The book of Proverbs is one of the best loved books of Scripture.
What is the purpose of the book of Proverbs? The book of Proverbs is a fascinating book. It was written to impart godly wisdom to us, but that wisdom can only be fully understood and appreciated when it's coupled with genuine faith in the Lord. If we read its pages, and implement what we read, we'll be spared from making all kinds of unforced errors. We'll also get ahead in many meaningful ways in a shorter period of time by incorporating this wisdom into our life.
Who wrote it? The primary person who wrote the book of Proverbs was King Solomon. Solomon was king of Israel in about 900 B.C. and he was granted great wisdom by the Lord. He also compiled the wise words of other individuals and included them in this collection. This collection of divinely inspired wisdom was a great gift to the people of Solomon's day, but it's also a great gift to us as well. We would do well to heed the counsel contained in this collection of verses.
Topics in Proverbs: Every major topic of life is referenced in the book of Proverbs. Solomon speaks about the nature of our relationship with God. He also speaks about things like; our behaviors, our character, our motivation, financial wealth, relationships, ethics, and the process of raising children.
As we examine some of the wise subjects addressed in Proverbs, we're going to learn more about walking in the wisdom of God and what it looks like to grow in godliness, avoid costly mistakes, and get ahead in life.
I. Are you positioned to welcome or resist wisdom and instruction?
Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:5-7)
One of my favorite pictures of my daughter Julia was taken at Core Creek Park in Langhorne, PA when she was a little less than 3-years-old. Andrea and I had taken the kids to the park to run around and play in the fields. We also brought along a small football that our sons liked to throw around when they were small. I offered to throw the ball to Julia as well and she cautiously agreed. As she did so, she put her hands out in front of her, squinted her eyes, and nervously waited for the ball to come crashing into her arms. She made herself ready to receive it in anticipation of its arrival.
Is it your belief that the Lord wants to bless you with His wisdom? Are you ready to receive it? Are you positioned to welcome it, or is your back still turned toward it?
As Solomon begins this collection of wise counsel, he shows us how to be ready to receive it. He invites the wise to hear and increase their learning. He encourages the understanding among us to get ready to obtain additional guidance. Then he draws a stark line between those who are in a posture to receive divine truth and those who turn their backs to wisdom.
Solomon is very careful to say that a person can only experience the true fullness of wisdom if they respect the Lord who is the source of wisdom. If we have genuine faith in the Lord and our hearts truly revere Him, we're positioned to hear His counsel and drink it in deeply. But fools despise godly wisdom and turn their backs to wisdom's source.
I don't believe we should use the words "fool" or "idiot" casually. For the most part, I have attempted to weed those words out of my vocabulary unless I'm using them in their proper context. A true fool, like Solomon references in Proverbs 1:7, is a faithless person. A fool utterly rejects the Lord and lives as if the Lord doesn't exist. I have chosen to stop using that term casually because it isn't a term that's meant to be taken lightly. It's a term that should be reserved for someone who lives in the arrogance of unbelief.
What side of that line are you living on? Are you positioned to welcome or resist the wisdom of God? When you look at the full counsel of Scripture, we're shown that we'll never touch the depths of wisdom until we come to a place of genuine faith in the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the wisdom of God personified. Jesus is greater than Solomon. He is the one who created Solomon and the world Solomon occupied.
"And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption," (1 Corinthians 1:30)
"The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here." (Matthew 12:42)
II. The company you keep will lift you up or tear you down
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. My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood; let us ambush the innocent without reason; like Sheol let us swallow them alive, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with plunder; throw in your lot among us; we will all have one purse” (Proverbs 1:8-14)
When possible, I try to grab lunch with some of the men I'm friends with in our church and in our community. It's a good way to connect, and sometimes it can provide a great opportunity for leadership development and discipleship.
Years ago, I used to carve out time to meet with someone, but I eventually had to stop. I noticed that every conversation eventually transitioned into what he disliked about other people. Then when he ran out of other people to cut down, he would "do me the favor" of telling me all the things he didn't really like about me. In his words, he was just trying to be "helpful," but I can't remember a single time I left one of those lunches feeling anything but discouraged by his demeaning negativity. Eventually, I decided it would be best to stop meeting for lunch because the company you keep will either lift you up or tear you down, and he was really good at tearing me down.
Solomon references that same concept in Proverbs 1:8-14, and I think it's particularly interesting that he mentions this in the very first chapter of this book. It's as if he's trying to tell us that the company we keep is such an important concept to understand that it will deeply impact our openness to receive and apply wisdom depending on who we're surrounding ourselves with. Some of the best people to surround yourself with are your parents.
Solomon encourages us to be people who take counsel from our parents. The Lord has given us our parents as a gift. They have lived through every season we're presently living through, and heeding their counsel can save us from many needless mistakes and regrets.
Isn't it comical how all of us at one point of another have probably convinced ourselves that we knew more than our parents? Practically speaking, that doesn't make any sense. People don't tend to get dumber the longer they live. As they accumulate experiences, relationships, and endure hardships, they tend to grow in wisdom as well. And if they know and love Jesus, that wisdom is also coupled with faith. What sense does it make to reject their wisdom when they offer it to us? Only the arrogant reject godly counsel when it's freely offered to them.
That counsel can stick in our thinking long after our parents are even living. Just the other day, my father told me that he was so tired on Sunday morning and didn't want to get up for church, but he could still hear my grandmother's voice in his mind saying, "The Lord gives you 168 hours every week. Is it too much for you to give Him one of those back?" So, even though my grandmother is presently in Heaven, the memory of her counsel still gets him out of bed for church on Sundays. She spent her life building her children up.
But as we've already said, not everyone in your life wants to build you up. Plenty of people will extend an invitation to you to join them in whatever mess they've immersed themselves in. Don't take that invitation. It's much easier to be dragged down than to be lifted up.
Solomon shares an example of companions who give counsel that is contrary to the advice given by godly parents. He speaks of men who try to entice someone to join them in ambushing an unsuspecting person. He speaks of those who attempt to entice you with worldliness, and he encourages us not to consent to their allure.
Who thinks so little of your well-being that they're willing to drag you down? Don't go in the direction they're trying to take you. Who loves you enough to lift you up? Walk with them, take their counsel, and make the point to give each other a regular glimpse of the heart of Christ.
III. You'll never get ahead by stealing someone else's blessings
“my son, do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths, for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood. For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird, but these men lie in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives. Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors.” (Proverbs 1:15-19)
As Solomon describes those who attempt to ambush and rob an unsuspecting person, he reveals the outcome of that manner of living. Those who live this way will eventually find themselves ensnared by the traps they set for others. Their attempts to damage and destroy other people will only leave them damaged and destroyed.
I was thinking about his recently when I read a story about two well-educated, but young lawyers who decided to participate in several criminal acts. One threw a fire bomb into a police car, but her actions were caught on video. I couldn't help but think about the fact that she spent many years and lots of money in preparation for a lucrative career, then threw it all away by attempting to harm someone else.
How does a person really get ahead in life? I think that question will be answered for us through many of the examples we're given in the book of Proverbs, but even before we fully grasp that answer, I think this passage makes it clear that we won't be getting ahead by trying to steal someone else's blessings. Coveting another persons gifts, talents, and treasures will only leave you feeling jealous and empty. It's much better to celebrate another person's blessings than it is to condemn them for receiving them.
When we fail to celebrate the blessings someone else has received, we're also showing that deep down we're dissatisfied with the blessings we've been given. It's like saying to the Lord, "I realize you've been good to me, but you could have done better than this. You obviously must not have my best interests at heart." But Christ truly does have our best interests in mind when He allows us to receive and enjoy what we're entrusted with.
"Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." (1 Corinthians 12:4-7)
Throughout the course of your life, you're going to encounter many different influences. Some will attempt to build you up. Some will try to tear you down. Some will point you to Christ, and some will try to convince you that your heart can find contentment apart from Him. Ask the Lord to help you filter these influences so you aren't easily led astray from a sincere walk with Christ. Trust the Lord. Revere Him, and allow the healthy respect you have for His power to form the foundation of the wisdom your life is being built upon.
© John Stange, 2020
