The legend is told of a flock of crows who had an awful battle with a
farmer over a corn field. It came to the point when every time they
returned he shot at them. They assembled on the edge of the woods and
took council. One young an vigorous crow trust out his chest and said,
"As far as I can see there are more crows than men, and we fly, which men
cannot. So why not assemble and destroy these creatures who presume to
govern us and drive us from our food? Then we could get all the corn we
wanted, and there would be no one to stop us." An old crow on the edge of
the flock interrupted him and said, "That is all very well, but in my
lifetime I have observed one thing. Where there are no men, there are also
no corn fields."
Enthusiasm is good, but it cannot take the place of experience and
wisdom. The present generation can only truly make progress if they
learn from the experience of the past. We can learn both by the wisdom
and the follies of the past how to be more effective servants of God in the
present. Therefore, we are going back almost three thousand years to the
days of Solomon to see how relevant the wisdom of B.C. is to our A. D.
lives in the modern world.
Solomon was a man with a great deal of experience in both wisdom
and folly. He started well and did what was pleasing to God, and he
became one of the wisest men who ever lived as an answer to his prayer
that he be a wise ruler. He had riches, glory and honor, and he had wide
spread fame, but he yielded to the evil influence of his foreign wives and
became a fool as he departed from God's will. There are several lessons of
value in this fact alone. The first is to recognize that he who stands must
beware lest he fall. One must not be content wherever he is in his
relationship to God. He must persevere in drawing nearer to God at all
times, or he is in danger of being subtly led astray. One must put God first
above all other values or he leaves himself open to folly, even though he be
the wisest man alive.
The second thing we learn from Solomon as the author of this part of
God's Word is that it is an error to say if a man does not practice what he
preaches, it is of no value. This is not true, for God used Solomon to tell us
how to be wise and live wisely even though the one he used did not always
practice it. The truth is just as true when spoken by a sinner as by a saint.
Never dismiss a truth because of its source. A tin cup carries water as well
as a gold one, and you can be refreshed out of either vessel. Truth makes
us free from ignorance even if it comes through a person who has made
poor use of it. In spite of his failures God inspired Solomon to write three
of the books of the Old Testament for the guidance of men for all time.
William Arnot wrote, "The fatal facility with which men glide into the
worship of men may suggest another reason why some of the channels
chosen for conveying the mind of God were marred by glaring
deficiencies." To get a picture of what Solomon was before his folly let me
read for you I Kings 4:29-34, "God gave Solomon wisdom and very great
insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the
seashore. Solomon's wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the men
of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. He was wiser than
any other man, including Ethan the Ezrahite-wiser than Heman, Calcol
and Darda, the sons of Mahol. His fame spread to all the surrounding
nations. He spoke 3 thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a 1005.
He described plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that
grows out of walls. He also taught about animals and birds, reptiles and
fish. Men of all nations came to listen to Solomon's wisdom, sent by all the
kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom."
We see that Solomon's wisdom covered a great deal of ground, and so
there is a great variety in the study of the proverbs. They are usually
short, weighty, authoritative sayings that are the wisdom of experience
compressed into few words for easy memorization. Tennyson described
them as,
Jewels five words long,
That on the stretch'd forefinger of all time
Sparkle for ever.
W. A. L. Elmslie writes, "The proverb does for human life something
that science does for the world of nature. It rouses the unseen eye and the
unheeding ear to the marvel of what seems ordinary. As we study these
proverbs we must come with a mind eager to discover new truth and
wisdom. We must come with the attitude expressed by S. Hall Young in
his poem:
Let me live, thinking.
Let me fare forth still with an open mind,
Fresh secrets to unfold, new truths to find,
My soul undimmed, alert, no question blinking;
Let me live, thinking.
Verse 2 begins, "To know wisdom." If there is one thing true faith is
not, it is anti-intellectual. The Bible is anti-ignorance from beginning to
end. The only time is condemns wisdom is when it refers to the godless
wisdom of the world, and the proud knowledge of the unbeliever, which is
synonymous with folly. The Christian is to be aware that all truth has its
origin in God. There can never be any real conflict between science and
Christianity, or any other field of study. The Christian is all for investigation
and deep study, for he knows that all truth will confirms his faith.
Solomon says these proverbs are for the purpose of aiding the
believer in his intellectual life. Wisdom here is the ability to use knowledge
for the highest ends. The believer must not just know facts and truths, he
must know how to use them for the good life and the glory of God. To
know how to do this is the Hebrew concept of wisdom. This means that
wisdom is not just intellectual but also ethical and practical. It determines
conduct as well as character. The intelligent man can write literature, but
the wise man can write literature for the glory of God. Biblical wisdom is
related completely to the pleasing of God. No matter how brilliant and
talented a person is, if his knowledge and skill are not being used for God,
he is not wise. This is important to note, for it makes all the difference in
the world as to what is a good education. All the learning in the world that
does not make one a better servant of God is only sophisticated foolishness.
Someone defined wisdom as, "The expression in conduct of divine ideals
for human life."
Another word Solomon uses is instruction. The idea here is discipline
in training for character. These proverbs will rebuke, chastise and
discipline you if you read and heed them, and prepare you to live as God
wants you to do. Here again the practical is stressed. Solomon is not
concerned about speculating, but is concerned that men know how to live
right. Another purpose is to perceive the words of understanding, or as
the RSV has it, "To understand words of insight." It is important how to
learn from the wisdom of others. One will not go far on his own no matter
how intelligent he is. He has to build on the insights and understanding of
many who have gone before him.
Knowledge is not everything, but it is important, and God wants
every believer to be as wise and intelligent as they can be. This is more
important now than ever, for we live in an age of rapid growth in
knowledge. Education is a bigger thing than ever, and the standard of
intelligence is rising. Believers must be of the best quality in every field to
be as effective as possible in their Christian witness. The book of
Proverbs is in the Bible for the purpose of helping the believer be his
spiritual, moral and intellectual best. The Bible does not say wisdom and
knowledge are the cure-all, but it makes it clear that it offers a great deal
more hope than ignorance.
Verse 3 continues to give the purpose of the Proverbs. It is to receive
the instruction of wisdom, or as the Amplified and RSV have it, "Receive
instruction in wise dealing." Here again is practical living in relation to
others. In fact, all of these words in verse 3 concern the social
relationships. God wants the believer to be the most honest, just and fair
of all people in society. Justice means to be right or straight, and to act
toward others in accord with the will of God. Judgment is justice, and it
refers to delivery of correct judgments on human actions. Much folly and
heart ache come from false judgments, and it is God's will that His people
learn to be just and not make snap or prejudice judgments on others. The
believer is responsible for thorough knowledge before he makes
judgments.
Gamaliel Bradford began his book on Robert E. Lee in a spirit of
hostility. He had little sympathy for the South, and so he titled his book
Lee the Rebel. As he studied the material and came to know this man
better he decided that rebel was not quite the word he wanted, and so he
changed the title to Lee the Southern. After he read more and came to
know Lee well he changed his title again, and the biography was published
with the title Lee the American. This illustrates the need for the believer
to beware of making judgments based on inadequate information. We will
see this truth often in Proverbs.
In verse 4 we have another purpose, which is to give subtlety to the
simple. Modern translations use prudence or insight. Simple means the
open hearted who are susceptible to impressions and are easily mislead.
There are believers who are over-trustful and unsuspecting. They are
often duped into supporting all kinds of worthless causes. Christians are
more susceptible to this than anyone since they want to be kind, and they
want to have faith in people. The early Christians were so loving and
trusting that some decided to take advantage of it. They posed as
evangelists and the Christians took them in, fed them, and treated them
like brothers. They were not wrong for doing so, for it is better to error in
kindness than in meanness, but their gullibility was not an ideal. God
wants His people to be discriminating. He wants them to try the spirits
and be suspicious of some things until they are tested. The proverb is right
that says, "All is not gold that glitters."
The fifth purpose is forgiving knowledge and discretion to the young.
The proverbs are mainly intended for youth, for they most need the lessons
it contains. Jerome gave these instructions to a friend for the education of
his daughter: "Let her have first of all the book of Psalms for holiness of
heart, and be instructed in the Proverbs of Solomon for her godly life."
Jesus was, no doubt, instructed in the book of Proverbs. Wisdom is not
just for the old, but to train the young to be wise all of their life. The
sooner the wiser the better. Age is no limit. Paul said to Timothy, "Let no
man despise your youth." A young person can be just as wise as an older
person. God wants young people to grow in knowledge. Every youth
should pray,
O, God, I offer thee my heart-
In many a mystic mood, by beauty led,
I give my heart to thee, but now impart
That sterner grace-to offer thee my head.
The young person who has given their heart and not their head is
losing precious blessings and opportunities to be used of God. God wants
you to gain knowledge so He can use you in more effective ways.
Discretion means thoughtfulness and discernment. Gambetta said, "Great
ability without discretion comes almost invariably to a tragic end." Youth
is often so full of enthusiasm but so lacking in ability to discern the
consequences of their actions that they thrust themselves into dangers.
The Proverbs will help young people to stir their energy and enthusiasm
into proper channels where they can bear fruit. The proud young crow,
you recall, had a daring plan, but had he not been advised by the wisdom
of the old crow, he would have been the author of the greatest folly. What
the old crow was to the young crow the Proverbs are to Christian youth.
They will caution and guide, and keep the minds alive to the ways of
wisdom. Jesus walked this way, and we can find no better road.
