THE ENLIGHTENED LIFE – KNOWLEDGE
PROVERBS 1:1-7
KNOWLEDGE IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT IS BASIC TO WISDOM. A PERSON MAY ACCUMULATE A GREAT NUMBER OF FACTS, BUT STILL NOT HAVE KNOWLEDGE AS KNOWLEDGE IS OBTAINED BY EXPERIENCE.
PROVERBS IS UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY, AND IS MATERIAL WE DON’T SPEND A GREAT DEAL OF TIME WITH AND AS A RESULT WE GAIN MANY MISCONCEPTIONS CONCERNING IT’S MATERIAL.
ANOTHER REASON IT IS UNFAMILIAR IS THAT WE HAVE THE WRONG IMPRESSION OF WHAT KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM IS ALL ABOUT. WE LOOK AT KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM AS A COLLECTION OF VARIOUS FACTS AND WISDOM AS HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY APPLY THOSE FACTS. THIS IS NOT THE CASE WHEN DEALING WITH THE ISRAEL OF SOLOMON’S DAY.
PROVERBS IS A BOOK WHICH DEALS WITH THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF WISDOM, WHICH IS DEPICTED AS A DIVINE ENDOWMENT CHARACTERIZED BY INSIGHT, INSTRUCTION, KNOWLEDGE OF DIVINE TRUTH, AND THE RESOLUTION TO APPLY ALL THESE QUALITITES ON THE BASIS OF A SHREWD AND INFORMED MIND.
MANY PROVERBS ARE COMPARISONS. THEY COMPARE A UNIVERSAL TRUTH, IN RYTHMIC PHRASES, TO SOMETHING SIMPLE, SOME FAMILIAR OBJECT, PERSON, OR ACTION. THE COMPARISON MAY BE EITHER TO SOMETHING SIMILAR OR, IT MAY FIND ITS EMPHASIS BY SHOWING CONTRAST. THEY REVEAL TRUTH, NEEDED FOR RIGHT LIVING.
THE BOOK OF PROVERBS REPRESENTS AN ATTEMPT TO DISTIL GREAT TRUTHS INTO A FEW WORDS. THEY DRAW FROM THE EXPERIENCES OF DAILY LIFE IN PALESTINE, HUNDREDS OF YEARS BEFORE THE BIRTH OF CHRIST. SUCH MEMORIZATION WAS, AT THE TIME PROVERBS WAS BEING WRITTEN, PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE METHODS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING, BREVITY WAS HELPFUL. A WELL-TURNED PHRASE BECAME EASIER TO REMEMBER THAN A COMPLEX LAW OR THEOLOGICAL DOCTRINE.
WISDOM IS GOD’S GIFT AND IS FOSTERED BY A CONSTANT SEARCH FOR DIVINE TRUTH.
PROVERBS 2:6: THE LORD GIVES WISDOM. KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING COME FROM HIS MOUTH.
WISDOM IS PRESENTED AS A SOPHISTICATED ATTRIBUTE OF LIFE WHICH ENABLES ITS POSSESSOR TO MAKE A CREATIVE AND SUCCESSFUL MARK ON SOCIETY BY GOD’S POWER, AVOIDING MEANTIME THE SNARES AND PITFALLS WHICH BESET THE FOOLISH AND IGNORANT.
GOD DESIRES HIS PRIESTLY KINGDOM AND HOLY PEOPLE TO LIVE IN DISCERNMENT AND PROSPERITY, PURSUEING ETHICAL AND MORAL BEHAVIOR AS A CONSISTENT WITNESS TO THE SPIRITUAL RELATIONSHIP OF REVERENCE AND OBEDIENCE THAT THEY ENJOY WITH HIM.
THE MORAL TEACHINGS OF PROVERBS ARE MEANT TO RELATE THE BELIEVER’S FAITH SUCCESSFULLY TO LIFE IN SOCIETY. UNDER WISDOM’S GUIDANCE HE WILL FOLLOW AN HONEST, UNSELFISH PATTEN OF LIFE THAT WILL BE HONORED BY GOD AND RECOGNIZED IN HUMAN SOCIETY.
HIS REWARD WILL BE A SENSE OF SECURITY IN THE LORD AND AN INCREASING KNOWLEDGE OF WHO AND WHAT GOD IS AS THE BELIEVER SEARCHES THE DEPTHS OF DIVINE WISDOM AND APPLIES ITS TEACHINGS TO SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONCERNS.
PROVERBS 29:25: IF YOU ARE AFRAID OF PEOPLE, IT WILL TRAP YOU. BUT IF YOU TRUST IN THE LORD, HE WILL KEEP YOU SAFE.
PROVERBS 2:5: THEN YOU WILL UNDERSTAND HOW TO HAVE RESPECT FOR THE LORD. YOU WILL FIND OUT HOW TO KNOW GOD.
THE BOOK OF PROVERBS IS A COLLECTION OF SAYINGS FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES AND PERIODS, SOME OF WHICH AT LEAST MUST HAVE CIRCULATED INDEPENDENTLY BEFORE BEING ASSEMBLED IN THE BOOK.
THE MATERIAL IN PROVERBS SEEMS TO REFLECT THE CONCLUSIONS OF PEOPLE AS THEY CAREFULLY OBSERVED THE WORLD IN AN ATTEMPT TO IDENTIFY THE BASIC PATTERNS THAT OPERATE IN LIFE. ACCORDING TO ISRAELITE THINKING, THE BASIS FOR SUCH OBSERVATIONS IS THE FACT THAT GOD CREATED THE WORLD AND DESIGNED ORDER INTO IT.
PROVERBS 3:19-20:
19 BY WISDOM THE LORD LAID THE EARTH’S FOUNDATIONS. THROUGH UNDERSTANDING HE SET THE HEAVENS IN PLACE. 20 BY HIS KNOWLEDGE THE SEAS WERE SEPARATED, AND THE CLOUDS DROPPED THEIR DEW.
PROVERBS ARE GENERAL STATEMENTS OF TRUTH RATHER THAN INVARIABLE PROMISES OR LAWS, AND AN INDIVIDUAL PROVERB NORMALLY CAPTURES A TINY CROSS-SECTION OF TRUTH RATHER THAN MAKING A COMPREHENSIVE STATEMENT ABOUT A TOPIC. CONSIDER THIS PROVERB:
PROVERBS 15:1: A GENTLE ANSWER TURNS ANGER AWAY. BUT MEAN WORDS STIR UP ANGER.
THIS CONSTITUTES ONE COMPONENT OF THE BROADER TOPICS OF USING WORDS WISELY AND DEALING WITH ANGRY PEOPLE.
THIS SINGLE PRINCIPLE IS ONE SMALL PIECE OF A MUCH LARGER, MOSAIC, AND THE STUDENT IS NOT ONLY TO PUT TOGETHER THE BROADER MOSAIC PIECE BY PIECE, BUT ALSO LEARN TO APPLY THESE PRINCIPLES SKILLFULLY TO THE COMPLEXITIES THAT ONE ENCOUNTERS IN LIFE. THE GOAL OF THE WISDOM IN PROVERBS IS TO DEVELOP SKILL IN LIVING ACCORDING TO THE ORDER THAT IS EMBEDDED IN GOD’S CREATION.
MOST PROVERBS STATE A SINGLE GENERAL TRUTH WITH LITTLE ATTEMPT TO NOTE EXCEPTIONS AND QUALIFICATIONS.
WHILE THE BOOK ADDRESSES A WIDE VARIETY OF ISSUES, IT GIVES CONSIDERABLE ATTENTION TO MATTERS SUCH AS THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THE WISE PERSON AND THE FOOL, THE IMPORTANCE OF VIRTUES SUCH AS DILIGENCE AND SELF-CONTROL, THE IMPORTANCE OF USING WORDS WISELY, WARNINGS ABOUT SEXUAL IMMORALITY, THE RESPONSIBLE USE OF MONEY, PRIORITIES, AND ADVISE ABOUT PROPER BEHAVIOR IN A VARIETY OF SOCIAL SETTINGS. MOST PROVERBS DEAL WITH THE GENERAL AND THE TYPICAL, BUT THEIR GOAL IS TO EQUIP PEOPLE WITH THE SKILLS TO APPLY WISDOM TO THE PARTICULAR EXPERIENCES IN LIFE.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE HEBREWS AND THEIR SCRIPTURES WERE PART OF A MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL ENVIRONMENT. IT HAS BECOME APPARENT THAT THERE ARE MANY THINGS IN SCRIPTURE THAT NEED TO BE UNDERSTOOD IN LIGHT OF THE CONDITIONS AND CULTURE OF THE VARIOUS PERIODS TO WHICH THE NARRATIVES REFER.
INEVITABLY A GOOD DEAL OF COMMON GROUND IS EXHIBITED WHEN MORAL ISSUES ARE BEING DISCUSSES, WHATEVER THE PARTICULAR CULTURAL BACKGROUND, IF FOR NO OTHER REASON THAN BECAUSE THE FALLEN NATURE OF HUMANITY HAS REMAINED CONSTANT THROUGHOUT HISTORY. CONSEQUENTLY IT SHOULD HARDLY BE SURPRISING THAT PROBLEMS AND ISSUES RAISED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT WISDOM BOOKS ARE MATCHED BY SIMILAR CONCERNS IN THE WISDOM WRITINGS OF PAGAN NATIONS.
THE HEBREW TERM MOST COMMONLY USED FOR “WISDOM” REFERS TO EXHIBITING A RANGE OF MEANING FROM THE PURELY PRACTICAL TO THE MORAL. THE EARLIEST NEAR EASTERN UNDERSTANDING OF “WISDOM” WAS THAT OF SKILL OR ABILITY IN PERFORMING TASKS, WHETHER AS A CARPENTER, SHIPBUILDER, JEWELER, OR OTHER CRAFTSMAN. SUBSEQUENTLY IT WAS APPLIED TO A PERSON OF ADMINISTRATIVE ABILITY, AND ALSO TO INDIVIDUALS SUCH AS RULERS OR MILITARY PERSONNEL WHO EXHIBITED PERCEPTION OR FORESIGHT IN THE AFFAIRS OF STATE. AT IT’S HIGHEST METAPHYSICAL LEVEL WISDOM COULD BE UNDERSTOOD NOW AS A DIVINE ATTRIBUTE.
IT WAS A SHIFT FROM THE PRACTICAL TO THE CEREBRAL, AND THE WAY WAS OPENED FOR WISDOM TO BE REGARDED AS A MORAL OR SPIRITUAL QUALITY WHICH GRACED THE CHARACTER OF THE PERSON POSSESSING IT.
WHAT THEN IS A PROVERB AND HOW DOES IT RELATE TO “WISDOM?” THE HEBREW TERM COMES FROM EITHER A ROOT MEANING “TO RULE” OR ONE SIGNIFYING AN ACT OF COMPARISON.
THERE ARE AT LEAST FOUR DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROVERBS PRESENTED IN THE BOOK:
1. PROVERBS 15:20: A WISE SON MAKES HIS FATHER GLAD. BUT A FOOLISH SON HATES HIS MOTHER.
THERE IS A DECIDED CONTRAST SHOWN HERE. THE FORCE OF THE SAYING IS HEIGHTENED BY THE INTRODUCTION OF THE CONTRAST.
2. PROVERBS 3:1-35 DESCRIBES SYSTEMATIC INSTRUCTION, WITH OR WITHOUT WARNINGS, WITH THE BENEFITS THAT THE EXERCISING OF WISDOM BRINGS ARE EXTOLLED.
3. A STRAIGHTFORWARD DISCOURSE ON A TOPIC RELATED TO WISDOM IS ILLUSTRATED IN JOB 27:1-23, WHERE JOB CONTINUTES HIS PROVERB IN THE FORM OF AN ADDRESS DEALING WITH PERSONAL MORAL INTEGRITY.
4. 1 SAMUEL 10:12: A MAN WHO LIVED IN GIBEAH ANSWERED, “YES, HE IS. IN FACT, HE’S THEIR LEADER.” THAT’S WHY PEOPLE SAY, “IS SAUL ALSO ONE OF THE PROPHETS?”
THIS IS A FOURTH TYPE OF PROVERB AND IS THAT OF SARCASTIC OR TAUNTING REMARK, AND IT OCCURS AT INTERVALS THROUGHOUT THE OLD TESTAMENT. JESUS WOULD ANTICIPATE HIS AUDIENCE’S CRITICISM OF HIS ACTIVITIES BY QUOTING THE PROVERB, “PHYSICIAN, HEAL YOURSELF” IS A GOOD EXAMPLE.
THESE DO NOT EXHAUST THE EXTENT THE TYPES OF PROVERBS IN THE BIBLE. PROVERBS CAN INVOLVE THE USE OF RIDDLES AS WELL AS PARABLES AND OTHER TYPES OF WRITING.
THE PROVERB ACTUALLY OWES ITS ORIGIN TO AN ATTEMPT TO INTELLECTUALIZE SOME OF THE PARADOXES AND CONTRADICTIONS OF HUMAN LIFE. IN THAT EVENT THE PROVERB NEED NOT HAVE BEEN SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT ON OCCASIONS FROM A HUMEROUS REMARK OR ALLUSION, SINCE BOTH COME FROM THE COMMON GROUND OF HUMAN INTERACTION.
IT IS HIGHLY PROBABLE THAT SOME OF THE ANCIENT PROVERBS WERE GREETED BY LAUGHTER AND DERISION DEPENDING ON HOW APTLY THE ESSENCE OF THE SITUATION WAS CAPTURED.
IT IS ALSO LIKELY THAT SOME OF THE PROVERBS CAME FROM THE OBSERVATIONS OF PEOPLE LVING AND WORKING OUTSIDE THE BUREAUCRATIC CIRCLE AND REPRESENTED THEIR COMMENTS ON THAT PARTICULAR WAY OF LIFE.
IN OTHER RESPECTS A GOODLY NUMBER OF PROVERBS WERE BASED UPON OBSERVED FACETS AND PATTERNS OF NATURE, WHILE OTHERS REFLECTED THE SKILLS OF CRAFTSMEN LIKE GOLDSMITHS, SILVERSMITHS, AND JEWELERS, WHO WEE ABLE TO FURNISH A MORAL INTERPRETATION FOR ASPECTS OF THEIR CRAFTS.
THE MOST COMMON FORM OF PROVERB COMPRISES TWO LINES AND FOLLOWS A PATTERN FOUND IN THE PSALMS THAT ALLOWS THE PROVERB TO HAVE BEEN WRITTEN ACCORDING TO ONE OF THREE FORMS OF LITERARY PARALLELISM:
1. SYNONYMOUS PARALLELISM: THIS IS WHERE THE SECOND LINE SUPPORTS AND EMPHSSIZES THE THOUGHT OF THE FIRST.
PROVERBS 6:4: DON’T LET YOUR EYES GO TO SLEEP. DON’T LET YOUR EYELIDS CLOSE.
2. ANTITHETIC PARALLELISM: BRINGS A DISTINCT CONTRAST IN THE SECOND LINE TO THE THOUGHT OF THE FIRST, SO THAT THEY PRESENT OPPOSITE POSITIONS OF THE SAME PROVERB. THE SECOND LINE WILL USUSALLY BEGIN WITH THE WORD “BUT”.
PROVERBS 10:7: TO REMEMBER THOSE WHO DO RIGHT IS A BLESSING. BUT THE NAMES OF THOSE WHO DO WRONG WILL ROT.
3. SYNTHETIC PARALLELISM, IN WHICH THE SECOND LINE ACTUALLY ADDS TO IT’S MEANING AND CONTENT.
PROVERBS 18:8: The words of anyone who talks about others are like tasty bites of food. They go deep down inside you.
4. INTROVERTED PARALLELISM: THIS IS A STYLE IN WHICH TWO SUCCESSIVE STATEMENTS ARE REPEATED IN REVEERSE ORDER.
PROVERBS 3:10: THEN YOUR STOREROOMS WILL BE SO FULL THEY CAN’T HOLD EVERYTHING. YOUR HUGE JARS WILL SPILL OVER WITH FRESH WINE.
A PROVERB MAY BE EXPRESSED AS A FIGURE OF SPEECH, CONVEYING POETIC GRACE AND HEIGHTENING IT’S GENERAL EFFECT. SIMILES ARE GENERALLY INTRODUCED WITH “LIKE” OR “AS”.
PROVERBS 10:26: ANYONE WHO DOESN’T WANT TO WORK HURTS THOSE WHO SEND HIM. HE IS LIKE VINEGAR ON THE TEETH OR SMOKE IN THE EYES.
DIRECT COMPARISON, WHICH FAVORS WISDOM OVER OTHER THINGS IN LIFE, IS USED TO ENCOURAGE PERSONS TO FOLLOW WISE WAYS OF LIVING.
PROVERBS 15:16: IT IS BETTER TO HAVE RESPECT FOR THE LORD AND HAVE LITTLE THAN TO BE RICH AND HAVE TROUBLE.
SOMETIMES THE FIRST PART OF A PROVERB CONTAINS A NUMBER, TO BE FOLLOWED IN THE SECOND PART BY THE NEXT HIGHEST INTEGER. THE SECOND NUMBER ALWAYS POINTS TO THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE PROVERB.
PROVERBS 30:18: “THREE THINGS ARE TOO AMAZING FOR ME. THERE ARE FOUR THINGS I DON’T UNDERSTAND.
UNDERLYING THE BOOK OF PROVERBS IS THE ASSUMPTION THAT WISDOM IS GOOD AND CAN EASE OUR WAY THROUGH LIFE. ALL KNOWLEDGE IS GOOD AND EVEN THE CURIOUS PERSON WILL REACH FOR IT.
WISDOM THOUGH FOR THE ANCIENT HEBREW WAS ‘NOT A STUDY OF THE UNIVERSE AND THE LAWS THAT GOVERN IT, BUT MAN AND THE MORAL CONDITIONS WHICH GOVERN HIS LIFE… THEREFORE THE PURPOSE OF THESE PROVERBS IS TO BRING WISDOM….TO MEN SO THAT THEY MAY LIVE HAPPILY, PEACEFULLY, AND RIGHTEOUSLY TOGETHER.
WISDOM WAS NOT A MYSTERIOUS THING. IT WAS THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE MORAL LAW OF GOD AS IT APPLIED TO THE PRACTICAL MATTERS OF LIFE.
MOST IMPORTANT THOUGH TO REMEMBER IS THAT WISDOM CAN BE LEARNED. THE WORD “INSTRUCTION” APPEARS TWICE IN OUR TEXT. IF I WILL ONLY OPEN MY MIND, WISDOM WILL BE MINE. CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING SOURCES THE TEXT CITES:
1. PARENTS AND CARRIERS OF A TRADITION; LISTEN TO YOUR PARENTS.
2. “WISE PEOPLE” ARE CARRIERS OF WISDOM; GO TO THEIR SCHOOLS.
THE UNDERLYING ASSUMPTION OF PROVERBS IS THAT IF A PERSON KNOWS WHAT IS RIGHT, THAT HE\SHE WILL DO IT. NOW WE KNOW THAT THIS IS NOT IN FACT THE CASE. JUST BECAUSE A PERSON KNOWS THE RIGHT CHOICE TO MAKE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT THEY WILL MAKE THAT CHOICE. IF THIS WERE THE CASE THERE WOULD BE NO CRIME IN OUR COUNTRY.
THERE AROSE IN ISRAEL\JUDAH A CLASS OF PEOPLE KNOWN AS THE “WISE PEOPLE.” THEY WERE ALONGSIDE PROPHETS AND PRIESTS. ALL KINGS HAD COUNSELORS OR “WISE PEOPLE” UNDER THEM. WISDOM TENDED TO BE THE PROPERTY OF THE ELITE OR UPPER CLASS.
WISDOM WAS ALSO FOUND WITH:
1. KINGS AND THE WISE PEOPLE GATHERED TO ASSIST THEM.
2. SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS, WHICH EMERGED AFTER CAPTIVITY.
3. PARENTS AND VILLAGE WISE PEOPLE.
MARVIN TATE MAKES A DISTINCTION AND SAID THAT THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF WISDOM IN PROVERBS:
1. THERE IS EMPIRICAL WISDOM: THIS COMES FROM EXPERIENCE AND TRADITION. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE JEWISH RELIGION, AND PAGANS COULD HAVE IT.
2. THERE IS THEOLOGICAL WISDOM: THIS IS A GIFT OF GOD, WHICH IS PRESENT WITH GOD AND QUITE POSSIBLY CANNOT BE KNOWN BY HUMANKIND. IT IS BEYOND US.
THE BROADMAN COMMENTARY STATES OF THEOLOGICAL WISDOM:
“WISDOM IS NOTHING LESS THAN THE PERSONAL PRESENCE OF YAHWEH IN THE WORLD AND AMONG MEN.”
THIS MATERIAL WAS PROBABLY PULLED TOGETHER SOME 500 YEARS BEFORE THE BIRTH OF JESUS.
THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF PROVERBS IS THE INSTRUCTION OF YOUNG PEOPLE AND THOSE WHO HAVE YET TO LEARN WISDOM, AND COPE WITH LIFE. SOMETIMES THE RECEPIENTS OF THE PROVERB WERE ADDRESSED ON A PERSONAL BASIS USING THE TERM “MY SON”. THOSE WHO ARE MATURE AND LEARNED ALSO SHOULD NOT SHUN THIS BOOK AS THOUGH IT WERE UNWORTHY OF THEIR TIME.
SOLOMON IS CREDITED WITH WRITING 3000 PROVERBS.
1 KINGS 4:32: 32HE SPOKE 3,000 PROVERBS. HE WROTE 1,005 SONGS.
PROVERBS 1:1: THESE ARE THE PROVERBS OF SOLOMON. HE WAS THE SON OF DAVID AND THE KING OF ISRAEL.
THE BIBLE IS NOT GIVEN TO TEACH US PHILOSOPHY, BUT RELIGION. IT IS NOT TO SHOW US THE WAY TO SCIENCE, BUT THE WAY TO HOLINESS AND HEAVEN. NOTWITHSTANDING, THEREFORE, THE EXTENT AND VARIETY OF SOLOMON’S KNOWLEDGE IN BOTANY, IN NATURAL HISTORY, AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS OF SCIENCE, WE HAVE IN PRESERVATION NONE WHATEVER OF HIS DISCOVERIES OR HIS SPECULATIONS ON SUCH SUBJECTS.
THE SUGGESTION IS MADE IN THIS VERSE THAT WE WILL NOT DO WELL IN LIFE, UNLESS WE UNDERSTAND OUR RELATIONSHIP TO GOD.
PROVERBS 1:2-4: PROVERBS TEACH YOU WISDOM AND TRAIN YOU. THEY HELP YOU UNDERSTAND WISE SAYINGS. 3THEY PROVIDE YOU WITH TRAINING AND HELP YOU LIVE WISELY. THEY LEAD TO WHAT IS RIGHT AND HONEST AND FAIR. 4THEY GIVE UNDERSTANDING TO CHILDISH PEOPLE. THEY GIVE KNOWLEDGE AND GOOD SENSE TO THOSE WHO ARE YOUNG.
THE BOOK OF PROVERBS BELONGS TO A GROUP OF OLD TESTAMENT BOOKS KNOWN AS THE WISDOM LITERATURE, THE OTHERS BEING JOB AND ECCLESIASTES. EACH BOOK DEALS WITH WISDOM IN A DIFFERENT WAY.
PROVERBS CONTAINS CONSIDERABLY MORE TEACHINGS AND SAYINGS ABOUT WISDOM THAN THESE OTHER BOOKS COMBINED, AND FURNISHES THE READER WITH MANY INSIGHTS INTO THE ACTIVITIES AND TRADITIONS OF ISRAEL’S “WISE MEN” WHO COMPOSED AND COLLECTED THEM.
THE GENERAL IDEA OF WISDOM IS, THAT IT CONSISTS IN THE CHOICE OF THE BEST ENDS, AND OF THE BEST MEANS FOR THEIR ATTAINMENT. THIS DEFINITION ADMITS OF APPLICATION BOTH IN A LOWER AND HIGHER DEPARTMENT. IN THE FIRST PLACE IT MAY BE APPLIED TO THE WHOLE CONDUCT OF HUMAN LIFE, - IN ALL ITS DAILY INTERCOURSE AND ORDINARY TRANSACTIONS, AND AMIDST ALL ITS VARYING CIRCUMSTANCES… TO ACCOMMODATE OUR CONDUCT TO THESE VARIATIONS – TO SUIT TO ALL OF THEM THE APPLICATION OF THE GREAT GENERAL PRINCIPLES AND PRECEPTS OF THE DIVINE LAW, AND “TO GUIDE OUR AFFAIRS WITH DISCRETION” IN THEM ALL, REQUIRES “WISDOM”. AND FOR ENABLING US TO ACT OUR PART RIGHTLY, CREDITABLY, AND USEFULLY, FROM DAY TO DAY, THERE IS IN THIS BOOK AN IMMENSE FUND OF ADMIRABLE COUNSEL AND SALUTARY DIRECTION.
AND THEN, SECONDARY, THE KNOWLEDGE OF WISDOM MAY BE TAKEN IN ITS HIGHER APPLICATION – TO INTERESTS OF A SUPERIOR ORDER, TO SPIRITUAL DUTIES, TO THE WELLBEING OF THE BETTER PART, TO ALL THAT REGARDS TRUE RELIGION AND THE SALVATION OF THE SOUL. WISDOM, IN THIS BOOK, IS GENERALLY UNDERSTOOD IN THIS ITS HIGHEST APPLICATION, AS MIGHT INDEED BE EXPECTED IN A BOOK OF INSTRUCTIONS FROM GOD.
“TO PERCEIVE THE WORDS OF UNDERSTANDING” IS A PHRASE WHICH MAY BE INTERPRETED AS MEANING THE POWER OF JUSTLY DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL COUNSEL – BETWEEN THAT WHICH IS RIGHT IN ITS PRINCIPLE AND SALUTARY IN ITS OPERATIONS, AND THAT WHICH IS UNSOUND AND PERNICIOUS.
THE TEACHER OFFERS TO SAVE THE YOUNG AND INEXPERIENCED FROM THE SLOWER AND MORE PAINFUL PROCESS OF LEARNING BY EXPERIENCE.
PROVERBS 1:5: 5LET WISE PEOPLE LISTEN AND ADD TO WHAT THEY HAVE LEARNED. LET THOSE WHO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS RIGHT GET GUIDANCE.
WHO IS A “WISE MAN”?
1. A WISE MAN WILL HEAR: HE SHOWS THAT HE VALUES WHAT HE HAS ALREADY ATTAINED BY GIVING HEED TO THOSE WHO ARE ABLE TO ADD TO HIS KNOWLEDGE. THOSE WHO KNOW THE MOST ARE MOST OPEN TO RECEIVE FRESH KNOWLEDGE.
2. THE NECESSARY CONSEQUENCE OF THIS HEARING IS A GROWTH IN KNOWLEDGE.
LUKE 8:18: 18“SO BE CAREFUL HOW YOU LISTEN. IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING, YOU WILL BE GIVEN MORE. IF YOU HAVE NOTHING, EVEN WHAT YOU THINK YOU HAVE WILL BE TAKEN AWAY FROM YOU.”
THIS HEARING INCLUDES THE DESIRE TO TRANSLATE PRECEPTS INTO DEEDS, AND SUBMIT TO THEIR GUIDANCE.
MATTHEW 13:13: 13HERE IS WHY I USE STORIES WHEN I SPEAK TO THE PEOPLE. I SAY, “THEY LOOK, BUT THEY DON’T REALLY SEE. THEY LISTEN, BUT THEY DON’T REALLY HEAR OR UNDERSTAND.
JOHN 9:39: 39JESUS SAID, “I HAVE COME INTO THIS WORLD TO JUDGE IT. I HAVE COME SO THAT THE BLIND WILL SEE AND THOSE WHO SEE WILL BECOME BLIND.”
THIS GROWTH IN KNOWLEDGE GIVES A MAN A GUIDE FOR HIS OWN LIFE AND ENABLES HIM TO GUIDE OTHERS. HE WILL NOT SOLVE ALL MYSTERIES BUT ENOUGH WILL BE MADE PLAIN TO GIVE HIM A COMPASS BY WHICH TO STEER; AND HE WILL BE ABLE TO LEAD OTHERS. A DILIGENT PUPIL WILL BY AND BY BE FIT FOR A TEACHER.
PROVERBS 1:6-7:
6 WHAT I’M TEACHING ALSO HELPS YOU UNDERSTAND PROVERBS AND STORIES. IT HELPS YOU UNDERSTAND THE SAYINGS AND RIDDLES OF THOSE WHO ARE WISE.
MAIN POINT
7 IF YOU REALLY WANT TO GAIN KNOWLEDGE, YOU JUST BEGIN BY HAVING RESPECT FOR THE LORD. BUT FOOLISH PEOPLE HATE WISDOM AND TRAINING.
MOST COMMENTATORS CALL THIS VERSE THE “MOTTO OF PROVERBS.”
STRANGELY, ONE PART OF GOOD RELIGION IS THE REMOVAL OF FEAR. OFTEN THE OPENING LINE WHEN GOD SPEAKS IN THE BIBLE IS “FEAR NOT.”
PRIMITIVE RELIGION WAS GROUNDED AND LACED WITH FEAR. FEAR IS STILL IN OUR LIVES, BUT THERE IS ALSO THE COMFORT OF KNOWING THE PRESENCE OF GOD THAT CAN BRING US FREEDOM FROM THE EFFECTS OF THAT FEAR AND HELP US TO FACE IT.
THIS TEXT BRINGS TO MIND ALL THE GOD-HAUNTED PEOPLE WHO HAVE GONE THROUGH LIFE SCARED OF GOD, SCARED OF HELL, SCARED OF JUDGMENT. THIS VERSE REMINDS US THAT GOD IS ON OUR SIDE. HERE IS WHY:
1. WISDOM MAKES US FEAR THE RIGHT THINGS. FEAR IS NOT ALL BAD. IT IS PART OF THE MIND’S EARLY WARNING SYSTEM. WE GUARD AGAINST WHAT WE FEAR. BLANKET INDICTMENTS AGAINST FEAR ARE OFF THE MARK AS TO FEAR THE RIGHT THINGS IS A FORM OF WISDOM.
2. WISDOM MAKES US RECOGNIZE OUR HUMANITY. WISDOM AND “THE FEAR OF THE LORD” ARE CONNECTED. A SEPARATION OF GOD FROM ANY PART OF EDUCATION WAS UNTHINKABLE TO THEM. THE INTERPRETERS BIBLE STATES “TRUE KNOWLEDGE MUST START WITH A RECOGNITION OF GOD.”
THE CORE OF HUMILITY IS ROOTED IN “THE FEAR OF GOD.” WISE PEOPLE HAVE HUMILITY AT THEIR CORE. THEY REALIZE THEY ARE NOT THE STOREHOUSE FOR ALL WISDOM.
3. WISDOM BEGINS BY TAKING GOD INTO ACCOUNT. PAGANS DO NOT FIGHT GOD; THEY NEVER GIVE GOD A THOUGHT. TOO MANY CHURCH PEOPLE ARE QUIETLY BECOMING PAGANS. THEY CONSIDER GOD AT CHURCH, BUT AWAY FROM CHURCH, GOD IS NOT GIVEN ANY THOUGHT.
