The Ambassador Group

The Book of Proverbs

1. Proverbs: The Call of Wisdom

Welcome to Words of the Wise, an introduction to the Book of Proverbs, by Dr.

Jacques Biducan, brought to you by the Ambassador Group.

The Call of Wisdom From Eden onward, the root of human tragedy lies in wrong choices.

Man lost all because he chose to listen to the deceiver rather than to Him who is Truth, who alone has understanding.

By the mingling of evil with good, his mind had become confused.

The book of Proverbs is all about helping us to make right choices, to choose the way of God and not that of the deceiver.

The father or the mother, speaking to their son, not only warns him against wrong choices, but encourages him to make the right ones.

This is so important because the choices we make are literally matters of life and death.

The first 3 chapters of Proverbs illustrate this method of education.

After having explained the purpose of the book, to know wisdom, Proverbs 1 verse 2, and having laid down the motto of the book, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.

The author moves back and forth from warning us against listening to foolishness to urging us to respond to the call of heavenly wisdom.

Dukhan will recommend a proverb, a verse, to memorize.

Today's wisdom comes from Proverbs 1, verse 7, in the New King James Version.

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

THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM The Proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, To know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice and judgment and equity, to give subtlety to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.

A wise man will hear and will increase learning, and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels.

To understand a proverb and the interpretation, the words of the wise and their dark sayings.

In Proverbs 1.1-6 the title says, The Proverbs of Solomon the son of David.

Proverbs 1.1 which establishes a link between this proverb and 1 Kings 3 verses 5-14.

In the books of 1 and 2 Kings, as in the book of Proverbs, Solomon is presented as a son seeking wisdom from God.

In addition to both referring to Solomon as the son of David, the 2 texts share significant common wording such as understand, wisdom, and judgment.

Not only do these parallels confirm Solomon as the 1 behind the composition of the book, they also show that Proverbs is dealing with the human quest for wisdom from God.

So how does Proverbs 1 verse 7 answer these questions?

How do these 2 concepts relate to each other?

Proverbs 1 verse 7 says, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

The word wisdom in this proverb is defined as a religious experience.

This important concept of the Hebrew religion is key to the book of Proverbs.

Not only does it occur repeatedly, but it also frames the entire book.

Another text to show religious experience is Proverbs 31 verse 30, which says, Favor is deceitful, and bounty is vain, and beauty is vain.

But a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised." The fear of the Lord has nothing to do with the superstitious and childish fear of divine punishment.

Instead, it should be understood as the acute consciousness of God's personal presence at all times and everywhere.

The fear of the Lord had characterized the people's reaction to God's revelation at Sinai, just as it explained their commitment to be faithful and to love God in response to His covenant with them.

Exodus 19 verse 16 And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud, so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.

Exodus 20 verse 20 tells us what Moses said about fearing God.

And Moses said unto the people, Fear not, for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.

Deuteronomy 10 verse 12 reports how Moses provided further detailed instructions about fearing God.

And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul." To fear God means to be faithful to Him and to love Him.

The phrase, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, means that wisdom originates in this fear.

The Hebrew word for beginning, pronounced re-she-f, points to the first word introducing the creation story, in Genesis 1-1.

The first lesson of wisdom, then, deals with understanding that God is our Creator, the 1 who gives us life and breath, and that He is always present, a God of love and justice and redemption.

John 3.16 says, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Psalm 89.14 says, Justice and judgment are the habitations of thy throne.

Mercy and truth shall go before thy face.

And Hebrews 9, 12 says, Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us." We are told to love God and also to fear Him.

How do these 2 concepts relate to your own experience with the Lord?

In daily reality, do you ever ponder or think about these introspective questions?

True Education Listen to Proverbs 1, Verses 8-19.

What 2 contrasting ways is education presented in these verses?

And what is the basic message, not just for parents, but for everyone who fears the Lord?

My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother.

For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.

My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

For they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk Privily for the innocent without cause.

Let us swallow them up alive as the grave, And whole as those that go down into the pit.

We shall find all precious substance, We shall fill our houses with spoil.

Cast in thy lot among us, let us All have 1 purse.

My son, walk not thou in the way with them, refrain thy foot from their path.

For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.

Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.

And they lay wait for their own blood, they lurk privily for their own lives.

So are the ways of everyone that is greedy of gain, which taketh away the life of the owners thereof." Try to identify the answers from the verses you've just heard.

Again, the 2 questions are, what 2 contrasting ways of education are presented in these verses.

And what's the basic message in these verses, not just for parents, but for everyone who fears the Lord?

Education is, first of all, a family matter, and true education comes first and foremost from the parents.

In these verses, this education is called instruction, and even law.

The Hebrew word for law, Torah, means direction.

The parents are to point their children in the right direction.

In contrast, the other type of education is not identified, not given a name.

It is simply acknowledged as the voice of sinners, which leads in the wrong direction.

Also, the words, my son, not to be taken in a gender-exclusive sense, are repeated many times, emphasizing parental instruction.

Each parent, for example, your father and your mother, in the New King James Version, is clearly identified in the singular and is personally involved, while the other Camp, Sinners, is an anonymous plural.

In her book, The Adventist Home, on page 182, Ellen G.

White wrote, In his wisdom the Lord had decreed that the family shall be the greatest of all educational agencies.

It is in the home that the education of the child is to begin.

Here, with his parents as instructors, he is to learn the lessons that are to guide him throughout life.

The Educational influences of the home are a decided power for good or for evil.

If the child is not instructed or right here, Satan will educate him through agencies of his choosing.

The best argument on behalf of family education is its results.

These are the inner qualities of character, which are like ornaments on the head and around the neck.

In the Middle Eastern culture, precious collars and bracelets were passed from parents to children as a heritage of value.

Education matters more, though, than material riches.

The time spent with our children will be of much greater value for them than the time spent at our businesses.

Also, the reference to the neck and the head, which is the individual's face, suggests that education will shape his or her personality.

In the way of fools or sinners, only the feet are mentioned, as if the wayward son had lost his identity.

Proverbs 1 verse 15 is an example of the feet and where they walk being an indication of a person's character.

My son, walk not thou in the way with them.

How can you learn to resist the temptations that culture, society, friends, and even family might throw your way.

0. Proverbs: Introduction to the Book of Proverbs

While many books of the Bible are filled with deep spiritual and theological truths, The Book of Proverbs is filled with practical and down-to-earth advice for daily living.

Brief, well-balanced, poetic, salty, and often humorous, the Proverbs are universal, are easy to memorize, and make their point well—sometimes even more efficiently than due eloquent speeches and rigorous argumentation.

Proverbs 6, verse 6, New King James Version commands, Go to the aunt, you sluggard, consider her ways, and be wise.

Or Proverbs 21, verse 19, It is better to dwell in the wilderness than with a contentious and angry woman.

Or, Proverbs 25, verses 21 and 22, New International Version, If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat.

If he is thirsty, give him water to drink.

In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you." Who is going to forget images like these?

The Book of Proverbs is a witness to the wisdom that had been accumulated over generations.

Many people assume that King Solomon wrote all the wise sayings that we read in the biblical book of Proverbs.

However, the book's Cuman authors are referred to as 5 different sources.

King Solomon 1.1-9.18, 10.1-22.16, 25.29 Some Proverbs were written by unidentified wise men from the ancient Near Eastern world, such as Proverbs 22, verse 17, through chapter 24, verse 22, Proverbs 24, verses 23 through 34, and as the non-Israelite, Agur, Proverbs 30, verse 1 through 33.

The book even acknowledges King Hezekiah's editorial contributions.

Also, in some cases, the book reflects ancient Near Eastern texts, especially those from ancient Egypt.

Yet the Book of Proverbs is the Word of God because it was under divine inspiration that the authors pulled their materials together.

Although God is rarely explicitly mentioned in the texts, He is always present.

Wherever we are, in the marketplace, or as we speak, eat, drink, work, buy, sell, socialize, and love, the Lord is there.

The God of Proverbs is not just the God of a religious person, whether a priest or a worshiper in the pew.

Godliness is, in the book of Proverbs, put into working clothes.

The book of Proverbs also teaches what it means to fear God.

Proverbs 1 verse 7, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

And Proverbs 31, verse 30, Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.

So, to fear God means not just how we act in church, but as we go about our everyday lives, because the way we live speaks louder than the way we preach, pray, or even sacrifice.

As 2 wise sayings indicate, Proverbs 28 verse 9 warns, He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination." And Proverbs 15 verse 8 says, The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is his delight.

In Proverbs, wisdom is revealed when you acknowledge the Lord in all your ways.

Proverbs 3 verse 6, New King James Version.

In other words, wisdom is living in faith and in obedience.

It's about what it means to be human before the God of creation.

From the book of Proverbs, we will learn how to be wise concretely in practical ways.

The book answers such questions as, what and how should I teach my children?

How should I cope with my anger or my tendency to vent?

Finally, Wisdom isn't necessarily intellectual might.

On the contrary, the 1 who is sure of his or her brain power is in the most danger of playing the fool, because even the smartest person knows so little.

1 may think of oneself as already wise, and therefore as having no need to seek more knowledge.

The prerequisite for wisdom is instead to be humble, to feel our need, and then to ask for wisdom.

Proverbs is deep and rich, and it deals with many topics.

Given the limitations of time, it's been necessary to pick and choose which material we could cover.

We can't cover it all, but all that we have is indeed worthy of our prayerful contemplation.

Just a word about the translations of the Bible, which you will hear.

Unless mentioned otherwise, I will be quoting mainly from the King James Version.

From time to time you will hear the New King James Version used or referenced, as well as sometimes the New International Version.

The principal contributor to our explorations of the Book of Proverbs is Dr.

Ducan, who is Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament Exegesis and Director of the Institute of Jewish-Christian Studies at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University.

Ducan has a doctorate in Hebrew from the University of Strasbourg and a doctorate in theology from Andrews University.

Now that we have an overview of Proverbs and learned a little bit about the leading guide for our explorations.

2. Proverbs: From Ears to Feet

A Matter of Life and Death Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established.

Remove your foot from evil." Proverbs 4, verse 26 and 27, New King James Version.

Science has demonstrated that hearing impacts how we walk, and that even our balance is influenced by how well we hear.

So, instruction, or education, that is, what we hear is crucial to how we live.

Proverbs 4, verse 7 reveals that, Wisdom is the principal thing.

Yet no matter how good the instruction is, the student must pay attention.

Not without some irony, an ancient Egyptian teacher noted that, The ear of the boy is on his back.

In Egyptian art, the student was often represented with big ears on his back.

It's not enough just to know about right and wrong.

We need to know how to choose right and wrong.

Training in wisdom consists in hearing proper instruction and in following and obeying what we have learned so that we don't end up walking in the wrong direction.

As you listen, think of how we will answer these 2 questions.

And, how can you apply this truth to your own life as you seek to live in faithfulness to God.

Proverbs 4 Hear ye, children, the instruction of a father, and attend to no understanding.

For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.

For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.

He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words, keep my commandments, and live.

Forget it not, neither decline from the words of my mouth.

Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee.

Therefore get wisdom, and with all thy getting get understanding.

She shall bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her.

She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace.

A crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.

Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings, and the years of thy life shall be many.

I have taught thee in the way of wisdom, I have led thee in right paths.

When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straightened, and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.

Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.

Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.

For they sleep not, except they have done mischief, and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.

For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.

But the path of the just is as the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

My son, attend to my words, incline thine ear unto my sayings.

Let them not depart from thine eyes, keep them in the midst of thine heart, for they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.

Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.

Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.

Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.

Turn not to the right hand, nor to the left.

Remove thy foot from evil." The act of hearing marks the first step in education.

In Hebrew thought, the seat of wisdom or of intelligence is located not in the brain, but in the ears.

This implies that even before we seek to conceptualize or solve a problem, we first need to hear it.

When Solomon asks for wisdom, he specifically asks for a hearing heart.

That's the literal translation of 1 Kings 3 verse 9.

The first act of wisdom, then, is to listen, which suggests that wisdom comes from an external source—in this case, the parents.

The self-made individual is an impossible concept in the domain of biblical wisdom.

Wisdom is first of all something that we receive, not something we shape with our own skills or that we unearth through our own brilliance and reasoning.

The capacity of paying attention, in the Hebrew, to put one's heart, implies the involvement of the heart.

The search for wisdom, then, is not merely a cold, objective enterprise.

The heart, which is the core of the individual and, in Hebrew thought, the seat of emotions, participates in the search for wisdom.

Let's compare Matthew 13, verse 44, and Jeremiah 29, verse 13.

What link can you find between these verses and the search for wisdom as it is expressed in Proverbs 4?

Matthew 13, verse 44 tells us, Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field, the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

And Jeremiah 29, 13 says, And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye search for me with all your heart.

Emotions play a crucial role in our basic existence as humans, and thus cannot and should not be ignored in our relationship with God.

How do you learn the proper place and value of emotions in regard to your spiritual life?

How have your emotions steered steered you right and wrong?

And what have you learned from these experiences?

Once we determine to walk in the way of wisdom, we still need great caution because we will meet obstacles along that way.

For example, 1 Peter 5, verse 8 instructs us to 1.

Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." 1 of the greatest dangers we face deals with our families, the most precious, sensitive, and intimate domain of life.

My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding, that thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.

For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil.

But her end is bitter and wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.

Her feet go down to death, her steps take hold on hell, lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are movable, that thou canst not know them.

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