Provérbios 1
John Trapp · Citado em PreceptAustin
Provérbios 1
Trapp - Neither gold nor precious stone so glitters, said Plato, as the prudent mind of a pious person. Nothing so beautifies as grace doth. Moses and Joseph were "fair to God," {Acts 7:20} and favored of all men. A crown of gold, a chain of pearl, are no such ornaments as are here commended. Waltke - Perseverance in Israel’s wisdom heritage adorns the son with a wreath on his head and a chain around his neck, symbols of honor and life that can hardly be disregarded....The metaphor (wreath, ornaments) points to the reality of parading and reciting the teaching. This prominent advertisement to spectators, like a wedding band, is the best defense against the seductress. Bible Knowledge Commentary - Heeding parental instruction would give them an attractiveness of life and position. They would be honored. The implied contrast is that disobedience and rebellion lead to dishonor.
Provérbios 1
Trapp - Hearing and seeing are by Aristotle called "the learned senses," because by these doors learning, yea, life, entereth into the soul. {Isa 55:3} Shama - the 30 uses in Proverbs - note all words in red are commands (not suggestions!)... Pr 1:5 A wise man will hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel, Pr 1:8 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction And do not forsake your mother’s teaching; Pr 1:33 “But he who listens to me shall live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil.” Pr 4:1 Hear, O sons, the instruction of a father, And give attention that you may gain understanding, Pr 4:10 Hear, my son, and accept my sayings And the years of your life will be many. Pr 5:7 Now then, my sons, listen to me And do not depart from the words of my mouth. Pr 5:13 “I have not listened to the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to my instructors! Pr 7:24 Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, And pay attention to the words of my mouth. Pr 8:6 “Listen, for I will speak noble things; And the opening of my lips will reveal right things. Pr 8:32 “Now therefore, O sons, listen to me, For blessed are they who keep my ways. Pr 8:33 “Heed instruction and be wise, And do not neglect it. Pr 8:34 “Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at my doorposts. Pr 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But a wise man is he who listens to counsel. Pr 13:1 A wise son accepts his father’s discipline, But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke. Pr 13:8 The ransom of a man’s life is his wealth, But the poor hears no rebuke. Pr 15:29 The LORD is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous. (cp Ps 66:18) Pr 15:31 He whose ear listens to the life-giving reproof Will dwell among the wise. Pr 15:32 He who neglects discipline despises himself, But he who listens to reproof acquires understanding. Pr 18:13 He who gives an answer before he hears, It is folly and shame to him. Pr 19:20 Listen to counsel and accept discipline, That you may be wise the rest of your days. Pr 19:27 Cease (chadal) listening (shama) my son, to discipline, And you will stray from the words of knowledge. Pr 20:12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye, The LORD has made both of them. Pr 21:28 A false witness will perish, But the man who listens to the truth will speak forever. Pr 22:17 Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply your mind to my knowledge; Pr 23:19 Listen, my son, and be wise, And direct your heart in the way. Pr 23:22 Listen to your father who begot you, And do not despise your mother when she is old. Pr 25:10 Or he who hears it will reproach you, And the evil report about you will not pass away. Pr 25:12 Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold Is a wise reprover to a listening ear. Pr 28:9 He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, Even his prayer is an abomination. (cp 1Pe 3:7) Pr 29:24 He who is a partner with a thief hates his own life; He hears the oath but tells nothing. Increase in learning - John Trapp says "Hearing and seeing are by Aristotle called "the learned senses," because by these doors learning, yea, life, enters into the soul. {Isa 55:3}... Only ponder and apply what you hear. Jesus said "Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides." (Mark 4:24)
Provérbios 1
Trapp says they are "Dark to those that are acute obtusi, that have not their "senses exercised to discern both good and evil." (Heb 5:14) If the law be dark to any, the fault is not in the lawgiver, but in those that should better understand it." Derek Kidner - So the secondary purpose of Proverbs (Ed: Especially these "dark sayings" or riddles) is to introduce the reader to a style of teaching that provokes his thought, getting under his skin by thrusts of wit, paradox, common sense and teasing symbolism, in preference to the preacher’s tactic of frontal assault. NAS Usage: dark sayings(2), difficult questions(2), insinuations(1), intrigue(1), riddle(10), riddles(1). Chidah - 17 v - Nu 12:8; Jdg. 14:12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19; 1 Ki. 10:1; 2 Chr. 9:1; Ps. 49:4; 78:2; Pr. 1:6; Ezek. 17:2; Da 8:23; Hab. 2:6 Charles Bridges - The wise man (Solomon) himself expounded his sayings and riddles of the wise to the delight and instruction of his royal pupil (1Ki 10:1-5 where "difficult question" is chidah). So to the teachable listener (Ed: And I would add the one who obeys what he learns) the deep things of God will be revealed (1Cor 2:9-13). Hence the value of the minister of God who is the divinely appointed means to build up our faith (Eph 4:11-15; 1Th 3:10). The church might have been spared many heresies if men had not followed unsound judgments but instead had honored God’s messengers and humbly sought instruction from him (Mal 2:7-note). Roehrs - Wisdom is going to be taught in parabolic forms which are designed to arouse interest, but which also require concentrated and unprejudiced thinking if their content is not to remain enigmatical Ortlund sums on the principle in Pr 1:6 - Picture it this way. As we come to the book of Proverbs, we are approaching a community of wisdom, a group of people standing around talking together, men and women, who are Yoda-smart. We beginners sidle up to this circle of amazing people. We see, there in the circle of “the wise,” Solomon and Isaiah and Paul and Augustine and Luther and other remarkable people we have known personally and admired. We start listening to the conversation going on inside that circle. We overhear words and concepts we do not understand at first, so we have to stick with it to catch on. But as we do, we begin to leave behind our shallow entertainment mindset with its effortless, pat answers that in fact have always failed us. As we listen to the wise, we grow. We, even we, become profound people too. The final reason for this, of course, is not us, and not even them. According to Pr 1:7-note, God is there. The wise are letting God be God to them. Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction. fear - Pr 9:10; Job 28:28; Ps 111:10; 112:1; Eccl 12:13 beginning...but - Pr 1:22,29,30; 5:12,13; 15:5; 18:2; John 3:18-21; Romans 1:28 THE THEME OF PROVERBS: THE FEAR OF THE LORD Click here for Proverbs 1:7 commentary on a separate page. Walter Kaiser - Love God or Fear Him? - from Hard Sayings Wouldn’t it be better if the author just said that we are to love God rather than commending our fear of him? Why is fearing God mentioned so frequently in the Bible? The phrase is used so frequently that cross-referencing all the instances here has been avoided in the interests of space. The term to fear can describe everything from dread (Deut 1:29) or being terrified (Jon 1:10) to standing in awe (1 Kings 3:28) and having reverence (Lev 19:3). When used of the Lord, it encapsulates both aspects of the term, a shrinking back in recognition of the difference or holiness of God and the drawing close in awe and worship. To fear the Lord is not to experience a dread that paralyzes all action, but neither is it just a polite respect. It is an attitude of both reluctance and adoration that results in a willingness to do what God says. The fear of the Lord, then, is absolutely necessary if we are even to begin on the right foot in learning, living or worshiping. The problem with saying that loving God is enough is that this informs us as to what the proper emotion should be, but it says nothing, in and of itself, as to what we should do about expressing that love. It also leaves the important aspect of the holiness and difference of God’s nature and character untouched and without a response. But with the fear of the Lord there is a foundation for wisdom, discipline, learning and life. It expresses itself in a hatred of evil (Prov 8:13) and demonstrates its presence by its willingness to be obedient (Gen 22:12). Henry Blackaby - Fear The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.Proverbs 1:7 We often read in the Bible the phrase “do not be afraid,” yet here Solomon is saying that fear is a good thing; fear is where knowledge begins. How can that be? Since all truth ultimately comes from God, the only way to understand the great truths of life is for God to show them to you. God chooses to give his wisdom to those who fear, or have reverence, for him. Reverence for God comes when you realize who you are compared to who he is. Spend a few minutes thinking about what God is like. He is powerful: he created an entire universe from nothing! He is all-knowing: he is aware of your every action, your every mood, your hopes and dreams, your every thought. He is timeless: he has always existed, and he always will. He created time: he is not bound by it as we are. It’s really too amazing to grasp, isn’t it? Equally as incredible is the knowledge that God loves us more than we could ever understand. So complete is his love for us that he gave up his only Son to be humiliated, tortured, and murdered to pay for our sin. It seems inconceivable that he longs for a close personal relationship with each of us—the very creatures who sent Jesus to the cross. This knowledge ought to make us tremble, not in the fear that God would hurt us, but in reverence of his magnificence. When we begin to understand who God is, what he has done for us, and what he is really like, we have started on the path to wisdom. Solomon said it best: only a fool would refuse such an opportunity, for to be wise is to know God. (Borrow The experience : a devotional and journal : day by day with God) David Jeremiah - FATHER–SON TALKS PROVERBS 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Mark Twain is given credit for the following remark: “When I was a boy of fourteen my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.” If that were a true record of a young man’s awakening to wisdom, Mark Twain would not be the first to whom it happened. Many a young man has listened to advice from his father and discounted it—until the day he needed it. Then it turned out to be more wisdom than advice. One of the oldest father–son talks in history is recorded in the Book of Proverbs. Solomon, the world’s wisest man in his day (and likely in ours), used his throne as king of Israel to dispense his wise sayings to his subjects and to those who came from afar to sit at his feet and learn. Solomon was known throughout the surrounding nations for processing uncanny wisdom, discernment, and insight. The principles of wisdom will work for anyone who puts them to use. But it is only those who fear the Lord who will want to practice them over a lifetime. (Borrow Sanctuary : finding moments of refuge in the presence of God) A W
Provérbios 1
Trapp - The dragon bites the elephant’s ear, and thence sucks his blood; because he knows that to be the only place that he cannot reach with his trunk to defend. So deal the red dragon and his angels: "with good words and fair speeches they deceive the hearts of the simple" {Ro 16:18} We see this played out in the young man lured into immorality... With her many persuasions she entices him; With her flattering lips she seduces him. (Pr 7:21) Matthew
Provérbios 1
Trapp - How much better is a wallet with which we can use to beg from door to door, than is such a cursed hoard of evil gotten goods! As Solomon states later... Ill-gotten gains do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death. (Pr 10:2) Proverbs 1:15 My son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their path, walk Pr 4:14,15; 9:6; 13:20; Ps 1:1; 26:4,5; 2Cor 6:17 Keep from - Pr 4:27; 5:8; Ps 119:101; Jer 14:10) THE WAY OF WICKED BRINGS DESTRUCTION After presenting an example of the wicked words with which his son might be enticed into a lifestyle of sin (Pr 1:10-18), the father now explains the painful pangs associated with following the passing pleasure of the path of the perverted. Alexander Pope poetically explains why the father's warning is so critical Vice is a monster of so frightful mien (demeanor), as to be hated needs but to be seen. But seen too oft, too familiar that face, we first endure, then pity, then embrace." Compare similar descriptions... Pr 4:14 Do not enter the path of the wicked And do not proceed in the way of evil men. 15 Avoid it, do not pass by it; Turn away from it and pass on. Ps 1:1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! (Ed: It follows "How miserable, how agonizing is the life of he who walks in the path of sinners.") 2Cor 6:14 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?:15 Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? 16 Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.17 “Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,” says the Lord. “AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you.18 “And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty. IN LIGHT OF THESE GREAT TRUTHS... Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. (2Cor 7:1- note) My son - 23x in Proverbs - Pr. 1:8, 10, 15; 2:1; 3:1, 11, 21; 4:10, 20; 5:1, 20; 6:1, 3, 20; 7:1; 19:27; 23:15, 19, 26; 24:13, 21; 27:11; 31:2 cp Solomon's admonition in Eccl. 12:12; Do not walk - The father directly counters the enticing invitation of the sinners in Pr 1:11. Way (see derek below) and Path - These two words are prominent in Proverbs as shown by multiple occurrences Way = Pr 1:15, 19, 31; 2:8, 12, 13, 15, 20; 3:6, 17, 23, 31; 4:11, 14, 19, 26; 5:6, 8, 21; Pr 6:6, 23; Pr 7:8, 25, 27; 8:2, 13, 20, 22, 32; 9:6; 10:9, 29; 11:5; 12:15, 26, 28; Pr 13:6, 15; 14:2, 8, 12, 14; 15:9, 10, 19; 16:2, 7, 9, 17, 25, 29, 31; Pr 17:23; 19:3; 20:14, 24; 21:2, 8, 16, 29; 22:5f, 25; 23:19, 26; 25:26; Pr 28:10; 29:15, 27; 30:19, 20; 31:3, 27 Path = Pr. 1:15; 2:8, 13, 15, Pr 1:19, 20; 3:6, 17; 4:11, 14, 18, 26; 5:6, 21; 7:25; 8:2, 20; 9:15; 10:17; Pr 12:28; 15:19, 24; Way and path in the same passage = Pr 1:15, Pr 2:8, Pr 2:13, Pr 2:15, Pr 2:20, Pr 3:6, Pr 3:17, Pr 4:11, Pr 4:14, Pr 4:26, Pr 5:6, Pr 5:21, Pr 7:25, Pr 8:2, Pr 8:20, Pr Pr 12:28, Pr 15:19 Temper Longman comments on Solomon's repeated use of path in Proverbs - Throughout the first part of Proverbs, the path is a pervasive metaphor culminating in Pr 9. Everyone is walking on a path, or perhaps, better said, on one of two types of path, a straight path or a crooked path. “Path” (derek is the main Hebrew term, but there are a host of near synonyms) refers to one’s life. Even today, it is common to refer to life as a journey. Path implies a current point of origin (where one is in life now), a destination, and key transitional moments (forks in the road or an encounter, as we are now discussing). In fact, two paths are open. One is “crooked” (Pr 2:15) and “dark” (Pr 2:13). Danger lurks on this path (Pr 1:10-15; 2:12-15). These dangers include traps and snares that can foul up one’s walk on the proper path of life. The dark path represents one’s behavior in this life, and it culminates not in life but in death. In Mt 7:13-14-note, Jesus reminds us that two paths run through life, one path leads to eternal life and the other to eternal death. Which have you chosen to tread? John
Provérbios 1:7
Trapp - Fools; so are all such as fear not God, "being abominable, disobedient, and to every good work reprobate," or injudicious. {Titus 1:16} Fool (0191) ('evil) refers to a person characterized by moral folly. The uses in Proverbs give us a "descriptive definition" (see verses below to compile your own "definition") of a Biblical fool = lacks understanding (Pr 10:21), does not store up knowledge (Pr 10:14), fails to attain wisdom (Pr 24:7), refuses correction (Pr 15:5; 27:22), is arrogant (Pr 26:5), speaks loosely (Pr 14:3) is contentious (Pr 20:3). A fool is easily deceived and spiritually flawed! A fool may possess mental capability but they manifest morally ineptitude! (So they really aren't very "smart" in divine matters, those things that matter the most in this life.) In Proverbs, a fool is one who is morally deficient from the standpoint of being able to make reasoned moral judgments. He willfully refuses to make moral choices, choosing neither good nor rejecting evil. He arrogantly refuses to receive moral instruction and to learn from his mistakes (Pr 1:7; 12:15; 15:5). The fool is characterized by foolishness ('iwweleth), an internal moral corruption that renders the fool impotent to make reasonable moral judgments in life (Pr 15:21; 16:22). His moral deficiency manifests itself in matters of speech, morality, discipline, religion, and daily life. He speaks either the wrong thing or at the wrong time (Pr 10:8,10,14,21; 14:3), and he is quick to show his anger (Pr 12:16; 20:3) and to refuse resolution (Pr 29:9). Related Resources: The Fools of the Bible" by W P Paterson Baker Evangelical Dictionary Fool, Foolishness, Folly Holman Bible Dictionary Fool, Foolishness, and Folly Torrey Topical Textbook Fools American Tract Society Fool Charles Buck Dictionary Fool Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible Fool Hastings' Dictionary of the NT Fool (2) Fool Hawker's Poor Man's Dictionary Fool People's Dictionary of the Bible Fool Wilson's Bible Types Fool Watson's Theological Dictionary Fool 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica Fool Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia Fool McClintock and Strong's Bible Encyclopedia Fool Fool is clearly a key word in Proverbs as shown by it's OT prevalence (see below). 'Evil (fool) - 26 verses - Job 5:2-3; Ps. 107:17; Pr. 1:7; 7:22; 10:8, 10, 14, 21; 11:29; 12:15, 16; 14:3, 9; 15:5; 16:22; 17:28; 20:3; 24:7; 27:3, 22; 29:9; Isa. 19:11; 35:8; Jer. 4:22; Hos. 9:7 Pr 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction. Pr 7:22 Suddenly he follows her As an ox goes to the slaughter, Or as one in fetters to the discipline of a fool, Pr 10:8 The wise of heart will receive commands, But a babbling fool will be ruined. Pr 10:10 He who winks the eye causes trouble, And a babbling fool will be ruined. Pr 10:14 Wise men store up knowledge, But with the mouth of the foolish, ruin is at hand. Pr 10:21 The lips of the righteous feed many, But fools die for lack of understanding. Pr 11:29 He who troubles his own house will inherit wind, And the foolish will be servant to the wisehearted. Pr 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But a wise man is he who listens to counsel. Pr 12:16 A fool’s anger is known at once, But a prudent man conceals dishonor. Pr 14:3 In the mouth of the foolish is a rod for his back, But the lips of the wise will protect them. Pr 14:9 Fools mock at sin, But among the upright there is good will. Pr 15:5 A fool rejects his father’s discipline, But he who regards reproof is sensible. Pr 16:22 Understanding is a fountain of life to one who has it, But the discipline of fools is folly. Pr 17:28 Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; When he closes his lips, he is considered prudent. Pr 20:3 Keeping away from strife is an honor for a man, But any fool will quarrel. Pr 24:7 Wisdom is too exalted for a fool, He does not open his mouth in the gate. Pr 27:3 A stone is heavy and the sand weighty, But the provocation of a fool is heavier than both of them. Pr 27:22 Though you pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, Yet his foolishness will not depart from him. Pr 29:9 When a wise man has a controversy with a foolish man, The foolish man either rages or laughs, and there is no rest. Charles Bridges asks "Why do so many despise wisdom and instruction? Because the beginning of wisdom, the fear of the LORD, is not set before them (Ps 36:1). They are unaware of its value. They scorn its directions. They are only wise in their own eyes. They are rightly called fools who despise such blessings. Good Lord, may childlike fear of You be my wisdom, my security, my happiness!" Amen Ortlund - Despise is an emotional word, a word of contempt and relational aloofness. It is the arrogance of being above instruction, too smart for it, too good for it, too busy for it. Such a “fool” might be a gifted person, but he does not “feel the need for moral cleansing.” Despise (0936)(buz) means to scorn, to deride, to express contempt for someone or something, to treat as insignificant. The Septuagint translates buz with the verb exoutheneo, a strong verb which means to despise someone or something on basis that it is (seemingly) worthless or of no value. It means to treat as of no account (disdain, despise, disregard as in Lk 18:9) To despise is not simply to ignore God's Truth but totally devalue it! Compare Jer 8:9. Fools regard wisdom and instruction as worthless and vile! The tragic truth is that even believer's despise God's Truth at times. In 2Sa 12:9-10 Nathan accuses the adulterer and murderer David asking "Why have you despised the Word of the LORD by doing evil in His sight?" Notice what happens when one despises the Word - evil is the rotten result! Conversely, when we presumptively sin against God's will (His Word), we are fools, for we like David are making a conscious choice to despise God's Holy Word of Truth! Are you as convicted as I am? The Septuagint translates buz with the verb exoutheneo exoutheneo is a strong verb which means to despise someone or something on basis it is worthless or of no value. To treat something or someone as of no account. This verb means to regard as negligible, worthless, or distasteful. Buz - 11v - Pr. 1:7; 6:30; 11:12; 13:13; 14:21; 23:9, 22; 30:17; Song 8:1, 7; Zech. 4:10 Pr 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction. Pr 6:30 Men do not despise a thief if he steals To satisfy himself when he is hungry; Pr 11:12 He who despises his neighbor lacks sense, But a man of understanding keeps silent. Pr 13:13 The one who despises the word will be in debt to it, But the one who fears the commandment will be rewarded. Pr 14:21 He who despises his neighbor sins, But happy is he who is gracious to the poor. Pr 23:9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words. Pr 23:22 Listen to your father who begot you, And do not despise your mother when she is old. Pr 30:17 The eye that mocks a father And scorns a mother, The ravens of the valley will pick it out, And the young eagles will eat it. Wisdom (See chokmah from the verb chakam - to be wise) is the ability to judge correctly and to follow the best course of action, based on knowledge and understanding. Wisdom is the ability to see something from God’s viewpoint. Wisdom is “God’s character in the many practical affairs of life.” Wisdom in the biblical sense, is something more than a collection of factual information. It includes knowing how to conduct oneself in the practical affairs of everyday life, to make wise choices, to do the right thing in relation to others, and to have insight into the true nature of things. Wisdom of this kind can only grow out of an awareness of God and His purpose in the world. Fools may acquire encyclopedic information, but they cannot attain wisdom because they fail to take God into account. Vance Havner once quipped that "It is one of life’s strange turns that scholars ransack libraries looking for wisdom, while, perhaps, the janitor has found it long ago." F B
Provérbios 1:7
Trapp - The fear of the Lord is the beginning.] Or, The chief and principal point (a) of wisdom, as the word here signified; yea, wisdom itself. [Job 28:28] This Solomon had learned by the instruction of his father, as it is in the next verse, who had taught it him of a child, [Proverbs 4:4 Psalms 111:10] and therefore sets it here in the beginning of his works as the beginning of all. As in the end he makes it the end of all, [Ecclesiastes 12:13] yea, the all of man, (b) without which he counts him not a complete man, though never so wise to the world ward. Heathen sages, as Seneca, Socrates, &c., were wise in their generation, and had many excellent gifts, but they missed of the main; there was no fear of God before their eyes: being herein as alchemists, who miss of their end, but yet find many excellent things by the way. These merchants found goodly pearls, but "the pearl of price" [Matthew 13:45-46] they failed of. The prophet calls the fear of God "our treasure." [Isaiah 33:6] But fools despise.] Fools; so are all such as fear not God, "being abominable, disobedient, and to every good work reprobate," or injudicious. [Titus 1:16] Evil is Hebrew for a fool; Nebulo of Nabal; fool of Fαυλος. When one highly commended the Cardinal Julian to Sigismund, he answered, Tamen Romanus est; yet he is a popeling. So, yet he is a fool, because void of God’s true fear. "Behold they have rejected the word of the Lord, and what wisdom is in them?" [Jeremiah 8:9] Peter Pett - And at the root of all this is the fear of YHWH. These purposes in Proverbs 1:2-6 will be achieved in those who ‘fear YHWH’, for in that is the beginning (or prime element) of knowledge. In other words true and worthwhile knowledge about life has its roots in ‘fearing YHWH’ (responding to Him as a loving, but authoritative, figure) and in ‘knowing God’ (Proverbs 1:29; Proverbs 2:5-6; Proverbs 9:10). The emphasis is thus on a ‘spiritual’ life, one lived in conscious dependence on Him. Such a man wants to walk with God. The one who ‘fears YHWH’ (that is, who pays reverent regard to Him and to His requirements in the same way as a man should ‘fear’ his father and his mother - Leviticus 19:3) will be the one who will take heed because he wants to do what is right in His sight. He walks in a personal relationship with God. He departs from evil (Proverbs 3:7; Proverbs 8:13). In contrast are the foolish who do not fear YHWH (compare Psalms 14:1) and who therefore despise such wisdom and instruction. They live their lives mainly heedless, through deliberate choice, of God and His ways. Thus to Solomon ‘wisdom’ is not just a collection of teaching about living, it is rooted in a personal relationship with, and a reverent obedience towards, YHWH, the covenant God. This idea of the reverent fear of YHWH does not only occur here. It underlies the first nine chapters (see Proverbs 1:29; Proverbs 2:5; Proverbs 8:13; Proverbs 9:10), and continues on up to chapter 23 (see Proverbs 10:27; Proverbs 14:26-27; Proverbs 15:16; Proverbs 15:33; Proverbs 16:6; Proverbs 19:23; Proverbs 22:4; Proverbs 23:17). Thus the idea of the fear of YHWH underlies chapters 1-24. It is this that gives full significance to what is being said. It demonstrates that the teaching reveals the mind of God. It will also be noted that reference to it brings together the words of Solomon and ‘the words of the wise’ (Proverbs 22:17 to Proverbs 24:34), as indeed Proverbs 1:6 emphasises. And it makes them more than just a collection of improving sayings. They have all rather become a guide to living the spiritual life. Proverbs makes clear that the fear of YHWH (looking for him to exercise the discipline of a father - Proverbs 3:12; Leviticus 19:3; Psalms 103:13) is a course that men must choose, and that it will be neglected by those who hate true knowledge, spiritual knowledge (Proverbs 1:29), for the fear of YHWH and the knowledge of God are in parallel (Proverbs 2:5; Proverbs 9:10). Those who do fear God will walk in accordance with His instruction (Jeremiah 44:10). They look to Him to be the directer of their paths (Proverbs 3:6). So it is men’s response to YHWH which makes clear the direction in which their lives are pointed. This parallels the idea of those who walk in the narrow way as spoken of by Jesus, rather than the broad way (Matthew 7:13-14). Those who gain true wisdom and understanding will understand the fear of YHWH, and find the true knowledge of God (Proverbs 2:5). Consequently it leads to a spiritual grasp of the truth. The one who thus finds the fear of YHWH will hate evil (Proverbs 8:13), and will grow in true spiritual wisdom and understanding (Proverbs 9:10). The book thus claims to be an inculcator of divine knowledge, rather than just earthly knowledge. It is speaking to the true heart and giving spiritual discernment. In this it is different from much other wisdom literature. Robert Neighbour - AN ILLUSTRATION - The same Wisdom which pleads is the Wisdom that passes the sentence of death. A young man was once driving a two-horse buggy down the crowded streets of a large city when suddenly the horses, taking fright, got beyond his control, and there he sat not knowing at what moment he might be hurled to instant death, for which he knew that he was utterly unprepared. Just as a catastrophe appeared inevitable, a stranger sprang in front of the flying horses and clutching at their bridles, at imminent risk to himself, held on to them until the frightened animals stopped, and the young man was able to jump out and thank his benefactor for having saved his life. Some months after, this same young man stood in a felon's dock, charged with the crime of willful murder, of which the jury had just found him guilty. Before pronouncing sentence, the judge asked the prisoner if he had anything to plead in extenuation of his crime. Instead of giving a direct answer, the prisoner, looking intently at the judge, said, "Sir, don't you remember me? Don't you recall the occasion when you stopped two runaway horses in this city and saved the young man's life who was driving them?" "Yes," said the judge, "I'm not likely to forget that incident." "Well," went on the prisoner, "I'm that young man." "Ah," replied the judge after a pause, "I recognize you now; but what has that got to do with your crime and its punishment?" "Sir," pleaded the prisoner with his very soul in his voice, "you saved my life then; won't you spare it now?" For a moment tense silence fell upon the court; presently it was broken by the voice of the judge. "Prisoner at the bar," he said, "I am here in only one capacity, to administer justice; and," he added solemnly, "when I saved your life then I was your saviour; now I am your judge." And he condemned the guilty man to death. E. G. Carre.