Prologue: Purpose and Theme
1 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
2 for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight;
3 for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair,
4 for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young
5 let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance
6 for understanding proverbs and parables, the saying and riddles of the wise.
The book of Proverbs is known as the book of wisdom. Most of the writing of proverbs has been credited to the pen of Solomon. Proverbs is a book of instruction on how to live a life pleasing to God and how to be more peaceful with all of mankind.
The main topic is “the fear of the Lord,” which is mentioned 14 times. It is a shame that later in life Solomon strayed from his own teaching.
Solomon was the second son of David and Bathsheba. David and Solomon were each king of Israel for 40 years. The basic meaning of the Hebrew word for “proverb” is “comparison”. It is an adage or maxim; a short sentence with a clever observation or a general truth.
Solomon dazzled the skeptical Queen of Sheba by the sheer brilliance of his wisdom, leaving her to exclaim, “The half was not told me” (1 Kings 10:7). It was with this episode in mind that Jesus rebuked his skeptical contemporaries for refusing to see that in him “something greater than Solomon is here” (Matthew 12:42). Odd how man’s wisdom always seems so wise while God’s wisdom seems somehow rather foolish (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:18-30).
In verses 2 – 6 of Proverbs, Chapter 1, the sage outlines the purpose of his book and the benefits to be gained from pondering it well.
“Instruction” has in view the way wisdom is acquired. The word is “musar”. Basically, it means “discipline”, and it is the word for training in the school of wisdom, whether in the classroom under the wisdom teacher or in the home under parents. Wisdom, to be sure, is the fruit of experience and is acquired through it. But the sage has no doubts that raw, individual experience alone is not up to the demands of life. It is a hard teacher and its lessons may be learned too late or – such being the vagaries of human nature – not at all. Besides experience, there has to be musar – training in the accumulated and collective experience of many generations suitably distilled in the precepts and proverbs of the wise. Here, then, is a second face of wisdom in Proverbs: learning from the experience and counsel of those who are older and wiser. This is a face of wisdom that young people, especially, do well to remember.
But the word has another side to it. It also has in view the fruit of schooling in wisdom, namely disciplined living. This too is an important face of wisdom. In large measure, the skill required for good and successful living is self-control. The man who would master life must learn to master self. That is why we will find the sage has so much to say about controlling temper and tongue, passions and appetites. In the New Testament self-control is one of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:23).
“Discern” is the same word translated as “understand” in verse 2. Wise living requires the ability to reach sound decisions and to make the right choices and, thus, the ability to discriminate between what is right and what is wrong.
In verse 4 “shrewdness” might be a better substitute for “prudence”.
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
The Hebrew word for “fool” is one who is morally deficient. Verse 7 is one of the best known verses in Proverbs. It should be the motto inscribed over the entrance of schools. It is a deep reverence and awe in recognition of the holiness that is attributed to Him alone.
In addition, fearing God is bound up with loyalty to God’s covenant and obedience to his law, with loving and serving him and walking in his ways (cf. Deuteronomy 6:2; 8:6; 10:12-13; 31:12-13). So, “those who fear the Lord” (Psalm 33:18; 118:4) are those who are loyal and faithful to him, and who show this by obedience to his commandments. In New Testament times, pagan converts to the Jewish faith were called “God-fearers” (Acts 10:2). This side is well summed up in Ecclesiastes 12:13:
Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.
Here in Proverbs, therefore, the expression “the fear of the Lord” touches the pulse of Israel’s religious faith and practice in all its vitality, embracing reverence for and devotion to God and, above all, loyalty and obedience to him.
Submitted by Bob Sidlinger