The Importance of Good Advice

There are two words that we will run into tonight that are used to describe council. The first is a term for guidance, as we will see in this first proverb, that is often used in the Hebrew that is a nautical term used to describe steering a ship.

The other term is often used to describe advice that is meant to set someone in the right direction. The idea, then, is that this counsel is the type of advice that will steer a person in the direction of the righteousness of God.

Proverbs 1:5 ESV

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

These two lines mean the same thing yet there is something different to gain from the two from each line.

From the first, it is wise to hear and that hearing will lead to a person learning. This is learning in the sense of positive things.

On the second line, we can understand that guidance or good advice is something that is worth collecting.

Proverbs 1:25 ESV

because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof,

Proverbs 1:30 ESV

would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof,

In the end of Proverbs 1, we have lady wisdom crying out to to all those who will hear in the streets. Here we see a similar statement in the negative that ought to encourage us to take on council.

One of the more difficult points of these two proverbs is the fact that counsel very often comes in the form of reproof. Reproof is a tough pill for you and I to swallow but is of benefit because of the wisdom that comes from it.

Lady wisdom states the same idea in the positive in Proverbs 8:14

Proverbs 8:14 ESV

I have counsel and sound wisdom; I have insight; I have strength.

The person who is accepting counsel will be one who obtains wisdom. It is the nature of wisdom to offer strong advice to those who are in need of it.

Proverbs 11:14 ESV

Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.

This proverb is aimed at a group rather than just an individual. The success or failure of a group of people is dependent on a counsel of God-fearing wisdom. The point being made here is that those who have no guidance fall where those who are accepting of counsel find themselves in safety.

Proverbs 12:5–6 ESV

The thoughts of the righteous are just; the counsels of the wicked are deceitful. The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the mouth of the upright delivers them.

Lines 1 and 4 focus on the righteous person but it is the wicked where counsel is concerned in this case. The person who is offering counsel to the person who is wicked is setting out to fool them.

Proverbs 12:15 ESV

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.

The person who believes that their own way is foolish. They don’t care about the counsel of those who are more tenured or wise than they themselves are. Yet, in comparison, the wise man listens to advice. This is not to mean that the advice is always taken but simply that they take it into consideration.

Proverbs 15:22 ESV

Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.

Similar to what is used in 11:14, this proverb highlights the value of a multitude of advisors for an individual. Without counsel in this case, a person will ultimately fail in their plans. You and I are in need of friends who are both intelligent as well as honest with us in giving advice.

Proverbs 19:20 ESV

Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.

The one who listens to advice and accepts it is not just looking out for what is in the here and now but also what is going to happen in the future.

Proverbs 27:9 ESV

Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.

There is a beautiful comfort that comes from the counsel of a friend.