September 6 (Proverbs 1–2; Psalm 63; John 3)

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Through the ESV Bible in a Year with Jackie Hill Perry

Episode: September 6 (Proverbs 1–2; Psalm 63; John 3)
Date: September 6, 2025
Host: Crossway

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Overview

In this episode, listeners are guided through three distinct passages: Proverbs 1–2, Psalm 63, and John 3 (ESV translation). The readings provide a journey from the pursuit and value of wisdom, through a psalm of longing for God’s presence, culminating in the pivotal New Testament conversation about spiritual rebirth and God’s salvific love. The episode's purpose is to immerse listeners in Scripture and highlight central themes of wisdom, longing, redemption, and surrender.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Proverbs 1–2: The Call and Reward of Wisdom

[00:04–04:05]

• Purpose of Proverbs:
  Solomon introduces the book as instruction for gaining wisdom, understanding, and prudent living.

  • “To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight... to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth.” (Reader/Preacher, 00:04)

• The Fear of the Lord:
  Foundational to knowledge and wisdom.

  • “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Reader/Preacher, 00:12)

• Parental Guidance:
  Importance of heeding parental advice as a form of protection and honor.

  • “Hear, my son, your father's instruction and forsake not your mother's teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.” (Reader/Preacher, 00:15)

• Warning Against Temptation:
  Urges the young to resist peer pressure and invitations to wrongdoing.

  • “My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent...do not walk in the way with them.” (Reader/Preacher, 00:18–01:15)

• Wisdom Personified:
  Wisdom calls out publicly, inviting all to listen but warning of consequences for refusal.

  • “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?...If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you.” (Reader/Preacher, 01:36–01:57)

• Blessings of Seeking Wisdom:
  Promises for those who earnestly seek understanding—security, integrity, and deliverance from evil.

  • “If you seek [wisdom] like silver… then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” (Reader/Preacher, 02:15)

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2. Psalm 63: A Psalm of Deep Spiritual Longing

[04:05–05:01]

• Thirst for God:
  David expresses an intense yearning for God, comparing his need for divine presence to thirst in a desert.

  • “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” (Reader/Preacher, 04:16)

• The Supremacy of God’s Love:
  Placing God’s steadfast love above life itself.

  • “Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.” (Reader/Preacher, 04:28)

• Satisfaction and Joy:
  Finding contentment and joy in God alone; worship is the natural response.

  • “My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips.” (Reader/Preacher, 04:35)

• Divine Protection:
  Imagery of God’s sustaining presence—a refuge in hardship.

  • “For you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.” (Reader/Preacher, 04:48–04:57)

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3. John 3: New Birth and God’s Redemptive Plan

[05:01–End]

• Nicodemus Visits Jesus:
  Nicodemus seeks Jesus at night, recognizing his uniqueness.

  • “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” (Nicodemus, 05:23)

• The Necessity of Being Born Again:
  Jesus teaches the necessity of spiritual rebirth—a concept that confuses Nicodemus.

  • “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (Jesus, 05:28)
  • “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (Jesus, 05:37)

• The Work of the Spirit:
  The Spirit’s mysterious, sovereign activity compared to the wind.

  • “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (Jesus, 06:00)

• The Purpose of the Son:
  The heart of the gospel—the love of God and the pathway to eternal life.

  • “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (Jesus, 06:25)

• Light vs. Darkness:
  Jesus describes the human condition: the tendency to love darkness rather than light due to evil deeds.

  • “The light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” (Jesus, 06:40)

• John the Baptist’s Humility:
  A dispute arises about purification; John reaffirms his role and submits to Christ’s preeminence.

  • “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John the Baptist, 07:25)

• Eternal Life Through Belief:
  The blessings and consequences tied to belief in the Son.

  • “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (Reader/Preacher, 07:55)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Foundation of Wisdom:
  “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs, Reader/Preacher, 00:12)
• On Desire for God:
  “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” (Psalm 63, Reader/Preacher, 04:16)
• On God’s Love:
  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (Jesus, John 3:16, 06:25)
• On Humility in Ministry:
  “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John the Baptist, 07:25)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:04–04:05] – Proverbs 1–2: Pursuit, reward, and warning of wisdom
• [04:05–05:01] – Psalm 63: David’s longing and praise in the wilderness
• [05:01–07:55] – John 3: Jesus & Nicodemus, new birth, God’s love, John the Baptist’s testimony

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This episode weaves foundational biblical teachings: the importance of seeking and heeding wisdom, the soul’s deepest craving for God, and the transforming power of believing in Christ. With stirring passages and memorable lines, listeners are both challenged and encouraged in faith and daily life.

Transcript

[Narrator/Reader]

A reading from the Book of Proverbs.

[Reader/Preacher]

The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel. To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight. To receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice and equity. To give prudence to the simple knowledge and discretion to the youth. Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance to understand a proverb and a saying. The words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. Hear, my son, your father's instruction and forsake not your mother's teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck. My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent if they say, come with us. Let us lie in wait for blood. Let us ambush the innocent without reason, like Sheol. Let us swallow them alive and whole. Like those who go down to the pit. We shall find all precious goods. We shall fill our houses with plunder. Throw in your lot among us. We will all have one purse. My son, do not walk in the way with them. Hold back your foot from their paths, for their feet run to evil and.

[Narrator/Reader]

They make haste to shed blood.

[Reader/Preacher]

For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird. But these men lie in wait for their own blood. They set an ambush for their own lives. Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain. It takes away the life of its possessors. Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the market. She raises her voice at the head.

[Narrator/Reader]

Of the noisy streets.

[Reader/Preacher]

She cries out at the entrance of the city gate she speaks, how long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you. I will make my words known to you. Because I have called and you refuse to listen, have stretched out my hand.

[Narrator/Reader]

And no one has heeded.

[Reader/Preacher]

Because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof. I also will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when terror strikes you. When terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind. When distress and anguish come upon you, then they will call upon me, but I will not answer. They will seek me diligently, but will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof. Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way and have their fill of their own devices. For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them. But whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease without dread of disaster. My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding, yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright. He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity. Every good path for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will watch over you. Understanding will guard you, delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness, who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil. Men whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways. So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words, who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God, for her house sinks down to death and her paths to the departed. None who go to her come back, nor do they regain the paths of life. So you will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous. For the upright will inhabit the land and those with integrity will remain in it. But the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will.

[Narrator/Reader]

Be rooted out of it. A reading from the Book of Psalms. A psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

[Reader/Preacher]

O God, you are my God. Earnestly I seek you. My soul thirsts for you.

[Narrator/Reader]

My flesh faints for you.

[Reader/Preacher]

As in a dry and weary land where there is no water, so I.

[Narrator/Reader]

Have looked upon you in the sanctuary.

[Reader/Preacher]

Beholding your power and glory, because your steadfast love is better than life.

[Narrator/Reader]

My lips will praise you, so I.

[Reader/Preacher]

Will bless you as long as I live in your name. I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth.

[Narrator/Reader]

Will praise you with joyful lips when.

[Reader/Preacher]

I remember you upon my bed and.

[Narrator/Reader]

Meditate on you in the watches of.

[Reader/Preacher]

The night, for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your.

[Narrator/Reader]

Wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you.

[Reader/Preacher]

Your right hand upholds me.

[Narrator/Reader]

But those who seek to destroy my.

[Reader/Preacher]

Life shall go down into the depths of the earth.

[Narrator/Reader]

They shall be given over to the power of the sword. They shall be apportioned for jackals. But the king shall rejoice in God. All who swear by him shall exult. For the mouths of liars will be stopped. A reading from the Gospel according to John. Now, there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. Jesus answered him, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to him, how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born.

[Reader/Preacher]

Of the spirit is spirit.

[Narrator/Reader]

Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who was.

[Reader/Preacher]

Born of the spirit.

[Narrator/Reader]

Nicodemus said to him, how can these things be? Jesus answered him, are you the Teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed. In the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment. The light has come into the world. And people loved the darkness rather than the light. Because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light. Lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light. So that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God. After this, Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside. And he remained there with them and was baptizing. John also was baptizing at Enon, near Salim. Because water was plentiful there and people were coming and being baptized. For John had not yet been put in prison. Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over purification. And they came to John and said to him, rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan. To whom you bore witness, look, he is baptizing and all are going to him. John answered, a person cannot receive even one thing Unless it is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness. That I said, I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him. The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him. Rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard. Yet no one receives his testimony. Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent utters the words of God. For he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life. But the wrath of God remains on him.