THE royal preacher, in the book of Ecclesiastes, after relating so graphically the story of his weary search for happiness “under the sun,” with its disappointing result, leading to the oft-repeated lament, “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity and vexation of spirit,” directs those who would escape the devious paths he had himself trodden to the consideration of the collection of proverbs which he had “sought out, and set in order.” The last seven verses of Ecclesiastes form a fitting introduction to the book which in our Bibles immediately precedes it.
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, all is vanity.
And, moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge.
Yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.
The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words:
And that written was upright; words of truth.
The words of the wise are as goads,
And as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies,
Having been given from one Shepherd.
And further, by these, my son be admonished:
Of making many books there is no end;
And much study is a weariness of the flesh.
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God, and keep His commandments:
For this is the whole duty of man.
For God shall bring every work into judgment,
With every secret thing, whether it be good or whether
it be evil.
—Ecc. 12:8-14.
In these words we have the divine reason for the book of Proverbs. God would save all who heed what is there recorded from the heartbreaking experiences and aimless wanderings of the man who was chosen to write them.
There are two ways of learning the emptiness of the world and the true character of sin. One, and by far the commonest way, is to tread the thorny path each for himself. To do so is to taste to the full the bitterness of departure from God. The only right way is to learn it all in His presence, accepting His word regarding it; and thus enabling the obedient disciple to say, “Concerning the works of men, by the word of Thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer” (Psa. 17:44Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer. (Psalm 17:4)).
The bitter disappointments, the skeptical darkness, and the weary heart of Solomon as a result of his trusting to his own wisdom, so strongly delineated in the record of the tempests of his soul, need never be the portion of the child of God who orders his steps in the truth.
Human collections of wisdom and instruction are, after all, but the thoughts of men like ourselves. In the wisdom-literature of the Bible, we have, as everywhere else in Scripture, the very breathings of the Spirit of God. And this is amazing grace: to think that He who spoke worlds into being, who wrought out redemption when man had fallen, who shall eventually bring in a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness; to think, I repeat, that He, the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, should stoop in grace to give instruction for the very details of His creatures’ lives down here, is cause for worship and admiration forever.
What an importance attaches to all that I do if the God who created me and redeemed me does not consider it beneath His notice to instruct me concerning my behavior in the family, my place in society, and my methods in business. All are under His eye; and if I act in accordance with the book of Proverbs, I shall “behave myself wisely, in a perfect way,” in every relationship of life.
To some who prate much of heavenly truth while failing to enter into its intensely practical side, it may seem a far cry from Pauline flights to the commonplaces of Solomon; but to the Christian who would not be like Ephraim, “a cake not turned,” but would hold the balance of truth, the precepts and warnings of Proverbs will have their place along with the precious truths of Ephesians.
The “ribbon of blue” on the border of the pious. Israelite’s garment set forth the heavenly character of the believer’s habits. Such an azure ribbon is the book of Proverbs, when the light of the New Testament revelation shines upon it, making known the behavior suited to the one who is dead, buried and risen with Christ. True, these glorious doctrines will not be found stated in the Old Testament: they belong to the special unfolding of truth revealed through the apostle Paul. But as “the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us who Walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit,” so the soul that most deeply enters into the reality of new creation will most appreciate the instruction of the great practical book of the Old Testament.
Like all other Scripture, it has been “written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have arrived.”
To turn, then, to the structure of the book: it did not attain its present fullness till the days of Hezekiah; that is, though all equally God-breathed, it did not exist in the form of one book until that date, as chapter 25:1 makes plain.
The main divisions would seem to be as follows:
Chapters 1 to 9, inclusive: Wisdom and Folly contrasted.
Chapters 10 to 24: A collection of proverbs written by Solomon and set in order by himself.
Chapters 25 to 29: “Also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.”
Chapter 30: The burden, or oracle, of an otherwise unknown sage named Agur the son of Jakeh.
Chapter 31: Instruction given to king Lemuel by his mother. This name was probably bestowed upon Solomon as a child by Bathsheba. In that case, the description of the virtuous woman given by one who had herself, at one time, been betrayed from the path of virtue, is worthy of the God of all grace. It is an acrostic poem, arranged according to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
Such is the arrangement of the book we purpose studying. As a part of “all Scripture,” we may rest assured we shall find it “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness,” helping to perfect the man of God unto all good works.