The Proverbs: Wisdom's Path Through This Present Life
Clarence E. Lunden
Table of Contents
Introductory Remarks
“Through wisdom is a house builded; and by understanding it is established: and by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches” (Prov. 24:3-4).
Man, being spirit, soul and body, is likened to a house with rooms that can contain much riches.
“My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste: so shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off” (Prov. 24:13-14).
Reading God’s Word is good and tastes sweet, like honey; storing wisdom from it for another day is a honeycomb.
“Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast Thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor? And that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He hath afore prepared unto glory, even us, whom, He hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?” (Rom. 9:20-24).
Proverbs gives us the moral government of God on the earth.
His Delights
God, with a special purpose, created the earth to be inhabited forever (Isa. 45:18). In the present earth, God rejoices in the habitable part, because His delights are in men (Prov. 8:31).
Adam, the first man, was placed on the earth. Having sinned, he brought the whole physical creation into ruin. But worse, man, as a result, became a moral ruin. Having given in to Satan’s wiles, man became the slave of sin.
God will not be frustrated in His purpose to find His pleasure in man. In the millennial day He will destroy the curse in the physical earth. Later He will entirely change the earth by fire, so that man might live on it forever, without an enemy to tempt him.
The Creator will not only remove the effects of sin from the physical earth, but He has undertaken to restore His creature, man, from his morally ruined condition. It is not simply a matter of changing man’s body physically, which will occur for us when Christ comes, but it is a matter of dealing with man’s lost and sinful condition. Christ died that man might be reconciled to God and be given eternal life.
Man had a capacity for good which was made void by sin in the fall. God has in view the filling of this void, if man bows to the government of God. Wisdom is the key to the fulfillment of this work.
Wisdom’s Seven Pillars
“Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars” (Proverbs 9:1).
Chapter 1 gives seven outstanding principles by which this void will be filled for those who bow. By these principles (pillars) we get to know the precious things with which the void (the rooms of the house) can be filled — wisdom being the main one upon which the others depend. Also, these pillars support the new house so that it can never fall. The hewing is the learning of the seven pillars in practice.
Instruction — warning, correction, discipline.
Discernment — to understand by distinguishing things that differ.
Understanding — comprehension of meaning and use.
Prudence — practical sense to detect cunning in others.
Knowledge — the result of the gathering up of wisdom.
Discretion — keenness of judgment through reflection.
Counsels — understanding deep sayings.
Verses 2-6 (see JND translation) introduce the book by telling us the use of these principles:
The Proverbs ...
to know wisdom and instruction;
to discern the words of understanding;
to receive the instruction of wisdom; righteousness and judgment, and equity;
to give prudence to the simple;
to the young man knowledge and discretion.
He that is wise
will hear,
will increase learning,
will gain wise counsels: to understand a proverb and an allegory, the words of the wise and their enigmas.
“To receive” suggests that righteousness, judgment, and equity are things that should be true of us.
“To give prudence” is to discover by intelligence what the principles are and their use, to be capable of going through this world, undeceived.
“Simple” in Proverbs means one who lacks in the power of soul and mind. He does not oppose truth necessarily, but is unlearned.
“To understand” is to weigh, consider attentively, and so comprehend the meaning and use of a thing. Understanding is the result of the application of wisdom to knowledge and produces moral intelligence.
By wisdom we understand riddles and allegories, and proverbs counter Satan’s deceit. By wisdom we are enabled to judge everything of a moral character. These lessons, thoroughly learned in the soul, will prove the best security against all attempts to loosen the hold on principles and lead us into the path where we become the toy of Satan’s wiles.
Perspective
Proverbs and allegories clothe moral truth in a form that gives a stinging quality and power to it. They embody truth in a form that, once understood, gives a deeper apprehension of it and more vividness to it. They are barbed words that fasten where they fall and stay, deep in the hearts of men and never pass away.
Proverbs does not set before us the full mind of God, but gives rays of light flowing down from heaven to guide us as we pass on to our eternal home. In the New Testament we get our high calling and the full mind of Christ (Ephesians and Colossians). Proverbs shows us how to walk worthy of it.
Our calling is higher than nature, also the motive is divine, but present instruction, proverbs, is for our earthly path, and in allegorical style it sets before us lasting and heavenly principles. We have diversified instruction based upon the principles of true holiness. We have the wisdom needed for a holy, godly path through this world — the path which the vulture’s eye has not seen, nor the lion trodden.
Nature and grace are not contemplated in Proverbs, but the ways of a people under covenant and law.
Proverbs presents temperance and chastity in such fashion that we can only hold them in veneration.
Chapters 1-8 lead up to Christ, who is Wisdom and the key of knowledge.
Chapters 1-9 give general principles and the formal characters of evil to be avoided.
Chapters 10-31 give details to meet any attack by Satan.
When the truth of the introductory chapters is laid hold of with moral energy, it enables us to understand the dark sayings, riddles, and enigmas found throughout Scripture, especially in chapters 10-31 of this book.
The practical godliness set forth in the introduction, so far from wearing a forbidding look or being associated with gloom or sadness, casts a smile upon a world of sorrow that surrounds us today. Sorrow is a result of these principles being cast away, but practical godliness is a sunbeam of comfort in suffering and ever a principle of peace and steadfastness.
Wisdom
“Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding: for the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver; and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her. The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath He established the heavens. By His knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew” (Prov. 3:13-20).
Wisdom is the gathering up of all that experience, in the fear of God, can give so as to judge all things by it.
Wisdom is larger than the law. It is God’s own mind and person. It gives inward life to flow out to others. It judges all around. It makes us go through this world undeceived by it.
Wisdom and Life
Today, the invitation to life is “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:31). Christ is Wisdom and He has invited you to have this life. The momentous choice — for Christ and life — is for your everlasting good and is in contrast to present pleasures, which are only for a season.
“Verily, verily I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).
We need wisdom, whether it be for salvation or for our earthly path.
“There is a path [wisdom] which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture’s eye hath not seen [keenest perception in nature]; the lion’s whelps [full of energy and daring], have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion [super strength, king of beasts] passed by it” (Job 28:7-8).
Wisdom is sound, not a notion, so safe no spoiler can reach it; so free that any sinner may have access to it.
Pearls of Wisdom
We would need no path if there were no sin.
“For wisdom is a defense as money is a defense; but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom maketh them that possess it to live” (Eccl. 7:12 JND).
We need wisdom, for, without and within, it is our defense.
Solomon wrote this book from experience by which he had learned that nature wastes as it spends, and virtue gains as it spends.
Man needs God-given principles because his danger is to satisfy the flesh.
The conscience must be individual or God cannot be master.
Each is to seek wisdom early (earnestly) before being deceived by the snares of Satan.
What is needed is self-control, not expediency. Bring all to the Word of God in prayer.
An unequal yoke stifles efforts to find wisdom.
To center my life around my talents can form them into an idol, causing me to lose my grasp on life.
Man that’s born of mortal woman,
Found in vanity and pride,
Thinks in terms of pleasure only,
Every evil deed to hide.
If the conscience smarting, bleeding,
Presses on the soul — Obey!
How each empty pleasure heeding
Rolls all virtue’s claims away!
Lust for fame or vain desires
Devious paths the soul pursues;
Something more! the bosom fires,
Stronger bonds of grief ensue.
Oh! my soul learn thou the lesson:
This is not my resting place;
Helpless, hopeless my confession;
All is loss if life’s a race.
Is there nought but fleeting pleasure,
Each heart’s longing void to still?
Christ, the Spirit’s boundless treasure,
Can these empty chambers fill.
Man, renewed, was made for pleasure,
Fitted, shaped for every joy;
To find the new creation’s treasure
Is every empty heart’s employ.
Where’s the burning of desire,
Wisdom’s home to enter in;
Forging chains of hope with fire
Where Another’s path has been?
This, my soul, is life’s deep lesson;
Grace alone my fame shall be;
All desire in Thy possession,
Precious Lord — Thy servant — free!
Oh! Thou Christ of God, Emanuel,
Who could still the tale of grace,
Who could void the sinner’s portion?
Myriad joys of yon bright place!
Proverbs 1
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother” (Prov. 1:7-8).
All true knowledge, all moral knowledge begins by putting God in His own place. Nothing is right or true without that, for to leave Him out falsifies the position and relationship of all. The reasoning on facts, even in that which is the legitimate sphere of experimental science, if God is left out, only leaves man to the wandering of his own mind, and he never will, and never can, know creation without knowing a Creator. When we turn to moral things and intellectual philosophy, it is evident there can be no knowledge without the fear of God; for then I enter on the sphere of relationships and obligations, and how can I be right, when I leave out the first and principal one?
Family
We are to follow the teaching and instruction of our mother and father who (in Proverbs) are believers. This teaching, if followed, will prove a garland of grace upon the head (victory over Satan), and chains upon the neck. Gold chains were a special award of honor placed upon the neck of one who had been of outstanding service to one in authority over him. See Joseph (Gen. 41:42). The parent may not be a believer, but the God-given parental authority is a necessity for the instruction of the child.
How glad we are to see young people engaged in physical activities, as well as studies in natural things. That which is natural is first, then that which is spiritual. Gradually, under the wise parents’ guidance, spiritual things fill the place that was mostly taken up with what was natural. We must be careful not to connect that which is natural with that which is evil.
In the family, the father and mother guide and guard. The analogy of a child to a tender bough being supported helps us to understand the tenderness with which the child should be raised. The instruction (nurture and admonition) of the father and the teaching of the mother in early, pliable years, with the will in subjection and with honor, respect and obligation to his parents, is that into which the mind of the child should tenderly be led.
Precepts taught suppose the willingness to learn. Law is straight correction and should be used sparingly, because the child is not under law. When confidence of the child with the parent has been fixed in the child’s mind, the rod should rarely be needed. If confidence is lost, even in later life, it will bring sorrow.
God has established father and mother as the first and original bond of authority. The child’s will is put in subjection to the parents’, and honor, obligation and respect are a vital part of the relationship. The relationship is not one of law to meet and break the child’s will (if he isn’t willful), but the parent instructs, forms and guides with authority. The parent’s place and God-given authority are honored by the child with a bond of affection between them that produces willingness instead of will.
Character is what the Spirit of God through the parent forms in a sinful world, where there is constant irritation, like the forming of the pearl in the flesh of the oyster. If there is no irritation, there is no pearl and nothing of worth.
In 1 Samuel 1:21-28, we have the story of Hannah and Samuel, which helps us see how the child is to be raised before the Lord. First she weaned her son; then she took him up to the temple of the Lord to appear before the Lord and abide there forever. When she brought the child to Eli, the priest, they slew a bullock. In this way, Samuel was presented to God on the ground of the death of Christ. Also, the mother made a little coat each year and brought it to him, anticipating that there would be constant spiritual growth.
Reverence (honor) for father and mother is not to be confined to the years of restraint; it is to be lifelong.
Violence and Corruption
Violence and corruption are the two forms of evil that Satan uses to deceive man. This is seen all through Scripture and ends with the “beast” of violence and the “harlot” of corruption at the time of the destruction of Christendom and the civilized earth. (The time for this draws near.)
We are told not to join with evil persons for temporal gain, or for any other purpose. Violence is the wrong way to get money. Wealth should never be an object for the believer. With the violent man or the strange woman we are not to keep company. Then Satan’s net is laid in vain.
Wisdom cries without. She raises her voice which has authority over all, evidenced by those who hear or witness it. Her moral power is greater than all other voices. The Word, read and practiced by those who hear it and repent, is a public warning whereby wisdom raises her voice above the din of public activities, men’s possessions and earthly hopes. If some do not respond to wisdom’s voice, the day will come when they will call and wisdom will not answer.
Proverbs 2
“My son” — having heard and received instruction, the growing child is ready for more truth with growing discernment. Now understanding is seen as a treasure, a divinely protected way of life, a shield. In this way the fear of the Lord is understood and brings sobriety, waiting upon God, thinking seriously.
“He [the Lord] layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: He is a buckler to them that walk uprightly” (Prov. 2:7).
When wisdom enters into the heart, the soul will be preserved in his ways. The result will be understanding as to what righteousness, judgment and equity mean. By this every good path is made clear. The one who brings wisdom into his heart, knowledge having become pleasant to his soul, is now preserved by discretion and understanding.
The man of the world escapes evil by knowing its crookedness — the believer by knowing good, not evil. What characterizes the evil man is pride, leaving the path of uprightness to walk in darkness. Such rejoice to do evil.
The instruction received from father and mother is intended to deliver from the “strange woman,” from fornication. Her flattery is used to deceive the unsuspecting person. The strange woman is known by her forsaking all that has been taught as to moral and spiritual life, forgetting the law and the covenant with her God. The young person is reminded that the outcome of a life of fornication and sin is death physically and morally.
The fear of the Lord is the full lesson of life. If we walk in the ways of good men, we will be preserved by the power of righteousness, with temporal blessings to follow.
Proverbs 3
To learn and to follow wisdom’s teaching leads to temporal blessings and favor with God and man.
The young person, once a child, is now on his own, having been instructed for the path that lies ahead. This instruction is the same today as it was the day it was written. It is universal — it is wisdom’s voice to everyone entering public life. Now the inward governing power of the heart is to be tested, and he is warned not to forget the teaching that still echoes in his youthful heart. If he forgets, there will be shame in spite of all the knowledge.
“In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths” (Prov. 3:6).
Should he do this, he will find favor in the sight of God and man. Jesus at twelve years of age had favor and understanding in the sight of God and man (Luke 2:52).
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding” (Prov. 3:5).
A blossoming youth, if he neglects the instruction that he has received and leaves his place of prayer and communion with God, will find a life of bitterness. Communion is the lifeline — it is wisdom. In communion (through prayer and reading of the Word) we learn to know God and to trust Him in everything. One who does not trust God in all circumstances does not know Him. One is saved by believing in the Saviour, but that is only the beginning of the path of faith.
Simplicity is a great thing for walking in the presence of God — no pretention, no jealousy, no mischief or wrong peace. If we become wise in our own eyes, we are liable to fall into evil because we do not fear the Lord.
Wisdom gives us to judge between the pleasures of sin and heavenly things,
We are to honor the Lord with our substance; we are to give to the needy.
We are not to despise the chastening of the Lord, neither be weary of His correction. It results in wisdom which is more precious than rubies. Correction is never without cause in us, and never without love with the Lord.
Wisdom gives length of days, ways of pleasantness and paths of peace; it is the tree of life. It gives safety and protection from the enemy.
Proverbs 4
The source of our instruction is not the law, but it is much like the instruction which was given to Abraham before the law. Evil was not forbidden, but instead there was a divinely appointed path that rested upon Abraham’s communion with his God.
Wisdom is taught so as to remain in the heart to be discerned, attained. There is nothing to discover in law; we need only obey.
Instruction is life — wisdom is the principal thing. The path of the wicked is darkness and is to be avoided; it leads to death.
The mature young person has been taught in the way of wisdom, not only by the Word, but also in practice, so that he knows how to resist the enemy. He has had experience in the fear of God, so his steps should not falter, nor should he stumble.
“Keep thy heart with all diligence [above all that is guarded]; for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23).
The heart is the center of joy, sorrow, secrets, decisions, objects, worship, purpose and treasures — a sacred place.
Evil comes from the right hand and the left. If tempted, we are to remove our foot from evil. We need to ponder the path of our feet (God does), so that our ways might be established.
Proverbs 5
Reflection — well-considered thought — is needed in order to remember past instruction.
Lust
“Purity” — corruption and lust degrade the heart and moral sensibilities. Lust spoils understanding, injures inwardly like nothing else and leaves a lasting effect in life. It breaks down the finer sensibilities in us learned in the subjective relationships of nature (father and mother).
We need divinely ordered affections and established relationships, which are pure, sacred, wholesome, safe and rewarding. To have them is to have happiness as high as can be attained or experienced on earth in nature.
The presence of God in communion keeps our hearts with the conscience thoroughly active. The conscience is the door by which truth enters the inner man — this is intelligence.
Attention to past instruction, constancy in communion and subjection to the instructions of father and mother are the only safe-guards. The Lord ponders our path; should not we?
One Drop of Honey
The strange woman is one outside of covenant relationship (scriptural instruction), and never ponders her path.
“The lips of the strange woman drop honey...Come not nigh the door of her house: lest thou give thine honor unto others, and thy years unto the cruel ... and thou mourn in thine end, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed” (Prov. 5:3-11 JND).
Don’t go near her — one drop of honey from her lips is enough to bring death, morally and physically — the meaning in this chapter. Just one drop of honey and a precious life is ruined. Think of how this affects the person, the family, friends and life in general, by giving in to lust. The pangs of conscience are no exception.
Remorse
“How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; and have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me! I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly” (Prov. 5:12-14).
Sin and religion often run together.
“Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets. Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’ with thee. Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love. And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger? For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He pondereth all his goings. His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray” (Prov. 5:15-23).
Attention should be given to the present relationships, so that we do not lust after another.
What is needed is moral intelligence — wisdom, knowledge otherwise a careless son will come into ruin.
Proverbs 6
Do not become surety for — responsible for the obligations of — another. To do so is to mortgage the future. “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (Matt. 6:34). If snared, go immediately and seek to be released from the responsibility.
Industry, not indolence, and peaceful labor instead of violence and plunder, should characterize us. (The little ants teach a lesson in industry.) It is the path of righteousness.
“When thou goest, it [father’s commandments and mother’s teaching] shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee” (Prov. 6:22).
We are to tie the precepts of father and mother about our necks. Wisdom’s commandment is a teaching lamp. It guides us through the dark places of life. Reproofs of instruction are the ways of life to keep from evil.
Adultery
“Whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. A wound and dishonor shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away” (Prov. 6:32-33).
Adultery is an unforgivable sin, except for grace. No gift will appease. The lust of the eye breaks up the house of another and touches the most sacred, vital parts of life.
The soul, when not guided by the fear of the Lord, plunges into a scene far beyond its powers and is the sport of Satan, perhaps in suicide, and is the victim of eternal loss. His conscience, which will cause him to remember all of the instruction when it will be too late to use, will plague him forever. “Where their worm [conscience] dieth not and the fire [constant retribution] is not quenched” (Mark 9:44).
Proverbs 7
This chapter gives warning of another aspect of adultery and its consequences.
There was no intention of evil until the young man, now a mature man, placed himself in harm’s way. He exposes himself to danger through a lack of communion with his God — no watching, diligence or prayer. The mind was not kept in a higher sphere as he was instructed by his parents, but because of lust, there was no understanding. In the higher sphere, evil can be dealt with before it appears, and he will not be attracted to it.
The instruction, received and laid up, was not delighted in. He may have been instructed, but if it was not absorbed as the knowledge that comes through reflection, he had no understanding. Wisdom can be found only in the path of judgment — the process of forming an opinion, an evaluation by discerning and comparing.
The conscience was buried in darkness. If there had been the presence of God in communion, the conscience would be kept thoroughly active, and the young man preserved. The conscience is the door of entrance of the truth to the heart — its intelligence. The young man had neglected this and was without moral protection from wickedness, as his path shows.
Strong
Those slain by the “strange woman” were strong men. Consider the strong man, Samson. Was not Samson one who ruled Israel? Were there any as strong as he recorded in Scripture? Yet he, who could slay a thousand men with the jawbone of an ass, was not able to stand before a woman. The woman’s means of bringing Samson down to utter helplessness was a mouth of flattery (Judges 16:16). The moment he gave away his secret — that he was a Nazarite — he lost all of his tremendous power, only to grind in the prison house the rest of his days. No superhuman strength could avail. All the safeguards had been removed; only moral power could have kept him.
Not all that were deceived by the strange woman were young. But “all slain by her were strong” (Prov. 7:26 JND). Could it be that this man said in self-confidence before this happened, “I never would do such a thing.” I have known an older believer who said this before his fall. But man is not sufficient for himself. I have witnessed an old, strong man weeping as he sat back at the Lord’s table. His strength had failed. I have known teachers of the Word who have fallen by a strange woman.
Violence is bad, but does not corrupt within like lust. Lust touches the spring of affections and pollutes it. What would have been affection for another becomes a corrupt well of heartlessness. The soul will die for want of discipline. The memory of this will never leave once the person has fallen.
This young man in Proverbs thought that he was strong, but his strength, like Samson’s, had waned through lack of communion. When out of communion we can fall, ruin our life and bring sorrow to family and friends. In his shame, the testimony was lost and the Lord dishonored. This young man was brought to the gates of death and hell.
Proverbs 8
Wherever we go we hear wisdom’s voice, because we have a sense of responsibility to God. Our conscience reminds us of this. On high places, at the crossroads, by the gates of the city, wherever there is a man found, we hear wisdom’s voice.
God is in earnest that man respond to wisdom’s call, because, if ignored, man will be lost forever.
Wisdom is intelligence and strength to one who has it.
Wisdom’s fruit is better than all riches. Those who have it will inherit substance, and their treasuries will be filled. The honeycomb illustrates this.
Wisdom loves those who love it. Those who seek wisdom earnestly, shall find it.
Wisdom was before creation. We have to find its path now in a ruined creation. Only the Word of God, with the intelligence that His Spirit gives, will show us this path. John the Baptist, going before, led into this path, which was repentance. The spiritual man discerns this path, while it baffles the cleverest of those not having the Spirit.
Jesus Is Wisdom
Jesus is Wisdom. Wisdom is the fruit of God’s being. Man is the object of wisdom. The Lord, Wisdom, rejoiced in the habitable part of the earth. His “delights were with the sons of men” (Prov. 8:31).
“He took not on Him the nature of angels; but He took on Him the seed of Abraham” (Heb. 2:16). “For it became Him, for whom are all things...in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings” (Heb. 2:10).
Into a world of defilement, into the midst of its violence, corruption, evil and enmity against God, came Jesus as a babe. He grew into manhood, but He did not need to learn wisdom by experience. Christ was Wisdom displayed in subjective perfection in this world. Every word He uttered was a part of wisdom, and the right part when He uttered it. He was Wisdom — what we need to learn by experience.
Jesus is now crowned with glory and honor with a name above every name. All power, all judgment and all dominion are given to Him. Jesus answers to every aspect of wisdom — He is Wisdom.
Angels as unfallen creatures are a witness of His keeping; we as fallen creatures are a witness to His redeeming grace. God has told of no eternal purpose for angels; God’s delights are with the sons of men.
Proverbs 9
Wisdom has built her house. Now she sets out a feast and invites all to come in and eat. The wise man will enter to receive reproof (and love wisdom for it), will become yet wiser and will increase in learning. He will prove in his own soul the truth: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy is understanding” (Prov. 9:10). By contrast, the scorner will not go in and will bear the sad consequences. He is prey for the foolish woman who is simple (not wise), who knoweth nothing, and who is void of understanding.
Proverbs 10-31
Detailed instructions as to moral virtues and contrary vices follow. Some individual subjects to notice:
The sovereign on the throne is instructed;
All are humbled — kings, poor, rich;
Rich are warned — poor are cheered;
Condemns laziness;
Chastens absurd desires;
Injurious tongue;
Wanton eyes that tie unjust hands in chains;
Views of God — holy, reverential;
Views of man — minute, accurate;
Self-denying consideration of others;
Liberal distribution of our resources;
Minute courtesies of daily life regulated;
Temperance and chastity venerable;
Sound principles for family life;
Blessing of the marriage ordinance vividly portrayed.
You Are Invited
Wisdom’s house is now built. The seven pillars — instruction, discernment, understanding, prudence, knowledge, discretion and counsel — have been hewed and are now in their place. Those who have a desire for wisdom are invited:
“Come, eat of my bread [life, Christ], and drink of my wine [eternal joy] which I have mingled ... and live; and go in the way of understanding” (Prov. 9:5-6).
Prepared by C. E. Lunden, April, 1994