PROVERBS 1:1
LIVING A WISE LIFE
[Proverbs 10: 17]
The book of Proverbs is sound sense for successful living. It is so needed today because as late British poet T. S. Eliot asked; "Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?"
We are living in an "age of instant information"-but it is obvious that information has not birth an "age of wisdom." Many people who are wizards with their computers are making a failure of life. Computers can store data and instantly transfer it anywhere to anyone, but they cannot give us the ability to understand that knowledge or use it wisely. What we need today is wisdom.
Proverbs is a guide book that teachings its readers how to lead wise, godly lives and how to avoid the pitfalls of unwise, ungodly behavior. It has a broad, timeless appeal because of its great variety of subjects and their relevance to everyday life. Proverbs is God's book on "how to wise up and live." "It is impossible for any persons to study the book of Proverbs an not profit by it." [Adam Clarke's Commentary] It is God's treasure book of wisdom.
[Woven into human fabric is the desire to learn and understand. Our minds set us apart from animals. We analyze, conceptualize, theorize, discuss, and debate everything from science to the supernatural. And we build schools, institutes, and universities where learned professors can teach us about the world and about life. Life Application Bible. Zondervan. 1070]
Knowledge is good, but there is a vast difference between "knowledge" (having the facts) and "wisdom" (applying those facts to life). We may amass knowledge, but without wisdom, our knowledge is profitless. We must learn how to live out what we know. This is the purpose of the book of Proverbs. It's aim is to teach people how to attain divine wisdom and apply it to daily life in a successful manner.
I like the way Max Lucado puts it. "Proverbs is a collection of lamps...Lamps that do for your heart what lamps in your house do for your eyes. They chase away the darkness... [Studying] Proverbs turns on the lamps in the dark corners of life.....Time spent with Proverbs makes a heart wise. It is a practical guide for getting along with God... [and] people" [Life Lessons Study Bible. Thomas Nelson, 2010. 846.] Why don't you commit yourself to come each Wednesday night study? If you will, God will flip on more than a few lights for you.
I. PROVERBS THAT GIVE INSIGHT
II. SOLOMON'S GIFT OF WISDOM.
The book begins (in verse 1) by stating its type of literature and its author. "The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, King of Israel.
The word "proverbs" relays not only the title of the book but also designates the type of book. Our English word Proverbs is a compound of two Latin words; "pro" which means "before, for" and "verba" which means "a word, speech, or saying." The word refers to what comes before many words. It is a saying that contains more than meets the eye. Proverbs are concise sayings with extended meanings.
The Hebrew word, "mashal" ( ) gives better insight into the nature of the wisdom sayings. Mashal means "to rule or to govern" indicating these sayings are reminders and admonitions that provide profound advice for governing our lives. The LXX word is paroimia and means likeness or a comparison. [The verbal root of the Greek word means "to be like, parallel, or similar."]
Proverbs summarize in a few choice words practical truths relating to some aspect of everyday life. The Spanish novelist Cervantes defined a proverb as a "short sentence based on long experience." As brief precepts proverbs are distilled, to-the-point sentences about life. They boil down, crystallize, and condense the experiences and observations of the writers. Here, they are divine wisdom applied to daily life.
The brief but concentrated nature of the precepts cause the reader to reflect on their meanings. They tell what life is like and how life should be lived. In a terse, no-words-wasted fashion, some statements in Proverbs relate what is commonly observed in life; others recommend or exhort how life should be lived. And when advice is given, a reason for the counsel usually follows.
The sayings of this book form a library of instruction on how to live a godly life here on earth so that you are assured of reward in heaven. These pithy down to earth sayings are I easily grasped, and convey practical wisdom. These proverbs are not so much popular sayings as they are distillation of wisdom from applying the Word of God.
Proverbs are a more ancient form of communication but not out dated today. These gems and jewels are neither dimmed by time nor superceded by worldly fashion. A queen is adorned by an old jewel just as readily as a new one. Today we have become so wordy, our books so numerous, and our intellects so far fetched, that we use few proverbs. What should be wrapped in one impacting sentence we spread out into paragraphs. Instead of nuggets of gold on a jeweled bracelet we have delivered words like grains of sand in leaky trucks. As teachers tell their students that are constantly talking in class "empty barrels make the most noise."
A special feature of Proverbs is its use of a variety of literary expressions. There are poems, brief parables, pointed question but primarily there are couplets. Couplets are two ideas placed next to each other. See 13:10. These couplets come in three main categories. The contrasting couplet uses the key term but. One statement meaning or application is set in contrast to the other with "but" linking the statements together. The conjunction separates the two ideas. See 13:1, 18, 24; 15:25, 27. In the complementing couplets, the second statement completes the first. The meaning and application come from the way the second statement complements the first. These are usually connected by and or so. See 14:10,13; 15:23; 16:3. In the comparative couplets, the one statement serves as a comparison of the other. In these comparison the key links are "better...than," "as...so," "like...so." See 10:26; 15: 16, 17; 25:24. Comparative sayings are very descriptive and often the most graphic.
There are also several general characteristics of proverbs. Often they are expressions which stick in the mind making them easier to recall (Prov. 11:22). Proverbs make a point, and are not trying to explain the issue (12:1). They are hard hitting statements that challenge the reader to make a judgment about himself. As just said it is often done by setting the wise and the foolish side by side for the reader to access which he is. Another interesting element of the book is the number of people it addresses. The book includes over 180 types of people. Proverbs also cover a wide range of topics including youth and discipline, family life, self-control, resisting temptation, business matters, words and tongue.
II. SOLOMON'S GIFT OF WISDOM.
The book opens naturally by mentioning the Author. "The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, King of Israel." Solomon, the third king of Israel, son of the great King David, reigned during Israel's golden age in the tenth century B.C. In his early life Solomon "loved the Lord and walked in the statues of David his father" (1 Kings 3:3). He became a wise and a wealthy leader because he was a man of prayer. In response to prayer God said He would give Solomon whatever he wanted. He asked for a discerning heart (1 Kings 3:5-14). God was pleased with this request, and not only made Solomon wise but also gave him great riches, power, and an era of peace. Solomon built the glorious temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 6). He is know as the wisest man who ever lived. See 1 Kings 3:28; 4:29-34; 2 Chron. 9:1-24.
Life gave this man an abundance of wealth, power, beauty, knowledge and honor. He drank deeply of all earthly knowledge and delight. Eventually such bounty overcame him, as it has so many of the earth's great leaders. Solomon's life teaches us that even all wisdom and knowledge is not a replacement for a daily humble walk with God. Solomon taught us by his life and in Ecclesiastes that there is a proneness to excess and excess usually leads to discontent and ruin. But before his seeking of excess and delight, Solomon taught by his wisdom and observation of life here in the Proverbs. His Proverbs are the wisdom of the ages crystallized into a sentence, a gold vein in the currency of thought.
May we not forget where great wisdom and inspiration come. Christ said, "Behold, greater that Solomon is here" (Mt. 12:42). What value you find here do not accredit to instrument but to the player, not to the pen but to the writer. For light comes not from the lamp but from the spark and fuel, and a picture comes not from the brush but from the painter. Any words of wisdom come not from the dispenser, but from God. [William Arnot. Studies in Proverbs. 1978. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel. 3-4. David Thomas. Book of Proverbs. 1982.1978. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel. 9-12.] These inspired proverbs of Solomon are the rays of eternal thought mirrored in the diamonds of human genius.
In CONCLUSION
All great undertakings begin with a critical moment- a moment when a decision is made and someone launches himself into a never-to-be forgotten enterprise. FRANCISCO PIZARRO, the noted Spanish explorer, faced such a moment. He languished with his men on a small island awaiting new supplies before moving on to Peru. When the supply ships arrived, they brought a message that he should abandon his expedition-considered by the governor to be foolhardy-and return to Panama.
Pizarro assembled his men on the beach. He drew his sword and made an east to west line in the sand, then turning to the south he said, "Friends and comrades! On that side are toil, hunger, nakedness, the drenching storm, desertion, and death; on this side, ease and pleasure. There lies Peru with its riches; here, Panama and its poverty. Choose, each man, what best becomes a brave Castilian. For my part, I go to the south." Then he stepped across the line.
The pilot Ruiz was first to respond, then twelve other men stepped across to join the leader and the pilot.
Of Pizarro, the famous historian Prescott says he was "...a man more accustomed to act than to talk." Do you want to become wise? Then come with me and we will go on this study of Proverbs and become wise in God's eyes.
These sayings will help us think keenly, they will sharpen the edges of our minds. They will quicken our thoughts and enable us to understand more of life's riddles. As that occurs the daily grind caused by the human viewpoint will slowly be replaced by the wisdom of the divine perspective.
