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By: Anneke de Jong You may listen to this devotion in audio form via podcast here.
The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young—let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
- Proverbs 1:1-7
English teachers everywhere must rejoice when they turn to the book of Proverbs, for it opens with a clearly defined introduction and topic sentence. The first six verses of Proverbs 1 serve as a preamble – introducing the reason for and intention of this collection of wise sayings. Then verse 7 neatly summarizes the theme of the book.
Many of the proverbs found in this book have been attributed to King Solomon, who according to 1 Kings 4:31 was wiser than anyone else. Like a craftsman passing on his trade, his words are intended to teach the reader how to be skilled at living a moral life. They help develop the self-discipline necessary to do what is right and just and fair. They teach the young and naive awareness and discretion, and even those who are older and wiser can add to what they know. From the book of Proverbs, we learn how to live the kind of lives that God has created and designed us for.
However, verse 7 reminds us that wise living is more than just knowing what to do. The foundation of wise living is the “fear of the Lord”. As we’ve learned in our sermon series this summer, this “fear” means reverence and awe. To understand who God is and who we are not. The truly wise person recognizes the authority of the Lord and lives in obedience to his instruction.
It would be fair to assume that Solomon’s life would be the perfect example of this way of wise living. He certainly started off well. 1 Kings 3:3 tells us that “Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David.” But at the same time, he was disobeying every one of God’s instructions for the Kings of Israel given in Deuteronomy 17:14-20. By the end of his life, Solomon no longer feared the Lord, but foolishly despised God’s wisdom and instruction. (see 1 Kings 9-11)
It’s a story as old as Adam and Eve.
But it’s also a story infused with hope. For Solomon comes from the line of David, whose father was Jesse. And Isaiah prophesied that:
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
This shoot is Jesus Christ, the one that is greater than Solomon (Luke 11:31). He is the perfect embodiment of all wisdom and knowledge and fear of the LORD - the wisdom of God for us. (1 Cor. 1:30) When we are in Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will fear the Lord and seek His wisdom and instruction. Only then are we able to live wisely and be guided by the words of Proverbs.