wife are able to by a nicer home in a better neighborhood, you know, for the kids sake.

Well a few more years and he is able to take partial ownership of this company, an opportunity he never thought he would have and well his kids are getting ready for college and he and his wife are getting ready for their empty nest and retirement years so he becomes part owner, well now his new role demands that he is gone every other weekend.  And for a while the family is still faithful, but eventually they move into the come when I can crowd and eventually they turn into the Easter and Christmas crowd.

And what has happened to this family, for the pursuit of wealth, for the pursuit of pleasure and comfort, for the pursuit of a good life under the sun, they gave up on their relationship with the Lord.

Matthew 16:24-26 (KJV) 24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 

Now the book is not a complete downer, just mostly.  Solomon declares that all investment in life under the sun is vain and vexation of the Spirit.  Solomon gives us the solution to the vanity problem, that is to fear God and invest in life that is above the sun!

Ecclesiastes 5:7 (KJV) 7 For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God. 

Ecclesiastes 8:12 (KJV) 12 Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him: 

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (KJV) 13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. 

There are several passages in the Bible that deal with this matter of fearing the Lord. They teach us the truth that what we do proves what we think of God. You will live no better than the level at which you honor and reverence God! If you see the Lord as being high and holy, if you see Him as being a God of judgment, if you see Him as being One Who hates sin, then you will live like you believe that. If, on the other hand, you have the idea that God just winks at sin, that He might not really judge the world, the you will live at a much lower level. It is true, your live will tell the world what you think of God!

Notice these passages from the Word of God:

Proverbs 14:2 "He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the LORD: but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him."

Proverbs 3:7 "Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil."

Deuteronomy 6:2 "That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged."

Proverbs 14:27 "The fear of the LORD is afountain of life, to depart from the snares of death."

Proverbs 16:6 "By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil."

John 14:15 (KJV) 15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 

In truth, we have a great misunderstanding concerning this matter of fear. 

Webster defines fear as, "an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger." 

We have all felt this kind of fear at one level or another and it is truly unpleasant. Surely this cannot be the idea Solomon has in mind! The word used for fear in this verses, and most other verses in the Old Testament dealing with this subject is the word, are. This word means "to stand in awe of, to reverence, honor and respect." It does not mean that we cringe and tremble at the mention of the name of God. But, it does mean that we honor Him, that we respect Him and that we reverence Him. It means that we stand in awe of His greatness.)

Basically, what this means is that when we are in the presence of the Lord, we will not treat Him like He is our good buddy. We won't desire to slap Him on the back and hang out. It means that when we are aware of His presence, we will react with awe and reverence. It might hep us to look at how several in the Bible reacted when they were brought into the presence of the Lord.

Job 42:1-6 (KJV) 1 Then Job answered the LORD, and said, 2 I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. 3 Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me,
which I knew not. 4 Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. 5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. 6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. 

Isaiah 6:1-8 (KJV) 1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips,  and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. 6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. 

Luke 5:1-11 (KJV) 1 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. 3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. 4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. 6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. 7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: 10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. 11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him. 

Acts 9:1-6 (KJV) 1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. 3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. 

Revelation 1:13-17 (KJV) 13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. 14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; 15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. 16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. 17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: 


 

"This understanding is what moved Augustine pray to God and say, Thou hast made us for Thyself and our hearts are restless until they find their all in Thee. This inner yearning is what inspired the Psalmist to write,As the deer pants for streams of water so my soul pants for You, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. (Psalm 42:1 ) My soul thirsts for You God…in a dry and weary land where there is no water. (Psalm 63:1 ) This is what John 17:3 means when it says, Now THIS is…life: that they may KNOW You, the only true God and Jesus Christ Whom You have sent. As John 1:1 says, In Him was LIFE and that life was the light of men

So, this is why our days are dark and empty, if we don’t have a relationship with God. No matter how much excitement we experience or how much pleasure we enjoy. No matter how successful we are, there is still something missing.
As Augustine said, He who has God has everything. He who does not have God has nothing. He Who has God and everything has no more than he who has God alone."
http://www.redlandbaptist.org/sermon/the-gift-of-purpose-filled-living/

Today we are going to take a few moments and look at the book of proverbs.
                 
Someone once said that a proverb is a short sentence based on long experience.

Again, in our short time together I cannot even begin to cover all that is in the book, but hopefully I can give you some insight into better understanding the book and also peak your interest so that you will go home and discover for yourselves the great wisdom in this book.
             
In 1860, the philosopher, Jeremy Bentham, said, "If we can get universal and compulsory education by the end of the century, all our social, political, and moral problems will be solved."            
 
I believe it is safe to say that we have learned that education does not equal wisdom.  By almost anybody's standard we are the most educated people, yet also by almost anyone's standard, we are the most wicked people. 
 
According to John Nesbitt, in his best selling book, Megatrends, there are between 6,000 and 7,000 scientific articles written every day.  Scientific and technical information now increases 13% per year, which means it doubles every 5 1/2 years.  This rate, however, will soon jump to 40% per year because of new and powerful computers, and an increasing population of scientists. That means that we are approaching a day where knowledge is going to double every twenty months.

There is not a shortage of knowledge in today’s society, but there is a severe drought of wisdom.  
  
WISDOM, n. s as z. [G. See Wise.]
1. The right use or exercise of knowledge;
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
 
Now compare this quote from the Earl of Shaftesbury, who was a strong supporter himself of education, and during a campaign for education, said this:  
"Education, without instruction in religious and moral principles, will merely result in a race of clever devils."
 
Turn with me if you will to Proverbs.
 
Proverbs 1:1-9 (KJV) 1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; 2 To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; 3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; 4 To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and
discretion. 5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: 6 To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. 7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. 8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: 9 For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck. 

Most people have heard of the Babylonian Empire, the Roman Empire, the Assyrian Empire, but there is on Empire that ruled without equal.  This empire did not conquer as much land mass, but it had wealth and power and influence beyond any other nation, for a brief period of time.  That would be the Israelite Empire, if you will, under the reign of King Solomon.  
 
1 Kings 4:32 (KJV)  32 And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand
and five. 
 
Solomon: Proverbs is divided into seven sections (see Outline). Proverbs 1:1 suggests that Solomon may have authored the entire first section (Proverbs 1-9), although that verse may be an introduction to the book as a whole (Solomon may have compiled the entire book). The second major section (Proverbs 10:1-22:16) is directly attributed to Solomon, as is the fourth (Proverbs 25-29). Proverbs probably includes at least 800 of Solomon's 3,000 proverbs (see 1 Kings 4:32). 

Solomon may also have written many of the proverbs in the third section, the "Words of the Wise" (Proverbs 22:17-24:34), whose compiler and authors are anonymous. Many scholars also assume he wrote the final section, the tribute to the worthy woman (Proverbs 31:10-31). 
 
Agur, apparently a non-Israelite, is credited with the proverbs of the fifth section (Proverbs 30). 

Lemuel authored the sixth section (Proverbs 31:1-9). He was a king (Proverbs 31:1), presumably a non-Israelite. Some scholars believe, however, that Lemuel was actually Solomon. 
Willmington's Bible Handbook.
 
The book was written mostly by Solomon and it is a book of proverbs, now what is a proverb?

The radical signification of mashal is “comparison” or “similitude,” and in this sense it is applied generally to the utterances of the wise.
 
The predominant idea of the term, however, is that of comparison or similitude, and as such it is better represented by the Greek parabolh> (from paraba>llw, “to set or place side by side”), literally, a placing beside, or comparison,

Matthew 13:34-35 (KJV) 34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: 35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. 
 
Proverbs are snapshots of truth, little pictures of truth.
 
You will notice that Proverbs is written in parallelism.  
  
This is a literary device. The second clause restates, usually, what is given in the first clause.  
You notice the synonymous parallelism and that is, he says one thing in the first clause and he says the same thing in the second clause in a different way.  We call that synonymous parallelism.  
  
Proverbs 19:29 (KJV) 29 Judgments are prepared for scorners, and stripes for the back of fools. 

And sometimes he uses contrast parallelism.  And that is where a truth is stated in the first clause then it is made stronger in the second clause by a contrast, 
  
Proverbs 13:9 (KJV) 9 The light of the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out. 
                  
Then thirdly there is synthetic parallelism and that is where the second clause develops further the thought of the first clause. 
  
Proverbs 20:2 (KJV) 2 The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion: whoso provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul. 
  
I want to take a moment right here to make something clear.
 
A proverb is not a promise, sometimes people misunderstand and they get discouraged or disappointed and blame God for promises He has never made.
 
Proverbs are general statements of truth rather than invariable promises or laws, and an individual proverb normally captures a tiny cross-section of truth rather than making a comprehensive statement about a topic. For example, "A gentle answer turns away anger" (15:1) constitutes one
component of the broader topics of using words wisely and dealing with angry people. This single principle is one small piece of a much larger mosaic, and the task of the student is not only to put together the broader mosaic piece by piece but also to learn to apply these principles skillfully to the complexities that one encounters in life. The goal of the wisdom in Proverbs is to develop
skill in living according to the order that is embedded in God's creation.
The Apologetics Study Bible: Understanding Why You Believe.

A proverb is not a precept. A precept is a truth stated in absolute terms. An illustration may help here. Suppose we are making statements of truth about engineering students at a particular university. One statement might be, "A student must take and pass calculus in order to graduate as an engineer." That statement of truth is in precept form. There are no exceptions. But suppose we said, "Students who do well in calculus make better engineers." That is also a statement of truth, but it is in proverb form. It is a general truth stated in general terms. But there may be some exceptions. There may be a few engineering graduates from that university who are very good engineers but never did well in calculus. And by the same token, there may be a few graduates who were A+ students in calculus but have not made very good engineers. These exceptions, however, do not make the statement false, because it is a general truth stated in general terms. Exceptions do not make a proverb false. Proverbs are proverbs! Proverbs are not precepts. They are general truths stated in general terms. Proverbs 22:6 is a proverb. The occasional case which proves to be an exception to the general truth does not make this proverb false.

 A brief look at a few of the other proverbs in this chapter further demonstrates the nature of a proverb. The truths of verses 4, 11 and 29, for example, are not always binding. They are usually true, but a little reflection on these proverbs will bring to mind a number of exceptions. Humility and the fear of the Lord do not always bring riches and honor and life (v4). Rulers are not always friends with the gracious and pure of heart (v11). And there are skilled people who have remained in obscurity, unrecognized by kings (v29).
 http://www.growingchristians.org/dfgc/proverbs.htm
 
Proverbs 22:6 (KJV) 6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. 
  
Proverbs 22:4 (KJV) 4 By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life. 
 
Proverbs 22:29 (KJV) 29 Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.  (mean – low in dignity)
 
Now there are proverbs that are promises, now the question becomes how can I tell when a proverb is just a proverb and when it is also a promise.

Actually its very simple, does God's word speak to the proverb anywhere else?
 
Proverbs 3:5-6 (KJV) 5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 

Ps 25:8 — Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way. 
Ps 25:9 — The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. 
Ps 32:8 — I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
 
Now that we hopefully have a better understanding of what a proverb is, it is general truth, not an absolute truth, unless confirmed somewhere else in scripture.
 
I want us to talk just a minute about wisdom.  Proverbs are general truths, but they are general truths that are supposed to teach us wisdom.
 
1 Corinthians 1:24-31 (KJV) 24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27 But God hath chosen
the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 That no flesh should glory in his presence. 30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: 31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. 

Christ is made our Wisdom.  Today for us, Jesus Christ is our wisdom.  He is for us our all.  An intersting thing about Christ, you can go back to the book of Proverbs and replace the word Wisdom with the word Christ and the sentence makes sense and applies.

Proverbs 1:7 (KJV) 7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise CHRIST and instruction. 
 
Proverbs 2:10 (KJV) 10 When CHRIST entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; 
 
Proverbs 3:13 (KJV) 13 Happy is the man that findeth CHRIST, and the man that getteth understanding. 
 
Proverbs 3:19 (KJV) 19 The LORD by CHRIST hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. 
  
Proverbs 4:7 (KJV) 7 CHRIST is the principal thing; therefore get CHRIST: and with all thy getting get understanding. 
 
Proverbs 4:11 (KJV) 11 I have taught thee in the way of CHRIST; I have led thee in right paths. 
 
Proverbs 8:11 (KJV) 11 For CHRIST is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it. 
  
Proverbs 19:8 (KJV) 8 He that getteth CHRIST loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good. 
 
Proverbs 24:3 (KJV) 3 Through CHRIST is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: 
 
One last thought, Proverbs has within its pages a great contrast.
 
The Wise man and the foolish man.
 
Today I will give you the short version, the cliff notes if you will.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (KJV) 5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 

The wise man is seeking the Lord, is Seeking wisdom, is seeking Christ, the foolish man is not.
 
The beginning; Hebrew, tyviare (reshith). This word has been understood in three different senses:
(1) As initium, the beginning; i.e. the initial step or starting point at which every one who wishes to follow true wisdom must begin (Gejerus, Zockler, Plumptre).
(2) As caput; i.e. the most excellent or principal part, the noblest or best wisdom. This sense is adopted in the marginal reading (comp. Also <200407>Proverbs 4:7) (Holden,
Trapp).
(3) As the principium (Vulgate); i.e. the origin, or basis, as in <330101>Micah 1:12, “She is the origin, or basis (reshith) of the sin of the daughter of Zion.”
 
Sin always deceives, and its baits artfully hide the hook; but the cruel barb is there, below the gay silk and colored dressing, and it —not the false appearance of food which lured the fish — is what sticks in the bleeding mouth.