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. 24:13-1413My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste: 14So 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. (Proverbs 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. 9:20-2420Nay 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? 21Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor? 22What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, 24Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? (Romans 9:20‑24)).
Proverbs gives us the moral government of God on the earth.
His Delights
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
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
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 16:3131And they said, 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 5:2424Verily, 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 28:7-87There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen: 8The lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion 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.
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!