Prose From Proverbs

Prose

From

Proverbs
Begin Here

One of the marks of a smug, decaying society is that there is no fear of God. The individuals in such societies generally have no goal but gratification, no pursuit but pleasure. Worshiping at the twin golden calves of lust and luxury, they, in the words of the apostle Paul, do “not honor Him as God, or give thanks” (Romans 1:21). As a result they are plunged into darkness and destruction; professing to be wise, they are governed by groundless speculation and superstition, and, as fools, are delivered over to a depraved mind.

In contrast to the swaying jungle of darkness comes steady enlightenment from God. “From Your precepts, I get understanding,” noted the psalmist. “Therefore I hate every false way” (Psalm 119:104). But as enlightening and informative as the Old Testament is, it is but a candle held to the sun in comparison to the New Testament. He who spurned the Old and he who rejects the New have a common bond: “There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Romans 3:18). The writer of the psalm and the opener of Proverbs basically agree on the solution. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” says one, and “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,” says the other (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 1:7).

  • The fear of the Lord - While there is a certain element of terror connected with the fear of the Lord, His character is such that the adherent is compelled to come near. The result of this divinely designed push-pull is that the one who begins to hear to words of the Lord has a healthy respect for the Almighty and His Son, and judiciously hustles to carry out His instructions.
  • The beginning of knowledge - The world is filled with books. While there is good information on everything from how to tie a fly for fishing to programming computers, the world has no knowledge on pleasing God or how to live a truly spiritual life. The proper reverence for God will drive the seeker to the Bible for his source of information, and he will now begin to learn how to walk in the way of the Lord.
  • Humility - The reader of the words, brought to an awareness of the power and majesty of Him who sits on the eternal throne, is now conscious of his sin and shortcomings in the sight of the Omnipotent. Thus humbled, he is now prepared to “receive instruction in righteous behavior” (Proverbs 1:3).
  • What those who fear the Lord receive - When the man is humble enough to submit to the Lord’s counsel, quite a list of learning opportunities open for him. He gets “to know wisdom and instruction,” and “to discern the sayings of understanding.” Information on “righteousness, justice, and equity” is sent his way. To the young, who are just becoming aware of the stark reality about them, the instruction from the Lord will “give prudence to the naive,” and “to the youth knowledge and discretion.” Even the experienced will benefit: “A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel.” For those who in step-by-step fashion, beginning from the fear of the Lord, increase in wisdom and knowledge, the ability is given to understand a proverb and a figure, the words of the wise and their riddles” (Proverbs 1:2-6).
  • What is for fools - “Fools,” said the wise Solomon, “despise wisdom and instruction.” “When your dread comes like a storm,” cries Wisdom, to those who spurn her, “and your calamity like a whirlwind... then they will call on me, but I will not answer…because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord” (Proverbs 1:27-29).

Here, then, is the great promise for those who fear the Lord and learn wisdom and knowledge from the mouth of the Almighty and All Knowing: “But he who listens to me shall live securely, and shall he at ease from the dread of evil” (Proverbs 1:33).

Seeking For Silver

Life on earth is so short and eternity is so long. The wise considers those fundamental truths and keeps them in the forefront of his mind, using them as the basis on which he makes his life’s decisions. The foolish live for this life only. “They would not accept my counsel,” said wisdom. “They spurned all my reproof, so they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and be satiated with their own devices. For the waywardness of the naive shall kill them, and the complacency of fools shall destroy them” (Proverbs 1:30-32). By contrast the one who desires wisdom is not complacent. “If you cry for discernment,” says the sage of Proverbs, if you “lift your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the Lord, and discover the knowledge of God” (Proverbs 2:3-5).

  • Seeking as for silver - Silver and gold have intrinsic value. A chunk of silver or a hunk of gold have value based on weight, regardless of shape, as contrasted to paper, which is not real money and has value only because there is a number printed somewhere on the bill. Many was the man who, looking for real treasure, scoured the vast regions of the American West or stomped through the creek beds of Alaska in search of gold nuggets or silver outcroppings. The quest was not easy; the wanderers were scorched by the western sun, scourged with 100mph winds, pelted with rain and sleet smothered by deep snows, and frozen by sudden winter blasts. Then there were problems with hostile Indians, road agents, bandits, claim jumpers, and sickness and disease, to say nothing of the dangers and difficulties of mining the claims themselves. The point of this is to illustrate, in as graphic a form as possible, what drive and desire must underlay those who searched for silver. “If you seek her,” said Solomon of wisdom, “as silver…” Those who have this yearning for wisdom - to search for her through the wastelands of confusion and the blazing heat of controversy - will find her. Those who sit back and expect wisdom to come to them will join the rest of a complacent, “dumbed-down” society.
  • Positive motivation - A person has to be motivated to search for wisdom. For those who slogged the dusty trails in quest of silver, the motivation was the potential of getting rich. Those who lay it on the line for finding wisdom are motivated by the positive things, which she provides. Those who pin-point the wisdom of God come under the protection of God; “He is a shield to those who walk in integrity - guarding the paths of justice - and He preserves the way of His godly ones (Proverbs 2:7,8). “Discretion will guard you,” says the writer, and “understanding will watch over you” (Proverbs 2:11).
  • The downward path - Those who reject wisdom end upon a darkened path of misery, heartache, and destruction. Without sufficient insight into human nature, they are marks for men more evil and cunning than they. Apart from the prudence of morality, they are delivered over to “the strange woman, the adulteress who flatters with her words.” “Her house sinks down to death,” intones wisdom, “and her tracks lead to the dead. None who go to her return again, nor do they reach the paths of life” (Proverbs 2:16-19). Those with a modicum of understanding are driven forward in their pursuit of wisdom by the glimmer of knowledge they have about “the tracks of the dead.”

“How blessed is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding. For its profit is better than the profit of silver and its gain than fine gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire compares with her. Long life is in her right hand; and in her left are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace” (Proverbs 3:13-17). Raise the dust, boys, and get on the boom town trail. There’s something greater than gold in the water and better than silver in “them thar hills.”

Trust In The Lord

Trust requires an up-front commitment. The one to be trusted must have demonstrated his trustworthiness; the one who trusts must first trust, and then wait for the results. One of the major purposes of the written scriptures is to demonstrate the faithfulness of God; the record of His up-front commitment to the well-being and salvation of man is unbroken and unblemished. Indeed all the ancients testify as to the goodness and greatness of God, and James in the New Testament notes that there is no variation or shifting shadowy effect from the Father of lights. “It is a trustworthy statement,” Paul informed Timothy. “For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him; if we endure, we shall also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He will also deny us; if we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself” (II Timothy 2:11-13). One of the great attributes of the great God is that He is steady and dependable even if mankind is not.

  • Trust in God - God has already made the up-front commitment. Jesus Christ was sent as the Emissary from heaven and was offered as the great sacrifice, that He might man redeem. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart,” is the invitation offered from the realm of glory, followed with the corresponding advice, “and do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). Trusting God is synonymous with trusting His word. When the exhortation is given from the Holy Writ, the test for the Christian is whether he actually does what God has said. It did not make any earthly sense for Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice to the Lord, but rather than lean on his own understanding, Abraham willingly strapped his only begotten son down on the altar and proceeded to cut his throat. Abraham, trusting in the command of God, did as he was told, and in effect received Isaac back from the dead. The Christian, instead of offering a son on a physical altar, offers his own body as a living and holy sacrifice, and views himself as already dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
  • Give credit to the Father - The child of the King is aware that he has nothing which he did not receive, that his wisdom comes from God, and that all his financial resources and physical accomplishments are as a result of the backing of the Almighty. He heeds the advice: “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones” (Proverbs 3:6-8).
  • Tithe from the top - One of the areas where the talkers are separated from the doers, where those who lean on their own understanding parted from those who trust the Lord, is in giving. “Honor the Lord from your wealth, and from the first of all your produce,” stated wisdom from God, “so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine” (Proverbs 3:9,10).
  • Accept God’s discipline - “We had earthly fathers to discipline us…as seemed best to them,” the author of Hebrews pointed out, but the heavenly Father “disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness” (Hebrews 12:9,10). “My son,” intones Solomon, “do not reject the discipline of the Lord, or loathe His reproof for whom the Lord loves He reproves, even as a father, the son in whom he delights” (Proverbs3:I1,12). Shall we accept the blessings of the Lord and reject His discipline?

Brethren can trust God. “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). The saints, then, need to move ahead, in accordance with what is written, and trust God. Trust God in acknowledging His contributions. Trust God in giving the top 10%. And continue to trust God in the midst of His discipline and reproof.

Wisdom With Neighbors

Not one of us lives for himself, said the great apostle Paul, not one of us dies for himself. The point of the apostle’s statement is that no man is an island, and that each person on earth has duties and responsibilities to those with whom he has contact. And those with whom man has contact, even very casually, are called neighbors.

Wherever people interact, there are problems. Sometimes people react wrongly to the challenge life in general offers and take their frustrations out on others around them. Sometimes individuals are just plain hard to get along with; they are often selfish, self-centered, and like to cause problems among others in their circle of acquaintances. So the second greatest commandment - to love your neighbor as yourself - is not necessarily easy to keep. Wisdom dictates that the believer in God will conduct himself intelligently in regard to his dealings with his fellow man.

  • Doing good to all men - The Lord God expects His children to be somewhat aggressive in looking for opportunities to go the extra mile in helping their fellow men. Doing good opens the door for conversation about the Lord Jesus, and is gratifying to God the Father. “And do not neglect doing good and sharing,” noted the writer of Hebrews, “for with such sacrifices God is pleased” (Hebrews 13:16). Wisdom from Proverbs set the stage: “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it” (Proverbs 3:27).
  • Do not make extra work - There are among us those of a contrary and fickle nature, who do not seem to mind causing extra and unnecessary work and hassle for others. The Almighty is aware, because of the strictures He imposed upon creation, that the real energy crisis has nothing to do with fossilized fuels, but is centered about the bounce, efficiency, and effectiveness of His people. Extra work and extra hassle are major energy drains as well as costing time and money. “Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Go, and come back, and tomorrow I will give it,’ when you have it with you” (Proverbs 3:28).
  • Do not be a troublemaker - “We hear that some among you. Paul informed the Thessalonians, “are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies” (II Thessalonians 3:11). Undisciplined lives are intimately connected with undisciplined mouths and undisciplined passions. The wisdom of Proverbs records: “Do not devise harm against your neighbor while he lives in security beside you. Do not contend with a man without cause if he has done you no harm” (Proverbs 3:29.30).
  • Follow the example of the upright - People around us pressure us. We may or may not yield to the pressure, but the coercion is there nonetheless. In a time of frustration or caught in a weak moment, a brother may lose heart in doing good and take a step down the wrong road. Solomon sets forth the curse on those who step into the rough and the blessing upon those who follow God’s upward call. “Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways. For the crooked man is an abomination to the Lord, but He is intimate with the upright. The curse of the Lord is upon the house of the wicked, but He blesses the dwelling of the righteous” (Proverbs 3:31-33).

The Christian is to let his light shine among men, that they might see his good works and glorify the Father in heaven. That light is going to shine through the little ways in which the disciple of Christ conducts himself among his neighbors. If he is “cussed and contrary,” then his Christianity is nothing more than dry leaves rattling in the wind. But the one who uses wisdom in personal interactions is blessed of God and a light to the world.

The Love of Learning

Some people die at thirty but are not buried until they are seventy. They decided that learning was too much work for their brains, and shifted off into semi-retirement mode. Died at thirty, buried at seventy.

The sages of the ages are unanimous on at least this one thing: Keep learning! The members of the human race who are “veg’n out” are “edging’ out” of responsibility and duty, and abdicating their trust to the forces of tyranny and darkness. The inspired writer of Proverbs is likewise adamant in his exhortation for the sons of God: “Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding!” says he. “The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom, and with all your acquiring, get understanding” (Proverbs 4:5,7). The men and women who follow God’s upward beckonings have always been exhorted to listen, read, and learn. “Listen to me, all of you,” said the Lord Jesus Himself, “and understand” (Mark 7:14).