Proverbs 1 - Introduction. Warning. Wisdom's speech.

Tonight I got to kick off a new nine-week series on the first nine chapters of Proverbs. I will be giving 6 or 7 of these talks, and so over the coming weeks, that will mostly be what I will be posting here.

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Do you want to live your best life now? Is that even possible? How do we navigate our time here, under the sun? How do we know what is best and how do we raise our children in this increasingly digital and complex world?

There are many voices, natural and social, passive and active, that are telling us a whole bunch of ways to live. How are we to know which ones we should turn to for advice?

The natural world is telling us something if we just stopped to observe it. Like, when it gets dark, maybe you should sleep. There is wisdom in finding out how the world works, but we might not pay enough attention to it.

In our social world, we are bombarded with people telling us what to do, and we absorb this information passively. You probably know this following creed, and by osmosis, you may have even said some variation of it to your children.

You have to do good at school so that you can go to university.

You need to do well at university so that you can get a good job.

You need a good job because that brings in lots of money.

Now, is that the wisest way to live? Most people will say What else is there? Don’t get me wrong, there is some wisdom in there, but is that the right end? Knowing the end is important, so that you can then reverse engineer your life now, to get to that goal.

The book of Proverbs is here to help us navigate this life, to help us be wise. Who do we befriend? Who do we listen to? How do we control our emotions or our speech? A wise person knows how to live, even in hard times.

And we need this help, because we can’t do it on our own.

Out of Eden

In the Garden of Eden, there was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and there was God’s instruction to not eat from it. In the garden, the world was orderly and relationships were fine, until humans grasped and took and decided that they knew what was good and evil. They ate that fruit, they drank that self-empowerment cool-aid, and it didn’t go well. They were banished from the garden, unable to eat from the tree of life.

Today we find ourselves in a world that has disorderly relationships, and we have our sinful tendencies that tell us we can make up our own minds as to what is good and evil, and this does not go well for us.

Proverbs is here to help us look at the world as it should be, and to live in the right way under God, who created everything. In chapter 3 we are told that

She [wisdom] is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed. (Proverbs 3:18 NIV)

We will see in this book that following the way of wisdom is a way back to the tree of life. Proverbs offers us a wise way back to Eden, for us to live as it was originally intended.

Overview

In our series this term, we are going to look at the first 9 chapters of Proverbs. These nine chapters, depending on how you cut it up, could be 12 different poems.

In the Bible Study notes, there are more comments about this, but just know that throughout these 9 chapters, we are presented with two ways to live. We have a choice between whose voice we are going to listen to, Woman Wisdom, or Lady Folly. Which path do we want to take, the straight one that leads to life, or the crooked one that leads to death? Will you be wise or foolish? Those and those alone are your only two options. Which person will you be?

In our chapter today, there are three main sections: an introduction to Proverbs, the first warning about joining a gang and then the first speech of Lady Wisdom.

Introduction. Warning. Wisdoms speech.

Introduction to Proverbs

The book opens with a clear introduction explaining what proverbs are and who they are for

The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
for gaining wisdom and instruction;
for understanding words of insight;
for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair;
for giving prudence to those who are 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 1:1–6 NIV)

The proverbs we are looking at are from Solomon, Israel's third King. Solomon once asked God for wisdom and received it in spades. Although the end of his life did not go well for him, as he was led astray. However, that doesn’t negate the wisdom of his teachings here - if anything,g it shows the nature of these proverbs. They are not about gaining facts and having a high IQ in a certain field; it is about continuing to walk in the right way of life. As someone else put it

Wisdom is a skill, a “knowing how”; it is not raw intellect, a “knowing that”. (How to Read Proverbs To Teach Wisdom)

Proverbs are for gaining wisdom and instruction, it is for doing what is right and just and fair. And we are told in this introduction that it is for those who are simple and for those who are young, and in case you think that doesn’t include you, it is also for the wise. The simple and the young can be taught to see the value of wisdom, and the wise, well, they are always seeking more wisdom; there is never a point where they have arrived. Solomon stopped doing that and ended up on the wrong path.

After some preliminary statements about what Proverbs are for, we are told the motto or the fundamental point of the whole matter in sentence seven.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7 NIV)

Fearing the Lord is where we start. That is where we begin to get knowledge. So what does that mean?

Fearing the Lord can mean a respected terror, to stand under God, to acknowledge our dependence on Him. Knowing that God governs and judges in the end. This “fear of the LORD” is a form of humility or reverence (Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary: Year B, Volume 4 Pastoral Perspective)

It is knowing that God is God, and we are not. That we are created by Him, and we are in His world. Some people ignore God in their worldview; they see this world as a closed system without any interference by a creator, and they are ignoring the key to knowledge.

From ancient to modern cultures, everyone has their own sayings and proverbs, telling truisms and observations about the world. You probably know a bunch, Nate told me a cultural Proverb about wisdom on Wednesday night. He said:

“Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.”

But what makes other cultural proverbs different to the ones we find in the Bible is that, at their base, they assume God. Other proverbs ignore the God who made this world and gave you life.

If we are going to begin to understand this book, we need humility and awe at God, knowing life and this world comes from Him.

After that orientation, we start with some of the teaching proper, it starts with:

Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck. (Proverbs 1:8–9 NIV)

(A garland is like a wreath of flowers on your head, like a soft crown)

The first nine chapters of this book are framed around parents teaching their son the way of life. This gives their advice a masculine feel; it is about who a boy should court, characters of wisdom and folly are presented as women, it talks about being peer pressured into violence. This can be a bit off-putting for some, who say, “Well I am not a son, this isn’t written to me.”

But you need to remember that the Bible isn’t written to you, but it is written for you. (Nate Holdridge from Calvary Monterey Podcast)

You are not a Christian in the first-century world in Rome, but the book of Romans does have much you can learn from it. You are not Titus or Timothy, but you probably can learn something from the letter to those guys. Likewise, you might not be a son, you might not be young, but we can still all learn from this. While the framing of these sections are instructions to children, don’t forget the introduction that says proverbs are for the wise who want to listen and add to their learning. Don’t skip this, thinking it is not for you; it is.

Don’t join a gang

And so in sentences 10-19, we are given the first warning, and that is: don’t join a gang.

My son, if sinful men entice you, do not give in to them.
If they say, “Come along with us; let’s lie in wait for innocent blood, let’s ambush some harmless soul; let’s swallow them alive, like the grave, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; we will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder; cast lots with us; we will all share the loot”—
my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths; for their feet rush into evil, they are swift to shed blood. How useless to spread a net where every bird can see it! These men lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush only themselves! Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the life of those who get it. (Proverbs 1:10–19 NIV)

This may seem like strange advice straight off the bat. Like, is this really the first thing the king was worried about for the prince? But if we think this, we might skip over its point. There is a trap here we may not see.

The parents warn their son that sinful men may entice him with promises of easy rewards and little danger. Young people can underestimate risk and overestimate reward, and the offer of belonging to a tight-knit group can be appealing; it provides a sense of security and identity.

Their advice is, don’t listen, run away. It may look easy. Back then, there were no phone cameras in everyone’s pockets, no facial recognition, no fingerprinting. A group could get away with murder on the lone roads.

In Genesis, Joseph's brothers thought this was easy when they ganged up on him and sold him into slaverly to Egypt. Judas, put his lot in with evil men and betrayed Jesus for some silver coins too.

<<Story here, redacted - I told a story about I conversation I had last week at 10am, but then didn't at the 4:30pm>>

Now, for all of us, to be wise we all need to see the bait that is on offer in this story, if we don’t see it, and think, yeah I am not going to join a gang, then you might be like the birds in verse 17

How useless to spread a net where every bird can see it! (Proverbs 1:17 NIV)

Birds are only trapped when they are unaware that there is a trap (Proverbs Original Meaning). We may read the passage but not see the main trap. And that is the trap of ill-gotten gain. It is greed. Those who go after it are only setting a trap for themselves.

We need to see this trap and choose another way. Are there people in our social settings, our own gangs, who are promoting greed, telling us to improve ourselves or our nest egg? Instead of listening to the creeds of the world, we should be listening to the voice of Jesus [who] tells us to look out for the least of his brothers and sisters. Jesus warns us about the dangers of greed, also asking us to watch the birds. (Proverbs Contemporary Significance)

Jesus said:

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? (Matthew 6:26 NIV)

Does our contentment come from knowing our heavenly Father will look after us? We don’t need to worry about money, so we don’t have to grasp and hoard and go after gain. You are valuable to God; He cares for His children. Trust Him. Avoid the voices of greed; it will ensnare your life.

Not always true

Now, some may protest here, and throughout the rest of Proverbs and say this is not always true. Sometimes the greedy and violent do seem to win. People get away with it all the time.

What Proverbs gives us are principles, not promises. They are not guarantees, but guidelines to live by. There is a moral aspect to proverbs, not just a pragmatic aspect.

The Bible is not unaware of the unfairness of life. The books of Job and Ecclesiastes are wisdom books that affirm this and complement Proverbs. But even though the world is fallen and frustrating, and you might see the wicked win, if you are a good parent, you still don’t teach your child that it is ok to cheat on relationships, exams or games if you can get away with it.

The principles still stands, there are moral rules written into creation. Ill-gotten gain might seem like it works sometimes, it still dose not lead to a better life. There is no fear of the Lord in it.

Even if it seems like the pragmatics of a corrupt politician pays off, we know in the Lord's wisdom, it still isn’t good, and ultimately, as God is judge, it will not pay off in the end.

Listen to wisdom... or else

In the last section, we hear from Women Wisdom. She will speak again in chapters 8 and 9. As we meet her we need to remember that this lady is, a rhetorical device; she isn’t some preincarnate version of Jesus. Jesus is the wisdom of God, Lady Wisdom is a character who used to be contrasted with Lady Folly.

We are introduced to wisdom and hear her speak

Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square; on top of the wall she cries out, at the city gate she makes her speech:
“How long will you who are simple love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings.
But since you refuse to listen when I call and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand, since you disregard all my advice and do not accept my rebuke, I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you; I will mock when calamity overtakes you— when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you. (Proverbs 1:20–27 NIV)

Wisdom is in the public square and the city gates, where the people are, calling out to anyone who would listen. She shouts and tries to get a hearing, begging anyone to listen to her. But like some yelly street preacher,s many ignore and mock her.

She warns the public, if they do not listen to her now, if they mock her now, she will, in turn, not listen to them, she will mock and laugh at them in the end.

She is saying, You will reap what you sow in life. If you ignore wisdom, you can not cry foul on judgment day against her. Wisdom will not be their defender but accuser. You can not say in the end, that you meant well but you were led astray by others, she says, “no, your problem is you didn’t listen to me”. (Proverbs 1, Into the Word)

If you ignore wisdom in life, she will ignore you in the end. And the thing is, she is not hard to find; she was in the public spaces calling out. Deep down, we know what is right; we know there is a God. This is not hidden; we just suppressed this truth (Rom 1:18-20).

Wisdom and grace

Now, the tone of wisdom might go against our sensibility. We might think there is not much grace here, only law. If you don’t listen to wisdom, you will make a shipwreck of your life, and she will mock you in the end. What do we do with that? What if we think we have made the foolish decisions? Is there any hope for us?

There is, and we must also remember to read Proverbs like any other Old Testament book, through the lens of Jesus, to see where it points to Him.

In this text, wisdom says in sentence 23

Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings. (Proverbs 1:23 NIV)

If you come to her, turn from your way, and she will give you her thoughts. There is always a chance to come back, until there isn’t. We can all return to wisdom up to a point, and after that, it will be too late. There are no second chances after death, but the fool can repent now.

"Instead of reading wisdom's words as unrestrained condemnation, we can receive them as the strong invitation of one who hopes that the tragedy of some will become a lesson for many." (Proverbs Contemporary Significance)

This wisdom of repentance before it is too late is at the heart of God, where we see it in Jesus, calling all people to come to Him. While it is still today, we can go to him, the wisdom of God, but there will be a time when it will be too late to do so.

As Christians, this urgency and offer should move us to have concern for those going their own way. We should be known as the people who give second chances. (Proverbs Contemporary Significance)

At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks about the wise and the fool, he says:

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (Matthew 7:24–27 NIV)

Today, we can be like the wise man and repent and build our life on the words of Jesus. Not just listening to them and thinking they were clever or moral, but by putting them into practice, by being wise and living them out. The foolish do not listen to His words, and in the end, their life ends with a great crash. Don’t be like them, repent now, today and follow Jesus.

Wisdom begins with God. It involves listening to Him and following His ways. This week, check your heart for greed. You do not have to seek after ill-gotten gain or desire more than you have. Your heavenly Father cares for you. Listen to the voice of wisdom, and hear Jesus, and put His words into practice so that whoever listens to [wisdom] will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm. (Proverbs 1:33 NIV)

Lord God,

Teach us to fear you, with awe and humility, knowing that you are the source of all wisdom.

Guard us from the entrapment of greed; help us to look to you for contentment and not through our own means.

May we listen to your wise teachings and put them into practice, knowing that in you, through lifes ups and downs, we are secure, because of Jesus.

Amen.