Proverbs 1-10

I have been looking forward to this book from the beginning. Although I love every book for different reasons, the book of Proverbs holds a special place in my heart. When the Lord spoke to Solomon and asked what he wanted most, Solomon replied with a prayer for wisdom and discernment to rule the kingdom according to God’s will. The book of Proverbs is a book of wisdom and discipline, two areas I love, and the majority of this book was written by Solomon; known for being the wisest man who ever lived because his wisdom was given by God himself.

There is a vast difference between knowledge and wisdom. Institutions, universities, professors, philosophers, the wide array of books on life and experience and all the ways we currently obtain facts have their place without a doubt; however, wisdom is applying those facts to life; which is an art that necessitates consistent practice. We must live out what we know; otherwise, the information is useless.

A proverb is a short, concise sentence that conveys moral truth that calls a person to action. Proverbs is a collection of wise statements and is the nature of true wisdom. This book focuses on God’s character, his works and blessings and it tells us HOW we can live in close relationship to Him. Solomon writes, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.”(1:7) He then writes of practical ways to live according to godly wisdom. The topics covered include wisdom for youth, for all people, and for leaders. Discipline, family life, self-control, resisting temptation, business matters, words and the tongue, knowing God, marriage, seeking the truth, wealth and poverty, immorality and wisdom. The word proverb means “to rule or to govern”; these reminders provide profound guidance for governing our lives.

Themes in the book of Proverbs are: Wisdom; the Bible, God’s word, leads us to live rightly, have right relationships, and make right decisions. Relationships; when we relate to others, we need consistency, tact, and discipline to use the wisdom God gives us; our relationships suffer if we do not treat others according to the wisdom God gives. Speech; a test of how wise we’ve become; we must exercise self-control, honest and well chosen words. Work; we are accountable to carry out our work with diligence and discipline, not laziness. God encourages us to work purposefully, never succumbing to lax or self-satisfied behavior. Success; God judges success based on having a good reputation, moral character, and the spiritual devotion to obey him. All our time, talents and resources are gifts from God and we should strive to use these wisely.

One of the most annoying types of people is a know-it-all, one who constantly shares their dogmatic opinions, is closed minded, resents discipline, and refuses to learn. Solomon calls this type of person a fool. He encourages us to be open to the advice of others; those who know you well and give valuable insight and counsel. Only God knows it all. It is important to learn how to learn from others. True wisdom is scarce in our society, but knowledge is plentiful in our age of technology and information. Trust in God will make you truly wise as you begin to apply what you know to every aspect of your life. Our actions always speak louder than our words. Solomon warns us against sin, “if sinners entice you, do not give in to them…do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths…such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the lives of those who get it.”(1:10, 15, 19) Sin is enticing because it is the easy route; the path of least resistance. When we follow others who lead us on evil paths and refuse to listen to the truth, our own appetites become our rulers and we go above and beyond to gain satisfaction. We cannot be friendly with sin and expect our lives to remain unaffected. “How long will you simple ones love your simple ways?”(1:22) A fool, or simple one, is someone with a character deficiency like rebellion, laziness or anger; this is a call for foolish ways to cease through wisdom and discipline.

“For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”(1:32, 33) Persisting in rebellious independence or choosing God’s wisdom is your choice and you reap the consequences or rewards of the path you choose. The problems that people create for themselves; those who decide to go about life on their own will be destroyed sooner or later. Don’t ignore God’s advice even when it’s painful to follow; it will keep you safe from greater pain in the future. Wisdom results in two ways; it is a God-given gift and also the result of an energetic search. God gives wisdom to those who earnestly seek it.

“Discretion will protect you and understanding will guard you.”(2:11) Discretion is the ability to tell right from wrong. You will become more able to detect evil motives in men and women. When practicing discretion, your evaluation of courses and consequences will be made more clear. Two of the most difficult sins to avoid are pride and sexual immoralities, for both are seductive. Pride speaks to the misconception that we deserve something and sexual desire speaks to needing something. When in combination; the two are deadly. Pride appeals to the empty head; sexual desire to the empty heart. Do not allow yourself to be fooled; ask Him for the strength to resist these temptations and remember what God says about who you are and what you are meant to be.

“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.”(3:3) Love and faithfulness are important for one’s character. Both involve attitudes and actions. A loving person does not just feel love for themselves, but acts loyally and responsibly. A faithful person does not just believe the truth, but they work for justice for others. Our lives reveal love and faithfulness; thoughts and words are not enough. Do your actions measure up to your words?

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”(3:5) When we are faced with tough decisions, sometimes we feel we cannot trust anyone, including ourselves and God. God is the best judge of what we want because he created us. We have been given the gift of reason and should put our minds to use; but we should not trust our own ideas to the exclusion of all others. We should not be wise in our own eyes. We should always be willing to listen and be corrected by God’s word and wise counselors. We must acknowledge God in all our ways to truly receive his guidance. Take some time to evaluate your priorities. What is important to you? What is God’s advice regarding that issue? When you include God in all you do, he will guide you to what your heart desires because you will be working for his purposes that he already instilled in your heart.

A person who has wisdom: is loving and enjoys and prosperous life; is faithful and has favor with God and people; trusts in the Lord and has a reputation for good judgment; puts God first and enjoys true success; turns away from evil and enjoys health and vitality; knows right from wrong and has honor and peace; listens and learns and is protected; does what is right; possesses knowledge and discretion, hates pride, arrogance and evil behavior; respects and fears God; gives good advice and has common sense; loves correction and is teachable; and knows God.
“Preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight; they will be life for you.”(3:21) Discernment (discretion) is the ability God gives to many people to think and make correct decisions. Sound judgment includes discernment, but goes beyond it and includes knowledge that comes from instruction, training, discipline and the insight that results from knowing and applying God’s truth.

“Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life. Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evil men.”(4:13) It is hard to imagine that our friends could lead us astray from a good path. Sometimes it is difficult to confront or criticize a friend for wrong plans or actions. While we should accept others, we need a healthy skepticism about human behavior. Proceed with caution when you feel yourself being heavily influenced; do not allow your friends to cause you to fall into sin.

“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.”(4:23-26) Guarding our hearts does not mean being closed off from accepting or giving love. Our hearts; where our feelings of love and desire are housed, dictates to a great extent how we live. People usually find the time to do what they enjoy. Guarding our hearts means that we make sure we concentrate on those desires that will keep us on the right path. Make sure your affections push you in the right direction. Desires require boundaries; we cannot go after everything we see. When we look straight ahead; keeping our eyes fixed on our goals, we won’t get sidetracked on the detours that lead to sin. When desire is fully activated, people don’t usually want advice; they crave satisfaction. The best time to learn of the dangers of foolishness is way before the temptation comes. Resistance to sin is easier when the decision has already been made before the temptation; don’t wait to see what happens. Like anything good requires preparation; prepare for temptation by deciding now how you will act when you face it. When death comes, it will be too late to ask for advice.

“May your fountain be blessed and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer- may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love. Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another man’s wife? For a man’s ways are in full view of the Lord. He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great foolishness.”(5:18-23) In today’s society of urging people against marriage; promoting “independence” and “freedom” as if these are only found outside God’s gift to us of marriage, this passage urges couples to look to one another for lifelong satisfaction and companionship. When people allow their marriages and relationships to become dull, they easily become tempted by the excitement and pleasures found in “greener pastures” and desert their commitments. First, there is no such thing as “greener pastures”; when the union was blessed by God from the beginning, the issue of the relationship becoming “dull” is of the fault of the people involved. If people feel empty within their marriage; it is usually because of a disconnect within their relationship with God, not their spouse. God designed marriage and only within this covenant relationship can we find real love and fulfillment. Don’t let God’s best for you be wasted on the illusion of greener pastures with someone new; remember newness is always short-lived. There is no depth to newness just for the simple excitement of being “new” and the false idea that new is better than what you know, truly love and trust. God wants us to rejoice with the spouse he gave us as we give our full selves to God and to each other. Faithfulness in marriage is not intended to be boring, lifeless, pleasureless, or dull. God gives sex as a gift to married people for their mutual enjoyment. Real happiness comes when we find pleasure in the relationship God has given or will give us and when we commit ourselves to making it pleasurable for our spouse. When we carelessly pursue sexual pleasure without God’s blessing; it shows our resentment for God’s timing and a lack of faith that He knows best.

“How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest- and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.”(6:9-11) Proverbs warns against the temptation of laziness, of sleeping instead of working. If laziness turns us from our responsibilities, poverty may soon bar us from the legitimate rest we should enjoy. Everyone has 24 hours in a day; how do you spend your time? It is so easy to waste time and allow life to slip right by you without notice, and one day look in the mirror and not recognize yourself. Refuse to be a lazy person and sleeping through your productive time to grow and work. Time is God’s great gift to us and we must show our gratefulness by living diligently for him and seize opportunities we are given to serve him.

“There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him; haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that quick to rush in to evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.”(6:16-19)

“…the corrections of discipline are the way to life…Do not lust in your heart after her beauty, or let her captivate you with her eyes…a man who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself.”(6:23, 25, 32) Lust should be a warning sign of dangers to come. When people say that it’s alright to proceed in sexual sin as long as no one gets hurt; the real truth is that someone always gets hurt. God’s laws are not arbitrary. They do not forbid good, clean fun; they warn us against destroying ourselves through unwise decisions and actions that will cause pain and destruction of running ahead of God’s timing. Here are ways to avoid sexual sin: first, guard your mind. Begin to notice how the media through TV, movies, internet, music, etc cloud your mind with fantasies that allure you and lead you to wrong desires. Second, keep away from settings and friends that tempt you to sin. Third, don’t think only of the moment and focus on the future. The more you begin to love and respect God, the more you will hate evil; God hates evil. Loving God and loving sin cannot coexist. “I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.”(8:17)

“Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn out its seven pillars.”(9:1)Biblically, the number seven represents completeness and perfection; hence God created his masterpiece in seven days. Poetically, this verse states that wisdom is complete and perfect. We should never cease to search for God’s wisdom. In this chapter, wisdom and foolishness are compared in the metaphor of two women preparing a feast and inviting people to it. Wisdom is a responsible woman of character; foolishness is a prostitute serving stolen food. Wisdom appeals to the mind first; foolishness to the senses or feelings and emotions. The pleasures of foolishness, no matter how enticing, are short-lived as I’m sure you’ve experienced in your own life. Think of a time your emotions got the best of you and you were desperate to have something you desired because “it feels good”; how did you feel when you got it? How long did your feelings last? The satisfaction that wisdom brings lasts forever.

“Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.”(9:8, 9) You can tell if you are a mocker or a wise person by the way you respond when criticized. Instead of being quick to defend yourself; listen to what is being said and learn from your critics. This is the path to wisdom. Wisdom begins with knowing God intimately. Only God can give us true insight to living because he created all life.

I love this proverb: “He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.”(10:17) Discipline is important in all areas of your life. From the foods we eat, how we exercise, time management, serving others to staying on the course that God has set for us when temptation strikes and tries to deter us from our paths; self-discipline is the ingredient that we need to keep us on the right track. Being in relationship with God is a partnership and requires that we hold ourselves to higher standards by exercising self-discipline; not expecting God to take care of all our needs without our work. Being corrected is not the best feeling; but when we can take correction and make changes, we become closer to the purpose God has created for us.