Intro To Proverbs "What Is Wisdom?"

Finding Proverbs in the Bible: The Bible is broken into 2 groups: Old and New Testament o The Old Testament is written in Hebrew and is about how God created a nation called Israel to be his chosen people. He chose them not because they were special, but because they weren't. They were as sinful, stubborn, and rebellious as any people group. He chose them so that He could teach them who He was, and so that they could be a lighthouse to the nations. He chose them, because it was part of His plan of redemption, a plan that culminates in the New Testament. o The New Testament is written in Greek and is about two things: Jesus and the Church. The New Testament tells how Jesus was born in Israel, how He taught and performed miracles, how He was crucified, how He was seen alive 3 days later, and how His followers saw that the resurrection of Jesus was the culmination of God's promise of Redemption. o Proverbs is in the Old Testament The Old Testament is broken down into 4 groups: o Law, History, Writings, Prophets. One of the biggest obstacles to reading and navigating the Old Testament is not understanding this 4-fold division... * Law - (Also Called the Torah, Pentateuch, and the 5 Books of Moses) Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. * History - Joshua through Esther. These books tell the story of the formation, division, collapse, exile, and restoration of the nation of Israel. * Writings - Job through Song of Songs. These books are a collection of wisdom literature (Proverbs), Worship Songs (Psalms), Philosophy (Job, Ecclesiastes), and Love Poetry (Song of Songs) * Prophets - The rest of the OT contains the writings of the prophets. They are divided into two Groups, Major and Minor Prophets. This had nothing to do with the importance of each work. It has mainly to do with length. The Major Prophets wrote longer works. * Major Prophets - Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel (We include Lamentations, which was written by Jeremiah, in the list of the Major Prophets, though in the Hebrew Bible it is listed in the writings with Proverbs, Psalms, etc) * Minor Prophets - Hosea through Malachi o Proverbs is in the Writings Who Wrote Proverbs? When you look at Proverbs 1:1, it seems obvious that Solomon wrote the book of Proverbs. His authorship is mentioned again in Proverbs 10:1 and 25:1. But the question of authorship is trickier than it seems. Two other authors are mentioned. Proverbs 30:1 claims that "Agur the son of Jakeh" wrote what follows. Proverbs 31 is attributed to King Lemuel. So, what is going on? The most likely answer is that most of the Proverbs originated with Solomon, but that they were gathered and written down at a later date by a later editor who also included the wise sayings of other great people. This seems to be suggested by Proverbs 25:1 which says, "These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, transcribed." It is, therefore, reasonable to believe a couple things about Proverbs: * Solomon was the primary source of many of the wise sayings * Proverbs was "compiled" at some later date by an editor. * Proverbs and sayings from sources other than Solomon were included What is a Proverb? The book derives its name from the first word in Hebrew. A proverb in English is normally a very short, wise saying like "a stitch in time saves nine" or "fish and visitors stink after three days." The word that is translated as "proverb" has a slightly larger definition in Hebrew. It can also mean "discourse" or "parable." While many of the proverbs in this book are indeed very short, often two-line sayings, some are longer "monologues" delivered either by Wisdom herself, or by a father to his son. What is Wisdom? (1:1-7) This is a book offering to show the reader how to acquire wisdom. It starts where you might expect, by defining what exactly wisdom is. It defines wisdom by describing its three dimensions. Wisdom is Moral (vs 3) - "Righteousness, Justice, Equity" If you asked someone what wisdom is, the first answer you'd probably get would have something about morals and deciding about right and wrong. The pictures we have in our head about Solomon usually involve him being confronted with a complicated situation with no easy answers and somehow, he decides on what the right thing to do. And it's true. This is a huge dimension of what wisdom is. Wisdom will help you be righteous, seek justice, and be fair with all people even in complicated situations. But that is not the whole story. Wisdom is Practical (vs 2, 4-6) - The Hebrew word for wisdom is best translated as "skill." It is used to describe the ability of the craftsmen who worked on the tabernacle in Exodus 31:6. This reminds us that the Proverbs are not abstract concepts. They are radically practical. Wisdom isn't just something you know...it's something you do. It is learning to live skillfully. Verses 2-6 give some specifics about how one acquires this ability to live skillfully. Comes through Instruction (vs 2) - Because it is a skill, it is something you can learn, and you learn via instruction. That is why instruction is an often-repeated word in these verses and in Proverbs. It is a specific kind of instruction: instruction in wise behavior. Becoming wise means learning to live well. You have to be taught. In order to be taught, you have to be teachable. Based in Knowledge (vs 4) - Wisdom includes knowledge, but it is not the exact same thing as knowledge. You need knowledge in order to be wise. But possessing knowledge isn't enough to make you wise. Knowledge is the start but it isn't the end. Must Be Sought (vs 5) If you were asked to describe a wise man, our description would probably involve the fruits of wisdom in the person's life. But here, the first attribute of a wise man is simply someone who wants wisdom. The wise man is someone who listens well and increases his knowledge. A wise man isn't just someone who knows a lot, but someone who wants to know. A wise man is constantly learning from everyone. He sees every opportunity as a chance to learn something new. Requires Humility (vs 5) In order to be taught, you have to be teachable. In order to seek wisdom, you have to admit that you don't have it. Wisdom requires humility. As long as you think you have it all figured out, you will never look beyond yourself for help. Requires Work (vs 6) Learning the art of skillful living will make your life easier in the long run, but it is not always easy. It requires work. There will be times that the instruction we receive is tough to figure out. The explanation for something may be hidden or confusing or not make immediate sense to us. That is why the words of the wise are sometimes described as "riddles." They require work to understand and work to apply. Wisdom is Theological (vs 7) - Wisdom is moral. Wisdom is practical. But the most important dimension of wisdom is that it is Theological, which is just a fancy way of saying that it is God-Focused. Several times in the proverbs, including here in verse 7, we are reminded that "fear of the Lord" is where everything begins. What does it mean to Fear God? When someone says that we should fear God, people often think it means that we should be afraid of God. But that is not what it means. We are told that God loves us (John 3:16), and that perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). So, the word fear must have a couple different but overlapping meanings. Fear can mean "to cower in terror at." This definition is often synonymous with "to be afraid of." But there is another definition of fear that means "to wonder and be amazed at." This definition is synonymous with "to be awed by." The difference is discerned in its effect on us. To be afraid of something makes you run away from it. To be awed by something makes you want to draw closer to it. Why is the word fear used? Most of the things that we are awe-struck and amazed by are powerful. Like a fire or a waterfall. We desire to be close, but we have to be careful because it's bigger, stronger, more powerful than us. Fearing God is to be amazed by who God is and to desire to draw closer to Him. Why is this the beginning of Wisdom? This is the most important dimension of wisdom because it is the Source. Wisdom comes from being in right relationship with the one who made the world. The word for this is righteousness. Righteousness doesn't mean being right. It means being in right relationship. All the other words we use to describe what wisdom is supposed to produce in us, like virtue or ethics or morals, all convey the idea that wisdom is something we do for ourselves, by ourselves, and that we can be good on our own if we try hard enough. Biblical Wisdom doesn't work apart from relationship with God. 1 2 Intro to Proverbs: What is Wisdom? Proverbs 1:1-7