There is a cause and effect which governs proverbs or there is a like or as relationship. A fool is like this or a fool does this.

Transcription

1 Turn to the book of Proverbs. What is a proverb? A proverb is a simple and concrete saying, popularly known and repeated, that expresses a truth based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity. They are often metaphorical. That is a dictionary definition of a proverb. A biblical definition would be a short saying that expresses a general truth for practical, godly living. The Hebrew word means comparison, similar or parallel. It is intended to provide a way to compare the behavior of the wise against the behavior of the foolish and indicate the expected outcome in each case. Bruce Wilkinson says, Proverbs touches upon every facet of human relationships, and its principles transcend the bounds of time and culture. In other words, these basic truths are just as valuable to a Chinese person living under Communism, or a Muslim living under Shariah law, as it is to the Jew or the Christian. What a proverb is not is a promise or guarantee of an outcome. It is most assuredly prudent to follow the ways laid out in God's word and when God promises blessing, He most assuredly will bless. We do not want to confuse the promises of God with proverbs. For example, God promises those whom He has effectually called with life eternal and His Son is our surety or guarantee that it will happen. It isn't based on anything we do. The proverbs that we see in this book are unrelated to salvation, but are very much indicative of the level of sanctification that we have submitted to. The effectually called who are being conformed to the image of Christ would seem likely to fear the Lord and would be acquiring the knowledge needed to live godly lives. The proverbs would seem to define the hedges that God puts around His children. When we push through the hedges, we have likely gone against one or more of these proverbs. A byword is very similar to a proverb. The Latin proverb means to put forth word or a word put forth. A byword is sort of a word by the way or something that has become proverbial.

2 Did you know that you could be a proverb? For someone to be a proverb, that person has demonstrated clearly a general truth involving a cause and an effect by their behavior, for example, Israel is warned in 1 Kings 9:6-9 6 But if you or your sons indeed turn away from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them, and the house which I have consecrated for My name, I will cast out of My sight. So Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 8 And this house will become a heap of ruins; everyone who passes by will be astonished and hiss and say, Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house? 9 And they will say, Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and adopted other gods and worshiped them and served them, therefore the Lord has brought all this adversity on them. Lot's wife became a proverb and a byword. All who saw the pillar of salt would know one result of direct disobedience to God. Why salt? The same reason the church is to be the salt of the earth. The Roman Empire became a proverb, much to the disagreement of those who would follow their example, but when immorality suddenly becomes what you live for the state begins to crumble. There is a cause and effect which governs proverbs or there is a like or as relationship. A fool is like this or a fool does this. Proverbs are written and taught so that man may not repeat the same mistakes that other men have made, yet we are so foolish as to think that we can defy the proverbs. We think we can act foolishly and not be a fool simply because some have defied the proverbs. For example, there are many people who have played the lottery and won, even on their first try. Would that suggest that Prov 13:11, Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles is not true. Certainly not, for it is also true that most lottery winners end up broke. Research from the National Endowment for Financial Education estimates that 70 percent of people who had unexpectedly come into large sums of money ended up broke within seven years. Unexpectedly is not limited to lottery winnings. Someone who suddenly

3 receives an inheritance is likely to use it unwisely and end up broke. So regardless what some might think, the Proverbs are valuable maxims which we should heed. We are going to begin a study on the Proverbs, but we will not be going through Proverbs from the beginning to the end in one study, instead I plan to cover the book in sections mixed with other studies along the way. The first nine chapters will be the first section. This section gives advice to the young, but since we all resist admitting that we are getting older then we should all benefit from this wisdom. Makes sense right? If we all want to be thought of as young, we all want to act young, then we most certainly should know the pitfalls of the young and how to avoid them. Lets read the first seven verses of Proverbs The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: 2 To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding, 3 To receive instruction in wise behavior, Righteousness, justice and equity; 4 To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion, 5 A wise man will hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel, 6 To understand a proverb and a figure, The words of the wise and their riddles. And here in verse 7 is the theme of the book of Proverbs 7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction. You can divide people into two groups based on their response to hearing sound advice. One group would be those that are considered prudent and the other would be considered foolish. This book of Proverbs is designed to teach understanding and those that listen are prudent, those that refuse to listen are foolish. These are not all proverbs of Solomon, some come from others but apparently Solomon approved of them. It is believed that Solomon compiled the collection of proverbs, whether he wrote them all or not. Agur in chapter 30 contributed and Lemuel in chapter 31 may have been Solomon himself.

4 Solomon was a wise man, not by his own abilities but as a gift from God. He was given a special ability to discern truth, determine right from wrong, deduce the correct course of action, the correct judgment in a case. His desire was that all could be wise and that is God's desire as well. Compiling and preserving this collection of proverbs is so that we can...know wisdom and instruction, (we can)...discern the sayings of understanding, 3 (we can) receive instruction in wise behavior, (in) Righteousness, (in) justice and (in) equity; 4 (we can receive) prudence (because we are) naive Youth and old age differ in many ways, but one way that they differ is that young people have no real knowledge, only perceived knowledge. Real knowledge comes with age. But a young person who seeks diligently for knowledge can become wise beyond their years. To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion, Discretion is defined to be the quality of behaving or speaking in such a way as to avoid causing offense or the quality of being careful about what you do and say. The Hebrew word literally means device and can be used for both good and evil but the context tells us that here a person properly uses their devices for good to guard against trouble. Verse 5 basic defines what a wise man is. It is a man who will hear and increase in learning, in knowledge. It doesn't follow that a man that cannot figure out the answer to riddles is not wise. The book of Proverbs is about practical living, not about figuring out the answer to riddles. The theme of Proverbs can be found in verse 7. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. If you want to become wise, the first step is to submit to the Lord's authority with a reverential fear. Although I believe there is a component of trembling to this fear, it is mainly describing a man who, through humility, recognizes their place before an Almighty, All-Wise God.

5 William Arnot calls it a right state of heart toward God. 1 The text tells us that a man is a fool that resists instruction. A man is a fool who does not have a reverential fear of the Lord. A fool is contrasted with a wise man throughout the book of Proverbs. Where you see what the wise man does, you will also see what the wise man does. This is teaching that is presented on an elementary level and not one of us has any excuse for not knowing how to understand these precepts. Ps 19:7-11 The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether. 10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. 11 Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward. The foolish one sees no benefit in understanding these proverbs, he sees the danger and continues on believing that God's wisdom will just prevent him from enjoying the rewards of risk. The Septuagint rendering amplifies the meaning of Pr 1:7 - "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (sophia); and there is good understanding (sunesis = "putting together the pieces") to all that practice it: and piety (eusebeia) toward God is the beginning of discernment (aisthesis); but the ungodly (asebes) will set at naught wisdom and instruction (paideia = "child training")." 2 The Greek word used in the Septuagint for fool is asebes. Asebes literally means without worship. A fool is equated with the ungodly, or as it is translated so often the wicked, by noting that a fool does not worship God, instead he worships the creature or more specifically, himself. 1 William Arnot Laws From Heaven for Life on Earth, p Precept Austin Commentary Resource