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ET WISDOM; GET INSIGHT (1)The Purpose of the Book of Proverbs
When my son, Caleb, was four years old, I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. He said he wanted to be an ice cream man, a pastor and a candy man. What did you want to be? How come nobody ever—or rarely —says that when they grow up they want to be a sage; a wise person? We want to be rich, famous, good looking, well-educated, successful, etc. But how many pursue knowledge and wisdom as the great objective of their life?
The purpose for which Proverbs was written is clear from the introduction: “To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing” (Pro. 1:2-3). Basically, Proverbs is a compilation of practical wisdom from a father to his son(s), to enable him to live in a way that pleases and glorifies God. This is why we find the repeated refrain “my son(s)” throughout the book (1:8; 2:1; 3:1; 4:1; 5:1; 6:1; 7:1). This father (usually Solomon) is endeavoring to pass on to his sons what his father, David, gave to him. “Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight…When I was a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother, he taught me and said to me, ‘Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live. Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth’” (4:1, 3-5). The burden of this father is to raise wise and insightful children.
Parents, what aspirations or dreams do you have for your children? One study revealed that even Christian parents were more concerned about the education their children received than they were about their spiritual growth. It’s unfortunate that we have such a dichotomy in our thinking, because education, whether we realize it or not, is fundamentally religious. So when we talk about education and spiritual growth this is a distinction without a difference. We need to think long and hard about why we’re sending our children to school in the first place, even if that means sending them to the kitchen table.
During the Mexican War (c. 1847), Robert E. Lee wrote this letter to his eldest son Custis: “I thought of you, my dear Custis, on the 18th in the battle [of Cerro Gordo], and wondered, when the musket balls and grape were whistling over my head in a perfect shower, where I could put you, if with me, to be safe. I was truly thankful that you were at school, I hope learning to be good and wise. You have no idea what a horrible sight a battlefield is” (Steve Wilkins, Call of Duty, p. 64). I know this is just a passing point in Gen. Lee’s letter, so I may be reading into his comments, but he hoped that Custis’ school would help him to be good and wise, and not just learn reading, writing, and arithmetic, so he could qualify for a great, high paying job some day.
Imagine your son or daughter going off to college. At the be-ginning of their first day of class, the professor says, “I want to be very clear about the purpose for which you are being educated at this university, so let me read to you from our handbook.” Then he reads, “Let every student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life, John 17:3, and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning. And seeing the Lord only gives wisdom, let every one seriously set himself by prayer in secret to seek it of him, Prov. 2:3.” With this understanding of education, what kind of college would you think your child had enrolled in? Some conservative Bible college? The professor just read to the students from the rules and precepts that were to govern Harvard, adopted Sept. 26, 1642.
If you want to be proud of your children when they are grown, see that they are educated to be good and wise when they’re young. “A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother” (10:1). If any motif binds all the proverbs together, it is the antithesis between the wise man and the fool. And it is plain that you will be either one or the other. “The wise of heart will receive commands, but a babbling fool will come to ruin” (10:8). “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advise” (12:15).
Bear in mind that a fool is not necessarily stupid or uneducated or unintelligent; a fool can be very erudite and learned. Rather a fool is one who has no reverence for God; he is irreligious. “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good” (Ps. 14:1). Inevitably, when you don’t fear God, it will show in how you live; as will fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom (Pro. 9:10).
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ET WISDOM; GET INSIGHT (2)The Blessings Wisdom Holds Out to Us
To motivate us in our pursuit of lady wisdom, Proverbs tells us that nothing we desire compares to her, and that she holds out numerous blessings for those who seek her out. “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor” (3:13-16).
The wise are blessed, because they find wisdom. And they found it not because they accidentally tripped over it, while they were chasing after something else like wealth, but because they were dili-gently and prayerfully seeking after it. Do you prize wisdom? Do you see its value? It’s easy to say yes, since that’s obviously the right answer, but is there any discipline in your life that testifies to this fact? One Christian man I know of listens to the Bible on CD on the way to work, another listens to sermons. How is your commitment to the depository of wisdom, the Word of God?
Jonathan Edwards included this resolution among his 70 well-known resolutions: “Resolved, To study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly, and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive, myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.” Can we see clearly that our systematic study of God’s Word is resulting in greater knowledge? This is not to be a guessing game: “I think I see growth.” Our growth should be obvious, because we “plainly perceive” that our reading and studying has led to greater insight into God’s will and being.
Kids, how well do you listen when your parents instruct you, whether it’s about friends or homework or politics? If you really treasure wisdom and understanding you will listen carefully and not presume to have all the answers. Imagine your mom and dad saying, “Come into the kitchen, we have a gift for you,” and as you look at the table heaping with silver, gold and precious stones, they say, “We’ve been saving our whole lives to pass this on to you.” How would you respond? That should be your attitude when your parents instruct you, because according to God, wisdom and understanding are even more profitable and precious than mounds of money.
I know what some of you are thinking: “But I really want to be wealthy.” I didn’t say that you had to choose between wisdom and wealth, I just said that wisdom was more valuable than wealth. Wisdom always leads to blessings, which may include riches. Wisdom often leads to wealth, but pursuing wealth doesn’t usually lead to wisdom—so be careful.
One night King Solomon received the invitation of a lifetime. “In that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, ‘Ask what I shall give you’” (2 Chr. 1:7). What would you have asked for? The winning numbers to the lottery? Long life? Fame? “Solomon requested, ‘Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in be-fore this people, for who is able to govern this people of yours, which is so great?’ God answered Solomon, ‘Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked possessions, wealth, honor, or the life of those who hate you, and have not even asked for long life, but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself that you may govern my people over whom I have made you king, wisdom and knowledge are granted to you. I will also give you riches, possessions, and honor, such as none of the kings had who were before you, and none after you shall have the like’” (vs. 10-12). Again, we see that wisdom leads to wealth and all the other blessings of God, and not the reverse.
Parents, do you want your children to be blessed; to enjoy long life, riches and honor? Then do whatever it takes (“Get wisdom though it costs all you have”) to turn your sons (and daughters) into philosophers. And do your best to become a philosopher yourself. What’s a philosopher? Let me give you a simple definition, before mental images of Aristotle and Plato come flooding to the forefront of your mind, along with difficult to remember Latin phrases, like Cogito, ergo sum (In case your wondering, it means, I think, therefore I am. The concept was introduced by the seventeenth century philosopher Rene Descartes). The word philosophy is made up of two Greek words, philos, which means love, and sophia, which means wisdom. Thus a philosopher is a person who loves wisdom. R. C. Sproul noted that the Queen of Sheba, having heard of Solomon’s wisdom, traveled over 1,400 miles to test him and evaluate his wisdom for herself, but we will not even cross the street. A philosopher makes the trek.
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