Introduction to Proverbs

We are beginning a study in the book of Proverbs for several weeks. Proverbs is part of the wisdom literature in the bible. It is all about wisdom. It seems to me that wisdom is an undervalued and underappreciated virtue in our time. When we ask for wisdom it is usually because we are in a bind. We face a perplexing and perhaps devastating situation in which we desperately need wisdom. We should ask God for wisdom in those instances. I would not want to discourage that. However, we should also have a dogged determination to grow in wisdom day by day. Proverbs 4:7 says, “The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.” Get wisdom. That’s the beginning of wisdom. And in all your getting, in whatever you pursue and look to acquire, make sure you get wisdom, or insight. 

Our lives should be characterized as a quest to gain more wisdom for life. The apostle Paul gives the following instruction,

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-16)

Paul is concerned about a walk that is defined as “not unwise, but wise.” And then notice the reason he gives: “because the days are evil”. This may be some of the impetus behind this teaching series. Do we not live in evil days? Of course we do. We all see it, feel it, recognize it, so we ought to carefully (timidly) order our steps in a wise manner. And Jesus says something similar in Matthew 10:16, “Behold I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. So be wise and serpents and innocent as doves.” Jesus was sending them into danger, into a world that would be hostile to them, and said be wise. 

So the objective is to walk in wisdom. There are times we feel the need for a quick download of wisdom, and we should seek God for that when the time comes. But the trajectory of our lives ought to be onward and upward in the quest for wisdom and walking in it.

And these first two weeks, it will be like laying a foundation for the following weeks. So this morning, I want to answer two questions: What is wisdom? What is the reference point of wisdom? 

What is wisdom?

Verse 1 gives us the title of the book of Proverbs: “The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel.” We see here that these are proverbs that Solomon wrote. His name appears at the beginning of three sections (1:1, 10:1, and 25:1). Though there are a few other contributors, Solomon wrote the vast majority of them. And this opening line calls to mind the story of Solomon and God’s offer to give him whatever he asks for. Do you remember that story? It’s found in 1 Kings 3. It’s amazing. God appeared to Solomon in a dream, and said, “Ask what I shall give you.” Amazingly Solomon didn’t ask for money or power. He was a young man (probably 20) who had just become king over God’s covenant people, and knew he was in over his head. So here is what he asked:

Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”

God loved that Solomon asked for wisdom. Here’ how he responded:

behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you.

These are the wise sayings of Solomon the man of wisdom. So we ought to ask for wisdom with our bibles open, our minds and hearts engaged. But I also love this opening line, because here hundreds of years before the incarnation, we see that wisdom ultimately leads us to Christ, who is the true Son of David, the King of kings. And ultimately wisdom, even these proverbs, are not the words of a mere man, but the very words of God - the God-breathed scriptures. 

And right here in this opening line, we get some insight as to what wisdom is. The word proverb comes from a verb that means “to reign, to govern, to take dominion”. Proverbs are wise sayings that show us how to reign, rule, govern, take dominion. We even see that in Solomon’s request. He needed insight so that he could govern well. So proverbs is a book that shows us how to take dominion, how to govern well. Of course, beginning with ourselves - our emotions, affections, desires, our mouth and words, our use of time, our work, and so forth. And then moving out from there. Parents, this shows us how to govern and take dominion with our children. Fathers and husbands, how to rule in your home. 

We see this in the well known chapter on the excellent wife. She is given wisdom in order to govern or take dominion over all of her affairs. This is what the proverbs give us. Wisdom to govern, to take dominion.

Of course a proverb is not meant to be taken and applied absolutely in every situation, but they do represent reality. We have proverbs: “many hands make light work”. Of course we can think of instances in which this would not be true. If a dad is trying to fix the refrigerator and a little set of hands starts grabbing dad’s screwdriver and trying to poke it into the power outlet, that doesn’t make things easier, but generally it’s true. The more people helping in the kitchen after dinner, the lighter and quicker the work. 

Proverbs are nuggets of wisdom that show us how to reign in life. Not just life in general or someone else’s life, but our life. The book of James is sometimes called the wisdom literature of the NT. And when you read James that way, it is obvious. The other morning Eden and I were driving early on a brisk morning past a body of water on the way to the gym, and there was a mist over the water. And I was reminded of James 4 “Your life is a vapor. You ought to say, ‘if the Lord wills we will live and do this or that’”. That is wisdom to help us govern our lives. And we are meant to chew on that wise instruction, turn it over and look at it and learn how God wants us to live in accordance with it. 

Wisdom is more than just a set of rules. We can’t simply treat wisdom like an instruction manual where we turn to a certain page and see how this part goes with this. Life is complex, life is difficult, and we find ourselves in situations where there aren’t simple answers or solutions to the difficulties and complexities we face. Not only that, but I hope it’s obvious that to be wise is more than having a big brain or intellect. Someone could be the smartest person in the room in terms of IQ and not be wise. Some of the most brilliant men and women the world has ever known, people who could run circles around us in explaining complex scientific formulas and mathematical equations and historical data, believe there is no God and the bible says they are fools (Psalm 14). 

So, what is wisdom? Wisdom is taking these things, this instruction in how to govern, reign, take dominion, and applying it to all of life! Wisdom is the competency and skill in understanding how to govern our lives and affairs (all the right stations God has placed us in) in order to achieve results that glorify God. This is the wisdom from above. This is the kind of wisdom that God wants to give us! 

This is the wisdom we can gain from the Proverbs. And we are NOT to view this wisdom as something we check out like we would a book from the library and then return when we are done with it. Nor are we to receive it like something we know is good for us, but we dislike (like broccoli). No, we accumulate wisdom and we receive it as a wonderful gift and we put it on and wear it like some handsome or beautiful garment. Listen to Solomon speaking to his son,

Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching. For they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck. (Proverbs 1:8-9)

Not only that, but we are to seek wisdom and receive wisdom as the great treasure that it is. Listen to Proverbs 3:13-15:

Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.

So wisdom is the competency and skill in understanding how to govern our lives and affairs in order to achieve results that glorify God. There is great blessing in wisdom. It is beautiful and infinitely valuable. So in all your getting, get wisdom. 

What is the reference point of wisdom? (1:7 and 9:10)

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, fools despise wisdom and instruction. 

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

What is the reference point? It is the fear of the LORD. Listen, it is NOT us! We are not filled with innate, ancient wisdom that can be pulled up from deep within. We are creatures, and as creatures we do not autonomously generate wisdom from within. It comes from God. Specifically, the fear of God. But there is a perennial temptation to look to our own understanding and wisdom rather than going outside ourselves. We need to remember warnings like Proverbs 16:25, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end is the way of death.” Proverbs 3 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart…” The reference point, the place where it begins, the basic ruling principle of wisdom is “the fear of the Lord”. 

This is a theme that is pervasive in the scriptures, and one that I think is often misunderstood. It is pervasive. In fact, one might say that this is at the very core of what it means to be a worshiper of God and a follower of Christ. Thomas Watson, an English Puritan said, “The fear of God is the sum of all true religion”. This sounds strange, because we usually think of fear in strictly negative ways. We live in a world that is run through with fear and anxiety. And the fear of God is the sum of all true religion? How can that be? Here’s what Michael Reeves says, “The fear of God is to be a healthy fear that eclipses and drives out other fears”.

We are a uniquely fearful people. In one sense, human beings have never been more safe, and yet anxiety and fear have never been more rampant. And may I say (since we are talking about wisdom) that fear of the wrong things makes us incredibly foolish. How many times have you acted foolish because you were anxious or fearful about something you had no control over? In such a world and for such people, the fear of God is the solution to our fears, not another problem. So we need to know what this fear is and is not. And what does it have to do with wisdom?

There is a kind of fear of God that is most certainly sinful. Not only that, but there is an attitude of no fear of God that we might say is at the core of all sin. And then there is a godly, holy, and happy fear of the Lord. 

First, there’s a fear that is itself sinful, a fear we want to avoid. It is the kind of fear where one is slavishly afraid of God. Remember what happened in the garden after Adam and Eve sinned. Genesis 3 says that:

God came into the garden and called for the man and said, “Where are you?” Adam responded, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” (Genesis 3:9-10)

This is the fear that runs from God and tries to hide from him. This is a sinful fear; the fear of a slave. And then there is an attitude of no fear of God (more prevalent in our society) that seems to be right at the root and center of all sin. Romans 3:10-18, that great condemnation of the sinfulness of all mankind, and how is it wrapped up? 

There is no fear of God before their eyes. (Romans 3:18)

So what does it mean that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge? What is this fear? Because it is the starting place of wisdom. 

** Fear mixed with love. Martin Luther made the distinction between two kinds of fear of God. One is a servile fear - like the fear a prisoner would of his tormentor. And then there is filial fear, the fear a beloved son would have for his strong and loving father. It’s reverence, deep respect, and honor. It’s a fear that is mixed with love and drives out that servile fear. Our adoption into God’s family through Christ and the work of the indwelling Spirit actually frees us from the one and produces the other. Listen to Romans 8:15:

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, but whom we cry “Abba! Father!”

Do you hear the difference? The spirit of slavery… to fall back into fear. That’s servile fear, the fear of God being our Tormentor. No! You have received the Spirit of adoption, as sons, and you cry “Abba! Father!” Dearest Father! This fear is mixed with love. There is a fear of displeasing our Father that we respect so deeply. Think about when we talk about loving God. It is not like loving our favorite dessert, or our favorite football team, or our favorite hobby, or even our favorite person. God is on another level, and so our love of him will be mixed with the deepest reverence, respect, and honor. He is to be feared. 

** The fear of the Lord is also mixed with a sense of God’s goodness. I love the connection made in  Psalm 130:3-4:

If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? [Answer: NOBODY!] But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.

Forgiveness, so that God may be feared. Forgiveness contributes to this fear. Notice it is not God and his wrath or judgment spoken of here that causes fear, but God and his gracious forgiveness in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a fear, a true fear! But it is a fear of displeasing such a good God that we have found Him to be in and through Jesus Christ. Peter said in 1 Peter 1:17-19,

If you call on him as Father who will judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed, not with perishable things such as gold and silver, but with the precious blood of Christ. 

Fear mixed with a sense of the immense goodness of God and what it cost for him to redeem us. 

** It is also a fear mixed with joy and delight. Psalm 2, which is Messianic Psalm, clearly about the Lord Jesus Christ and his Kingship. Near the end it has this strange phrase: “Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling” (Psalm 2:11). A good, healthy, and true fear of the Lord is a joy. Nehemiah, at the end of his great prayer, speaks of God’s servants, “who delight to fear your name” (Nehemiah 1:11). The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. 

Here’s how I think this works. The GOOD fear of the Lord is coming to know God for who he is. Specifically knowing him in the blazing center of his divine revelation, which is the cross of Jesus Christ. Right? This is where we see the glory of God in his holiness and his white hot hatred for sin and wrath against sin, and yet we also see the great love God has for sinners, his goodness to atone for our sins and redeem us through Jesus Christ. 

And when our eyes are truly open to this, we will fear him - fear mixed with love, an immense sense of God’s goodness, and real delight in him. This is where wisdom begins. This is the reference point. This is the beginning of wisdom. And and of course from there, we will fear dishonoring such a loving, good, and delightful Father. We want more and more to please him, right? 

In the fear of the Lord, we will pursue wisdom - the competency and skill we need in order to govern and rule our lives and affairs in order to achieve the results that glorify God. That will be our overriding desire. We will have a passion to please him in all things. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.