Wise (5429) (phronimos from phronéo = think, have a mindset related to phren = diaphragm, regarded by ancients as seat of mental and spiritual activity, came to mean mind or understanding) is an adjective which describes one who is thoughtful, sagacious or discreet. It describes the quality of one's thinking which is the result of insight and stands in opposition to moros which means foolish. The idea is that there is understanding combined with wisdom and insight. Phronimos implies a cautious, sensible, prudent character and in Mt 10:16 refers to one as "shrewd" as a serpent. One who is shrewd has clever discerning awareness, acute perception and sharp powers of judgment. Phronimos also includes the ideas of one who is prudent, sensible and practically wise in relationships with others. There is a type of phronimos that is desirable (eg, here in Mt 7:24, 10:16, et al) and a type that is not desirable (Ro 11:26, 12:16) this latter describing the person who relies on their own innate wisdom. In context Jesus explains that a truly wise person is the one who puts His words into practice, proving that faith in Christ's finished work on the cross (Jn 19:30, 1Jn 2:2) is genuine. On the other hand those builders who profess or pretend to have faith or who have a merely intellectual commitment are foolish builders and when the storms of life come, including and especially the final eschatological "storm" leading to the "Lake of fire", their structures fool no one, especially not the Living God. Phronimos is used 14 times in the NT - Matthew 7:24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock. Matthew 10:16 "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore be shrewd as serpents, and innocent as doves. Matthew 24:45 "Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? Matthew 25:2 "And five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. Comment: Prudent in English describes one who is circumspect and who acts or shows care and thought regarding the future. Not surprisingly each of these uses of phronimos in Mt 25, describe those in a state of a preparedness. The Septuagint uses phronimos in Pr 18:15 -- "The mind of the prudent [Lxx = phronimos] acquires knowledge, And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.") Matthew 25:4 but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. Matthew 25:8 "And the foolish said to the prudent, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' Matthew 25:9 "But the prudent answered, saying, 'No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.' Luke 12:42 And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? Luke 16:8 "And his master praised the unrighteous steward because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light. Romans 11:25 (note) For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles has come in; Romans 12:16 (note) Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. (cp similar use of phronimos in Septuagint translation of Pr 3:7) 1 Corinthians 4:10 We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are prudent in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor. 1 Corinthians 10:15 I speak as to wise men; you judge what I say. 2 Corinthians 11:19 For you, being so wise, bear with the foolish gladly. There are 27 uses of phronimos in the Septuagint (LXX) - Ge 3:1; 41:33, 39; 1Sa 2:10; 35" class="scriptRef">1Ki 2:35; 3:12; 4:20, 30; 5:7; Pr 3:7; 11:12, 29; 14:6, 17, 35; 21" class="scriptRef">15:21; 17:10, 21, 27, 28; 18:14, 15; 19:7, 25; 20:5; Isa. 44:25; Hos. 13:13. The first use in Scripture is notable... Ge 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty (Heb = 'aruwm = subtle, shrewd, sly; Lxx = phronimos) than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden '?" MacDonald rightly observes that... If a person lives according to the principles of the Sermon on the Mount, the world calls him a fool; Jesus calls him a wise man. The world considers a wise man to be someone who lives by sight, who lives for the present, and who lives for self; Jesus calls such a person a fool. (MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments. Nashville: Thomas Nelson) Both "builders" hear His Word, and both build houses that ostensibly exhibit no differences in structure and quality, so that each house looks quite secure in good weather. However the land of Israel is known for sudden, torrential rains that can almost instantly turned dry wadis (Wadi) into potentially devastating raging torrents. It is the storm which tests the quality of the house, and specifically the nature of the foundation the builder built his or her house upon. Jesus has a similar statement in the gospel of John declaring that... "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments....22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us, and not to the world?" Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him. "He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me. (John 14:15,22-24) The "rock" (4073) (petra) is "these words of Mine", the message of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. Petra is the Greek word, not for a stone or even a boulder, but a word that describes a great outcropping of rock, a large expanse of bedrock which is solid, stable, and unmovable. Petra is used 15 times in the NT - Matt. 7:24, 25; 16:18; 27:51, 60; Mk. 15:46; Lk. 6:48; 8:6, 13; Ro 9:33; 1Co. 10:4; 1Pe 2:8; Re 6:15, 16 The "house" that is built on the rock is the life lived according to Jesus' teaching BUILD ON THE ROCK by Franklin Belden (Play hymn) We’ll build on the Rock, the living Rock, On Jesus, the Rock of Ages; So shall we abide the fearful shock, When loud the tempest rages. Refrain We’ll build on the Rock, We’ll build on the Rock; We’ll build on the Rock, on the solid Rock, On Christ, the mighty Rock. Some build on the sinking sands of life, On visions of earthly treasure; Some build on the waves of sin and strife, Of fame, and worldly pleasure. Refrain O build on the Rock, for ever sure, The firm and the true foundation; Its hope is the hope which shall endure, The hope of our salvation. Refrain ><>><>><> ACTING ON HIS MASTER'S WORDS - Archibald Rutledge wrote that one day he met a man whose dog had just been killed in a forest fire. Heartbroken, the man explained to Rutledge how it happened. Because he worked out-of-doors, he often took his dog with him. That morning, he left the animal in a clearing and gave him a command to stay and watch his lunch bucket while he went into the forest. His faithful friend understood, for that's exactly what he did. Then a fire started in the woods, and soon the blaze spread to the spot where the dog had been left. But he didn't move. He stayed right where he was, in perfect obedience to his master's word. With tearful eyes, the dog's owner said, "I always had to be careful what I told him to do, because I knew he would do it." If a dog can be expected to obey his master, how much more should we who know the Lord and have been redeemed be obedient to His commands! May you and I be so dependable in doing the Lord's will that our Master would be able to ay of us, "I knew he would do it!"—R. W De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved) ><>><>><> The Storm - Neal Beidleman survived the ill-fated 1996 expedition in which eight climbers died on Mount Everest. Some of them had paid $65,000 for a chance to scale the world's highest peak. In assessing what went wrong, Beidleman said, "Tragedies and disasters...are not the result of a single decision, a single event, or a single mistake. They are the culmination of things in your life. Something happens and it becomes a catalyst for all the things you've had at risk." On Everest, that "something" was a raging blizzard. According to journalist Todd Burgess, "If not for the storm, the climbers may have gotten away with taking so many risks. But the storm exposed their weaknesses." The things at risk in our lives today—matters of spiritual indifference or disobedience—can overwhelm us when the storms come. Jesus told a story of the wise and foolish builders to stress the importance of obedience to His words (Matthew 7:24-27). He said, "Whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock" (Mt 7:24). Obedience to Christ doesn't eliminate the tempests of life, but it does determine whether we fall or stand in the storm. —David McCasland (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved) Living for the Lord, fearing Him each day, Best prepares the soul for the stormy way; Then as trials come, tempting to despair, We can rest secure, safe within His care. —D. De Haan The storms of life reveal the strength of our faith. The wise man builds his house on rock Instead of sinking sand By doing what the Builder says And following His plan. —Sper To build a godly life, let God be the architect and His Word the blueprint. ><>><>><> How To Build A House - I am not an expert carpenter, but I did build my own house (at least most of it). In the process, I learned that I needed a detailed blueprint and the help of someone who had building experience. The construction project referred to in Matthew 7:24-29 makes mine look like child's play. What Jesus said applies to the lifelong process of building godly character. The detailed instructions are outlined in the Sermon on the Mount. Here are some of them: We must go the extra mile (Mt 5:41-note), bless those who curse us (Mt 5:44-note), and treat others as we would want them to treat us (Mt 7:12-note). As we try to put Jesus' instructions into practice, we face the challenge of building. No sooner do we seek to obey than we see our need for the help of someone who is wiser and stronger than we are. Jesus, the Master Builder, is that One. He lived a perfect life and died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. When we receive Him as our Savior, we receive the One who was tempted just as we are, yet He was without sin (He 4:15-note). And He will never leave us (He 13:5, 6-notes). Study the plan carefully and seek the wisdom of Jesus always. Only He can help you to build a house that is strong enough to withstand the storms of life. —Dennis J. De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved) The wise man builds his house on rock Instead of sinking sand By doing what the Builder says And following His plan. —Sper To build a godly life, let God be the architect and His Word the blueprint. ><>><>><> A heavy rain had stopped falling just before a man drove down a lonely road. As he rounded a curve, he saw an old farmer surveying the ruins of his barn. The driver stopped to ask what happened. "Roof fell in," said the farmer. "Leaked so long it just rotted clear through." "Why didn't you fix it before it got so bad?" asked the stranger. "Well, sir," replied the farmer, "I just never seemed to get around to it. When the weather was good, I didn't need to. And when it rained, it was too wet to work on!" It's easy to think, someday I'll take care of those little sinful habits; someday I'll start living for Christ. Such an attitude is no different from that of the farmer. Jesus said, "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock" (Matt. 7:24). We grow strong in character by applying God's Word to our daily activities. —D. J. De Haan "Copy and paste the address below into your web browser in order to go to the original page which will allow you to access live links related to the material on this page - these links include Scriptures (which can be read in context), Scripture pop-ups on mouse over, and a variety of related resources such as Bible dictionary articles, commentaries, sermon notes and theological journal articles related to the topic under discussion." http://www.preceptaustin.org/matthew_724-25.htm#w