Web Theologian

>1:1 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

2 To know wisdom and instruction,
to understand words of insight,
3 to receive instruction in wise dealing,
in righteousness, justice, and equity;
4 to give prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the youth—
5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning,
and the one who understands obtain guidance,
6 to understand a proverb and a saying,
the words of the wise and their riddles.

7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.

The Proverbs are a book that I have fallen in love with, my favorite book of the Bible. Which is a big change from when I was younger. When I was younger I did not like Proverbs at all, I felt they were simply ‘easy answers’ disconnected from reality. As I wanted to explore the deep things in life I would dig into Ecclestaistes (often called the anti-proverbs) for the real meat. I still love Ecclestaistes, but the moment my first daughter was born I knew I needed some answers. I searched the Proverbs like my life depended on it. Reading it nine times in the first month she was born. I was desperate for wisdom and had to make up for lost time. Since then I have taken a more moderate approach. last year I read the book through twelve times. This year I wanted to dig in more and share thoughts just as I did the Psalms. My hope is because this is a book that I am very passionate about it will benefit you as well.

David’s second child from Bathsheeba (a story in and of itself) Solomon became king because their first child died. Solomon is considered to be the most wise man to have ever lived. This book is credited to his writings.

Hearing is essential, from there understanding must be the goal. If you don’t hear or listen you don’t have a chance. A favorite blogger of mine Steve Clayton has a great note on this if you want some practical help read, “What good listeners do.” That will set you on the path, then you have to start to understand.

You have Solomon explaining wisdom in three different ways to start, 1. to understand words of insight, 2. to receive instruction…, 3. to give prudence. Understand (knowledge), Receive (humilty), Prudence (Gentleness, selfcontrol).

Now I think the natural question left is who is it you are supposed to listen to, in our times there are lots of voices speaking sometimes it is hard to know which to give our attention to. v. 7 Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. You can listen to alot of people, but if you aren’t listening to God you are a fool according to the Proverbs. The Psalms reminded us again and again God created everything, set the rules, and is in control of it all, now the Proverbs tell us to pay attention.