THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM

Introduction

-{Proverbs 1}

-There's a story about a proud young man who came to Socrates asking for wisdom. He walked up to the well-known philosopher and said, "O great Socrates, I come to you for wisdom."

Socrates recognized an arrogant person when he saw one. He led the young man through the streets, to the sea, and chest deep into water. Then he asked, "What do you want?"

"Wisdom, O wise Socrates," said the young man with a smile.

Socrates put his strong hands on the man's shoulders and pushed him under the water. Thirty seconds later Socrates let him up. "What do you want?" he asked again.

"Wisdom," the young man sputtered, "O great and wise Socrates."

Socrates crunched him under again. After forty seconds, Socrates let him up. The man was gasping. "What do you want, young man?"

Between heavy, heaving breaths the fellow wheezed, "Wisdom, O wise and wonderful..."

Socrates jammed him under again for fifty seconds. "What do you want?"

"Air!" the young man screeched. "I need air!"

"When you want wisdom as much as you have just wanted air, then you will have wisdom."

-So many people want wisdom and knowledge on how to live life to its fullest, but many times people don’t put the effort in that is needed to get it because they aren’t desperate enough, or they are looking in the wrong places.

-Even though the world is a fallen world, which made everything so topsy turvy, there is a way to navigate life with supernatural wisdom and knowledge because God has given it to us through His Word. As much as the Bible tells us of the glories of salvation and the person and works of Christ, it is also quite practical in that it tells us how to live to His glory in the midst of a world that is so messed up.

-A collection of this wisdom and knowledge has been pooled together in the book of Proverbs. It is called the book of Proverbs because it contains proverbs, but what is a proverb? One definition is that a proverb is:

a short, memorable statement [that] is used to give wise advice or counsel. [It is] Sometimes designed to provoke a conclusion about the natural world based on experience or observation. [It is often] Characterized by metaphor, terseness, ease of memorization, and applicability outside its original context.

-On the second Wednesdays of the month we are going to look at portions of the book of Proverbs, and tonight I want to look at the introduction to the book as it shows us where to find the beginning of wisdom.

Proverbs 1:1–7 ESV

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.

-{pray}

-The book begins by introducing the writer of a good portion of the book—King Solomon. However, his God-given wisdom is not the only one to be found here. You run into several names. It could be that Solomon wrote what is contained in the first nine chapters, along with whatever else is accounted to him in book. It could also be that these proverbs were gathered in the name of Solomon. But either way, Solomon, known for his wisdom, is involved in this book. But no matter what, it is God who inspired the writing of them all.

-These first seven verses introduce us to the book, so what does it tell us about the journey that we take when we prayerfully read the book? First, it gives us:

1) The purpose of Proverbs

-vv. 2-3 tell us what this gathering of proverbs is trying to accomplish. First, it is to know wisdom and instruction. This is talking about acquiring the skill for right living. The word for wisdom conveys the idea of acquiring and using a skill. So, again, Proverbs is quite practical. It is trying to explain to the reader how to obtain and use the skills that are needed to live life rightly. We often contrast the difference between knowledge and wisdom as that wisdom is putting into practice the knowledge you have, and in a sense that is very true. Wisdom is the skill to live out the knowledge that you obtain.

-The sin and weakness that has fallen upon humanity after the fall has blurred a person’s ability to live life rightly. There is no longer a capacity within men and women to instinctively learn and live in ways that are correct and healthy. And so now they must be taught—but it must come from the right sources (which I’ll touch upon in just a little bit). So, proverbs is here to give wisdom—skill to live.

-But v. 2 also says that Proverbs exist to give instruction. The word instruction includes the concept of discipline. In some sense, it does refer to discipline as in correction and chastisement so as you know what not to do. Your child has a behavior that is not healthy for them, so you discipline them to get them out of that behavior. And discipline isn’t just an idea of punishment, but being shown what is wrong, why its wrong, and what to do instead so that they conform themselves to the right behavior. You notice when you read Proverbs that it chastises a lot of behavior and tells you how to live instead.

-But then there is also the idea of discipline in having the initiative to be trained in living out a skill. You want wisdom, then you must discipline yourself to seek it, obtain it, learn it, and then live it. So, there is a side of Proverbs that gives you skill to live.

-But there also is the knowledge and learning of facts that can be then transferred to living. It says in v. 2 that there is the purpose of understanding words of insight. So, there is the mental aspect. It’s being able to take in information and facts and discern from them what the best course of action is. We could say that this is part of the discipline—seeking out the information, processing it, and coming out with the best solution. And then acting on that best solution.

-But then, finally, there is the moral aspect. v. 3 says:

Proverbs 1:3 ESV

3 to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity;

-Proverbs gives wisdom that leads to moral insight, such that you are able to discern right from wrong. The word righteousness means being able to choose what is the right course of action. Justice means being able to discern and make a final judgment about the rightness and wrongness of something. And equity refers to knowing what is fair. So, in the courtroom of life, you are able to figure out, make a judgment, and act according to that which is right. Of course, there is a set of standards that guides these decisions, and it’s found in Proverbs, but I’ll talk about that in a minute. So, the purpose of Proverbs is to give skill for living, mental acumen, and moral insight. But, let’s next look...

2) The audience of Proverbs

-Who was Proverbs written to or for? First, in v. 4

Proverbs 1:4 ESV

4 to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth—

-The word for prudence means cunning or cleverness, not in the negative sense as if someone is trying to trick you, but providing the skills to live with discretion in practical matters. It says its trying to give prudence to the simple. That might almost seem insulting because in the English it might sound like you’re calling someone simpleminded (i.e. stupid). But it’s talking about someone who is naive about life because they don’t have the life experience that others do. It is not some sort of cut on someone’s intelligence. You can have the world’s highest IQ and still be simple and naive because you haven’t developed yet the skills needed for life.

-So, that’s why this verse parallels the term simple with the word youth. It’s talking about someone who is young and immature. This is not a judgment, but it’s a fact—you don’t have vasts amounts of wisdom in a short amount of time in life. But Proverbs exists to give that naive youth some knowledge and the ability to discern how to live rightly. But the naive and simple aren’t the only ones who need the wisdom of Proverbs.

-v. 5 says:

Proverbs 1:5 ESV

5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance,

-Solomon knows that even those who have a many years under their belt and have learned a lot about life, they too still need the wisdom of Proverbs to live life rightly. Yes, the wise and understanding have learned much in their years of experience, but they don’t know everything. And if you are truly wise, no matter how old you are and no matter how smart you think you are, there is still much that you can and need to learn. As a commentator of old stated it:

Wisdom is the friend and counselor alike of the monarch on the throne, of the artisan in the workshop, and of the husbandman in the field.

-It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, you are the audience that Proverbs is directed toward. But finally, we want to see:

3) The foundation of Proverbs

-v. 7 concludes the introduction but it also settles the matter. We may know what the purposes and audience are for the Book of Proverbs, but what is the bottom line for wisdom—where is the repository of wisdom ultimately found. And Solomon says:

Proverbs 1:7 ESV

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

-The bottom line is that wisdom is found in God and in God alone. Any wisdom found in the world that is not founded upon God is not the source that we want to drink from. The fear of the Lord—the reverence and awe and trust of God is where all knowledge and wisdom springs. Solomon came to the same conclusion in another book he wrote—after trying out all of the wisdom of the world, he came to this conclusion:

Ecclesiastes 12:13 ESV

13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

-If you want the wisdom and instruction and understanding and prudence and knowledge and discretion that we have talked about, you have to start with God. God is the standard for all moral insight. God alone determines what is good and bad, moral and evil. God Himself is the ultimate good.

-But Solomon warns that the fool despises wisdom and instruction. This is talking about the arrogant person who thinks that he himself is the source of all understanding. He thinks that he has enough wisdom to make it through life, only to find out that he is nothing but a broken cistern, while God alone is the fountain of life.

Conclusion

-This is what the book of Proverbs is all about. By reading it, studying it, ingesting it, and then living it, we will be the wisest people because we have submitted ourselves to the wisdom of God.

-J. I. Packer said:

Wisdom is the power to see and the inclination to choose the best and highest goal, together with the surest means of attaining it.

-Jesus Christ is the surest means of attaining it. Place yourself under His Lordship, and you will be wiser than any purported guru or philosopher there is...