The very first verse tells us that
Solomon the son of David, the king of Israel was the contributor of these
proverbs. He, as we know, was touted as the wisest man. When he first ascended
the throne, he asked God for wisdom to rule instead of power and riches. Hence,
many things he said in Proverbs are great insights. However, when we study his
life, we wish he had lived up to some of the wise words he had given us. Regretfully,
Solomon did not live out all of them. Or else he would certainly have a much better
conclusion to his life. It must be said, however, that what he taught in this
book are worthy of our attention and application. They can definitely help us to
attain a meaningful, fulfilling and a God-honouring and pleasing life.
Having made reference to himself,
Solomon quickly state the purpose and motto of this book. In verse 2 he first
gave a summary of the two-fold purpose before he elaborated on them in verses 3-6.
Firstly, proverbs are set to train the people of God to live their lives
wisely. Wisdom is an action word. It is different from cleverness. Many of us
had mistaken wisdom for smartness. Wisdom has to do with action while smartness
is a function of the mind. The wisdom referred to in this book concerns the
skill of living wisely. It had nothing to do with one’s academic prowess but
one’s moral aptness. Hence, this book shows us how to live rightly and
skilfully in many areas of life, such as family, friendships, finance, attitude
towards females, and even our dialogues and work. The proverbs
are intended to help one to build a significant and gratifying life. This wisdom,
we are told, can only be gained through disciplined instruction. God is the
source of all wisdom. We need to be connected to Him and be trained through
being sensitive to His guidance. None of us is born wise or automatically
become wiser as we grow older. We need to cultivate wisdom through disciplined
pursuit. A lazy attitude that rejects discipline would cause a person to remain
wayward. Such a person would be living with unrestrained desires and lifestyle.
Discipline ensure success. And we are talking about God’s kind of discipline:
that’s taking the word of God, understanding its principles and applying them
in one’s daily living.
In verse 3 we can see that wisdom will benefit a learner
who seeks it. This person will receive instruction in wise behaviour. He will be
taught righteousness so that he will live life with God-conforming standards. When
we do so, we will deal with others with fairness and impartiality. We see in verse
4 that wisdom will benefit the young and naïve. By being naïve, one becomes gullible.
Through proverbs the simpleton will be given insight on how to be prudent. They
will also help the young to be discrete and to be able to form plans to attain important
goals. Wisdom helps with discernment so that we will be able to distinguish
between good and bad company. It will help us to identify values differentiating
between the true and the spurious. Verse 5 tells us that the mature, through
acquiring wisdom, will become wiser. They
will remain teachable and continue to acquire more wisdom through disciplined
pursuit.
Secondly, proverbs will help to impart discernment. It
sharpens our mind and enables us to rightly evaluate and analyse every given
situation. Discernment helps in the distinguishing process of our mind. We are
enabled to identify between what’s real and what’s just make-believe. We all need insight into understanding God’s
word because the spiritual things, the Bible says, are spiritually discerned. Together
with the Holy Spirit and a sharp mind, we will have a better insight into the
Word of God. We will be able to understand the different types of genre, be it
parable, poetry, sayings etc, that are found in the Word of God. Studying proverbs
will definitely help us to develop a steelier and sharper mind.
True knowledge begins with the premise of fearing God. To
fear God is to have true reverence and awe for Him. Such reverence for God begins
with a covenant relationship with God. When we reverent Him we will seek to know
and experience Him. And when we pursue Him we find an impartation of His wisdom.
No wonder in James 1:5 we are told to ask God for wisdom should we lack it. In
contrast to being a wise person, we are exhorted not to emulate the fool. For
they despise wisdom and instruction. What we discover in the Book of Proverbs
are not just maxims. They are the instructions and promises of God. We must
take the time to study and then take them to heart. Having done that, we must make
every effort to practise them. God guarantees that we will be wise and we shall
know true life indeed.
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