Introduction to Proverbs

Good morning! Today we begin a new series on the Book of Proverbs. Today we are going to begin by talking about the book in general and look at the opening verses of the book.

To start, what is a proverb? It is some kind of a saying. It is usually short, and it is meant to make you think and reflect. The proverb is supposed to teach you something, share something of wisdom.

One place you see proverbs in the world today is inside fortune cookies. Did you know that fortune cookies are based on a Japanese cookie not a Chinese one, although the modern kinds of messages in the cookies is a distinctly American custom only going back to the late 1800s. Fortune cookies are almost unheard of in China. About 3 billion fortune cookies are made per year, and almost all of them are consumed in the United States.


Anyway, I thought I’d start today by giving you my three favorite fortune cookie proverbs that I have personally found in fortune cookies. Each of these, perhaps accidentally, perhaps only if you look at them at the right angle, perhaps an angle the author never intended, nevertheless reveals some nugget of truth that is in accordance with Scripture.

My #3: Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting their battle too.

My #2: If you go fishing, your catch will be plentiful.

And my #1 fortune cookie proverb: If we are all worms, try to be a glow worm.

I think these are pretty good, although, again, I probably interpret them differently than the writers intended. And most fortune cookies provide information that is useless or worse than useless. And in fact this is true of much of the worldly advice we receive every day.

How much does our primarily secular culture advise you every day? Television, the internet, books, and if you are a student, your classes – all of these sources are constantly advising you about what is true and about how to live, whether they do so openly or not. It is critical in this day and age that you understand how this works, and that you understand how powerfully it can affect your thinking. For example, if you watch some TV news or information show, when it reports about something someone did, it is always making value judgments; it is always manipulating you emotionally, telling you with or without words that what this person did was good or was bad. Generally, the worldview of the editors, story writers, and reporters is being projected into the story through what is being chosen to be presented and through how it is being presented. It is impossible for this not to happen.

What sorts of messages are being projected? One that you may underestimate is this: It is possible to be happy and content living a secular life, a life either in which a relationship with God is nonexistent, or one in which that relationship is pretty much limited only to going to church. This message is constantly being broadcast by our culture in every medium of communication, and it is also being reinforced by your non-Christian or nominally Christian friends and acquaintances that believe it and try to live it. I personally feel that this is the most dangerous message that our culture broadcasts, because it is so pervasive and so subtle. You can broadcast this message all while promoting character traits and behaviors that we would all agree are good.

Another message that our culture often reinforces is the one that says that the lifestyle choices of Christians, particularly in the area of relationships, marriage, sex, and family, is only one of many equally “workable” choices. This message is related to the first, but it often presents this message by showing you alternative lifestyles in which the people are happy and content and in which nobody else has any problems with it, sometimes even including people described as Christians. This is especially promoted in programmed entertainment such as TV and movies. The subliminal and sometimes not so subliminal message here is that anyone who disagrees with these lifestyle choices for any reason is bigoted, close-minded, intolerant, and, well, bad. It is important to understand that this message permeates our culture today, and it permeates and tries to get into you the more you expose yourself to it.

There are many more messages that our culture proclaims from the rooftops, but I really don’t have time to go into them today. I will say that this summer we as a church will be going through the Truth Project for our teenagers. The time for this will be before church on Sunday mornings. The Truth Project deals directly with worldview, comparing and contrasting the various messages of our modern world with the timeless and unshakable truths of the Bible. It does a great job showing not only what the differences in worldview are, but how they affect how a person lives his life. The sad reality is that many Christians have a faith that is what I would call ineffective; what I mean by that is that they by and large have the worldview of the secular culture except on Sunday mornings. Some of these undoubtedly are not actually Christians. But even a true Christian can be blown way off course by ascribing to worldview beliefs that are contrary to the Bible. They can do this even without being aware they are doing it.

Many people are completely ignorant of even the concept of a worldview. They have never examined what they believe and what their culture tells them to believe. By the way, this examination and exploration is exactly what cultural anthropologists do with other cultures. They look at what people do, and then they talk with the people to learn what they think so that they can determine the linkage between what people think and what they do. This is what they study with foreign cultures. I would argue that we all need to be cultural anthropologists with our culture. We need to look at what we do as a people from the eyes of outsiders, and then we need to evaluate everything we see in the light of Scripture. If we do not do this, we will remain blind to understanding what we believe and why we believe what we believe. And if we do not do this, we will be powerless to change what we believe so as to make it align with Scripture.

Well, I believe that the book of Proverbs can be a powerful tool for doing exactly this. Unlike fortune cookies and other tidbits of secular wisdom, Proverbs provides a collection of short sayings that are grounded in what God says is good and right and true. They do not always give you the linkages between worldview and action that cultural anthropologists are looking for, but they do provide a powerful way to test what you do think. For me, where Proverbs are most valuable is where I disagree with them, where I see something is being stated as extremely important and I think, “Well, I don’t think that is that important.” And in some cases, if I am honest, I may even think, “Well, things are more complicated today, and that is not necessarily the best way in our modern world.” When I think such things, warning bells should be going off in my head. When you think such things, warning bells should be going off in your head. “Mission control, we have a problem.” The problem is that your worldview does not align with Truth in some particular area of life.

This is a real problem. And so what we are going to do for this series is explore some of the topics of Proverbs that come up most frequently. And our desire, and prayer, for you, is that as you discover these contradictions between what you believe and what the Bible says, or as you discover what I would call errors of emphasis, that is, things that the Bible says is much more important than you think they are, as you discover these things, you would be driven deeper to prayer, deeper to explore what you believe and why you believe it, and that you would allow yourself to be transformed by the Truth of the Word in these areas.

And I believe this is something you should do not just during this series but for the rest of your life. As we grow older and have new experiences, as we go from grade school to work or college and from singleness to marriage to having children to having grandchildren, as we go from being a bottom rung employee to one who oversees others, even as we go from 8th grade to 9th grade, indeed, in every transition of life, our worldview is constantly changing. And all along the way, there is a tendency to drift, to be lulled into the worldview of our culture little by little. This is unavoidable, but it is remedied by continually renewing our minds with all of God’s Word, and Proverbs is one important component of that. Never fall into the trap of ignoring Proverbs because it seems too mundane, or simple, or even non-Spiritual. None of these things are true.

Now as we go through this series, we will do it topically, but today we will start right at the beginning. The very first verse of Proverbs is this:

The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: - Prov. 1:1

Now it is very appropriate that the primary author of the book of Proverbs is Solomon. Consider this statement:

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. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. 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. – I Kings 4:29-34

How did Solomon come to be so wise? How did come to have such great insight? How did he gain such a breadth of understanding? Well this passage tells the answer. God gave it to him. And you probably recall the events by which this came to happen. Here is the passage:

Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt and married his daughter. He brought her to the City of David until he finished building his palace and the temple of the Lord, and the wall around Jerusalem. The people, however, were still sacrificing at the high places, because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of the Lord. Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the statutes of his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places. – I Kings 3:1-3

The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want Me to give you.” – I Kings 3:4-5

Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to Your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to You and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day. – I Kings 3:6

“Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?” – I Kings 3:7-9

The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both riches and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in My ways and obey My statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” – I Kings 3:10-14

Then Solomon awoke—and he realized it had been a dream. He returned to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord’s covenant and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then he gave a feast for all his court. – I Kings 3:15

Just so you understand, by “dream,” this means a “vision from God,” not just some random dream like you and I have every night. The word can also be used as an ordinary dream – for example, it is used this way in Job, but in Genesis, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Judges, I Samuel, and I Kings, every time it is used it refers to a prophetic dream from God. There are about 40 such references in these books.

There are two things that struck me from this passage as I read it this week in preparation for this message. The first is the location of Solomon and what he was doing when God came to him. He was sacrificing to God in a “high place” in Gibeon. Solomon would later be tripped up over sacrificing to false gods in high places. The second thing is that God’s gift of wisdom was unconditional, but there was a condition that God gave Solomon for something else, a “long life.” Literally, in the Hebrew it says, “I will prolong your days.” That is actually an idiom that occurs multiple times in the first five books of the Bible, and it refers to more than just how many days you are alive. It refers to your legacy, your impact, even your descendants. The implication in this conditional statement by God was that Solomon’s behavior could affect the throne, and we know that it did.

The irony is that Solomon, despite all his God-given wisdom, did not fare well later in life. He fell victim to a pragmatic worldview. He became influenced by his many wives and their religious beliefs. He tried to combine the commands and decrees of God with those of other religions. He did not finish well, and his sons fared even worse. The domain of Solomon and his descendants, their “days,” as it were, were not prolonged, but cut short.

Solomon provides a tragic warning to us – it is not enough to have wisdom; we must also heed it and live it. As Solomon lived out his life, he was overwhelmed bit by bit by the worldview of the world around him. And if it can happen to him, with all his God-given wisdom, it can certainly happen to us.

The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: - Prov. 1:1

Now, this is just one of several “who wrote them” statements in Proverbs. Others are in Proverbs 10:1 and Proverbs 25:1. In the case of the Proverbs 25 passage, it says that King Hezekiah’s men transcribed these proverbs of Solomon. But Solomon is not the only author of Proverbs; other authors are also indicated. Proverbs 22:17 begins the “sayings of the wise,” and Proverbs 24:23 refers to the “further sayings of the wise.” It’s not clear who “the wise” are, but they are in the plural, so it is not just saying it is Solomon. In the beginning of Proverbs 30 it says that Agur wrote them, and in the beginning of Proverbs 31, it says that King Lemuel wrote them. It is not entirely clear who wrote the second half of Proverbs 31, the part about a wife of noble character, although it may also be King Lemuel. In any case, it is true that the vast majority of the proverbs were in fact written by Solomon.

Now after telling us who wrote the proverbs, the opening passage goes on to say why, to say what they are for:

for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight; for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young—let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. – Proverbs 1:2-6

There are two overarching themes here. One involves wisdom, understanding, knowledge, that is, knowing how God thinks, knowing what one should do in various situations, knowing what the wise way to proceed is as opposed to the foolish way. The second involves discipline, having the presence of mind to actually do the wise thing, living a life where you do what you want to do, now that you know what the wise things are.

I do not think it is meant that these are meant as promises without exception; for example, you won’t automatically live a 100% disciplined life by just focusing on the proverbs. What I think we can say, what I think is meant, is that within these proverbs are principles that, if you really embrace their message, their worldview, and if you follow them and do what they say, then they can radically transform your life. Do you wish you were more in control of your life? Do you wish you would more often do what you set out to do? Proverbs can help. Do you feel like you are at a loss in complicated moral situations? Do you feel like you have a habit of making unwise choices? Proverbs can help. Do you feel like you have problems choosing good friends, problems with relationships, problems in your general dealings with people?
Proverbs can help. Note that it says they help even those who are already wise, as well as those who are young and inexperienced in life. Proverbs is for everyone.

Now what is a proverb, exactly? Well, in the book of Proverbs, a proverb is almost always a short saying that uses in some way the literary device many theologians call parallelism. What does that mean? Well, usually, a proverb is two lines, two complete thoughts, in length, although sometimes it is more. And one way or another, the second line is related to the first. There are several common ways this is done.

One is to repeat the idea of the first line, either the entire line, or part of it, using different words. Proverbs itself does not say why this is done, but one of the effects is that it is sort of like an archer aiming for a target with two arrows; if one misses, the other may still strike its target. Well, the target of the arrows of Proverbs is our hearts. And so the practical effect of this one-two punch is that it is more likely for us to really take the message to heart. This is the primary technique used in Chapters 1 through 9 as well as Chapter 31. Often a complete thought is made up of multiple such pairings of lines. Here is an example:

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. – Prov. 3:13-14

As you can see, there are two such pairings in this thought. In this case, in each pairing the second line repeats part of the thought of the first line; the “Blessed is” is only on the first line, but it is understood to be there in the second. In the same way, the “for she” is only on the third line but is understood to be there in the fourth. (The “she” here, by the way, refers to wisdom, which is often personified in the early chapters of Proverbs.)

Another technique used, another form of parallelism, is for the second line to contrast with the first, so much so as to usually be a direct opposite. This is a common technique in Chapters 10-15 and 28-29. Here is an example:

A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother. Ill-gotten treasures are of no value, but righteousness delivers from death. The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry but He thwarts the craving of the wicked. Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth. – Proverbs 10:1b-4

In some cases these are direct opposites; in other cases, not exactly, but it still provides a powerful and direct contrast.

A third technique used, again, a form of parallelism, is for the second line to complete the thought. The second line in this case can present a result of the thought in the first line or a further thought that follows from the first line. Chapters 16 to the first half of 22 mostly use a mixture of this technique, this completion technique, and the first technique, the repetition technique. The second half of Chapter 22 through Chapter 24 (the sayings of the wise) is nearly all using this third technique, the completion technique. Here is an example:

Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court, for the Lord will take up their case and will plunder those who plunder them. Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn his ways and get yourself ensnared. – Prov. 22:22-25

Now I think it is very helpful to understand the presence of parallelism and look for it when reading proverbs, because it makes them easier to understand. If you don’t understand it, then you may read two parallel thoughts especially of the repetition flavor, and waste your time trying to understand the difference between two parts that are essentially the same. Don’t do that! Just think of it as two arrows trying to reach their target.

And I pray that this verse would reach the target of every heart that is here today:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.-Prov. 1:7

By the way, what kind of parallelism is this? Is it repeating parallelism, contrasting parallelism, or completing parallelism? I would say it is contrasting parallelism, because of the but. These are not direct opposites in this case, for example, it doesn’t say the fear of the Lord … but the scorning of the Lord …, but fools do sharply contrast with those who fear the Lord.

Now the wisdom and discipline are exactly the two main themes in verses 2-6. The proverbs are for attaining wisdom and discipline. The fool will have nothing to do with these; that is, the fool doesn’t want to read and study and take to heart Proverbs. I think we can safely generalize this and say that a fool is one who rejects the reading of, study of, meditation of Scripture. The fool is one who allows his worldview to be driven by the world around him instead of by the timeless truths of the Word. May we not be fools!

By the way, the fool is often mentioned in Proverbs. There are multiple words in Hebrew for fool. Peti generally refers to a naïve person, this is the one called the simple in Prov. 1:4. This is probably the least foolish fool. Layts is a mocker, a scoffer, a scorner. Kesil is a one who is insensitive, unobservant, uncaring for what is going on around him. Avil is one who is stubborn, persistent in his foolishness. And nabal refers to someone who is crude, rude, and arrogant. The name Nabal first refers to a man of that name that David almost put to death for not showing hospitality to the king. Well, what about Proverbs 1:7? The fool here is an evil, a stubborn fool. So what does this mean? The stubborn fool hears the proverbs and refuses to change. He listens but he doesn’t like what he hears, because they conflict with his worldview.

He probably doesn’t know what a worldview is or that he has one, but this is effectively what is happening. He despises wisdom. And he also despises discipline. He sees others around him making steps of change, like praying regularly, having regular times in the Word, changing how they behave in the areas of lust, or greed, or anger, or countless other areas; he sees how they are praying for change but also doing all they can to do their part, resisting temptation and so on, but he doesn’t do these things himself, or he only does it a little, finds it hard, and then quits and gives up. Let us not be fools!

A key problem of the fool is that he doesn’t have the fear of the Lord. What does that mean? What is the fear of the Lord? It is to be continually in awe of God, overwhelmed by His greatness and power and love and goodness. It is to have a worldview in which God is at the very center, and thoughts of God radiate out and permeate every area of life. It is this worldview, one where we can’t help thinking about God, not just on Sunday morning, not just in a quiet time, but all day, every day, that is the beginning of knowledge, and beyond that, of right living in the presence of God. We are always in His presence. He is always watching us. Where could we go to get away from His presence? We should not be afraid because of this, but we should be different.

I can think of a time when one of children, quite young at the time, (I won’t say which) was sitting in a chair, busily trying to pick something out of their nose. I just watched for a while. I didn’t have an angry scowl on my face or anything, I just decided to watch. Eventually this child became aware that I was watching, and they stopped. This child sat there for a while, obviously feeling awkward, but then this person went back to playing with a toy. This child may have been a peti, but this child was not an avil. Our God loves us, but He is God. We should not forget His presence. We should not forget Him. This is the beginning of knowledge, the beginning of wisdom.