Proverbs
1:1-7[i]
Words,
their purpose can be either to build people up or to tear them down. Words can be used to brag or to praise, to
criticize or to compliment. Some words
help and some do harm.
Words
communicate. Words hold meaning. They express thoughts and emotions, represent
objects and draw pictures.
According
to Google, a proverb is “a short pithy saying in general use, stating a general
truth or piece of advice.”
Proverbs
use words to communicate a truth or a piece of advice.
Today, we
are looking at the “Proverbs of Solomon.”
This word,
“Proverbs” is an attempt to translate the Hebrew word “mashal,” and is much more than “a short pithy saying.” The “Pulpit Commentary says:
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 is that of
comparison or similitude, and as such it is better represented by the Greek
παραβολή (from παραβάλλω, "to set or place side by side"), literally,
a placing beside, or comparison.[ii]
The first
10 chapters of the book of Proverbs are lengthy discourses. Then the “Proverbs” become the comparisons or
similitudes that this definition speaks of.
The Proverbs use many couplets.
These couplets compare things, the wise and foolish, the rich and poor,
the godly and the ungodly.
These
Proverbs are words, words arranged for a purpose. This purpose is stated plainly in Proverbs
1:2-4. The chief and overriding purpose
is to teach people wisdom.
These are
words arranged to give people understanding, knowledge, insight and judgement.
These words
come from Solomon. He was David’s son
and he was king of Israel. As a young
king, just beginning his reign, Solomon asked God for wisdom. In answer, God made Solomon the wisest man
that ever lived. God inspired Solomon to
record these words of wisdom. In view of
the fact that these are the words chosen by the wisest man that ever lived, we
can assume that wisdom does not get any better than this.
Google
defines wisdom as “the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good
judgment.” In this definition, we see
three parts or components of wisdom: experience, knowledge and good
judgment. In Proverbs, we see some of
the components of wisdom laid out for us in the statement of purpose. In other words, when Solomon says words like
“instruction,” “understanding,” “discipline,” “wise behavior,” “righteousness,”
“justice” and “equity,” he is giving us some of the components or parts of
wisdom.
We can
plainly see that wisdom is much more complex than the simple definition that is
given by Google.
Wisdom
takes a lifetime to acquire and yet here in Proverbs 1:4 it says, “These
proverbs will give insight to the simple.” Wisdom, as a subject, is complex and deep
enough to engage the brightest minds for a lifetime and yet plain enough in its
basic truths to be grasped by the naïve or simple.
Let’s go to
a big question. So what? Why should I care? What is so important about wisdom that I
should concern myself with it?
Pithy
sayings, snappy comebacks and wise sayings may be interesting to some, but what
is their relevance to life?
We have
already established that we are talking about much more than pithy
sayings. However, the Proverbs have much
to say about the value of wisdom.
Proverbs 1:7 says, “Fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
With this
statement, we are introduced to the antithesis of wisdom, foolishness.
So what,
why should I concern myself with wisdom?
In several places, the book of Proverbs compares foolishness to
wisdom. One such place is Proverbs 1:32
where wisdom says, “For simpletons turn away from me--to death. Fools are destroyed by their own
complacency.” This is the biggest reason
to concern ourselves with wisdom. It is
a matter of life and death.
In verse 7
of Proverbs 1, Solomon gives us the starting point of all wisdom. He says, “The fear of the LORD is the
beginning of knowledge.” (ESV)[iii]
This idea
is repeated several times in Proverbs:
Proverbs 2:5
Then you will discern the fear of
the LORD And discover the knowledge of God.
Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the
beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Proverbs 15:33
The fear of the LORD is the instruction
for wisdom.
In Psalm 14:1,
it says, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” This then is the opposite of fearing the
Lord, to say in one’s heart, “There is no God.”
We all know
atheists who say there is no God. They
may even be prosperous and have much of the world’s goods. Some are brilliant scientists,
mathematicians, doctors, lawyers or educators.
It appears that saying there is no God does not cause death. It is easy to deceive ourselves because of
this. However, the Scriptures say, “For
the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who
enter by it are many.” (Matthew 7:13,
ESV)
We all have
a tendency to say in our hearts, “There is no God.”
When you
are all alone, tempted by your favorite sin, does the truth that God is present
everywhere restrain you?
Does the
truth that God knows your thoughts restrain your fantasies, jealousies and
anger?
These
questions trouble me, because I find that I live at times as if God does not
exist. I find that I cannot hide much
from my wife. She seems to know when
something is bothering me even before I do.
And yet, I try to hide stuff from God.
The
ultimate foolishness is to decide in our hearts that there is no God. When God points out to me where I have tried
to hide from Him or have lived as if He is not there, my immediate response
should be to repent.
The
beginning of knowledge and wisdom is to acknowledge God.
John 1:1
says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God.” (ESV) This is talking about Jesus. He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and
the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me.” (John 14:6,
ESV) Jesus is the expression of
God. Hebrews 1 develops this truth by
saying that God has spoken to us through His son and His son is the very
shining forth of God’s glory.
Our world
tries to appear wise by making room for everyone to have their own
understanding of who God is. However,
this will not work. Jesus clearly says
that He is the only way. No one gets to
God except through Him. He is the very
expression of God. Going into all the
reasons we can trust His testimony would take too much of our time, therefore,
let’s just say since He is the only person to rise from the dead in all of
history, we should take His word for it.
If we
compare this truth to our atheist friends who say there is no God, we see that
they are throwing away life for what leads to death. John 3:18 says, “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.” However prosperous or successful or smart a
person is in this life, what advantage do they have if they face eternity condemned
by their unbelief?
The fear of
the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
As we said,
wisdom involves “instruction,” “understanding,” “discipline,” “wise behavior,”
“righteousness,” “justice” and “equity” along with knowledge. All these component parts of wisdom start
with a right relationship to God. He is
the Creator and Sustainer of all things.
Nothing that we build that does not acknowledge God will last. 1 Corinthians 3:11-13 says:
For no one can lay a foundation
other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with
gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become
manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire,
and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. (ESV)
This is
talking about what we build with our lives.
We can build family, fortune, relationships. We can do good works or evil. However, this passage is telling us that
there is only one foundation on which to build, Jesus Christ. But, how do we know what to build with? This is where wisdom comes in. How we live our lives is the domain of
wisdom. Wisdom is expressed in words,
words that bring life and help. The
foundation of wisdom is to acknowledge God.
A concise
statement of a wise life is found in Proverbs 3:5-6:
Trust in the LORD with all your
heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to
take. (NLT)
[i]
Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New
Living Translation. Copyright © 1996,
2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
[ii]
http://biblehub.com/commentaries/pulpit/proverbs/1.htm
[iii]
Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good
News Publishers. Used by
permission. All rights reserved.
