.If we want Revival
we must develop Godly Character.
The Bible also teaches that a man
is measured more by his character than by his creed (cf. I Tim. 3).
A godly
man is not merely one who professes to believe certain truths, but one who practices
them (James 2:14-26). No book in all the Bible is more devoted to the development
of godly character than Proverbs. And there is no greater need in the Christian community
today than for the kind of character Proverbs extols.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn
delivered a commencement address to the graduating class of Harvard University in
June 1978. This man, an exile from Russia, did not dwell on the evils of Communism,
but rather drew attention to the failures of the West, failures which may signal
the demise of the greatest democracy history has ever known. America is slowly destroying
itself by its neglect of godly wisdom and Christian character. Proverbs promises
both to those who will diligently seek them (Prov. 1:1-6;).1
Every
Christian needs to become a student of character.
Let me mention just
a few of the reasons why we need to discern character. First, the highest goal of
the Christian is to become like Christ (Rom. 8:29 Eph. 4:13). While there are other
dimensions of Christlikeness, the most essential is that we be like Him in character.
This study of character in Proverbs should instruct the Christian regarding
personal and practical holiness.
Second, we need to be able to discern
the character of others.
This is especially important in biblical counseling.
In Proverbs we are told, "Answer a fool as his folly deserves, Lest he be wise
in his own eyes" (26:5). If we are to counsel others, we must be able to discern
their character because a wise man is counseled differently than a fool. Parents
need to be able to recognize the character traits of their children if they are to
train up their children "according to their way" (22:6).2 A child who has
disobeyed because he did not listen carefully to instructions should be disciplined
differently from a child who understood directions perfectly, but willfully did what
he wanted.
The ability to discern the character of others is essential if
we are to give heed to the teaching of Proverbs about our friends and associations.
Those who are wicked and violent should be avoided (1:8-19). Those who are dishonest
should not be our partners (29:24). Tale-bearers are not good friends (17:9). True
friends are faithful (17:17), yet they won't fail to rebuke you when it is necessary
(27:5-6).
Especially important is one's choice of a life's mate. There is
no more important qualification for marriage than the evidence of godly character.
Thus is the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31:10-31 described. An unloved woman will
only bring grief to the one she marries (30:23), while a nagging wife is no better
(21:9,19). If we are not to associate with a person who cannot control his temper
(22:24-25), certainly we should not marry him either. Many battered wives could say
"Amen" to this wisdom.
PROVERBS DOES AWAY WITH THE DISTINCTION
BETWEEN THE SACRED AND THE SECULAR.
A fallen man will always seek to establish
a dichotomy between the sacred and the secular, between religious ceremony and practical
righteousness. The Old Testament prophets frequently addressed this misconception
by warning Israel that religious ritual had no value when divorced from righteous
living, such as caring for the poor and oppressed (cf. Isa. 1:10-17; Jer. 20-29).
Jesus, likewise, addressed this kind of dualism (cf. Matt. 23:23-24). Later, James
had a similar word on this subject (cf. James 1:21-27).
The Book of Proverbs
will not allow Christians to linger in the land of the theoretical. We love to keep
Christianity on an abstract level, rather than on an applicational one. Our greatest
failing as Christians is not that we know too little (while this is often regrettably
true), but that we fail to do what we know we should. The emphasis of Proverbs is
both on the acquisition of wisdom and the application of it. Seldom do we find ourselves
"in church" in this book, but rather in the home, on the job, and dealing
with the mundane matters of daily living.
Proverbs forces the reader to translate
principles into practice. Often, it was the prophets who proclaimed the principles
which Proverbs specifically related to life. For example, Amos wrote: "But
let justice roll down like waters, And righteousness like an everflowing stream"
(Amos 5:24).
Proverbs instructs us in more specific terms: "Diverse
weights and diverse measures, are both alike abominations to the Lord" (Prov.
20:10). The Book of Proverbs commands the butcher to be righteous by taking his
thumb off the scales.
PROVERBS OFFERS TO TEACH US TO BE WISE.
Wisdom
is repeatedly personified as a woman crying out to mankind in the marketplace, offering
to instruct all so that they may obtain wisdom Within our generation there has been
a virtual explosion of knowledge. Much of this has come in the form of technological
advances. While knowledge is increasing rapidly, wisdom is seemingly more and more
rare. The implications of this trend are frightening. We now have the capability
of reaching the moon and splitting the atom.
Yet without wisdom men will
too often utilize knowledge for the purpose of accomplishing evil, rather than doing
good. Let me give you an illustration.
Through a procedure known as amniocentesis,
medical science has made it possible to determine the sex of a fetus while yet in
the womb. By withdrawing a small amount of amniotic fluid from the womb of an expectant
mother, a doctor cannot only detect the presence of over 70 genetic diseases, but
also the sex of the unborn infant.
I read of one couple who asked the doctor
to perform such a procedure and informed them that their baby was normal. Learning
that the sex of their healthy unborn child was not what they desired, they insisted
on an abortion, for this reason alone.
The technology (knowledge) was not
wrong, but it was misused due to a lack of wisdom and character. Proverbs is more
interested in making men wise than in making them smart.
Wisdom has an
intellectual dimension. Wisdom is a keenness of mind which enables us to assimilate
and appraise information and to formulate a plan of action. Scott says, "The
primary meaning of Hokmah is 'superior mental ability or special skill'. . . It is
important to differentiate between wisdom and intelligence, however. Many who are
intellectually brilliant are biblically "fools." Those whose I.Q. fails
to rise above average are not, by this fact alone, excluded from the possibility
of being biblically wise.
In the first chapter of Proverbs wisdom is described
as the ability to know (v. 2), to learn (vv. 2-4) and to understand (v. 6). Wisdom
is also described as the ability to discern (Prov. 1:2; 4, "discretion,"
which is from the same root). Wisdom has a moral, as well as a mental, dimension.
Wisdom discerns truth from error, good from evil, best from good. Wisdom results
in righteousness, justice, and equity (1:3). Since wisdom begins with the "fear
of the Lord" (1:7), knowing good and doing it results from knowing God ( 22:17-21).
Wisdom
is also a practical skillfulness, the ability to do things well. Bezalel, whose task
was to design and create the stone and metal for the tabernacle, was "filled
with the Spirit and wisdom" (Ex. 35:31) to enable him to accomplish this task.
Likewise Oholiab, was skillful at engraving and designing embroidery (Ex. 35:34-35).
In Psalm 107:27 the special skills of seamanship seem to be referred to by this same
term (Hokmah). Thus wisdom is not just a mental ability or a moral sensitivity, but
a practical ability to accomplish a variety of tasks.
Wisdom is also personified
in Proverbs. In chapter 7 wisdom is likened to a woman who calls forth to men to
fear the Lord, hate evil, and diligently seek her. This is in contrast, I believe,
to the adulteress of chapter 7, who by her flattery and seductive ways, seeks to
lure the simple to do evil. In chapter 8 wisdom is again personified as being with
God at the creation of the world (vv. 22-31).
I believe it is safe to say
that this implies that ultimately wisdom is the person of our Lord Jesus Christ,
so that we cannot possess wisdom without first bowing before Him as Savior and Lord.
PROVERBS TEACHES US THAT WHAT IS GOOD IS ALSO WHAT IS RIGHT.
In his
book, Situation Ethics, Joseph Fletcher refers to an incident in the book, The Rainmaker,
by M. Richard Nash. The Rainmaker comes to bring rain to desperate farmers, whose
crops and herds are dying. While staying at a particular ranch, the Rainmaker met
the proverbial farmer's daughter. This woman was lonely and desperate, and doubted
her femininity. Feeling sorry for her, the Rainmaker made love to her, to reassure
her. When her brother discovered what had happened to her, he drew his pistol and
was about to shoot the Rainmaker. Her father, however, whom Fletcher referred to
as a "wise old rancher," grabbed the pistol from the brother with the rebuke,
"Noah, you're so full of what's right you can't see what's good."
Situationalists
would have us distinguish between what is right and what is good. Many Freudian
psychiatrists would go so far as to say that what is good (i.e., Christian morality
and biblical standards) is really evil, something to be overcome, a kind of Victorian
hang-over. The underlying premise on which the Book of Proverbs is based is that
what is right is also what is good. While there is no guarantee that doing the right
thing will always produce a fairy-tale happy ending, doing what is right is always
advocated as the best course of action.
I know some Christians who think
of Proverbs as a sanctified version of "How to Win Friends and Influence People".
I think they are wrong. While it is true that Proverbs teaches us how to be happy
and prosperous, this is not the primary aim of the book. More than anything we are
encouraged by Proverbs to be godly and righteous in our conduct. Those who pursue
happiness as their goal in life will not find it, but those who seek holiness will
find happiness as a pleasant by-product.
Proverbs never promises that everyone
who works hard will get rich or that honesty always is more profitable than crime.
As a rule, this is the case, but there are many exceptions. If I live life wisely,
I will not suffer the consequences of folly. If I stay within the speed limit, I
will not suffer by paying speeding tickets. If I don't rob others, I won't have to
worry about going to jail for robbery.
But Proverbs hints at what other Scriptures
tell us clearly--the righteous will sometimes suffer because they are righteous (cf.
II Tim. 3:12).
PROVERBS HELPS US TO LOOK AT LIFE REALISTICALLY.
In
Proverbs ignorance is not bliss and naiveté is more a vice than a virtue. While simplicity
is not necessarily sin, it can easily lead to it. Our Lord instructed His disciples
to be "wise as serpents and harmless as doves," (Matt. 10:16). Unlike Satan,
who invited Eve to attain a "higher" knowledge of good and evil by disobeying
God and experiencing sin (Gen. 3:5),
Proverbs would instruct us about
evil so that we might not fall into temptation (Prov. 7:6).
God does not
want Christians to look at the world through rose colored glasses. We are to see
men as they are, and sin for what it is. Consequently, Proverbs describes life as
it is, not necessarily as it should be. While it is wrong to attempt to pervert justice
with a bribe (17:23; 29:4), in the world it is often a bribe that gets things accomplished
(17:8). Those who have had military experience know this as the "whiskey and
cigarette system." While riches cannot provide a man with real security (11:4,28),
some may think so (18:11). Money appears to gain friends (19:4, 6), but only for
as long as it lasts (19:7). We can live wisely and righteously only as we view life
as it really is. Proverbs is a book of reality.
PROVERBS IS AS CONCERNED
WITH THE PROCESS OF RIGHT THINKING AS WITH THE PRODUCT OF IT.
Christianity
is a faith which is based on propositional revelation. While it is important to study
the Bible to know what to think, it is just as vital that Christians learn how to
think. Most of the Bible was written to convey propositional revelation. Proverbs
also has many important truths (propositions, statements, cf. 16:4), but it also
seeks to develop a mature process of thinking. The terms employed in (Proverbs 1:1-6)
inform the reader at the start that it is not a sequence of truths which is being
transmitted, but the ability to discern and apply truth.
THE METHOD OF
TEACHING EMPLOYED IN PROVERBS IS MOST LIKE THE INSTRUCTIONAL METHOD OF OUR LORD.
While the vast majority of sound Biblical exposition found today is done
chapter by chapter and verse by verse, this was not the case with either our Lord
or the apostles. If we were to use one word to describe the teaching method most
characteristic of our Lord, I believe that it would have to be parables (cf. Matt.
13:l, Mark 4:l.). Parables were used to conceal the truth from those on the outside,
those who had already rejected Jesus as the Messiah (Mark 3:22-30; 4:10), as well
as to provoke the disciples of our Lord to thought and inquiry (Mark 4:10-11). In
the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Greek word parabole
was consistently used to translate the Hebrew word mashal (proverb).
PROVERBS
IS A KEY BOOK FOR OBTAINING DIVINE GUIDANCE.
One would not immediately
expect to read the Book of Proverbs in order to learn the will of God, but this is
one of the purposes of the book stated in Proverbs 1:5: "A wise man will
hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel."
The
expression "wise counsel" is derived from the Hebrew root meaning "rope."
This "rope" was connected to the rudder of a ship, thereby being the means
of determining its course. By obtaining wisdom which Proverbs offers to teach us,
we are enabled to make right decisions which will set a godly course for our life.
These
are some of the benefits which the student of Proverbs can expect to gain. If all
Scripture is profitable (II Tim. 3:16), Proverbs is especially so. James encourages
us to pray for wisdom (James 1:5); Proverbs urges us to seek it by diligent study.
Proverbs as Literature Proverbs were not a Hebrew invention. The
use of proverbs was common in ancient civilizations. Documents which archaeologists
have discovered from the Ancient Near East record Egyptian, Akkadian, and Babylonian
proverbs, some of which are remarkably similar to those in the Book of Proverbs.
Proverbs are also common today. I remember reading a proverb by Mark Twain years
ago
which I have not been able to forget.
First God made idiots. That was
for practice. Then He made school boards.
The Hebrew term rendered "Proverb"
(mashal) means "to be like." The verb form of this word is used, in (Psalm
143:7), to refer to a comparison. In the Old Testament this Hebrew word is used for
a broad range of literary forms. It can refer to a popular, pithy, saying (Ezek.
18:2.; Jer. 31:29), a truth gained from personal experience and of general application
(I Sam. 24:13), a medium of moral instruction (as in Proverbs 10:26, also Matt. 13:l.,
"The Kingdom of Heaven is like . . ."), a riddle or allegory (Ezek. 17:2),
or a short didactic essay or sermonette (Prov. 1:10-19; 31:10-31). Because of the
broad use of the term "proverbs," it is probably best, as Crenshaw suggests,
to think of proverbs generally as "sayings."
Several features are
common to most of the proverbs we will be studying. The first is brevity. Most of
the proverbs are only two lines long:
The righteous is a guide to his neighbor, But
the way of the wicked leads them astray (Prov. 12:26). A prudent man conceals
knowledge, But the heart of fools proclaims folly (Prov. 12:23). The heart
of the righteous ponders how to answer, But the mouth of the wicked pours out evil
things (15:28). A fool does not delight in understanding, But only in revealing
his own mind (18:2).
The wise are marked by an economy of words, while
the fool blurts out everything that is on his mind. Proverbs demonstrates this
economy of words.
Second, the few words which are spoken are well chosen. The wise man is the master of compressed, polished, epigrammatic utterance; he
gathers his thoughts into memorable forms of expression.
The function
of the Proverb is to illumine, and not to present a barrier to intelligibility. Often
there is a note of humor involved, such as when the sluggard convinces himself that
he cannot go outside to work because "there is a lion in the road" (26:13).
Then too, some descriptions are so graphic they are almost impossible to forget.
The beautiful woman without discretion is likened to a pig with a gold ring in its
nose (11:22). This skillfullness in portraying truth is consistent with the wisdom
of Proverbs. An idea worth communicating is worth communicating clearly and forcefully: The
wise in heart will be called discerning, And sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.
The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, And adds persuasiveness to his
lips (Prov. 16:21,23).
Those who would convey wisdom by means of a proverb
must make their message "short and sweet."
To me Proverbs is to
other forms of literature what radio is to television. Television supplies us with
both verbal and visual data, but it does all the work for US. We become passive in
the process of watching TV. Reading Proverbs is like listening to "The Shadow"
on old time radio. We are not given all the data, but what is given heightens our
interest and our imagination. We are intellectually active as we read, intent on
understanding what is being said. That is a part of the genius of the proverb.
The
proverb is a form of Hebrew poetry and is different from what most of us are accustomed
to reading as poetry today. While our poetry frequently is organized according to
the similarity of sounds, Hebrew poetry is based upon the similarity of thoughts
arranged in parallel statements. Several types of parallelism are common in Proverbs.
It will greatly enhance our study of Proverbs if we understand the major
kinds of Hebrew parallelism.
Antithetical parallelism is the contrasting of
two ideas. The second line is often introduced by the word "but," which
contrasts the idea of the first line with that in the second:
The fear
of the Lord prolongs life, But the years of the wicked will be shortened (Prov.
10:27).
A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, But a just weight
is His delight (Prov. 11:1).
Synonymous parallelism restates the idea
of the first line in a different way. Continuation, not contrast, is the purpose
of the second line:
Hear, my son, your father's instruction, And do not
forsake your mother's teaching (Prov. 1:8).
Incline your ear and hear
the words of the wise, And apply your mind to my knowledge (Prov. 22:17).
Synethetic
Parallelism expands upon what has been stated in the first line. While synonymous
parallelism repeats what has been said in the first line, synthetic takes the thought
of the first line farther--it develops the first thought:
He who shuts
his ear to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be answered (Prov.
21:13).
Numerical Proverbs use numbers to structure:
Under three
things the earth quakes, And under four, it cannot bear up:
Under a slave
when he becomes king, And a fool when he is satisfied with food,
Under an
unloved woman when she gets a husband, And a maidservant when she supplants her mistress
(Prov. 30:21-23).
Proverbs are a form of poetry. We will benefit greatly from
studying Proverbs as we better understand the nature of Hebrew poetry and the various
forms of parallelism which are employed here.
