God and His Wisdom: An Introduction to Proverbs

October 16, 2023

“The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:

To know wisdom and discipline,

To understand the sayings of understanding,

To receive discipline that leads to insight,

Righteousness, justice, and equity,

To give prudence to the simple,

To the youth knowledge and discretion;

Let the wise man hear and increase in learning,

And a man of understanding will acquire guidance,

To understand a proverb and an enigma,

The words of the wise and their riddles.

The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge;

Ignorant fools despise wisdom and discipline.”

(Proverbs 1:1-7 LSB, with emphasis)

“My son, if you will receive my words

And treasure my commandments within you,

To make your ear pay attention to wisdom,

Incline your heart to discernment;

For if you call out for understanding,

Give your voice for discernment;

If you seek her as silver

And search for her as for hidden treasures;

Then you will understand the fear of Yahweh

And find the knowledge of God.

For Yahweh gives wisdom;

From His mouth come knowledge and discernment.”

(Proverbs 2:1-6 LSB, with emphasis)

“So that you will walk in the way of good men

And keep to the paths of the righteous.”

(Proverbs 2:20 LSB)

“The words of wise men are like goads,

and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails;

they are given by one Shepherd.”

(Ecclesiastes 12:11 LSB)

Approach

In my first commentary, God and His Word: A Devotional Commentary in Psalm 119, I sought to emphasize the truth that God’s word is not a commodity for us to use for our purposes, but personal, daily, moment by moment counsel from the Lord Himself to accomplish His. Nowhere is this more important than in the Proverbs, where we are tempted to take principles in an impersonal way. We note from these opening verses the personal, relational nature of wisdom. God speaks to us by His word, He makes us into good men in the discerning company of other good men, and ultimately all are from Him, the ‘one Shepherd’. We notice that, as an expression of His own nature, the Lord gives us both truth and those who are living examples of it. We see this fully fleshed out in the life of Jesus Christ, who is our Wisdom (see 1 Corinthians 1:30, Colossians 2:2-3). May we fully participate in His way of wisdom, and see Him throughout.

“I have instructed you in the way of wisdom;

I have led you in upright tracks.”

(Proverbs 4:11 LSB)

In his song ‘The Way of Wisdom’, Michael Card states it beautifully:

‘The way of understanding lies

In not how much you know

Where the pathway is a person

That you’ve come to love and so’

‘Wisdom did not come to simply speak the words of truth

He’s the word that makes us true.’

Consider:

“My son, observe the commandment of your father

And do not abandon the law of your mother;

Bind them continually on your heart;

Tie them around your neck.

When you walk about, they will lead you;

When you sleep, they will keep watch over you;

And when you awake, they will speak to you.

For the commandment is a lamp and the law is light;

And reproofs for discipline are the way of life”

(Proverbs 6:20-23 LSB)

This is the Lord Himself personally counseling and guiding us (see also Psalm 32:8-9, 119:24) so that our hearts are captivated by Him (Psalm 119:1-2 LSB):

“Give your heart to me, my son,

And let your eyes delight in my ways.”

(Proverbs 23:26 LSB)

Stay tuned for more.

In His Grip,

Mark