Solomon's Proverbs

 

 

 

[Proverbs 1:1-7]

 

 

As the year 2011 began, I was pondering what passage to meditate on during our Wednesday prayer meetings. After much thought, I decided to choose the book of Proverbs. The reason I selected Proverbs out of the 66 books of the Bible is that, over the past six years, we have meditated on the "Books of Wisdom" from the Old Testament, namely the book of Psalms (about 4 and a half years) and Ecclesiastes (about 1 year and 2 months). I wanted to continue meditating on these books of wisdom. One might ask why we should keep reflecting on the "Books of Wisdom". For me, there are at least two reasons: The first reason is that I recognize my own foolishness and feel the need for wisdom. The second reason is that I desire for all the members of our church to become wise. I want all the members of our church to be wise, discerning the evil of the times and making the most of the days (Ephesians 5:15-17). Furthermore, I want all of us to understand the will of the Lord and live according to it. Therefore, on this first Wednesday prayer meeting of 2011, I would like to begin meditating on the book of Proverbs with all of you.

Before we begin meditating on Proverbs, there are two important points we should address regarding the book.

(1) What is a "Proverb"?

I came across an interesting definition of Proverbs on a church website: "The word 'Proverb' comes from the Hebrew word mashal, which means 'comparison'. The verb form of this word means 'to rule' or 'to dominate', suggesting that a proverb governs or controls human behavior. Something to consider is that the Hebrew word mashal was translated into the Chinese as ‘箴言’ (which means 'a word that pricks', referring to a needle). In pure Korean, it could be translated as 'a pricking word'. Proverbs are not only words of advice and rebuke but also words of wisdom and understanding" (Internet).

This is an interesting interpretation. However, I believe the explanation by Pastor John MacArthur is more fitting: "Proverbs are short, pithy sayings that express timeless truth and wisdom. They arrest one’s thoughts, causing the reader to reflect on how one might apply divine principles to life situations" (MacArthur).

(2) The Author of Proverbs

The second point we need to address is the authorship of Proverbs. In today's passage, Proverbs 1:1, the Bible says, "The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel." This means the author of Proverbs is King Solomon. In 1 Kings 4:32, it tells us that Solomon, with the wisdom God gave him, wrote 3,000 proverbs. However, we must keep in mind that King Solomon did not write all of Proverbs. In other words, there are other authors of Proverbs besides Solomon. For example, in Proverbs 24:23-34, the section begins with the phrase "These also are sayings of the wise," where the term "wise" is plural, indicating that it refers to other wise individuals besides King Solomon. Thus, certain parts of Proverbs were written by other authors (as noted by Park Yoon-Sun). It is uncertain whether the "wise" individuals who wrote Proverbs 30:1-33, like "Agur, the son of Jakeh" (v. 1), or the famous Proverbs 31:1-31, written by "King Lemuel," were the same individuals or whether there were other authors in addition to Agur and King Lemuel. The important point is that, although most of Proverbs was written by King Solomon, there are parts written by other wise individuals. In summary, we should remember that whether written by King Solomon or other authors, all the writings in Proverbs were by wise individuals.

So, why did they write the book of Proverbs? What was King Solomon's purpose in writing Proverbs?

The answer to these questions can be found in the prologue of Proverbs, in the first 7 verses of Proverbs 1. By looking at this introduction, we can see the twofold purpose of Proverbs (vv. 2-6) and the theme verse that summarizes the entire book (v. 7).

First, what is the twofold purpose of Proverbs? The text provides two answers:

  1. The purpose of Proverbs is to produce the skill of godly living by wisdom and instruction (MacArthur).

Look at the first part of verse 2: “For attaining wisdom and discipline…” (for attaining wisdom and instruction). The Hebrew word for “wisdom” originally means “to be firm,” referring to knowledge about the existence and essence of things. And “discipline” means training or correction (Park Yoon-Seon). In other words, Proverbs provides us with instruction about how to live wisely, righteously, justly, and honestly. Look at verse 3: “For acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just.” Through Proverbs, we must receive spiritual wisdom from God so that we can act righteously, justly, and with integrity before Him. Therefore, through Proverbs, we not only learn the divine principles that lead us to live godly lives, but we also learn how to apply these principles to our everyday lives. Furthermore, by submitting to the authority of God’s word, our faith should be firmly established on the rock. Proverbs also “gives prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young” (v. 4). What does this mean? Proverbs not only makes the foolish, i.e., those who are open to learning, wise, but it also gives knowledge and discretion to the young. Those who lack firm convictions and are open to external influences are easily swayed. Therefore, it is necessary to teach them the wisdom of God (Proverbs) so that they can correctly discern disputes and stand firm. Young people, due to a lack of experience, tend to act recklessly. Therefore, young people need to receive God’s wisdom and stand firm like those who are mature (Park Yoon-Seon).

  1. The purpose of Proverbs is to develop discernment (MacArthur).

Look at the second half of verse 2: “…for understanding words of insight.” Here, “insight” refers to the ability to discern between good and evil (Park Yoon-Seon). The age we live in, the last days, is an era where the ability to distinguish between good and evil is lost or absent. We cannot discern what is good and what is evil. In the New Year's joint service last week, we learned that in order to live a life of gratitude in everything, we must choose what is good (good) and reject what is evil in all situations (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22). However, the problem is that we have lost the ability to discern (to distinguish) good from evil, and sometimes we end up choosing evil and rejecting good. This is the work of Satan. Satan causes confusion about good and evil. As a result, Satan leads us to forsake good and choose evil. Look at Genesis. When the serpent tempted the woman, he told her that eating the forbidden fruit would not lead to death but rather that her eyes would be opened and she would be like God, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:4-5). The devil confused her into sinning. Just as the devil led Eve to disobey God’s word, he continues to work today to mislead us, causing us to disobey God’s commandments and sin. The problem is: what is the problem? The problem is that we, like Eve, lack discernment. Because Eve lacked the discernment to differentiate between good and evil, she fell for the serpent's temptation, disobeyed God’s word, and sinned. Similarly, we, due to a lack of discernment, fail to distinguish between good and evil, and instead of choosing good, we choose evil and sin against God. So, what should we do? How can we gain discernment to distinguish between good and evil, and live the right Christian life, choosing good and rejecting evil? Look at verse 5 in today’s text: “Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance.” We must listen to the wise words of God. By listening, our learning will increase. Why should we do this? Because this learning will make us wiser and more discerning, and it will guide us. How can the knowledge we gain from listening to God’s word guide us? It can guide us by sharpening our mind (MacArthur). Look at verse 6: “Understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.” The more we meditate on Proverbs, the more we understand its teachings, and our hearts will be sharpened, making us wiser. As a result, we will be able to develop spiritual discernment, distinguishing between good and evil, and choosing good while rejecting evil.

The wise listen to the word of God, but the foolish despise it. The foolish reject hearing God’s word and turn their backs on the holy God who speaks. However, the wise long to hear God’s word, and moreover, they listen to and obey it. We must become wise, listening to and obeying the word of God. By doing so, we will become wiser and more discerning, gaining spiritual discernment to distinguish between good and evil, good things and evil things, and to choose good while rejecting evil.

Finally, in today's passage from Proverbs 1:7, the writer, King Solomon, gives us the key verse that summarizes the entire book of Proverbs: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7).

The main lesson of this key verse is that “the fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom (knowledge).” Solomon, after urging us to listen to God’s word and increase our knowledge in verse 5, teaches us in verse 7 that the “beginning of knowledge,” or the very foundation of knowledge, is the fear of the Lord. But what does “the fear of the Lord” mean? Dr. Park Yoon-Seon defines it as follows: “To fear the LORD means to have faith in Jehovah during the Old Testament period. This does not just refer to a sense of dread or fear of God but implies loving and reverently fearing Him” (Park Yoon-Seon).

However, I find Pastor MacArthur’s definition more convincing: “The fear of the Lord is a state of mind in which one’s own attitudes, will, feelings, deeds, and goals are exchanged for God’s” (MacArthur). This definition resonates with me because it aligns closely with the feelings God gave me during a sabbatical I took last year. At that time, God impressed upon me that He wanted me to see what He sees, to hear what He hears, and to feel what He feels. To fear God, then, means that I am no longer at the center of everything; only the Lord should be seen. In other words, those who fear the Lord live a life where everything revolves around the Lord, not themselves. Those who fear the Lord never seek their own will but only the will of the Lord. They will embrace the heart of the Lord, imitate His thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and actions, and live a life dedicated to fulfilling His will.

If you and I have this kind of fear of God, we will never choose evil or draw near to it. Instead, we will turn away from evil and love and draw near to good. However, the foolish despise wisdom and instruction, so they distance themselves from good and draw near to evil. Why is this? The reason is that the mental state of the foolish lacks the fear of God. In other words, they do not know God’s attitudes, will, feelings, actions, or purposes, and therefore they do not have the ability to choose the good. As a result, they choose evil and pursue evil attitudes, evil will, evil feelings, and evil actions. In short, the foolish say in their hearts, "There is no God" (Psalm 14:1). Living with this assumption that there is no God, they end up thinking about evil and doing evil.

I would like to conclude with a reflection on the Word. Today, as we celebrate the first Wednesday prayer meeting of the new year, 2011, we have meditated on the first introductory section of the book of Proverbs, specifically Proverbs 1:1-7, a book of wisdom. As we continue to meditate on Solomon's words in Proverbs each week during our Wednesday prayer meetings, we must remember two key points: the dual purpose of Proverbs and its main theme.

The dual purpose of Proverbs is to produce the skill of godly living through wisdom and instruction, and to develop discernment. The key verse of Proverbs is Proverbs 1:7: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

We must keep these two points in mind as we continue to meditate on the words of Proverbs. Therefore, I pray that both you and I may be edified and become truly godly Christians with spiritual discernment, fulfilling the purpose of Proverbs.