Introduction to Proverbs

Proverbs 1

Life is filled with proverbial statements; pithy, memorable

statements with a point.
• Never trust a skinny cook (ht: Walter)
• It's five o'clock somewhere
• Fish and visitors stink after three days
• What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger
• [for those who like tank tops] "Sun's out, guns out"
• He who dies with the most toys is still dead.
• If at first you don't succeed, you're about average.
• It is easier to get forgiveness than to get permission.
• If you're going to be dumb, you've got to be tough. -
William Dempsey Wendt
• It is better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth
and remove all doubt. - Mark Twain
• It is better to swallow words than to have to eat them later.
- Franklin Roosevelt (1882-1945)
• Life isn't like a box of chocolates...it's more like a jar of
jalapenos. What you do today might burn your behind
tomorrow. - unknown

While the book of Proverbs might bear some resemblance to these

pithy sayings, the book is much more than witty little tips, and
moralisms that are abstracted from the Gospel.

• Proverbs is not like fortune cookies either that may or may

not be true.
• Nor is this book Dear Abby advice.
• It’s not pop-psychology that tells us things like “just follow
your heart.”
• It’s not talk radio that constantly spews out one’s agenda.
• It’s not a horoscope.
Proverbs is different than all of these popular sources of wisdom.

We turn to Proverbs instead because it’s inspired Scripture that

teaches us about the Gospel; it teaches us about Christ, who is
“the wisdom of God.”

Proverbs should call us not simply to know the right things, but
to know the right person, Jesus Christ, who says “Come follow
me.”

Proverbs teaches us how to live in wisely through Christ, in a way

that honors Christ.

Our Plan
This morning we begin our study of this wonderful book. Many
have never sat through a series on Proverbs. One reason for the
neglect of it is the way the book reads. Often one Proverb appears
unrelated to the next. The disjointed nature of it makes it hard to
preach though verse by verse.

But we’ve decided to do what many have faithfully done; that is,
preach through the first 9 chapters (which form a unit) verse by
verse, and then consider five “subject studies" in a topical fashion,
pulling various verses from chapters 10-31 together around a
topic.

Chapter 1
• In the opening chapter, we find the title, the goal, and the motto
of Proverbs – in verses 1-7.
• Then we have an illustration of how one should apply wisdom
in verses 8-19.
• Then the chapter ends with an invitation to live in relationship
to wisdom.

We could study the passage under these headings, but we may

also tease out a few more details about the book, if we consider 7
introductory characteristics of Proverbs.

Hopefully, this structure will serve as a helpful introduction, and

should bring us to conviction and repentance.

7 Characteristics of Proverbs

Characteristic #1: A Royal Origin: Kings (1:1)

Authorship. The book opens up by telling us that Solomon is the

author of Proverbs.

Solomon isn’t the only human author of the book. There are other
writers (eg., Agur, King Lemuel, Sayings of the Wise); and the
men of Hezekiah copied some of the sayings of Solomon. But even
so, the book has a royal backdrop. Several proverbs address
appropriate behavior for those in the royal court (see Prov 16, 31).

Solomon's Request. Solomon requested wisdom and God

graciously gave it to him. (See 1 Kings 3:9)

Proverbs. In addition to ruling wisdom, Kings tells us that

Solomon spoke 3,000 Proverbs, many of which had to do with
creation, and due to his wisdom he attracted worldwide attention
(1 Kings 4:32-34).

With these Proverbs, Solomon is passing on wisdom to everyone,

especially his sons who need wisdom to rule with justice, to
distinguish between good and evil.

But we all know that every king failed to live wisely, and rule
justly, including Solomon. He died a fool.
The message of the Old Testament is clear: we need another King.

And that’s what we have with David’s greatest Son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus created the world with wisdom, astonished people with his
wisdom in his incarnation, as a child, grew in wisdom, and then
taught with unparalleled wisdom (Lk 2:46; 2:51-52;).

Because of this Christ-connection, we will need to turn to the NT

often, which extends (not replaces or contradicts) the wisdom
found in Proverbs. We will in other words, want to go from
Solomon to Jesus.

Two applications:

(1) Think of the reign of Jesus as you read this book.

He is reigning now, but that reign isn’t totally fulfilled yet (cf.,
Ps 72). We are waiting for his ultimate reign.

Proverbs has echoes of Eden and whispers of the coming

Kingdom.

Proverbs looks back to creation and tells us how the world

works best – without sin. It gives us the ideal.

But we know that we don’t live in the ideal.

And Proverbs gives us whispers of the future, when the King

of Kings comes to set up his Kingdom, where justice reigns,
and people live in totally harmony with one another and
creation.

Isaiah 11
 You should write Isaiah 11 out to the side of the opening of
Proverbs spot see he Messianic dynamic. Notice the
similarities in terms between Isaiah 11:1-4, and Proverbs 1:1-7

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,

and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit
of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and
understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of
knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in
the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with
righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with
equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the
earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his
lips he shall kill the wicked. (Isa 11:1-4)

Jesus is the royal embodiment of Proverbs (cf., Isa 52:13).

So let us anticipate His great reign as we read it.

If your life doesn’t sound like the wisdom of Proverbs, then

you aren’t alone. Look to Jesus for salvation, for help, and for
the hope of a new creation, where peace and righteousness
dwell forever.

(2) If you have any influence (and who doesn’t?), Proverbs is

especially relevant. It’s a wonderful book for leaders.

• Good leaders are shadows of Christ.

• Good leaders are full of integrity and justice.
• The speak up for the voiceless and give attention to the
poor.

So we want to read it, and seek to be Christ-like in our

leadership.
Characteristic #2: An Overall Purpose: To Impart Wisdom (2-6)

In verses 2-6, the author tells us that his purpose is to impart

wisdom, and for for us to become wise.

By nature we are foolish. Left to ourselves we don’t fear God, we

don’t worship God, we don’t bow the knee to Christ. We need a
new heart, and we need to pursue the wisdom of God.

So the book is designed to make us wise, but we need to know

what wisdom means.

Multi--Faceted Nature of Wisdom

Wisdom is a rich concept in the book of Proverbs, it’s multi-
faceted; or multi-colored like a rainbow.

WE could divine them up by saying that wisdom is insightful,

practical, ethical, and relational. Let’s consider these words:

“Wisdom” (1:2a). Longman says “Wisdom is the skill of living.

It’s practical knowledge.”

The same word is used for the skillful workers that helped build
the tabernacle in Exodus 28, 31 (cf., Prov 22:29).

• Wisdom is not intelligence, or having an high IQ. You can

get an education and not have wisdom. Wisdom involves
skill for living – in regard to family, finances, friendships,
speech, and vocation, and other areas.

• SO, Wisdom involves understanding how the world works.

• Numerous examples from creation (ant) are used to illustrate
how the world works best. The wise person understands
God’s world and can live skillfully in it.

“Instruction” (1:2b). Wisdom is “instruction” according to the ESV

(1:2), but perhaps a better translation would be “correction” or
“discipline” (1:2)

• Being wise requires a discipleship type relationship.

• In these relationships, you get warned, rebuked, and told to
turn around.

• Everyone likes the idea of wisdom, but we don't like the idea
of being rebuked. Yet that's part of it.

• To be wise you must humbly recognize that you are not

always wise, and you need to submit to wise counsel.

• Ultimately, you must submit to the Lord Himself if you want

to be wise.

“Insight” (1:2c). Wisdom is also insight, or “understanding” (1:2).

• Insight is a knowledge that helps you size up a situation and

act or speak appropriately.
• You need to be able to read people; contexts and act wisely.
• This is closely related to prudence and discretion.
• The ultimate example of this is Jesus, who knew the hearts of
people not just their questions! (cf., Matt 22:22; John 2)

“Wise dealing in righteousness, justice and equity” (1:3). Here

we see that wisdom has an ethical quality. These three
characteristics are often together when describing God's nature
(Ps 9:8; 33:5; 89:14; 96:10)

• Wisdom means that you have the ability to know and do

what is right.
• “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it
is in your power to do it” (Prov 3:27). This implies you know
who deserves to be served.
• Don’t compromise your integrity; that’s foolish.
• Wisdom means that you have the ability to distinguish
between good and evil.
• The way one does this is by looking into the law of God; by
looking at the world through God’s eyes.

• Proverbs is closely related to God’s law, and we see the

law referred to throughout the book (1:8; 3:1; 4:2; 6:20,
23; 7:2; 13:14; 28:4, 7, 9; 29:18).
• The king was to write a copy of the law.

• Proverbs says multiple times that the key to wisdom is

internalizing the “law” of Solomon (Prov 2:1; 3:1, 3; 4:4;
6:21; 7:1, 3).
• As we study the whole Bible, we know that in the new
covenant God says he will give us a new heart, and
will write is law on our hearts; that’s what we need to
live righteously, and justly – we need a new heart.

• Apart from regeneration, we won’t live wisely.

Proverbs has a great emphasis on the heart (cf., Prov
4:23), as we shall see. It is with a new heart that we live
out the ethical commands of God.
 • In many ways Proverbs is about applying the Law of
God to diverse situations with discretion, insight,
and discernment.

“Discretion” and "Prudence" (1:4). These two traits are especially

important for the youth.

“Prudence” involves the ability to use reason under the fear of

God, to navigate life's problems. It implies cool-headedness, and
carefulness, not recklessly running into to a decision.

"Discretion" is needed to avoid the lures of evil, as expressed in

the first 7 chapters. (2:11).

"Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without

discretion" (11:22). Beauty is in the wrong place; beauty is ruined...

• Consider an example in the book of Proverbs itself.

• Look at Proverbs 26:4-5.“Answer not a fool according
to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. Answer a
fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own
eyes.”
• Contradiction? No. is emphasizing discernment and
discretion.
• Sometimes you need to answer, and sometimes you
don’t. You need to think about the outcomes of
answering.
o Once I received a series of anonymous letters
from a critic. I have received many of these in
10 years of pastoring; but this one kept coming.
Finally, my wife and decided to respond
briefly, but to respond.
o Do you really need to answer that dude on
Facebook?
 o Do you really need to read controversial blogs
and put your two cents in?
o You need discernment.

“Guidance” (1:5). Wisdom is likened to an education process.

Solomon says that the wise obtain guidance.

Where do you go for guidance? According to Proverbs, you

should turn to God’s Word, to observation to godly counsel, and
to prayer. (cf., Prov 3:5-7)

Application
Decision Making? We are often paralyzed to make decisions
because we don't have this discretion and insight.
You need Scripture, Wise Counsel, Prayer, and Observation
according to Proverbs to obtain Guidance. Scripture (the law; tie it
around your neck-- see 10:8); Counsel (more later); Prayer (James
1:5); Observation (look at the sluggard, look at the lizard, dog,
lion, ant)...

Common Paths that Don't work without this grid, most don't
have a Bible in their process, or they lack another one:

• "List the Pros and Cons." That never works if you don't use the
Bible, or receive rebuke from godly counsel, because you can
weight the evidence how ever you want. You can convince
yourself to have an affair ("he's my soul mate"; or to punch
someone ("it's righteous anger"). The "teachable" find guidance.

• "Where there's no vision the people perish" (29:18) is not some

mystical impression that justifies what you want to do, like
build a multi-million dollar building!. That verse is talking
about Scripture. Where's there's no prophetic word, everyone
does what's right in his own eyes. You have to have Scripture to
lead and live.
“Understand a proverb and a saying … their riddles” (1:6). Next,
wisdom is involves knowing how to read. Scholars argue over the
precise meaning of the words in verse 6, but essentially Solomon
tells us that Proverbs are often difficult to understand, and can be
mysterious.

• We read later, “A proverb in the mouth of a fool is as useless

as a paralyzed leg (26:7). In other words, the goal is not just
memorizing the Proverb, but understanding it and doing it.

“Knowledge” (1:7). Finally, wisdom involves “knowledge.” This

has to do with the knowledge God, and then by extension the
knowledge of people.

Application
Therefore, wisdom is multi-dimensional. It involves practical,
insightful, ethical, and relational dimensions.

• Read God's Word to be wise like this.

• Observe the world to be wise like this. Observe the way the
world works.
• Pray to be wise like this. (James 1:5; Prov 2:6)
• Walk with the wise to be wise like this (more later)

Characteristic #3: A Universal Audience: Everyone (1:2-7)

To whom is this book addressed? The author answers this

question for us: everyone!

While there is a clear royal audience, the book is not limited to

those in the royal court.

Solomon wants the whole nation to live wisely, and for the King
to show the way.
The first seven chapters are addressed to a “son” but a broader
audience is in view.

Notice three groups in this prologue:

• First, Proverbs is addressed to “people” in general (1:2-3).

• Second, more specifically, the book is addressed to the simple-
minded, or the youth (1:4). The “simple” are neither wise nor
foolish; but instead are uninformed (Longman). A
contemporary word would be immature.
• Third, the book also addresses the mature, or the wise (1:5).
Even the wise person can learn.
• The only person excluded is the fool, who has no interest in
learning and growing in wisdom (1:7). Wisdom is for anyone
who wants it. The fool doesn’t want it.

What’s implied, then, is that if you’re teachable, you can grow in

wisdom.

Much of what the world puts forth as wisdom is foolish, and

should be avoided. Consider a few examples (Ht: Jon Akin).

• Worldly wisdom says, “if you want to be rich, be greedy

and stingy.”
• But, godly wisdom says, “One gives freely, yet grows all
the richer; another withholds what he should give, and
only suffers want” (Prov 11:24).

• Worldly wisdom says, “Money will make you happy, so

get as much as you can,”
• but godly wisdom says, “Whoever trusts in his riches will
fall” (Prov 11:28)
 • Worldly wisdom says, “If you want to get ahead in life,
then you need to promote yourself,”
• but Godly wisdom says, “Let another praise you and not
your own mouth” (Prov 27:2).

• Worldly wisdom says, “Be buddies with your kids. Don’t

discipline them or say ‘no’ to them. You don’t want them
to be maladjusted do you?”
• But, Godly wisdom says, “He who loves his son is diligent
to discipline him” (Prov 13:24).

• Worldly wisdom says, “Don’t jeopardize friendships by

having difficult conversations; it’s not your business
anyways.”
• But, godly wisdom says, “Better an open rebuke than
hidden love” (Prov 27:5).

All of us need to know grow in godly wisdom.

Characteristic #4: A Foundational Truth: The Fear of the Lord is

the Beginning of wisdom (1:7)

This verse is like the motto of the book, and it appears in various
places (1:29; 2:5; 9:10).

Apart from God, there is no wisdom. The wise person knows God.

See Jeremiah 9:23. This is wisdom: knowing God.

To "fear God" means to revere Him, to submit to Him, and to
walk in His ways.

To do otherwise is folly. Proverbs presents two paths for you to

walk in, and the right path is the way that involves fearing God.

"The Lord." Proverbs assumes a covenantal understanding of

God. This book is written in a context of a people, who are in
covenant relationship with God.

To understand Proverbs, and live it out, you need to know God.

You can know Him through Jesus Christ.

The reason I like “foundational” rather than “beginning” is that

beginning could sound like a starting point, but not the middle or
the end. But it’s foundational like the foundation of a bridge – if
you don’t have this, you can have wisdom.

We don’t “evolve” beyond the fear of God to something else. It's

foundational for wisdom.

The Messiah promised in Isaiah 11 who feared God, and did his
commands perfectly.

Psalm 130 says that if God kept a record of sins, no one could
stand, but with Him there is forgiveness … that you may be
feared (3-4). Think about this. The forgiveness received through
Christ should cause us to stand in awe of Him.

Application
The foundational truth for today’s world is “follow your heart.”

But following your own heart foolish, and destructive.

Proverbs 28:26 says, “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But he
who walks wisely will be delivered” (NASB).

The reason it is wrong to follow your heart is that your heart is

sinful!

Proverbs 20:9 asks, “Who can say, ‘I have made my heart pure; I
am clean from my sin’?” The implied answer is: “No one can keep
their heart pure!”

The fundamental truth that one must build upon is not

“follow your own heart,” but “Fear God.”

I love how Proverbs 14 puts it “The fear of the Lord is the fountain
of life that one may turn away from the snares of death” (27).

Out of this fountain springs real life. Fear God and find a life
worth living.

Characteristic #5: A Familial Responsibility: Teach Your

Children (1:8-9)

As mentioned, the book reflects back to Deut 6, where parents are

instructed to teach their children God’s law. They are to do it all
the time – sitting, walking, lying down, (driving in a mini-van!)
etc. They are to always keep it before their children.

In verses 8-9, both the Father and mother are giving instructions;
that’s the ideal.

"Hear" implies obedience.

"Teaching" means "discipline" (same as 1:3)
Dad and Mom are to be a team of disciple-makers.

They want their children to wear God’s word, like a necklace.

They want them to never let it leave them.

• Teach what? Gods Word. Teach Proverbs. The way

Proverbs is arranged, you can actually use it as a focus of
discipleship by reading a chapter a day each month. We’ve
used Proverbs like this often.
• Today is Proverbs 1! You're already off to a good start!

Notice this familial feel to the book. Look at 2:1, 3:1, 4:1, 5:1, 6:1,
6:20, 7:1. Then see 10:1

Application
• So kids, if you have Christian parents, listen to them. Learn
God’s Word from them. Be thankful for them.
• Parents, realize that you have a weighty responsibility for
teaching them God’s ways.
• Teach them not just the truths, but teach them with the heart
of the Father and mother here – they are pleading and urging
their kids with compassion and discipline to follow God’s
Word.

Characteristic #6: A Communal Emphasis: Who You Hang Out

with Matters (1:10-19)

The first subject that the parents bring up to their son is simple:
don’t join a gang. It’s an interesting place to start, huh? It makes
sense in light of this whole book because this is actually an
emphasis throughout: who you hang out with matters.
1) In verses 11-14, they point out a hypothetical invitation from
evil men “Come with us…” This gang is inviting the son to
prey on the innocent; to murder and rob, getting rich at
someone else's expense.

2) In verses 10 and 15, the parents tell their son to reject such
invitations. “Do not consent” (10), and “Do not walk in the
way with them, hold back your feet from their paths” (15).
Lots of references to "the path" in Proverbs

3) In verses 16-20, the parents give the reasons for rejecting their
invitation. They don't won't their son to destroy his life. They
will get caught in their own traps. They are going to ambush
themselves.

"What does it benefit to gain the whole world and lose your soul?"

Application
Who Do You Hang With? You will hang with some crowd

Such gangs come in various forms. They may be particular groups

at school that want you to join their devious plans; thugs on the
streets; or high-end criminals in politics and Wall street. The
principle is the same: watch who you hang with.

Whom do you go to for counsel? Who do you hang with? Do you

seek guidance from godly people who know the Word and are
living it out, or are you listening to bitter people; to self-centered
people; to worldly people?

Proverbs teaches us “Whoever walks with the wise becomes

wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm” (13:20).
This is why the church is so important; and why seeking counsel
from leaders and pastors is so important. You need a community
of faith to help you navigate the complexities of life.

It is in the community of faith that we learn God’s wisdom.

There are magnificent rewards for walking the right path.

Characteristic #7: A Relational Question: Will You Live In

Relationship to Wisdom or Folly (1:20-33)

Wisdom is a Person

In these verses, wisdom is personified. Wisdom reaches out to the

son. We are introduced to Woman Wisdom, "the most important
character in Proverbs." (Longman, 111). She stands for "Yahweh's
wisdom, and thus stands for God himself." As we see later, she
points us to Jesus.

We should Not see these verses as God being a female.

• This is a figure of speech. Paul says that when he led the church
in Thessalonica, he was like a Mother to them (1 Thess 2:7).
• The reason for the female gender is because the Hebrew noun
for wisdom (hokma) is feminine.
• The father knows what will be enticing to his young son: a
woman. In Proverbs 5-7, there is the immoral women pleading
with the son.

Throughout the first nine chapters the question is “Will you listen
to Lady Wisdom or Lady Folly?” Wisdom is a person.

Notice the phrases, “her voice,” “she cries out,” “she speaks” (1:20-
21) in the city, striking up the image of the city gates, where the
elders of the city gather together.
 • Wisdom is at the center of public life.
• She is like an evangelist, prophet, poet and counselor.

If he does listen to Woman Wisdom, then she will pour out the
Spirit on him (23). Tremendous blessing is promised to those
who respond to Wisdom

If he refuses, then his life will be ruined because he failed to fear

the Lord (24-31).

Chapter 8
This relational dimension of wisdom is elevated in chapter 8,
where wisdom carries a similarity to Christ himself.

Consider the similarities to Christ:

• Wisdom is said to pre-exist the creation (Prov 8:22-29).
• Wisdom was there in the beginning (8:22),
• before the depths were brought forth (8:24),
• before the mountains (8:25), and
• before the Lord gave the sea its limits (8:29).
• Not only did Wisdom exist prior to the Creation, but Wisdom
assisted the Lord in creation. She says, “I was beside him, like a
master workman” (8:30).

Not only did Jesus participate in creation (Heb 1; Col 1; John 1),
but also Jesus is the wisdom of God (1 Cor 1:24, 30). Further, Jesus
points to himself as "Woman Wisdom" (Matt 11:19; Luke 7:35).

Christ is the embodiment of Wisdom.

He fulfills what Proverbs says about this figure called Wisdom.

Proverbs 9 is the culmination of this question: Will you live in
relation to Lady Wisdom or Lady Folly?
 • Both Wisdom and Folly throw a marriage party – a feast –
and invite the son to attend (9:1-6, 13-18). Solomon is
urging his son to choose Wisdom.

Longman says the choice is,

Will you dine with the devil or dine with Jesus?

Bottom Line: The Good News is that Wisdom is a person, and

his name is Jesus, and knowing him personally will make you
wise.

He is the fulfillment of the ideas in Proverbs.

He told the people that "one Greater than Solomon" is here (Matt
12:42). Through him we can be wise.

Through Jesus, you are reconciled to God, to other people, and

to the world around us.

By knowing him and being made like him you are enabled to
walk in the Proverbs in 10-31.

You will be conformed to his wise image!

Will you live in relationship to Jesus, to wisdom; or will you live

in relationship to folly, to idols? That’s the big question.

Wisdom is a Matter of Life and Death (32-33)

What you do with Jesus determines everything. The

chapter concludes by commenting on this ultimate choice.

You can go the way of death and destruction or you can dwell
“secure,” and not fear death, by turning to Jesus. Choose life, my
friend.
Review:
• Royal Origin: Kings (Solomon to Jesus)
• An overall purpose: to impart wisdom
• A universal audience: everyone
• A foundational truth: Fear God
• A familial responsibility: teach your kids
• A communal emphasis: hang w right people
• A relational question: will you live in relationship to wisdom or
folly?

David Watson was a famous Anglican evangelist and minister.

He’s IQ was off the charts. He entered the prestigious Cambridge

at age 18, and in his book My God is Real said that he entered the

university as “a professing humanist.” When he arrived, he was

invited to a college Bible study. A student ask him, “In all that you

know, do you know God?” He discovered that he didn’t, but later

through Christ, he came to know Him. He would go on to be used

by God for years.

In all of that you know, do you know God? Come to Jesus who

says, “This is eternal life that they may know God, and Jesus

Christ, whom you have sent.” (Jn 17:3).

That's the wisest thing you could ever do.