Sunday Morning 014/15/2012 Pastor David King

Part 1-Walking with the WiseProverbs 1:1-8

“He who walks with the wise grows wise…” Proverbs 13:20

Purpose: To encourage his son to follow after wisdom and reject the path of the fool (v. 1-8)

Author: Solomon

Wisest person of his day (1 Kings 4:29-31, 34), authored more than 3,000 proverbs (1 Kings 4:32; Ecc. 12:9)

Very likely Song of Solomon was written as a young man, Proverbs in his middle years and Ecclesiastes towards the end of his life.

Outline: Chapters 1-9-Lengthy discourses on wisdom/folly

The first 9 chapters are composed of approximately 17 separate discourses on the paths of wisdom and folly. During these discourses a young son is being called by different ladies including lady wisdom, lady folly and the adulterous woman.

Chapters 10-31-Proverbs relating to life

Much of these final chapters are composed of short, pithy sayings (Proverbs) that relate to all parts of life including work, self-control, marriage, parenting, laziness, honor, success, obedience, retirement and all things relating to wisdom and folly.

Keys: “Running throughout Proverbs and wisdom literature in general is the idea that proverbs are not universal truths that are always relevant and rightly applied; rather, they are context-sensitive. . . Wise people know not only how to interpret the words on the page or the words spoken by other people but also how to interpret people themselves and, more broadly, the situation in which they find themselves… Wisdom is knowing the right time and the right circumstance to apply the right principle to the right person,” Tremper Longman.

Wisdom is knowledge rightly applied!

Proverbs 1:1-81 The proverbs (mashal) of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: 2 To know (yada)wisdom (hokma) and instruction (musar), To perceive(bin) the words of understanding (biynah), 3 To receive the instruction(musar) of wisdom (skl), Justice (sedeq), judgment (mispat), and equity (mesarim); 4 To give prudence (‘orma) to the simple, To the young man knowledge (da’at) and discretion (mezimma)— 5 A wise (hakam) man will hear and increase (‘asap) learning (lekah), And a man of understanding (bin) will attain wise counsel, (tahbulah) 6 To understand a proverb (mashal) and an enigma(malizah), The words of the wise (hakam) and their riddles (hivah). 7 The fear (yir’ah) of the LORD is the beginning (re’shiyth) of knowledge (yada), But fools (‘eviyl) despise wisdom (hokma) and instruction (musar). 8 My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother;

Proverb mashal brief, terse sentence of popular sagacityWisdom hokma focused on more than just intellectual knowledge, but

applying knowledge rightly to life.Wise hakaminstruction musar implies the threat of punishment or the application of

punishment if the instruction is not obeyed.understanding bin focused slightly more on intellectual knowledge than

does wisdomknowledge da’at same as abovewisdom skl to have insight- refers to the moment of recognition of

the true nature of a situation.justice sedeq these three words are used to describe the actions of

those that follow wisdom.judgment mispat connected to the idea of a judge that makes a rulingequity mesarimprudence ‘orma closely related to mezimma and referse to the ability to

use reason to navigate the problems of lifediscretion mezimma ability to differentiate the right and the wrong way to

handle a situation.increase ‘asap increase, add tolearning lekah instruction, learning, teachingwise counsel tahbulah direction, counsel-originally of rope-pulling to steer a shipriddles hivah riddle, enigmatic, perplexing saying or questionenigma malizah satire, mocking poemfear yir’ah fear, terror, reverence, pietyfools ‘eviyl always a person who is morally bad despising wisdom

and discipline, mockers, quarrelsome, useless to instruct him

The simple (peṯî, 1:4) refers to a person who is naive and untaught. He is not an imbecile, one who cannot comprehend, or a fool who despises wisdom. Instead, he is one whose exposure to life and wisdom has been limited. Because of inexperience he is gullible and easily influenced. Therefore he needs prudence (cf. 1:3), that is, cleverness or sensibleness (‘ormâh, used elsewhere only in 8:5, 12; Ex. 21:14 “schemes”; NASB, “craftily”]; Josh. 9:4 [“a ruse”; NASB, “craftily”]). The word peṯî (“simple”) is used 14 times in Proverbs (Prov. 1:4, 22, 32; 7:7; 8:5; 9:4, 6, 16; 14:15, 18; 19:25; 21:11; 22:3; 27:12).

Chapters 1-9-Longer discourses on Wisdom (17 speeches)

Superscription (1:1) 1. 1:1-7: The Purpose of the Book 2. 1:8-19: Avoid Evil Associations 3. 1:20-33: Don't Resist Woman Wisdom 4. 2:1-22: The Benefits of the Way of Wisdom 5. 3:1-12: Trust in the Lord 6. 3:13-20: Praising Wisdom 7. 3:21-35: The Integrity of Wisdom 8. 4:1-9: Embrace Wisdom! 9. 4:10-19: Stay on the Right Path 10. 4:20-27: Guard Your Heart 11. 5:1-23: Avoid Promiscuous Women; Love Your Wife 12. 6:1-19: Wisdom Admonitions: Loans, Laziness, Lying, and Other Topics 13. 6:20-35: The Danger of Adultery 14. 7:1-27: Avoid Promiscuous Women: Part II 15. 8:1-36: Wisdom's Autobiography 16. 9:1-6, 13-18: The Ultimate Encounter. Wisdom or Folly 17. 9:7-12: Miscellaneous Wisdom Sayings (Longman III)

basic idea that wisdom is the skill of living

Proverbs itself attributes wisdom to a series of animals, not because they have great intelligence but because they know how to navigate life well: “There are four things that are small but unusually wise: Ants-they aren’t strong, but they store up food all summer. Rock badgers-they aren’t powerful, but they make their homes among the rocks. Locusts-they have no no king, but they march in formation. Lizards-they

are east to catch, but they are found even kings’ palaces. (Prov. 30:24-28)

Biblical wisdom is much closer to the idea of emotional intelligence than it is to Intelligence Quotient. Wisdom is a skill, a "knowing how"; it is not raw intellect, a "knowing that."

Goleman's remarkable conclusion is that E.Q., not I.Q., correlates with success in life-success being the ability to get and hold a good

Running throughout Proverbs and wisdom literature in general is the idea that proverbs are not universal truths that are always relevant and rightly applied; rather, they are context-sensitive. . . Wise people know not only how to interpret the words on the page or the words spoken by other people but also how to interpret people themselves and, more broadly, the situation in which they find themselves.

Wisdom is knowing the right time and the right circumstance to apply the right principle to the right person. (Longman III 2002)