Lecture

What do we find in the book of Proverbs? What types of sayings do we find? We find a lot of, I could call them snippets, if you want, or brief statements that focus on the character of those who walk with God. What is encouraged of course is good character, is moral character, is ethical character, and behavior not just in character but also in the application in life, in day-to-day life. So if instructions are given about, “Don’t move the boundary stone of your neighbor, don’t steal, don’t ...,” it is because these things show that your character is flawed, and it is not pleasing to God. So the brief statements are very rich in values, in values for human living, for pleasing God.

But what’s interesting is that you have often in the book of Proverbs ... “Think this way, behave this way, because if you don’t then these are the consequences of your bad behavior, unethical behavior, your behavior that is displeasing to God.” So there are brief statements. Now what we find in the book of Proverbs is that some of the statements are one-liners or two-liners, almost like a haiku, and while other statements in Proverbs are a monologue that covers almost an entire chapter. So we have different genres within this book of Proverbs, so the text is not all written the same way.

Now, the sayings relate to life experiences, to practical living, instructions that are in encouraged, and instructions for behavior that is forbidden or that is discouraged. And what is so wonderful about Proverbs is that they were written, composed, thousands of years ago, and they still are as applicable today as they were then. Which really speaks to us about humanity, about humans, how we are the same as the ancients. We are the same as the Israelites who lived in biblical times. We are human beings created in the image of God. We have the same tendencies. We have the same inclinations towards good, inclinations towards evil. And we wrestle with the same things that they wrestled with in those days. So it’s wonderful to read what Solomon wrote, and he wrote them as for his audience, but his audience ends up being extended to become a universal audience for all times and for all people.

There are numerous themes that are emphasized in the book of Proverbs. One of them—which is wonderful, and we’ll look at some of these examples later on—is the use of the tongue. What we say when we open our mouth, and the dangers of saying wrong things, and the good outcomes of saying the right thing and based on wisdom, the wisdom that we receive from God’s instructions. There are themes such as hard work, labor, hard labor, hard work is highly valued in Scripture. However, it is highly valued only if we don’t become workaholics, for example. We’re told to work hard, to put our hand to the plow, to make sure that we contribute to society in a positive way, but not to the point where it is to our detriment, and it is destructive. Of course, the theme of wisdom, the theme of money, how do we manage money? What should we not do with our money and what should we do with our money? Also raising children. How does God view disciplining children? And so a number of themes that are repeated throughout the book of Proverbs. So, honoring parents ... family values are often depicted through the wisdom sayings because they deal with father, mother, son, children, and how to deal with your neighbors. So really, how society should work together in a way that pleases God.

Now, there are some specific ... genre. I mentioned earlier, the specific sayings that really break down or organize, if you want, the book of Proverbs. And one of them is the saying “my son.” Chapters 1¬–7 really emphasize the instructions of a father to the son, which tells me that in Israelite society, what was pleasing to God is that wisdom would be transmitted from one generation to the other. And we are to do the same to teach the next generation. And what I hear in this is also what is read daily by Jews around the world, in the Shema, in Deuteronomy 6:4–9. In verse 7, we read, “Teach these things that I’m teaching you today, teach them repeatedly to your children.” When? “When you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, when you rise up.” Which really means all the time. In other words, the importance of one generation of the father teaching the son, and not just the father, the mother also, because the father in Proverbs, the father tells his son, “Listen to the torah of your mother. Listen to the teachings of your mother. It is important.” So you can see the importance of a family unit in order to grow in such a way that everyone is engaged in walking in a way that is pleasing to God, walking in the fear of the Lord in a positive way. So “my son,” and I’ll read some of these examples where the father says, “hear my son,’ in chapter 1, verse 8, “Hear, my son, your father’s instructions. And forsake not your mother’s teaching, for they are a garland of grace to your head and a chain to adorn your neck.” So, in other words, if you honor your parents by listening to the wisdom that comes from them, that comes from the Lord through them, and then you will be rewarded. And so these are metaphors, with “a garland of grace,” in other words, God will pour His grace upon you.

And then in chapter 2, verse 1, “My son, if you accept my words and treasure my [commandments] within you, making your ear attentive to wisdom, inclining your heart to discernment, yes, if you call out for insight, lifting up your voice for discernment, if you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures, then you will know the fear of [the LORD]”—the awe of the Lord, the greatness of the Lord—“and discover the knowledge of God” (TLV). You will find out who God really is. So, seek wisdom, accept the words of the wise ones who have learned before you. When we’re young, we’re not always convinced that our parents are giving us the best instructions because we want to do our thing. But as we grow older and become adults, and many marry and have their own families, all of a sudden they’re in a position where they have to impart wisdom to their own children. And they begin to understand what their parents were doing years earlier in trying to also form them into the image of God and give them the right instructions.

So this is what I see in the book of Proverbs. The book of Proverbs really emphasizing this idea of, “My son, my son, do not forget my teachings. My son, hold on to sound wisdom and discernment.” So don’t just hear it. Let it go in one ear and out the other. Hold on to it. Apply it to your life. Walk in the ways of the Lord. “Listen, my son to a father’s instruction”—pay attention!—“to gain understanding, for I give you sound learning.” What I’m giving you is good for you, is healthy. The father wants what is best for his child. In chapter 4, verse 20, “My son, pay attention to my words—incline your ear to my saying. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart” (TLV). Why? Because we live out of our hearts. If our hearts are filled with wisdom, with the teachings that come from God, then we will live this out. So I can see the father really saying, “My son, my son, pay attention. What I’m telling you is very important. You cannot just dismiss my words.”

So it’s almost in the way that I read the book of Deuteronomy as the farewell speech of Moses to the Israelites who are about to cross the Jordan and go into Canaan. And encounter Canaanites, who could be challenging them and who could be influencing them the right way. So I read the book of Deuteronomy as a father who’s passionate about protecting his children, the Israelites, with whom he’s walked in the desert for forty years and trained and taught and instructed. And so this is very much what Moses says to the Israelites when he says, “Hear ... Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai ehad ... Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.” And then, “Love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your mind, all your strength.” So, what the father in the book of Proverbs is doing is very much like what Moses was doing with the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan. So this is a theme that recurs in the book of Proverbs, the father teaching the son.

Then in chapter 8, we have wisdom, who becomes personified as Lady Wisdom. And she cries out. She speaks loudly. She wants to be heard. Why? Because the instructions that she gives are good, are excellent. She speaks truth. She speaks what is right. And what she speaks is better than jewels and riches. She provides what is needed for people, and young people, especially, but old people also, everyone, to walk in knowledge, in discretion. She hates evil tongues, and she hates wrong counsel. She only gives sound wisdom. And so you can hear the heart of Wisdom, who is often identified with the Messiah who is calling the people, but here as Lady Wisdom. And we know that Jesus came and spoke only wisdom. And she says that she existed before creation. So this is one of the reasons why people attribute this Lady Wisdom to the Messiah and connect Lady Wisdom and Jesus.

And then we have a series of proverbs that follow this, in chapters 10–15, that compare good behavior and bad behavior. So if you do good behavior, this is what will take place. But, if you disobey, then this is what will take place. So, God is usually quite clear on what pleases Him and what displeases Him and the consequences of doing the right thing and the consequences of doing the wrong thing. And we find that in the Mosaic covenant, in the blessings and the curses.

We also have a section that deals with “better it is this ... than that.” So also the comparison, so everything is made clear to us. We don’t live in this ambiguity of what pleases God. Then we have strong proverbs that say, “Do not do this ... Don’t do this ... Don’t do this.” In chapters 22 and 23, we find a number of these sayings.

Then we have the simile, “like this ... so is that,” in chapter 25 primarily, we have this style of proverbs. Then we also have numerical parallels that we find in chapter 30, especially in chapter 30, “three of this ... and then four,” and how God instructs what is important to Him through this literary feature of numerical parallels.

So the collection of proverbs in the book of Proverbs is not, the proverbs are not all written the same way. And so, they are written by different people, at different times, and written using different literary features. But all of them are for the purpose of teaching us how to live in the fear of God every day of our lives.