Proverbs

Today we are going to take a few moments and look at the book of proverbs.
                 
Someone once said that a proverb is a short sentence based on long experience.

Again, in our short time together I cannot even begin to cover all that is in the book, but hopefully I can give you some insight into better understanding the book and also peak your interest so that you will go home and discover for yourselves the great wisdom in this book.
             
In 1860, the philosopher, Jeremy Bentham, said, "If we can get universal and compulsory education by the end of the century, all our social, political, and moral problems will be solved."            
 
I believe it is safe to say that we have learned that education does not equal wisdom.  By almost anybody's standard we are the most educated people, yet also by almost anyone's standard, we are the most wicked people. 
 
According to John Nesbitt, in his best selling book, Megatrends, there are between 6,000 and 7,000 scientific articles written every day.  Scientific and technical information now increases 13% per year, which means it doubles every 5 1/2 years.  This rate, however, will soon jump to 40% per year because of new and powerful computers, and an increasing population of scientists. That means that we are approaching a day where knowledge is going to double every twenty months.

There is not a shortage of knowledge in today’s society, but there is a severe drought of wisdom.  
  
WISDOM, n. s as z. [G. See Wise.]
1. The right use or exercise of knowledge;
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
 
Now compare this quote from the Earl of Shaftesbury, who was a strong supporter himself of education, and during a campaign for education, said this:  
"Education, without instruction in religious and moral principles, will merely result in a race of clever devils."
 
Turn with me if you will to Proverbs.
 
Proverbs 1:1-9 (KJV) 1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; 2 To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; 3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; 4 To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and
discretion. 5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: 6 To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. 7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. 8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: 9 For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck. 

Most people have heard of the Babylonian Empire, the Roman Empire, the Assyrian Empire, but there is on Empire that ruled without equal.  This empire did not conquer as much land mass, but it had wealth and power and influence beyond any other nation, for a brief period of time.  That would be the Israelite Empire, if you will, under the reign of King Solomon.  
 
1 Kings 4:32 (KJV)  32 And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand
and five. 
 
Solomon: Proverbs is divided into seven sections (see Outline). Proverbs 1:1 suggests that Solomon may have authored the entire first section (Proverbs 1-9), although that verse may be an introduction to the book as a whole (Solomon may have compiled the entire book). The second major section (Proverbs 10:1-22:16) is directly attributed to Solomon, as is the fourth (Proverbs 25-29). Proverbs probably includes at least 800 of Solomon's 3,000 proverbs (see 1 Kings 4:32). 

Solomon may also have written many of the proverbs in the third section, the "Words of the Wise" (Proverbs 22:17-24:34), whose compiler and authors are anonymous. Many scholars also assume he wrote the final section, the tribute to the worthy woman (Proverbs 31:10-31). 
 
Agur, apparently a non-Israelite, is credited with the proverbs of the fifth section (Proverbs 30). 

Lemuel authored the sixth section (Proverbs 31:1-9). He was a king (Proverbs 31:1), presumably a non-Israelite. Some scholars believe, however, that Lemuel was actually Solomon. 
Willmington's Bible Handbook.
 
The book was written mostly by Solomon and it is a book of proverbs, now what is a proverb?

The radical signification of mashal is “comparison” or “similitude,” and in this sense it is applied generally to the utterances of the wise.
 
The predominant idea of the term, however, is that of comparison or similitude, and as such it is better represented by the Greek parabolh> (from paraba>llw, “to set or place side by side”), literally, a placing beside, or comparison,

Matthew 13:34-35 (KJV) 34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: 35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. 
 
Proverbs are snapshots of truth, little pictures of truth.
 
You will notice that Proverbs is written in parallelism.  
  
This is a literary device. The second clause restates, usually, what is given in the first clause.  
You notice the synonymous parallelism and that is, he says one thing in the first clause and he says the same thing in the second clause in a different way.  We call that synonymous parallelism.  
  
Proverbs 19:29 (KJV) 29 Judgments are prepared for scorners, and stripes for the back of fools. 

And sometimes he uses contrast parallelism.  And that is where a truth is stated in the first clause then it is made stronger in the second clause by a contrast, 
  
Proverbs 13:9 (KJV) 9 The light of the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out. 
                  
Then thirdly there is synthetic parallelism and that is where the second clause develops further the thought of the first clause. 
  
Proverbs 20:2 (KJV) 2 The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion: whoso provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul. 
  
I want to take a moment right here to make something clear.
 
A proverb is not a promise, sometimes people misunderstand and they get discouraged or disappointed and blame God for promises He has never made.
 
Proverbs are general statements of truth rather than invariable promises or laws, and an individual proverb normally captures a tiny cross-section of truth rather than making a comprehensive statement about a topic. For example, "A gentle answer turns away anger" (15:1) constitutes one
component of the broader topics of using words wisely and dealing with angry people. This single principle is one small piece of a much larger mosaic, and the task of the student is not only to put together the broader mosaic piece by piece but also to learn to apply these principles skillfully to the complexities that one encounters in life. The goal of the wisdom in Proverbs is to develop
skill in living according to the order that is embedded in God's creation.
The Apologetics Study Bible: Understanding Why You Believe.

A proverb is not a precept. A precept is a truth stated in absolute terms. An illustration may help here. Suppose we are making statements of truth about engineering students at a particular university. One statement might be, "A student must take and pass calculus in order to graduate as an engineer." That statement of truth is in precept form. There are no exceptions. But suppose we said, "Students who do well in calculus make better engineers." That is also a statement of truth, but it is in proverb form. It is a general truth stated in general terms. But there may be some exceptions. There may be a few engineering graduates from that university who are very good engineers but never did well in calculus. And by the same token, there may be a few graduates who were A+ students in calculus but have not made very good engineers. These exceptions, however, do not make the statement false, because it is a general truth stated in general terms. Exceptions do not make a proverb false. Proverbs are proverbs! Proverbs are not precepts. They are general truths stated in general terms. Proverbs 22:6 is a proverb. The occasional case which proves to be an exception to the general truth does not make this proverb false.

 A brief look at a few of the other proverbs in this chapter further demonstrates the nature of a proverb. The truths of verses 4, 11 and 29, for example, are not always binding. They are usually true, but a little reflection on these proverbs will bring to mind a number of exceptions. Humility and the fear of the Lord do not always bring riches and honor and life (v4). Rulers are not always friends with the gracious and pure of heart (v11). And there are skilled people who have remained in obscurity, unrecognized by kings (v29).
 http://www.growingchristians.org/dfgc/proverbs.htm
 
Proverbs 22:6 (KJV) 6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. 
  
Proverbs 22:4 (KJV) 4 By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life. 
 
Proverbs 22:29 (KJV) 29 Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.  (mean – low in dignity)
 
Now there are proverbs that are promises, now the question becomes how can I tell when a proverb is just a proverb and when it is also a promise.

Actually its very simple, does God's word speak to the proverb anywhere else?
 
Proverbs 3:5-6 (KJV) 5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 

Ps 25:8 — Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way. 
Ps 25:9 — The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. 
Ps 32:8 — I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
 
Now that we hopefully have a better understanding of what a proverb is, it is general truth, not an absolute truth, unless confirmed somewhere else in scripture.
 
I want us to talk just a minute about wisdom.  Proverbs are general truths, but they are general truths that are supposed to teach us wisdom.
 
1 Corinthians 1:24-31 (KJV) 24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27 But God hath chosen
the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 That no flesh should glory in his presence. 30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: 31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. 

Christ is made our Wisdom.  Today for us, Jesus Christ is our wisdom.  He is for us our all.  An intersting thing about Christ, you can go back to the book of Proverbs and replace the word Wisdom with the word Christ and the sentence makes sense and applies.

Proverbs 1:7 (KJV) 7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise CHRIST and instruction. 
 
Proverbs 2:10 (KJV) 10 When CHRIST entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; 
 
Proverbs 3:13 (KJV) 13 Happy is the man that findeth CHRIST, and the man that getteth understanding. 
 
Proverbs 3:19 (KJV) 19 The LORD by CHRIST hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. 
  
Proverbs 4:7 (KJV) 7 CHRIST is the principal thing; therefore get CHRIST: and with all thy getting get understanding. 
 
Proverbs 4:11 (KJV) 11 I have taught thee in the way of CHRIST; I have led thee in right paths. 
 
Proverbs 8:11 (KJV) 11 For CHRIST is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it. 
  
Proverbs 19:8 (KJV) 8 He that getteth CHRIST loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good. 
 
Proverbs 24:3 (KJV) 3 Through CHRIST is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: 
 
One last thought, Proverbs has within its pages a great contrast.
 
The Wise man and the foolish man.
 
Today I will give you the short version, the cliff notes if you will.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (KJV) 5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 

The wise man is seeking the Lord, is Seeking wisdom, is seeking Christ, the foolish man is not.
 
The beginning; Hebrew, tyviare (reshith). This word has been understood in three different senses:
(1) As initium, the beginning; i.e. the initial step or starting point at which every one who wishes to follow true wisdom must begin (Gejerus, Zockler, Plumptre).
(2) As caput; i.e. the most excellent or principal part, the noblest or best wisdom. This sense is adopted in the marginal reading (comp. Also <200407>Proverbs 4:7) (Holden,
Trapp).
(3) As the principium (Vulgate); i.e. the origin, or basis, as in <330101>Micah 1:12, “She is the origin, or basis (reshith) of the sin of the daughter of Zion.”
 
Sin always deceives, and its baits artfully hide the hook; but the cruel barb is there, below the gay silk and colored dressing, and it —not the false appearance of food which lured the fish — is what sticks in the bleeding mouth.