When I used to read the book of Proverbs, I would hear the voice or perhaps a oriental sage like Mr. Miyagi’s voice (Karate Kid), or perhaps Yoda’s. It seemed to be full of pithy sayings, short, sweet and full of good advice. There is much good advice in the book of Proverbs. But honestly, I’ve learned over the past few years, that there is so much more. If this book in the Bible is reduced to good advice, then it is little more value than watching Dr. Phil or perhaps reading the works of Confucius.
Something Wicked this Way… Reflects in the Mirror
I think Proverbs might officially be the book I know best in the entire Bible, because I spent years in the habit of reading one chapter per day, covering most of the book every month. (I often thanked God that not every month had 31 days, because Proverbs 31 always made me feel like a slacker!) As I read these chapters daily, the Holy Spirit brought light to things that should have been clear from the nouns and verbs and adjectives used. The straightforward language of Proverbs was originally geared towards children, so God kept it simple. How could I have missed the obvious message to me in this clear language.
One reason I failed to see clearly is that it was hard to see in black in white when my culture has trained me to see gray. These days, we only see the middle ground. Proverbs contrasts the wicked with the righteous, the foolish with the wise. I used to think of the wicked as mass murderers and the foolish as those who spend half of every paycheck on the lottery. Most consider themselves neither wicked nor righteous but something in between. “Maybe I’m not wise, but I’m no idiot!” “I’m no saint, but I try my best and I think I do pretty well.” This language—“wicked” and “righteous”, “foolish” and “wise”—is so… so judgmental!
Then it started sinking in. As I saw the picture of the wicked and the foolish drawn by Solomon and others in God’s Word, the picture was starting to look an awful lot like a self-portrait! Let me give a few examples:
“The wicked flees when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.” (Pr 28:1)
Hmm, let me think. I can be brazen. I can be impertinent. But the boldness that comes from a clean conscious? To be honest, I’m as guilty as anyone of having neuroses, irrational fear and a defensive nature when anything can even be perceived as criticism, much less attack or pursuit. But Jesus? Now he’s bold. He’s the lion of Judah, the righteous Son of God who did not even fear death, not even death on a cross.
“The wise in heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin.” (Pr 10:88)
“Receive” is a word you use for someone graciously receiving a gift. I may grudgingly accept advice and do what I wanted to do in the first place (and then learn “wisdom” the hard way). I hate getting advice. I love giving advice. (And like the “fool” described elsewhere in proverbs, have delighted in airing my own opinions (Pr. 18:2), though I’m more careful now when I put them in writing than I used to be.) And yes, I have been known to babble on like a brook. I really love talking, and elsewhere in Proverbs, there is the statement “Where words are many, sin is not absent” (10:19). So I guess this would make me not only a fool, but a sinful fool, right?
But Jesus—he is God! And he submitted to the authority of an earthly sinful father and probably received instructions under rabbis as well. He received his Father’s will in the garden of Gethsemane, “not my will but your will be done.” (Luke 22:42) He made no answer when falsely accused in order to be obedient to death, even death on a cross. Let’s look at another one:
“The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked concedes violence.” (Pr. 10:11)
Wow. This one screams Jesus, doesn’t it? Well maybe it doesn’t for you. It didn’t always for me. But consider this: Jesus said he is the Living Water (John 7:37-39). Whoever drinks of him will never thirst. He is also the Word of God (John 1, 1 John 1). So that makes him Word and Water. And Jesus, this fountain of words of life, said that if we even think “You fool”, we have committed murder (Matthew 5:22, 23). I have to admit. I wouldn’t dare say to someone all I think.
Yes, I enjoy judging others more than I’d care to admit. And when something bad happens to someone who hasn’t been the nicest to me, I’m embarrassed by the first feelings that crop up in my heart. Rejoicing at my enemy’s downfall, yes this is wicked. And knowing this is wicked, we know then that Jesus, who scripture says is sinless, did not entertain one murderous or even uncharitable thought towards Judas or the Pharisees, or the men driving nails in his hands and feet.
Some may not think it’s fair that there is God doesn’t grade on a curve. Why is there no middle ground?
The problem is, Jesus broke the curve. If you grade on a curve, we still end up at one end and Jesus on the other. Though people do tend to think in terms of being graded, God has been clear from the start that he thinks in terms of a penal code, guilty or innocent. And we all are so far from righteous, every one of us, that the little gradations of difference between different unrighteous people, these differences are microscopic compared to our galactic distance from the righteousness of Jesus. Because if we kept on going through all the Proverbs (including all the ones that could have been written), the score would be about a billion to zero, with Jesus at one end of the universe and us on the other.
How I Now Use Proverbs
Now, I use Proverbs during my prayer time, especially when confessing sins. I no longer get through a chapter per day. A few proverbs open up an ocean of possibility for confession. And in my latest forays into Proverbs, I also have discovered something I never expected to find… Jesus!
The Gospel according to Proverbs
Jesus said that the scripture is all about him. Proverbs too? Really? Yes! Consider these:
“Be assured, an evil person will not go unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered.” (Pr. 11:21)
Yes, it is clear, from those other verses, that I am wicked. And I know God cannot leave me unpunished, so he took my punishment upon himself! So justice prevails and I am delivered. Notice also that this proverb refers to the offspring of the righteous. That would be me! I am hidden in Jesus, brought into the family of God through my trust in him, adopted by God. I may not be righteous, but I am the offspring of the righteous. This is great news!
Apocalyptic Proverbs?
I can’t help but see in this proverb the contrast drawn, at the return of Jesus, between the reaction of those who are righteous through faith in Him and those who have trusted in their own works:
“What the wicked dreads will come upon him, but the desire of the righteous shall be granted. When the tempest passes, the wicked is no more, but the righteous established forever.” (Pr. 10:24)
And here is a supreme gospel passage close to the center of the book:
“The name of the Lord is a strong tower;’
The righteous man runs into it and is safe.
A rich man’s wealth is his strong city,
And like a high wall in his imagination
Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty,
But humility comes before honor.” (Pr. 18:10-12)
The name of the Lord is like the ark of Noah. Run into it. Hide inside his promise and you will be safe from the flood of judgment to come. If someone asks me, “Are you saved”, I might answer “Yes and no.” I am saved in the sense that I am no longer dead in my sins and alive to God, buried and raised with Christ. But there is a judgment to come, and I have yet to be saved from that, but trust in Jesus to be my redeemer. I have kissed the son so that I may be safe when his wrath rises (Psalm 2). A man’s wealth may be a strong city to protect from many of the world’s ills, but is useless in the judgment day. I must humble myself now so I’m not crawling under rocks later to hide from his righteous wrath.
The Uniqueness of God’s Wisdom
I’ve been taught in the past that Proverbs is all about how the world works and all about godly principles to follow in order to receive God’s blessing. This kind of pragmatic view of wisdom is the world’s wisdom. But God’s wisdom is different from the world’s wisdom. And though there were many “wisdom” writings of ancient days, Proverbs is different from the non-biblical wisdom writings in these ways:
Biblical wisdom writings focus on right and wrong. Wisdom and righteousness are one, which is found unified in Christ, the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1) and the righteousness of God (Romans 3:21). The “wisdom” that is valued in other cultures is about cunning, craftiness and finding what works, what gets results. But, contrary to what I’ve been taught, we are not encouraged by God to act in ways that necessarily bring earthly blessing. Solomon wrote that the “race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise” (Eccl 9:11). We are promised if we try to lead a godly life, we will be persecuted.(2 Timothy 3:12) To save up earthly treasure may bring earthly blessing, but puts our soul at risk if we store up these treasures instead of heavenly ones.
God’s wisdom is not determined by man’s reason. That is the wisdom of philosophers. But God’s wisdom is foolishness to man. We cannot conceive of what God has prepared for those who love him (1 Corinthians 2:9). He must reveal it. God’s wisdom is revealed, not reasoned. It is not the voice of experience, of the worldly wise, but the voice of holiness from before eternity. Thus the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10 is one place you find this but it repeated often in the book of Proverbs). We are urged to “trust in the Lord with all of our heart and lean not on our own understanding.” (Pr. 3:5)
When I read Proverbs and hide them in my heart, I don’t really feel smarter. I don’t feel wise. I am laid low and I can see that only God is good (Mark 10:18). I see a portrait of Christ in almost every one. God’s wisdom is fulfilled in Christ.
“Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment” (Pr. 12:19)
Lord Jesus, you are truth. My only hope is to keep your words on my lips for otherwise they are covered with the venom of asps (Romans 3:13) and my tongue sets the course of my life on fire (James 3:6). . Cleanse my evil selfish thoughts and replace my desires with yours, Holy Spirit. Wash me with your Word.
“No one is established by wickedness, but the root of the righteous will never be moved.” (Pr. 12:3)
Lord, you are the vine, the one who took root to become to tree of life. We are only branches (John 15:1). (And I am an engrafted branch, a gentile.) My righteousness, my life, comes from you.
“An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous escape from trouble.” (Pr. 12:13)
Praise be to God that you release my feet from the snare. How many of my careless words throughout my life would certainly be flung in my face by the accuser. But you have saved me. You have hidden me in your Son. You are righteous, Lord Jesus, so the cords of death could not hold you. Hidden in you I have also escaped those cords when I was raised with you from the dead. You are my eternal life. I am established in your righteousness.
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