Proverbs 5 In this, the eighth wisdom discourse, the teacher warns his students against adultery. It continues to be written as a teacher to his male students, using an adulterous female as the protagonist, but the principles certainly would apply if the genders were reversed or rendered neutral in the modern fashion. There are four subsections in this discourse, each of which covers a slightly different aspect of the issue, the first of which is comprised of verses 1-6. These verses give a general description of the temptation, in this case of a woman who is eager to stray. Notice that she is described as being seductive and smooth in her speech, no doubt full of compliments and innuendo, appealing to the ego of her prey, his need for attention and enticing in its attentiveness. Yet the teacher goes to great lengths to tell his students that such a person will lead the unwary into disaster and death. Relationships are ruined; reputations are destroyed; the pleasures of the moment will lead to a life of despair. The next subsection, in verses 7-14 tell more of the consequences of adultery, adding more detail to the story. The shame, the losses and the regrets, not to mention the possibility of disease; all are hinted at here. Clearly, the section ends with an older man looking back of the futility of a life wasted chasing after the allurements of the flesh wishing he had listened to the warnings of the wise brings the matter home for anyone with a brain. The next subsection in verses 15-19 is rich with imagery. The “well” “Cistern” and “fountain” refer to the wife’s sexually. Here, it is important for us to understand how precious a well, cistern or fountain would have been 3,000 years ago as sources of life-giving water in a parched land. “Drink water from your own cistern” and “running water from your own well” (v. 15) are references to sex within the marriage. Verse 16 refers to having multiple partners. The fountain being blessed in verse 17 is a reference to the children that will result from sex within marriage; both partners will be blessed through them. 18b-19 are telling the student that he should be crazy in love with his own wife, a contrast to the notion of seeking the comforts and charms of another man’s wife, and that would remain a great blessing for all concerned for a lifetime.

Proverbs 4 With chapter 4, we begin a new section of the book, extending through chapter 6. This new section is introduced by the first use of the address “my sons” and takes on the tone of a warning rather than a positive exhortation as in the first three chapters. In the first of these discourses, the seventh in the book so far, we are set in a home in which a father is speaking to his sons, rather than a teacher speaking to students. As I read through this chapter, I was struck by one thing that seems to ring clear above all else: The father is having a hard time persuading his sons to take his teaching seriously; in fact, the entire discourse is that of a father who is trying to persuade his sons to listen to him, to persuade them that the path of wisdom is the right path for them to take in their lives. As a father myself, I can relate! I can remember many times when I found myself having to try to convince my kids that I knew as much about life in general and the ways of the world as their friends who were every bit as clueless as my kids, and the truth is that more often than not, they preferred the advice of their ignorant friends. I can also relate as a teacher, for it is all too common to hear from a student that things the Bible teaches are simply so difficult and hard to put into practice that nobody can do it… so why bother? Again, this is amazingly clueless about the realities of life and what is possible; oh yes, I can relate with the father in this chapter. For the ancient Israelites, the highest duty of a father was to teach his sons. They taught their sons how to live, how to earn a living, how to get along in the community and to follow the Law of Moses. They passed down the wisdom of the ages to their sons, wisdom from Scripture, and wisdom from experience, and I’m guessing that they had the same kinds of frustrations that we have today; their sons probably already knew everything. Look at the passage again, notice that the whole chapter is a father telling his sons that wisdom is better than wickedness; one might expect that the very definition of the words would take care of that, but alas, they don’t.

Proverbs 3:19-35 In this post, we’ll finish chapter 3 as we see the fifth and sixth discourses. Wisdom in Creation Solomon shifts his thinking somewhat in this discourse, from an exhortation to pursue and attain wisdom, to what God’s wisdom has accomplished in creation and in our lives. He begins in verses 19-20 making what I consider to be a very interesting point: God put His wisdom into action to create the universe. Elsewhere in Scripture, particularly in the New Testament, we see God’s act of creation stemming from His powerful Word. Yet here, Solomon asserts that God’s wisdom and knowledge was the essential ingredient for the Creation. Is this a contradiction, or is it another way of saying the same thing? In my view, it is the latter, for what is God’s Word, what does it consist of? God’s Word is first and foremost a Person, and that Person is Truth and Wisdom itself; that Person is Jesus Christ. Thus, when God spoke the words to create the universe, those words were the very divine application of His wisdom and knowledge, as well as the application of His power. Verses 21-26 encourage the students to apply wisdom to their everyday lives, for in doing so, they will avoid the pitfalls of life, they will be confident in their comings and goings because they have an ally in God, whose divine attribute of wisdom they will have made their own attribute. Wisdom and duty This, the sixth discourse, extends from verse 27 through the end of the chapter, and it seeks to apply what has been said in the previous section. Wisdom is a divine attribute, and as such it requires that a person apply it properly in their daily life when dealing with others. The first part of this discourse is in verses 27-30 in which several examples of conduct are given; take a look at them. I don’t know about you, but these verses remind me of something Jesus taught: “Do unto others as you would they should do unto you.” The next verse sums this up as it transitions to the final part of the passage in telling us that we should not emulate the ways of the violent. As we go on through this book, you might notice that the violent and foolish are terms used to describe those who reject the divine attribute of wisdom. Essentially, these refer to the same person that Jesus would later call the proud.

Proverbs 3:1-18 This fourth discourse can be said to be a continuation of the third. It has two sections, verses 1-12 contain exhortations from the teacher to his students to hold onto wisdom, and vv. 13-18 discuss the blessings of wisdom. The exhortations are made up of a series of two verse couplets, beginning with vv. 1-2 which discuss obedience to God. The second couplet (vv. 3-4) tells the student to remember him, the third (vv. 5-6) tells the student to trust God, the fourth (vv. 7-8) to reverence God, the fifth (vv. 9-10) to honor God, and finally, the sixth (vv. 11-12) to submit to God. The student who does these things will gain wisdom, and wisdom has many blessings. The blessings of wisdom are set forth for the student. In 13-14, we see that wisdom is better than silver or gold, for wisdom has a yield much greater than both of them. In 15-16, wisdom is shown to be better than rubies, then wisdom is said to bring about long life, and more wealth than by any other means. Then the section concludes by telling the student that wisdom brings about a pleasant and peaceful life of many years, and much happiness. It’s interesting that Solomon uses this device to appeal to his students to prefer wisdom over anything else, for in doing so, he has set up a contrast between wisdom and other things in this life under the sun, that most people would like to get their hands on; silver and gold, for instance… or can we just say money here? Most anyone you talk to would tell you they would like to have more money, for with money they can buy the things they need, like food and shelter, but also because money can provide a person with the desires of their heart. They can have fancy things, luxury things, or they can have a better education or better opportunities for whatever they want to do. By contrast, wisdom delivers a superior return on investment, for investing in wisdom can bring a longer life, because wisdom will guide a person to be prudent in their actions, avoiding situations that can cut life short or imperil their health. Wisdom can also bring peace and happiness that money cannot buy and jewels cannot provide, by enabling a person to get along better in their community, make better personal and business decisions and choices that come from better priorities.

Proverbs 2 The teacher makes his second appearance in chapter 2, after “Lady” Wisdom has shown us what will become of the unwise in the preceding verses. Here, the teacher tells his students why it is such a good thing to obtain wisdom, now that they have seen the disaster of ignoring it. In short, by obtaining wisdom, a person will come to fear God, for wisdom and knowledge come from Him. The first four verses speak of the value of wisdom, likening it to a great treasure, as the teacher seeks to give it a high priority in the minds of his students. Verses 5-6 tell us that God Himself is the very source of wisdom, setting out the theme of the remainder of the discourse. Verses 7-11 are interesting, for in these verses, Solomon tells us that wisdom and knowledge will become part of who we are if we seek to obtain them. A man or woman who obtains wisdom will be protected and guarded by God all through their lives, in fact. This raises for us an interesting philosophical question: Since wisdom and knowledge become part of who we are, how are we really protected? Does God shield us, or is it really the wisdom and knowledge He has given us that protects us… or are they really the same thing? If nothing else, this is a thought worthy of our consideration. The next section, vv. 12-15 seem to give an answer to our questions: Wisdom will protect us from evil men and their wicked ways; we will see through their scheming and stay clear. Verses 16-19 go on to tell us that wisdom will protect us from the ways of “adulterous women” who seek to lead a man off the righteous path and into the arena of immorality; I would suggest that the same would be true for lustful men who seek to lead a righteous woman from the path of God as well. The last 3 verses provide encouragement in that wisdom will lead a person on the right paths and enable them to avoid those paths that readily lead the foolhardy to destruction. After 2 complete chapters, a picture is developing here for us to discern: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. We find wisdom when we earnestly seek it, and that path leads us to the fear of the Lord, then wisdom becomes a part of who we are, and protects us from evil.