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Proverbs: Solomon’s Intentions and Oversight

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As we continue our overview of the book of Proverbs, we ought to take note of Solomon’s intentions for this book, along with his failure to heed his own advice.

Solomon’s Intentions

Solomon has an agenda for each of the types of people he addresses.

To the simple, he offers a gift: prudence, knowledge and discretion (Prov 1:4). You can’t stay at the crossroads forever. Not to make a decision is to make the wrong decision. Turn to the Lord (trust in his Messiah, Jesus); start moving toward him and becoming like him. Then you’ll live up to your created potential, and you’ll obtain your redeemed glory.

To the foolish, he offers a challenge: fear the Lord and begin to have knowledge (Prov 1:7). Be a fool no longer. Give up what you cannot keep (your own self-satisfied condition and individualistic righteousness) to gain what you cannot lose (entrance into the eternal kingdom, fullness of life, most delightful joy). It will cost you everything and be the most difficult thing you ever do, but it’s the only way to true freedom and lasting insight. Jesus died a fool’s death so fools could know the wise life by knowing him.

To the wise, he offers both encouragement and caution: you’re running on the right path, but don’t slow down (Prov 1:5)! You’re never finished. You haven’t arrived yet. Wisdom is not something you are; it is something you are doing. We can never be wise; we can only become wise. It’s a journey, not a destination. The wise person grows closer and closer to the Lord Jesus until the last day.

Solomon himself needed to hear this last point over and over again, but he forgot.

Solomon’s Oversight

Have you ever wondered how the wisest person who ever lived could end up such a wretched fool? Solomon married 1000 women and turned away from the Lord to worship their gods (1 Kings 11:3-4). If he was so wise, how could he do such a foolish thing? After the Lord gave him such wisdom, how is it possible that he could fail in the end?

Image by René Schindler from Pixabay

These questions troubled me for years until I finally heard a good answer in a lecture by Bruce Waltke. Solomon himself forgot this most crucial principle of wisdom: It is a path, not a destination. “Cease to hear instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge” (Proverbs 19:27).[1] You can’t ever let off the gas or set the cruise control. You must actively pursue wisdom every moment of every day. Don’t grow weary or lose heart.

But even more importantly, Solomon was not the primary one God had in mind when he made those promises of Sonship and Kingdom in 2 Samuel 7:12-16. Jesus was. Remember the opening line to Mark’s Gospel? “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1). Remember last year’s Christmas cantata? “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15, quoted in Handel’s Messiah).

This is Good News for us, because if for one moment our standing before God depended on our own wisdom, we would be dead. We wouldn’t last. But if instead, all we must do is trust in Jesus, and his wisdom and righteousness replace our failure and make us right before God, then we have hope! You see, what really makes someone wise is that he knows he’s got further to go in order to be wise. When measured against the wisdom of Jesus, he will always lack and therefore need more. So he turns to Jesus, rests on him, and hopes in him.

men in uniform riding horses on competition
Photo by Tom Fisk on Pexels.com

We’ve bet the house on this one horse, and if Jesus loses the race, we lose everything.

Such reckless abandon is mandatory for any who want to be wise. Is there any hint of such abandon on your pursuit of wisdom?

[1]See also Waltke, The Book of Proverbs Chapters 1-15, p.36. (Affiliate link)

This post was first published in 2012.

Choose Your Restaurant Wisely

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Choosing a restaurant should be a basic human right. Imagine being forced to go to a Chinese restaurant when you were in the mood for sandwiches. Or having to sit and wait when you expected something simple and fast. And woe betide the co-conspirators responsible for my wife’s worst nightmare: eating pizza two evenings in a row.

Trey Ratcliff (2009), Creative Commons

Trey Ratcliff (2009), Creative Commons

Of course food quality isn’t the only factor to consider. We have an industry based on reviewing culinary establishments for presentation, cleanliness, speed, friendliness, and appearance, in addition to taste. My town has hundreds of restaurants within a 10-mile radius, but, on a recent double date, we chose a restaurant more than 20 minutes away because it had received a makeover from the TV show “Restaurant: Impossible.” We had to see what all the fuss was about, and we’re glad we did!

Proverbs 9

Proverbs 9 reminds us that we always have a dining choice. When hunger (for life, fulfillment, advice, or simply “something more”) drives us to seek sustenance and satisfaction, we will look for a good restaurant. Some will find a reputable proprietorship; others will be terribly deceived. Make sure you eat at the right place.

In this chapter, wisdom offers a delightful and nourishing feast (Prov 9:1-6), which is meant to be shared (Prov 9:7-12).  Folly peddles something illegitimate, unsanitary, poisonous (Prov 9:13-18). Since appearances can be terribly deceiving, we must learn how to tell the difference.

Wisdom has built her house;
she has hewn her seven pillars.
She has slaughtered her beasts;
she has mixed her wine;
she has also set her table.
She has sent out her young women to call
from the highest places in the town,
“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
To him who lacks sense she says,
“Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
Leave your simple ways, and live,
and walk in the way of insight.” (Prov 9:1-6, ESV)

The woman Folly is loud;
she is seductive and knows nothing.
She sits at the door of her house;
she takes a seat on the highest places of the town,
calling to those who pass by,
who are going straight on their way.
“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
And to him who lacks sense she says,
“Stolen water is sweet,
and bread eaten in secret in pleasant.”
But he does not know that the dead are there,
that her guests are in the depths of Sheol. (Prov 9:13-18, ESV)

Next week, I’ll do more interpreting and applying (“What is Wisdom’s feast?”). For now, let’s simply observe comparisons and contrasts.

Comparisons

In many ways, these two feasts share similar features:

  • a hostess (Prov 9:1, 13)
  • a home (Prov 9:1, 14)
  • an invitation to the simple (Prov 9:4, 16)
  • food and drink (Prov 9:2, 17)
  • hubbub at the highest places in town (Prov 9:3, 14)
  • a promise (Prov 9:6, 17)
  • a change in the status of house guests (Prov 9:6, 18)

But don’t get distracted by appearances. Beauty, as they say, is a different matter after you’ve skinned the thing.

Contrasts

When the simple get moving toward the Lord, the scales fall and truth becomes clear. These two feasts couldn’t be any more different:

  • wisdom builds; folly sits (Prov 9:1, 14)
  • wisdom is clever; folly knows nothing (Prov 9:1, 13)
  • wisdom wins loyal servants; folly is loud (Prov 9:3, 13)
  • wisdom lets her food speak for itself; folly seduces and deceives (Prov 9:5, 13, 17)
  • wisdom has meat with wine and bread; folly has but stolen water and secret bread (Prov 9:2, 5, 17)
  • wisdom prepares for important guests; folly grabs whoever happens to pass by (Prov 9:2-3, 15)
  • wisdom works with a team; folly takes a seat (Prov 9:3, 14)
  • wisdom makes her food; folly steals her food (Prov 9:5, 17)
  • wisdom promotes life change; folly promises secret pleasure (Prov 9:6, 17)
  • wisdom’s guests gain insight; folly’s visitors don’t know what is happening to them (Prov 9:6, 18)
  • wisdom’s visitors live; folly’s guests die (Prov 9:6, 18)

Two people see the same pornographic advertisement; one is turned off, and the other is turned on. Two investors discover the same questionable loophole; one sees loss, and the other sees gain. Two spouses experience the same set of conflicts; one sees a chance to deepen intimacy, and the other looks for a permanent way out.

These things should not surprise us. Some people make themselves sick on cotton candy; others know to hold out for the rib eye and Merlot. Which are you?