The Beginning of Wisdom (Proverbs 1:1-7)

Part 1 of Proverbs: Walking in Wisdom || April 7, 2024 || Glynwood Baptist Church, Prattville, AL || James Jackson, Pastor

Welcome church! We are beginning a new series this morning called “Walking in wisdom,” and it is going to be based primarily on the book of Proverbs. And this series is going to be a little different. Normally I like to preach expository sermons—taking a chapter or a passage, going through it verse by verse, and preaching on whatever topic is discussed in that passage.

But this is going to be a topical series. That means we are going to start with some of the issues that affect us as believers, and then see what Proverbs has to say about that issue.

I think there’s a huge error most of us make when it comes to life: We compartmentalize it into our “spiritual life” and our “everyday life.” Someone asks you “how’s life?” And you talk about your job, your kids, your marriage, your finances, your schedule. But if I want to know anything about how God fits in with any of that, I’ve got to say, “How’s your spiritual life?” Or “How is your walk with the Lord?”

Proverbs teaches us that there’s no difference between our everyday life and our spiritual life. There’s just life. There’s not sacred and secular music. There’s not church friends and normal friends (although, let’s be real–some of your church friends aren’t normal!). If you are a follower of Jesus, you don’t have the option of subdividing your life into work life, school life, church life, sex life, family life, and social life. There’s just life. And Proverbs addresses all of it.

So we are going  to begin our journey by turning to Proverbs 1. And I’m going to challenge you to do something with me for the entire time we are studying Proverbs together. I’d like us all to read a chapter of Proverbs each day. There are 31 chapters in Proverbs. So whatever day of the month it is, read that chapter. And as you do, you’ll start to notice there are different topics that pop up over and over: Work, words parenting planning money marriage, sex, god, government character—the list goes on and on. So maybe there is something you personally are struggling with or have questions about. Start making a note of everything Proverbs has to say about that topic.

Let’s read Proverbs 1:1-7 together. Please stand to honor the reading of God’s Word.

1 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

² To know wisdom and instruction,
    to understand words of insight,
³ to receive instruction in wise dealing,
    in righteousness, justice, and equity;
⁴ to give prudence to the simple,
    knowledge and discretion to the youth—
⁵ Let the wise hear and increase in learning,
    and the one who understands obtain guidance,
⁶ to understand a proverb and a saying,
    the words of the wise and their riddles.

⁷ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
    fools despise wisdom and instruction.

May God bless the reading of His Word. Please pray with me.

[Pray]

In these seven verses, we learn three things right off the bat: We learn what the book is, what the book does, and how the book works.

First, What the book is: It’s the proverbs of Solomon. Most of us know what a proverb is. It’s a short, easy to remember statement of a practical truth:

• A penny saved is a ….
• A watched pot never…
• Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t ….
• Laughter is the best…
• You can’t judge a book …  

By the way, of the proverbs we just quoted together, guess how many of them came from the Bible? None of them! In fact, I tried to find the origin for these, and no one knows who said any of these first.

But the Proverbs in the book of Proverbs are different. They are the proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel. Many of you may know that when Solomon first became king, God invited him to ask for whatever he wished from God. And Solomon asked God for wisdom. God was pleased with Solomon’s request, and made him the wisest man who ever lived besides Jesus (see 1 Kings 3).  

The Hebrew word for “proverb” is related to a verb that means to represent, or to be like.

So proverbs are like little models of reality. You can take a Proverb, turn it over in your hands, look at it from different angles, and you’ll be able to get an idea of how the world works. They represent the way things normally work. They aren’t promises. Take Proverbs 22:6: Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. This is a description of how things normally work. But it isn’t an absolute promise.

Second, this introduction tells us what the purpose of the book is. Look again at verse 2:

To know wisdom and instruction,
    to understand words of insight,

God has two goals for us in the book of Proverbs. He wants us to know wisdom and instruction, and he wants us to understand words of insight.  The verb to know in Hebrew is “Yada.” It means an intimate knowledge of something. You know how the Bible says “Adam knew his wife, and she conceived and bore a son”? That’s yada. More than just a passing acquaintance. It’s like

Adam, Eve, yada yada yada, nine months later here’s Cain.

Then there is the Hebrew word for wisdom. Hokma. It’s used throughout the Bible to describe

• Artistic skill (the craftsmen and women who built the tabernacle)
• Strategic Planning both for war and for the future (Joseph)
• Financial shrewdness
• Judicial discernment
• Ethics and Morality

So put these together, and the purpose of proverbs is “to have an intimate understanding of skill, strategy, shrewdness, discernment, ethics, and morality.

This is what we see in verses 3-6.

³ to receive instruction in wise dealing,
    in righteousness, justice, and equity;
⁴ to give prudence to the simple,
    knowledge and discretion to the youth—
⁵ Let the wise hear and increase in learning,
    and the one who understands obtain guidance,
⁶ to understand a proverb and a saying,
    the words of the wise and their riddles.

So wisdom is about so much more than information.

Let me give you an example of the difference

Illustration

My brother in law Erdie is one of those guys that just knows how to do stuff. When we lived in Nashville, Erdie would often come down and help me with things around the house. Because I’m one of those guys that doesn’t know how to do stuff.

On this particular day, I think we were replacing a baseboard that was rotten or something like that. My son Caleb was helping us. And Erdie said, “Caleb, go to my truck and get the mitre box.”

Caleb, who was probably about ten at the time, looked at me and mouthed, “What’s a mitre box?” and I mouthed back, “I don’t know.”

So Erdie realizes neither of us have any idea what a mitre box is, so he goes to his truck and gets it himself. He brings it back and shows it to us. This is a mitre box, he says. It allows you to cut a strip of moulding at a 45 degree angle.

Caleb looks at it and says, “Why is it called a mitre box?” Erdie says, “I don’t know.” And this is where I jump in. I was so proud that I knew something my brother in law didn’t know. I said, “Well, Caleb, a mitre is the pointy hat a bishop wears. You know how on the chess piece there’s that 45 degree angle? That’s the mitre.

And I said, “By the way, did you know that chess pieces were designed to help you remember how each chess piece moves? The bishop moves diagonally, so you have these two diagonals built into the top of the piece. That’s the mitre.

Caleb said, “Huh.” Then he said, “So how does a mitre box work”

And I said, “I don’t know. Erdie, how does it work?”

And that is the difference between information and wisdom, I had knowledge. I knew what a mitre was. I knew how a chess piece moved. I knew why a mitre box was called a mitre box.

Erdie had wisdom. He knew how to cut a piece of moulding so we could replace a rotten baseboard.

Knowledge is having enough information to be sure you’re right.

Wisdom is having enough humility to admit you could be wrong.

So we know what Proverbs is: it’s a collection of divinely-inspired precepts describing how the world generally works.

We know what Proverbs is for: It’s for helping us develop an intimate understanding of practical wisdom.

So now, let’s talk about how we do that. How does Proverbs “work?” What is the key to unlocking all this practical wisdom.

The answer is verse 7:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge

And later, in Proverbs 9:10, we read that

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom

God wants us to have both yada—an intimate knowledge of the world, and hokmah – a practical understanding of how to live. And they both have the same starting point: the fear of the Lord.

Now, when you hear the word fear, what do you typically think of? You think of being afraid. Scared of something. Terror. Paralyzing anxiety. Alarm. Apprehension.

None of those are words we normally associate with God.

In fact, I can think of tons of verses off the top of my head where my relationship with God is the antidote for fear:

• When I am afraid, I will trust in you (Psalm 56:3-4)
• Do not fear, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name, you are mine (Psalm 41:10).
• Be strong and courageous. Do not tremble or be afraid, for the Lord your god is with you wherever you go (Joshua 1:9).
• Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy (Luke 2:10-11).
• When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul (Psalm 94:19)
• Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God (Philippians 4:6-7)

But at the same time, the Bible says time and time again that we are to fear the Lord. How do you square that?

Well, if you aren’t a follower of Jesus, then you need to be afraid. We are all born in sin. We’ve all broken God’s laws. And because of that, there are consequences. God’s wrath is His just punishment for sin. So all of those synonyms for fear are healthy and god given. They put a spotlight on our need for God.

Healthy fear combines reverence, awe, and delight. Imagine you come to the rim of the grand canyon. It takes your breath away with how beautiful it is. It fills you with delight. But it also makes you step back from the edge, hold your child’s hand tighter. Because you know that if you treat it lightly, it can kill you.

And let’s be honest, you want your kid to see the Grand Canyon, but there is a part of you that is relieved when you head back to the car.

.Fear the Lord, and you don’t have to fear anything else.

Conclusion

In the Chronicles of Narnia, there is a scene where a newcomer to Narnia named Jill encounters Aslan, the Great Lion, for the first time. She has just arrived in Narnia, and she is exhausted and confused. She comes to a stream:

But although the sight of water made her feel ten times thirstier than before, she didn’t rush forward and drink. She stood as still as if she had been turned into stone, with her mouth wide open. And she had a very good reason: just on this side of the stream lay the lion.

…“If I run away, it’ll be after me in a moment,” thought Jill. “And if I go on, I shall run straight into its mouth.” Anyway, she couldn’t have moved if she had tried, and she couldn’t take her eyes off it. How long this lasted, she could not be sure; it seemed like hours. And the thirst became so bad that she almost felt she would not mind being eaten by the lion if only she could be sure of getting a mouthful of water first.

“If you’re thirsty, you may drink.”
…For a second she stared here and there, wondering who had spoken. Then the voice said again, “If you are thirsty, come and drink.”…It was deeper, wilder, and stronger; a sort of heavy, golden voice. It did not make her any less frightened than she had been before, but it made her frightened in rather a different way.

“Are you not thirsty?” said the Lion.
“I’m dying of thirst,” said Jill.
“Then drink,” said the Lion.
“May I — could I — would you mind going away while I do?” said Jill.
The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl.
…The delicious rippling noise of the stream was driving her nearly frantic.
“Will you promise not to – do anything to me, if I do come?” said Jill.
“I make no promise,” said the Lion.
…“I daren’t come and drink,” said Jill.
“Then you will die of thirst,” said the Lion.
“Oh dear!” said Jill, coming another step nearer. “I suppose I must go and look for another stream then.”
“There is no other stream,” said the Lion.