TEACHING TRUTH TODAY from Proverbs chapter One

I think I could write a large book on the beautiful behavioral blueprint in this book of the Bible. 

My dad had twelve children, and there were usually several men working for him on his ranch.  As a youngster I often heard my dad use this proverb: You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.  Every time I heard the proverb used, I would wonder, “What am I to understand from this?” 

There all kinds of proverbs, some secular and some Scriptural. I have been reading what different scholarly authors write about the meanings of proverbs, and of course there are as many meanings as there are proverbs. Proverbial language was used before King Solomon, and the Lord Jesus took the use of teaching with Proverbs (or parables) to the highest and holiest level, beginning with the Parable of the Sower, found in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8.  My interest right now is in how proverbs were used in the Old Testament days and what they were used to communicate.  

The purpose of Book of Proverbs is to provide prudence for God’s people.  It is clearly stated in verse three of chapter one: “To receive the instruction of wisdom, Justice, and judgment, and equity” (Proverbs 1:3).  This chapter gives the general direction of all thirty-one chapters.  God compares the righteous and the rebellious, the godly and the godless, the faithful and the fools.  The last comparison He gives is between the wicked woman and the wonderful wife.  So as we read Proverbs, we should be aware of God’s wisdom in these areas.

Several months ago I asked the people in our church to read one chapter of Proverbs each day according to the day of the month on the calendar. I asked them to pick one verse from the chapter that spoke to them in a special way. I posted this on our Spanish blog, Enseñando las Escrituras.  After a time, I asked a very intelligent man if he was joining us in this challenge.  From the expression on his face, it was clear that he was not.  Later, I asked him why he did not want to read the Book of Proverbs with us.  He said, “Those proverbs are so twisted that I can’t untangle the teaching.”  I was very disappointed.

Here is the principle I take from chapter One of Proverbs today:  “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: But fools despise wisdom and instruction”  (Proverbs 1:7).  By the way, this first section of Proverbs (chapters 1-9) ends with the same principle: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: And the knowledge of the holy is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10).

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