The Wisdom Books #2 = Proverbs
The Wisdom Books #2 = Proverbs
The next three (3) wisdom books are all written by Solomon.
A series of Blogs specifically on Solomon himself would be good, but for these next 3 Blogs I will just concentrate on the books themselves, and the specific areas in which they give us wisdom.
The book of Proverbs gives us general wisdom for life: clear direction of what to do, and what not to do. It is framed as a father writing to his son, but obviously everything can be applied to daughters and to grown men and women as well; and considering some of the topics, the son was obviously not a child.
I am not writing a commentary on the book, nor will I give an outline of it, so I will not list every verse that deals with each topic. In fact I would say that a verse by verse treatment might over-kill things, whereas grouping the verses by topic allows us to look at the bigger picture of each topic. As you read the book yourself, you will see Solomon deals with certain topics over and over again, which like all good teachers, he does to re-enforce his point; he drives the nail home, by repeatedly striking it.
The main point of this Blog is to show that Book of Proverbs gives us general instruction on how to live across the entire spectrum of life.
Here are eleven (11) topics addressed in the Book of Proverbs:
Firstly, we are told to get knowledge, wisdom, understanding, prudence, discernment, learning, subtlety, etc. In the first few verses, all of these different words are used, each one having a little different nuance of meaning.
“The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; To give subtlety to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Pro 1:1-7
Solomon tells us to get the facts, to understand the facts, and to use them wisely. Don't be a fool, don't despise being taught by others, don't be proud and assume you know it all: listen, observe, think, learn, and then act. Think how many problems we would avoid if we just did the above. As James says, “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:” Jas 1:19
And the old adage: We have 2 ears and 1 mouth, so listen twice as much as you talk!
Secondly, avoid sin!
“My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.” Pro 1:10
Just don't sin!, what is so hard about that? How many problems in life are caused by our sins, actual acts of sin, whether actions or words, whether committed or omitted? Many!
As I heard in a sermon once, “Sin is the stupidest thing in the world!” That is so, so true.
Just say “NO” to sin.
Thirdly, we are told to trust in the Lord, not for deliverance, but trust him, by following the wisdom he gives us; follow what he tells us to do, and trust him for the outcome.
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Pro 3:5-6
If you are a Christian, God is your father. He is on your side! Trust him to be active behind the scenes working for your benefit. He will guide you by his word, by his peace and the Holy Spirit, and by his Providential directing of the circumstances of our lives.
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psa 119:105
“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Php 4:7
“And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” Isa 30:21
Remember this about the wisdom from God: “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.” Jas 3:17
If it is his good pleasure to give us the kingdom (Luk 12:32), which he has prepared for us from before the foundation of the world (Mat 25:34), don't you think he will help/cause us to walk correctly during life, so that we neither hurt ourselves, nor tarnish his name?
“He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.” Psa 23:3
“I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.” Psa 32:8
“Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.” Psa 73:24
Christian, our Father wants us to “succeed” not fail! He will guide us; we need to trust him.
Fourthly, we are told to specifically avoid sexual sin. This is a big topic in the Book of Proverbs.
“For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.” Pro 5:3-5
This is repeated in chapters 6 and 7, with quite clear language.
“But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.” Pro 6:32
“Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.” Pro 7:25-27
America today, and thanks to the Internet, the whole world, is saturated with sex. God made sex, the act and the parts, and so sex is good, very good, but while the physical sensations might be good whenever and with whom ever it is done, when done outside the context of a monogamous hetero sexual marriage as God planned and commands, the emotional and inner damage is great. According to Rom 1, God judges sex outside of his appointed bounds.
Men and women, we all need to listen to Solomon: “her/his steps take hold on hell.”
Fifthly, we are told to avoid entangling ourselves with the affairs of others.
“My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.” Pro 6:1-2
As Thomas Jefferson in his inaugural address:
“Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none.”
We are of course to help those in need, charity, alms, etc, but we are not to enable laziness or foolishness in others by underwriting their bad behavior, or by making them irresponsible. The old Chinese proverb bears on this: Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day; teach him how to fish, you feed him for a life time.”
Sixth, we are told to not be foolish, lazy, liars, slanders, sowers of discord, jealous, spiteful, proud, braggers, etc, etc. the list goes on.
These one and two line proverbs make up a large part of the book, each one a stand alone truth, that we should memorize, and live out.
Seventh, we are told to be honest, not just in speech, but in business, and all our representations to others.
“A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.” Pro 11:1
If a false balance is an abomination to God, how much more does he hate lying speech, deceptive actions, un-fair business practices; again, the book is full of these proverbs!
This ties in with “trust in the Lord.” If I trust him to care for me, I will not use a “false balance” to get the advantage. God does not honor sin! He does not honor disobedience.
“If men lived by faith (trusting the Lord), they would not use sinful means for a livelihood.” Chrysostom
Eighth, we are told to not be drunkards
“Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.” Pro 23:29-32
“Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.” Pro 20:1
Obviously addiction to alcohol is wrong, but regular over indulgence, while maybe not technically wrong (think of the parallel of over eating versus gluttony), it is a waste of time and money, and leads to other sins.
Continuing on from the above verses: “Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.” Pro 23:33-35 Such as sexual sins, foolish and sinful risk taking, and ignorance of our enslavement: “I will seek it yet again.”
Addiction: knowing it is killing us, yet going back for more, whether alcohol, or drugs, or sex, or work, or binge buying, or whatever.
Ninth, we are told to not tamper with God's word
“Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” Pro 30:5-6
We could devote several Blogs to the Doctrine of the Bible, let it suffice here to say “every word of God is pure” means, that “every word,” not just the ones you like, but the ones you don't like, they are all “God's words” and “pure” means, they mean exactly what they say, exactly what he wants them to mean, so don't mess with them.
I quoted Thomas Jefferson above, but have you heard of the Jefferson Bible? He cut out of the bible what he did not like! Not only is his action sinful, and in direct violation of this text of Scripture, but it shows that the Founding Fathers of America were not all Evangelical Christians; Jefferson certainly was not!
The Protestant understanding of the Bible is that it is clear and easy to understand; what it says, is what it means; there are no hidden meanings or messages or number scheme or systems that only certain people know. God wants us to know him and to know about him, he is not hiding in a book that is hard to understand.
Don't add to the bible, don't take away from the bible, he will investigate, and you will be shown to be the liar. Also see Rev 22:18-20 Humbling submit to it, by reading it as the word of the Living God, Creator and Ruler of the Universe, from him to his creatures, we humans, who are dead in trespasses and sin; it is his word of salvation, that we might get eternal life by faith in Jesus Christ.
The verse immediately before 30:5-6 is:
Pro 30:4 Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?
His son's name is Jesus Christ!
Tenthly, we are told to be content, in fact we are told to request that God give us a little less, as a safe-guard against denying him. Which is worse: a poor man who is faithful to God, or a rich man who denies God; and deny here does not mean, saying “There is no God,” it means saying there is a God, but living as if there is no God; giving lip service!
“Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.” Pro 30:7-9
We are told to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” that is safe; abundance can be dangerous.
“There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.” Ecc 5:13
Lastly, we are told that a good wife is not necessarily one with a good figure or a beautiful face, but one who fears the Lord.
“Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.” Pro 31:30
How counter-intuitive that is to all we see and hear around us today. It is a warning, but it is also freeing to both men and women! This is not saying that we men should marry someone who does not appeal to our eyes, or that it is wrong for a woman to enhance herself; it is saying that better is a less attractive wife who fears God, than a super-model who does not; better to be a woman who fears God, than one who fears not looking like the world.
“In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.” 1Ti 2:9-10
“Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.” 1Pe 3:3-4
Christian men, do you look at your wife's true beauty as that of the inner person or just the externals? Young men listen, “favour is deceitful and beauty vain;” why? Because they fade! The body sags, wrinkles develop, “but a woman who fears the Lord,” her beauty increases more and more, day by day! And when you too are no longer “buff” but older and weaker and suffering from the 3Bs: bald with a belly and bifocals, may it be the 2 of you have grown together in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus.
These eleven (11) topics are extremely practice. They are repeated over and over in the book, hammered at again and again, plus many other wise sayings, as single verses or couplets.
Yes, they are commands of the Lord, and therefore are to be obeyed, BUT think of their practical nature! If we heeded these, how happy and successful we would be, and how peaceful would be our personal lives, and our interactions with people.
7 December 2024