Today, we turn to the Book of Proverbs. Most of these “pithy” sayings are attributed to King Solomon. We can’t summarize chapters in Proverbs as we have done to this point, because for the most part the proverbs aren’t written in narrative form, nor are they poems intended to be set to music. At times one verse has no apparent connection to the next, while at other times a portion of the chapter does relate to the rest of it. The approach we will take is to see the overarching theme of the chapter if there is one, and when there isn’t, we will focus on one, two, or a few of the verses and their points of wisdom. I often recommend new believers read a chapter of Proverbs each day, along with a chapter of the Gospel of Mark, because as we do so, we read through Proverbs once each month (it contains 31 chapters), and Mark twice each month (with a bit of extra reading on the last day of each month). This approach gives us the opportunity to anchor ourselves in Jesus’ life and teaching, as well as to learn the wisdom of one of the wisest men who ever lived in King Solomon.
The first seven verses of Proverbs 1, tell us it was written to give us wisdom and understanding. It also tells us the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. What a vital truth! We live in a culture that often diminishes the power and majesty of God, if it acknowledges His existence at all. He is the almighty Creator of all that exists. A healthy fear, awe, and reverence are the appropriate attitudes and approaches to Him. Verses 8-19 warn the reader to listen to the wisdom of parents, and not to get entangled with evil friends. I hear my mother’s voice in these verses telling me I would turn out like the friends I kept. The remainder of the chapter offers a simple truth: wisdom is rewarded with good, and foolishness leads us to destruction. We might respond, “Duh!” But the simple truth is we don’t always listen to simple truth. God’s word always leads us to wholeness, healing, and victory over sin, but the sinful natures with which we were born are bent toward sin. Heeding wisdom is simple, but not easy. In truth, without the leading of the Holy Spirit we won’t succeed for long at walking the straight and narrow path that leads to life.
Proverbs 2 summarizes the moral benefits of living lives of wisdom. King Solomon raises a theme at the end of the chapter he will return to repeatedly: He calls men to avoid adulterous women. Why would that be a repeated focus? We could turn to Solomon’s own life. He was a man who had 700 wives and 300 concubines! He ended his life worshiping the false gods of the women he married rather than the true God. Personal experience might well have been Solomon’s guide. He was also being guided by the Holy Spirit as he wrote, so he was guided to this theme. In every era, sexual immorality has been a stumbling block to living holy lives, so Solomon warns against it repeatedly.
Proverbs 3 offers additional benefits of wisdom. Proverbs 3:5-6 are two of the most quoted verses in the Bible, and we will examine them here: 5Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) Notice, King Solomon tells us to trust in the LORD will all our hearts. He also tells us not to lean on our own understanding. This can mean many things, but let’s consider this one meaning: At times, it won’t make sense to trust the LORD. What He calls us to say or do won’t go along with conventional wisdom, or with the will of the majority. In those times, it will be easy to go along with the crowd, but especially in such times, we must trust in the LORD, in His wisdom, in His ways. You have probably heard the saying, “What is popular is not always right, and what is right is not always popular.” Proverbs 3:5-6 will lead us to some of those right, but not popular, moments as we trust the LORD and let Him make our paths straight. The longer I live, the clearer I become on how important it is to look to the LORD for wisdom rather than to the internet or the latest opinion poll.
As we return to Luke 12, we find Jesus offers much guidance that goes against the world’s understanding. For example, when a man came and asked Jesus to help him divide the inheritance between him and his brother, Jesus instead offered a parable about a rich man, whose crops were so bountiful he had to tear down his barns and build new ones. Everyone listening to the parable would have been thinking, “What a blessed man! This is the kind of life I want to live.” But Jesus’ punchline was, “But that night (the night the new barns were completed), the LORD told the man, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you.’” Then Jesus said the same will happen to anyone who is rich in the world’s ways, but not rich toward God. Jesus turned the conventional wisdom on its head. God doesn’t bless us in material ways so we can hoard our wealth. He blesses us so we can steward those blessings well, and use them to “store up treasure in heaven.” When we trust in the LORD, we will use our resources so differently than when we trust in ourselves, or in the world’s ways. As we go about the day, let’s remember to focus on trusting the LORD and His way of living, rather than gaining deeper understanding from our own stores of “wisdom”!