Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 2:1
My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
1. hide ] or, lay up, R.V.; as a treasure stored carefully.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Now in the divine order comes the promise Pro 2:5. The conditions of its fulfillment are stated in Pro 2:1-4 in four sets of parallel clauses, each with some shade of distinct meaning. Thus, not receiving only, but hiding or treasuring up – not the ear only, but the heart – not the mere cry, but the eager lifting up the voice.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Pro 2:1-5
So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom.
Wisdom
This is constantly connected with religion. A religious fear of God is the first step in true wisdom. He who would know God aright must love Wisdom and humbly and vigorously seek after her. Wisdom is spoken of as a virtue, as much as truthfulness or charity or sobriety. It is identified with goodness. There is a real, true sense in which wisdom may be put for religion: the God-fearing man is the wise man; without the fear of God it is impossible to call any man truly wise. Taking the lowest view of things, only a selfish view, looking only at what is to be gained, the religious man is a wise man. If the good man proves to have been wrong, he loses nothing in the end, for he has had his own happiness here–peace of mind, a quiet conscience, and good prospects for the future. To take a higher view of the subject. The religious man is concerned with far grander and more exalted things than any other man. The principal attribute of a wise, discerning man is to be able to see things as they really are, to pierce through outside appearances and get at the heart of things, and not be cheated by sham outsides. To do this is a sign of wisdom. The religion of Jesus Christ treats of such mighty concerns that it is impossible to give the name of wise to him who thinks lightly of it. Wisdom is something which must be laboured for; it is not to be sought merely for amusement, but the search is to be the very business of mans life. (H. Goodwin, M,A.)
The endeavour to obtain true wisdom
The wise man is now come to the top of the ladder which doth bring us to true wisdom. The lowest step was a docile heart (Pro 2:1). The next, human instruction (Pro 2:2). The next above that, prayer to God (Pro 2:3). The last, study and painful endeavour through Gods blessing to obtain it (Pro 2:4). We must not lie in a ditch and cry, God, help! We must not so trust to our prayers that we give over our endeavours.
I. Heavenly wisdom is of great price.
II. Heavenly wisdom is far remote and hidden from us. It is beyond our invention and beyond our apprehension.
III. We must search for the means of obtaining heavenly wisdom.
IV. We must use the means when we find them. (Francis Taylor.)
The true wisdom
I. The nature of true wisdom. It is different from what the world calls wisdom. Its nature is different; its object and end are different. It is such a knowledge as is connected with the fear of God and obedience to His will. Worldly wisdom may be of use in directing us in those things which concern the present life, but spiritual wisdom will direct us in those things which concern the life to come.
II. The means which are to be used for obtaining wisdom.
III. If the means are used, success will certainly follow. Worldly wisdom is too often connected with pride; spiritual wisdom is always accompanied by humility.
IV. The source to which we must ever ascribe that success. God and God alone is the author of it. The teaching of this passage may be summed up thus–
1. There is a wisdom which man does not naturally possess, yet without which no man can be happy.
2. This wisdom consists not in the depths of science and learning, but in the fear of the Lord.
3. This wisdom is the gift of God.
4. It may be obtained by every one who desires it and diligently seeks for it in the way which God has appointed. (J. S. Pratt, B. C. L.)
Rules for the attainment of wisdom
I. There must be an active, practical habit of attention. Earthly wisdom is gained by study; heavenly wisdom by prayer. Prayer puts the heart under a heavenly tutorage.
II. Prayer must not stand in the stead of diligence. Let it rather give energy to it. The miners indefatigable pains, his invincible resolution, his untiring perseverance. The rule of success is: Dig up and down the field, and if the search be discouraging, dig again. The patient industry of perusal and reperusal will open the embosomed treasure. The habit of living in the element of Scripture is invaluable. Yet this profit can only be fully reaped in retirement. To search the Scriptures we must be alone with God. This enriching study gives a purer vein of sound judgment. All fundamental errors and heresies in the Church may be traced to partial and disjointed statements of truth. Truth separated from truth becomes error. But the mind prayerfully occupied in search of Divine truth–crying and lifting up the voice–will never fail to discern the two great principles of godliness, the fear and knowledge of God. There is no peradventure nor disappointment in this search. Never has apostasy from the faith been connected with a prayerful and diligent study of the Word of God. (C. Bridges.)
The inquiry after Divine truth
I. It must be candid–sincere. It is said of fools that they despise wisdom and instruction. But the children of Wisdom receive her words. They give them what they are entitled to, a serious and deliberate attention. They listen, they remember, they meditate, they examine, they accept, they lay up for use. If you feel the value of your privilege in having the Word of God in your possession, you will attend to the instructions and counsels, the admonitions, the encouragements, the commands which in the Bible are set before you. There are some who refuse to hear at all. This is unreasonable, uncandid, unmanly, and most infatuated. There are some who only seem to hear; the spirit of assentation has in it no sincerity, no heart. When there is sincerity of heart you will hide with you the Divine counsels and commands; hide the contents of the Word in the memory, in the understanding, in the conscience, in the heart.
II. It must be earnest. An inquiry determined on gratification, and that spares no pains on its attainment. Divine Wisdom is in earnest in imparting her instructions, and the pupil should be in earnest in seeking her instructions. He who is sensible of his inability to guide himself in the perplexing paths of life will be all solicitude for a conductor, Divine guide who may bring him into the right way and keep him in it.
III. With earnestness must re united importunate perseverance. This is implied in the variety of expressions used in succession to each other. Men discover the value they set on the treasures of this world by their unrelaxing diligence in seeking them. They do not give up the search immediately because they do not immediately succeed. Divine knowledge is fitly compared to treasure. The comparison is natural and common. But how few even of the people of God who profess to have learned the value of this wisdom and knowledge by a happy experience discover the longing, the vehement and persevering research, for the attainment of a larger and larger amount of it which might be expected of them I There is no way in which the Word can be in us richly without an eager seeking after it, or dwell in us richly without a careful and jealous keeping of it. There are powerful spiritual inducements presented. Then thou shalt understand the fear of the Lord, etc. By these terms true religion is expressed. Knowledge of God is the first lesson of heavenly wisdom. On the right apprehension of this lesson all the rest necessarily depends–
You cannot be right in the rest
Unless you think rightly of Him.
Wrong views of God will vitiate every other department of your knowledge. The fear of the Lord, founded in the knowledge of Him, is something to the right understanding of which experience is indispensable.
IV. The source from which true wisdom is to be obtained. The Lord giveth wisdom. In two ways–by His Word and by His Spirit. These two are really one, for God neither gives wisdom by His Word without His Spirit nor by His Spirit without His Word. The word rendered sound wisdom is one of general import, signifying anything real, solid, substantial. God has stores of wisdom laid up for present use; He will ever give larger and clearer manifestations of Himself, of His truths, of His ways, and of His will out of His inexhaustible stores, and there is also a treasure of invaluable wisdom and knowledge in reserve for His people in a future and better world. Another promise is safety. A buckler to them that walk uprightly. Jehovah is security amidst all the assaults of the enemies of the upright, and especially amidst the fiery darts of the wicked one, which, when the shield of Jehovahs power is interposed, cannot touch him, but fall, quenched and pointless, to the ground. (R. Wardlaw, D.D.)
The promises of Wisdom
Man must listen to Wisdom if he would be wise; his attitude must be one of attention; he must turn his ear towards the heavens and listen for every whisper that may proceed from the skies, and whilst his ear is listening his heart must be applied with unbroken attention to understanding. Everything depends upon our spirit as to the results of our study in the school of Wisdom. The crying after knowledge and lifting up the voice for understanding are equivalent to an exercise in prayer. There must also be activity or energy of the intensest quality. Seeking as for silver is an allusion to mining. The remains of copper mines have been discovered in the peninsula of Sinai and the remains of gold mines in one part of the desert of Egypt. Wisdom does not lie on the surface. It is to be dug for. Searching as for hid treasure reminds of the insecurity of property in the East and its frequent burial. God has purposely hidden both wisdom and understanding in order that the energy of man might be developed in searching for them. Wisdom is hidden in ancient books; in the experience of the whole world; in all difficult places; and is to be sought for with perseverance and zeal; the very act of searching being accompanied by a blessing. The Lord alone can give wisdom. He is the one fountain of wisdom. Elsewhere are partial revelations, broken experiences, hints of meaning, temporary satisfactions, but until we have discovered the Lord, and set Him always before us, we shall be working without a centre. True religion comes before true philosophy. Righteousness of character is necessary to the enjoyment of the treasures of sound wisdom. By sound wisdom we are to understand furtherance or advancement. God is evermore on the side of those who are righteous or upright or holy. Wisdom enters into the heart, and thus keeps the whole life pure. Knowledge is not merely an acquisition, it becomes a real pleasure to the soul, and not until it has become such a pleasure are we really in possession of it. Discretion and understanding are represented as the keepers of the soul–its protectors and guides–saving the soul from the way of the evil man, and protecting it from the man who delights in froward things, literally, in the misrepresentation and distortion of the truth. (J. Parker, D.D.)
Spiritual excellence
I. Spiritual excellence described. It is the fear of the Lord and the knowledge of God. Godliness has to do with both the intellect and the heart. It is knowledge and fear. In true spiritual excellence there is a blending of reverent love and theologic light–such a blending that both become one; the love is light and the light is love. This is not the means to heaven, it is heaven–in all times, circumstances, and worlds
II. Spiritual Excellence attained.
1. By the reception of Divine truth. The receptive faculty must be employed.
2. By the retention of Divine truth. What we receive from the Divine mind we must hold fast.
3. By the search after Divine truth. The ear must be turned away from the sounds of earthly pleasure, the din of worldliness, and the voices of human speculation, and must listen attentively to communications from the spiritual and eternal.
4. The search must be earnest and persevering. By so much as spiritual excellence is more valuable than all worldly treasures should be our ardent, unwearied diligence in quest of it. (D. Thomas, D.D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
CHAPTER II
The teacher promises his pupil the highest advantages, if he
will follow the dictates of wisdom, 1-9.
He shall be happy in its enjoyment, 10, 11;
shall be saved from wicked men, 12-15;
and from the snares of bad women, 16-19;
be a companion of the good and upright; and be in safety in the
land, when the wicked shall be rooted out of it, 20-22.
NOTES ON CHAP. II.
Verse 1. My son] Here the tutor still continues to instruct his disciple.
Hide my commandments with thee] Treasure them up in thy heart, and then act from them through the medium of thy affections. He who has the rule of his duty only in his Bible and in his head, is not likely to be a steady, consistent character; his heart is not engaged, and his obedience, in any case, can be only forced, or done from a sense of duty: it is not the obedience of a loving, dutiful child, to an affectionate father. But he who has the word of God in his heart, works from his heart; his heart goes with him in all things, and he delights to do the will of his heavenly Father, because his law is in his heart. See Pr 3:3.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
These words are spoken by Solomon, either,
1. In the name of wisdom, as before; or rather,
2. In his own name. Hide my commandments with thee; lay them up in thy mind and heart with care, as men do their choicest treasures.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
1-5. Diligence in hearing andpraying for instruction must be used to secure the great principle ofgodliness, the fear of God.
hide . . . with theelayup in store (compare Pr 7:1).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
My son,…. These are either the continuation of the words of Solomon to his son Rehoboam; or to anyone that came to him for instruction, or was within the reach of being taught by him; whom he addresses in this tender and affectionate manner, in order to gain his attention to what he was about to say: or else they are the words of Wisdom, or Christ, continued, thus bespeaking: his children and people; and giving them some very wholesome counsel and advice, backed with the most powerful and prevailing arguments;
if thou wilt receive my words; or doctrines: the doctrines of the Gospel, relating to the person, office, and grace of Christ, and salvation by him; such as the words of peace, pardon, righteousness, and life; which are to be received, not as the word of man, but as the word of God; and with all readiness of mind and willingness, as they were by the Bereans; and most gladly, as by the three thousand pricked to the heart under Peter’s sermon; and as they are and will be by every sensible sinner;
and hide my commandments with thee; in the heart; so as to have a high esteem of them, and a hearty affection and value for them; retain them in memory, and frequently think of them and meditate upon them, and constantly observe them; see Ps 119:11.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The first , with that which it introduces, Pro 2:1, Pro 2:2, is to be interpreted as an exclamation, “O that!” ( O si ), and then as an optative, as Psa 81:9; Psa 139:19. … , Pro 2:3-5, with the inserted connecting clauses, would then be confirmatory, “for then.” But since this poet loves to unfold one and the same thought in ever new forms, one has perhaps to begin the conditional premisses with Pro 2:1, and to regard as a new commencement. Hitzig takes this in the sense of imo : “much more if thou goest to meet her, e.g., by curious inquiry, not merely permittest her quietly to come to thee.” would then preserve its conditional meaning; and as in Job 31:18; Psa 130:4, since it implies an intentional negative, would receive the meaning of imo . But the sentences ranged together with are too closely related in meaning to admit such a negative between them. will thus be confirmatory, not mediately, but immediately; it is the “for = yes” of confirmation of the preceding conditions, and takes them up again (Ewald, 356, b, cf. 330 b) after the form of the conditional clause was given up. The , which in Pro 1:11, Pro 1:18, is the synonym of , speculari , presents itself here, 1b, 7a, as the synonym of , whence , synon. of , recondita ; the group of sounds, , , (cf. also , in Arab. dafan , whence dafynat , treasure), express shades of the root representation of pressing together. The inf. of the conclusion , to incline (Gr. Venet. ), is followed by the accus. of the object , thine ear, for properly means to stiffen (not to purge, as Schultens, nor to sharpen, as Gesenius thinks); cf. under Psa 10:17. With are interchanged , which properly means that which is distinguished or separated, and , which means the distinguishing, separating, appellations of the capacity of distinguishing in definite cases and in general; but it does not represent this as a faculty of the soul, but as a divine power which communicates itself as the gift of God ( charisma ).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
The Search after Wisdom Encouraged. | |
1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; 2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; 3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; 4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; 5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. 6 For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. 7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. 8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. 9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.
Job had asked, long before this, Where shall wisdom be found? Whence cometh wisdom? (Job 28:12; Job 28:20) and he had given this general answer (v. 23), God knoweth the place of it; but Solomon here goes further, and tells us both where we may find it and how we may get it. We are here told,
I. What means we must use that we may obtain wisdom.
1. We must closely attend to the word of God, for that is the word of wisdom, which is able to make us wise unto salvation,Pro 2:1; Pro 2:2. (1.) We must be convinced that the words of God are the fountain and standard of wisdom and understanding, and that we need not desire to be wiser than they will make us. We must incline our ear and apply our hearts to them, as to wisdom or understanding itself. Many wise things may be found in human compositions, but divine revelation, and true religion built upon it, are all wisdom. (2.) We must, accordingly, receive the word of God with all readiness of mind, and bid it welcome, even the commandments as well as the promises, without murmuring or disputing. Speak, Lord, for thy servant hears. (3.) We must hide them with us, as we do our treasures, which we are afraid of being robbed of. We must not only receive, but retain, the word of God, and lodge it in our hearts, that it may be always ready to us. (4.) We must incline our ear to them; we must lay hold on all opportunities of hearing the word of God, and listen to it with attention and seriousness, as those that are afraid of letting it slip. (5.) We must apply our hearts to them, else inclining the ear to them will stand us in no stead.
2. We must be much in prayer, v. 3. We must cry after knowledge, as one that is ready to perish for hunger begs hard for bread. Faint desires will not prevail; we must be importunate, as those that know the worth of knowledge and our own want of it. We must cry, as new-born babes, after the sincere milk of the word. 1 Pet. ii. 2. We must lift our voice for understanding lift it up to heaven; thence these good and perfect gifts must be expected, Jas 1:17; Job 38:34. We must give our voice to understanding (so the word is), speak for it, vote for it, submit the tongue to the command of wisdom. We must consecrate our voice to it; having applied our heart to it, we must employ our voice in seeking for it. Solomon could write probatum est–a tried remedy, upon this method; he prayed for wisdom and so obtained it.
3. We must be willing to take pains (v. 4); we must seek it as silver, preferring it far before all the wealth of this world, and labouring in search of it as those who dig in the mines, who undergo great toil and run great hazards, with indefatigable industry and invincible constancy and resolution, in pursuit of the ore; or as those who will be rich rise up early, and sit up late, and turn every stone to get money and fill their treasures. Thus diligent must we be in the use of the means of knowledge, following on to know the Lord.
II. What success we may hope for in the use of these means. Our labour shall not be in vain; for, 1. We shall know how to maintain our acquaintance and communion with God: “Thou shalt understand the fear of the Lord (v. 5), that is, thou shalt know how to worship him aright, shalt be led into the meaning and mystery of every ordinance, and be enabled to answer the end of its institution.” Thou shalt find the knowledge of God, which is necessary to our fearing him aright. It concerns us to understand how much it is our interest to know God, and to evidence it by agreeable affections towards him and adorations of him. 2. We shall know how to conduct ourselves aright towards all men (v. 9): “Thou shalt understand, by the word of God, righteousness, and judgment, and equity, shalt learn those principles of justice, and charity, and fair dealing, which shall guide and govern thee in the whole course of thy conversation, shall make thee fit for every relation, every business, and faithful to every trust. It shall give thee not only a right notion of justice, but a disposition to practise it, and to render to all their due; for those that do not do justly do not rightly understand it.” This will lead them in every good path, for the scripture will make the man of God perfect. Note, Those have the best knowledge who know their duty, Ps. cxi. 10.
III. What ground we have to hope for this success in our pursuits of wisdom; we must take our encouragement herein from God only, v. 6-8.
1. God has wisdom to bestow, v. 6. The Lord not only is wise himself, but he gives wisdom, and that is more than the wisest men in the world can do, for it is God’s prerogative to open the understanding. All the wisdom that is in any creature is his gift, his free gift, and he gives it liberally (Jam. i. 5), has given it to many, and is still giving it; to him therefore let us apply for it.
2. He has blessed the world with a revelation of his will. Out of his mouth, by the law and the prophets, by the written word and by his ministers, both which are his mouth to the children of men, come knowledge and understanding, such a discovery of truth and good as, if we admit and receive the impressions of it, will make us truly knowing and intelligent. It is both an engagement and encouragement to search after wisdom that we have the scriptures to search, in which we may find it if we seek it diligently.
3. He has particularly provided that good men, who are sincerely disposed to do his will, shall have that knowledge and that understanding which are necessary for them, John vii. 17. Let them seek wisdom, and they shall find it; let them ask, and it shall be given them, Pro 2:7; Pro 2:8. Observe here, (1.) Who those are that are thus favoured. They are the righteous, on whom the image of God is renewed, which consists in righteousness, and those who walk uprightly, who are honest in their dealings both with God and man and make conscience of doing their duty as far as they know it. They are his saints, devoted to his honour, and set apart for his service. (2.) What it is that is provided for them. [1.] Instruction. The means of wisdom are given to all, but wisdom itself, sound wisdom, is laid up for the righteous, laid up in Christ their head, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and who is made of God to us wisdom. The same that is the Spirit of revelation in the word is a Spirit of wisdom in the souls of those that are sanctified, that wisdom of the prudent which is to understand his way; and it is sound wisdom, its foundations firm, its principles solid, and its products of lasting advantage. [2.] Satisfaction. Some read it, He lays up substance for the righteous, not only substantial knowledge, but substantial happiness and comfort, Prov. viii. 21. Riches are things that are not, and those that have them only fancy themselves happy; but what is laid up in the promises and in heaven for the righteous will make them truly, thoroughly, and eternally happy. [3.] Protection. Even those who walk uprightly may be brought into danger for the trial of their faith, but God is, and will be, a buckler to them, so that nothing that happens to them shall do them any real hurt, or possess them with any terrific apprehensions; they are safe, and they shall think themselves so. Fear not, Abraham; I am thy shield. It is their way, the paths of judgment in which they walk, that the Lord knows, and owns, and takes care of. [4.] Grace to persevere to the end. If we depend upon God, and seek to him for wisdom, he will uphold us in our integrity, will enable us to keep the paths of judgment, however we may be tempted to turn aside out of them; for he preserves the way of his saints, that it be not perverted, and so preserves them in it safe and blameless to his heavenly kingdom. The assurances God has given us of his grace, if duly improved, will excite and quicken our endeavours in doing our duty. Work out your salvation, for God works in you.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
THE BENEFITS OF WISDOM
(Pro 2:1 to Pro 3:35)
Conditions for the Benefits of Wisdom
(Pro 2:1-6)
Chapter 2 continues the Father-to-son instruction, enlarging upon the teaching (1:33) that wisdom has benefits for those who seek her.
Vs. 1-5 set forth the conditions under which wisdom is attained:
1) By receiving and treasuring the words and commandments of wisdom; not just hearing with the ear, but pondering the meaning and retaining the teaching in the heart, Vs. 1-2; 4:21; Psa 1:2.
2) By earnestly seeking knowledge and understanding as one would search for a valuable hidden treasure, Vs. 3-4; 3:13-14; Psa 19:9-10; Jer 29:13.
3) When these conditions are met, the promise is THEN (not before) shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD (submissive reverence for the LORD) and find the knowledge of God, Vs. 5; See also commentary on 1:7.
Vs. 6 emphasizes that it is the LORD who gives wisdom. Earnest seekers find what the LORD gives to those who diligently seek, 1Ki 3:9-12; Jas 1:5.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Pro. 2:1-5
HUMAN UNDERSTANDING AND DIVINE KNOWLEDGE
I. Divine knowledge is within the reach of the human understanding. When a physician has created an appetite in his patient, he sees that he is provided with food that will satisfy his hunger. As God has given the eye, so He has given light to meet its needs. God has created man with a need, and with capabilities of knowing Him, and has therefore placed such knowledge within his reach. The Word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart, etc. (Rom. 10:8).
II. The conditions of its attainment.
1. Attention. In all departments of knowledge we must begin by doing the easiest thing. The first thing we have to do is to listen to what the teacher has to say. Everybody can do that. This is the first thing to be done in order to attain a knowledge of God. We can listen to His message. We can receive His words, incline our ear. Faith cometh by hearing.
2. Retention. The simple attention of the soul is not the reclaiming power. The hearing will not bless us if we do not hold the truth in our memory. And some seed fell by the wayside, and the fowls came and devoured them up (Mat. 13:4). But the ploughed earth receives the seed, and holds it, and hides it, and by retention comes seed to the sower and bread to the eater. We must not only receive but hide the words of God.
3. Reflection. This prevents forgetfulness; this is indispensable to retention. The rules of grammar, or of arithmetic, must not only be received into the memory, but meditated upon. We must apply our minds to them in order to understand them. The soul which receives and holds Divine truth must apply itself to the understanding of it.
4. Supplication. If the learner has not only the book, but the author of the book at hand, he can turn to him and ask him to unfold the meaning of the difficult passages, or to show him how to apply the rules. We have not only the Divine Word of God, but we have the Divine Spirit; not only the Book of Wisdom, but the Author of the Book, the source of wisdom. And He has promised to give wisdom for the asking. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him (Jas. 1:5). There must be an asking in order to receive. If thou criest after knowledge, etc.
5. Perseverance. Those who find a few diamonds upon the surface of the ground do not then bring their labours to a conclusion. They dig down beneath, and toil on for months and years if the mine yields. They do not cease while they think there is more to be gained. The Divine wisdom is a mine which yields a little on the surface, but we must not stop there: we must dig down deep, we must continue to hear, to remember, to meditate, to cry for enlightenment,we must ask, and seek, and knock, and never cease to search for the hidden and exhaustless treasures of wisdom.
III. The certainty of success if the conditions are fulfilled. Then shalt thou understand, etc. The mariner puts out to sea, and fulfils all the conditions known to him for reaching the country to which he is bound, but he may find a grave midway between his starting-point and his goal. The husbandman sows the seed, and fulfils all the conditions upon which a good harvest depends. But his crop may fail notwithstanding: he may not reap the golden grain. But no such disappointment ever befals the earnest seeker after the knowledge of God.
ILLLUSTRATION OF Pro. 2:4
There are frequent allusions to hid treasure in the Bible. Even in Job we read that the bitter in soul dig for death more earnestly than for hid treasure. There is not another comparison within the whole compass of human action so vivid as this. I have heard of diggers actually fainting when they have come even upon a single coin. They become positively frantic, dig all night with a desperate earnestness, and continue to work until utterly exhausted. There are, at this hour, hundreds of persons engaged in it all over the country. Not a few spend their last farthing upon these ruinous efforts. It is not difficult to account for this hid treasure. The country has always been subject to revolutions, invasions, and calamities of different kinds. Warriors and conquerors from every part of the world sweep over the land, carrying everything away that falls into their hand. Then, again, this country has ever been subject to earthquakes, which bury everything beneath her ruined cities.Thomsons Land and the Book.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Pro. 2:1-2. The sinner is here told how he may become serious. In any conceivable path if thou wilt do that lowest conceivable thingjust listen; and, that thy listening may not be a mere passing flash, if thou wilt pause upon it, and attend. If a man just takes a chair and thinks for a moment of death and judgment and eternity, his heart begins to feel, and it will go on feeling to any length. It requires the Spirit, no doubt; but what is the Spirit but the Spirit of the God of Nature? He will come in the track of thought just as surely as a star is dragged after Him in the track of gravitation.Miller.
The word of God is a vital seed, but it will not germinate unless it be hidden in a softened, receptive heart. It is here that Providence so often strikes in with effect as an instrument in the work of the Spirit. The place and use of providential visitations in the Divine administration of Christs kingdom is to break up the way of the word through the incrustations of worldliness and vanity that encase a human heart, and keep the word lying hard and dry upon the surface.Arnot.
Angels, who are so much our superiors, apply themselves to the learning of it: they are already supplied with the stores of truth, and yet they desire to pry deeper into the mystery of it. Surely, then, the wisest of us ought to apply our whole hearts.Lawson.
There are some who do hear, or rather, seem to hear. They profess to be all attention; but it is mere pretencethe mere result of politeness and courtesy to the speaker. This is worse than not hearing at all, inasmuch as it is the reality of neglect, with the guilt of hypocrisy added to it.Wardlaw.
Pro. 2:2. Lie low at Gods feet and say,Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth. His saints sit down at His feet, every one to receive His word.Trapp.
Even as worldlings, when they hear of some good bargain, hearken very diligently; or as they who think that one speaketh of them put their ears near to him that speaketh.Muffet.
Pro. 2:3. Earthly wisdom is gained by study; heavenly wisdom by prayer. Study may form a biblical scholar; prayer puts the heart under a heavenly pupilage, and therefore forms the wise and spiritual Christian. But prayer must not stand in the stead of diligence. Let it rather give life and energy to it.Bridges.
Knowledge is Gods gift, and must be sought at His hand, since He is the Father of Lights, and sells us eye-salve (Rev. 3:17).Trapp.
It is not any longer a Nicodemus inclined towards Jesus, he cannot tell how, and silently stealing into His presence under cloud of night; it is the jailer of Philippi springing in and crying with a loud voice: What must I do to be saved?Arnot.
Pro. 2:4. The same image occurs in Joh. 5:39 : Search the Scriptures. Not merely scrape the surface and get a few superficial scraps of knowledge, but dig deep, and far, and wide. The treasures are hidden by God, not in order to keep them back from us, but to stimulate our faith and patient perseverance in seeking for them.Fausset.
Men never prayed that way and were not answered. Men seek money
(1) always;
(2) as a matter of course;
(3) against all discomfitures;
(4) under all uncertainties.Miller.
Will not the far-reaching plans, and heroic sacrifices, and long-enduring toil of Californian and Australian golddiggers rise up and condemn us who have tasted and known the grace of God? Their zeal is the standard by which the Lord stimulates us now, and will measure us yet. Two things are required in our searchthe right direction and the sufficient impulse. The Scriptures point out the right way, the avarice of mankind marks the quantum of forcefulness, wherewith the seeker must press on.Arnot.
This intimates
(1) a loss or want of something. Else men seek not for it.
(2) A knowledge of this want or loss. Else men sit still.
(3) Some goodness indeed, or, in our own opinion, of the thing sought. Men are, or should be, content to lose what is evil.
(4) Some benefit to ourselves in it. Else few will seek it, though good in itself.
(5) An earnest desire to find it. Else men have no heart to seek it.
(6) A constant inquiry after it, wheresoever there is any hope to find it. Else we seek in vain. So in seeking wisdomwe must want it, and know that we want it, and see good in it, and that to ourselves, and seek it earnestly and constantly, if we would find it.Francis Taylor.
Pro. 2:5. That which impels men to the pursuit is also the prize which rewards them. If any distinction between God (Elohim, see Critical Notes) and the Lord (Jehovah) can be pressed here, it is that in the former the glory, in the latter the personality of the Divine nature is prominent.Plumptre.
He understandeth the fear of the Lord, whose understanding feareth the Lord. The knowledge of God is found in all His creatures, but he findeth the knowledge of God who, being lost in his sins, is found by God in the acknowledgment of them And as fear advanceth to the knowledge of God, so the knowledge of God bringeth us to the fear of Him.Jermin.
This knowledge of God is the first lesson of heavenly wisdom. On the right apprehension of this lesson all the rest necessarily depends. Wrong views of God will vitiate every other department of your knowledge. Without right views of God you can have no right views of His law. Without right views of His law you can have no right views of sin, either in its guilt or in its amount. Without right views of sin you can have no right views of your own condition, and character, and prospects as sinners. Without right views of these you can have no right views of your need of a Saviour, or of the person, and righteousness, and atonement of that Saviour. Without right views of these you can have no right views of your obligations to Divine grace, etc. The fear of the Lord, founded on the knowledge of Him, is something to the right understanding of which experience is indispensable. To a man who had never tasted anything sweet, you would attempt in vain to convey, by description, a right conception of the sensation of sweetness. And what is true of the sensations is true also of the emotions. To a creature that had never felt fear you would hardly convey, by description, an idea of its nature; and equally in vain would it be to make love intelligible to one that had never experienced that affection. It is thus to a depraved creature with regard to holy and spiritual affections. The fear of the Lorda fear springing from love and proportioned to itsuch a creature cannot understand but by being brought to experience it.Wardlaw.
The knowledge of God regulates the fear and prevents it from sinking into terror, or degenerating into superstition, but guides it to express its power in checking and subduing every corrupt affection and animating the soul to every instance of obedience.Lawson.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
CHAPTER 2
TEXT Pro. 2:1-9
1.
My son, if thou wilt receive my words,
And lay up my commandments with thee;
2.
So as to incline thine ear unto wisdom,
And apply thy heart to understanding;
3.
Yea if thou cry after discernment,
And lift up thy voice for understanding;
4.
If thou seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hid treasures:
5.
Then shalt thou understand the fear of Jehovah,
And find the knowledge of God.
6.
For Jehovah giveth wisdom;
Out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding:
7.
He layeth up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to them that walk in integrity;
8.
That he may guard the paths of justice,
And preserve the way of his saints.
9.
Then shalt thou understand righteousness and justice,
And equity, yea, every good path.
STUDY QUESTIONS OVER 2:1-9
1.
Would you draw a distinction between my words and my commandments in Pro. 2:1?
2.
What is heard by the ear must be considered in the …………… (Pro. 2:2).
3.
What words in Pro. 2:3 show earnestness in seeking knowledge?
4.
How earnestly should knowledge be sought (Pro. 2:4)?
5.
What knowledge should fathers especially want their sons to have (Pro. 2:5)?
6.
Do the words of understanding come to man from Gods mouth directly or by inspiration (Pro. 2:6)?
7.
What does integrity mean (Pro. 2:7)?
8.
What word in Pro. 2:7 goes along with guard and preserve in Pro. 2:8?
9.
How different would the world be if everybody understood these things (Pro. 2:9)?
PARAPHRASE OF 2:1-9
15.
Every young man who listens to me and obeys my instructions will be given wisdom and good sense. Yes, if you want better insight and discernment, and are searching for them as you would for lost money or hidden treasure, then wisdom will be given you and knowledge of God Himself; you will soon learn the importance of reverence for the Lord and of trusting Him.
69.
For the Lord grants wisdom! His every word is a treasure of knowledge and understanding. He grants good sense to the godlyHis saints. He is their shield, protecting them and guarding their pathway. He shows how to distinguish right from wrong, how to find the right decision every time.
COMMENTS ON 2:1-9
Pro. 2:1. Other chapters that begin with My son: Chapters 3, 5, 6, 7. We will point out the doublets as they occur in this and the following 4 verses: ( receive my words; and (2) hide my commandments. Other passages on laying up parental instructions in ones heart: Pro. 4:21; Pro. 7:1. The…if is conditional, and serves to introduce the series of clauses (Pro. 2:1-4) which lay down the conditions upon which the promises depend…There is a gradation in emphasis in the various terms here used…Just as commandments is stronger than words, so hide is stronger than receive…The Divine commands…are to be hidden in safe custody in the memory, in the understanding, in the conscience, and in the heart…The psalmist expresses the same idea in Psa. 119:11 : Thy word have I hid in my heart (Pulpit Commentary).
Pro. 2:2. Doublet: (1 incline thine ear unto wisdom; and (2) apply thy heart to understanding. Solomon wanted his son to develop an inclination for wisdom (incline). Just as a ball will roll down an incline, so if one is inclined toward wisdom will he assuredly apply his heart (put himself into getting understanding).
Pro. 2:3. Doublet: (1) cry after discernment; and (2) lift up thy voice for understanding. The picture in this verse is even stronger than incline in Pro. 2:4. Here the son is urged to cry after, to lift up his voice for discernment (the ability to distinguish between right and wrong, truth and error, wisdom and foolishness).
Pro. 2:4. The ifs in these first 4 verses might be thought of as progressive as follows: if you receive and lay up my commandments (as a child); if you develop an inclination toward wisdom and develop an understanding heart (in youth); and if you cry after and seek for discernment and understanding (as an adult), Pro. 2:5 says it will be yours. The comparison here made between the search for wisdom and the search for the hidden treasures of the earth was not unfamiliar to the Hebrew mind as it is found worked out with great beauty of detail in Job 28 (Pulpit Commentary). Pro. 3:14 : For the gaining of it is better than the gaining of silver, And the profit thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies: And none of the things thou canst desire are to be compared unto her (Pro. 3:14-15).
Pro. 2:5. If the conditions of Pro. 2:1-4 are met, then this wonderful promise will apply: the son will understand the fear of Jehovah and will find the knowledge of God. And this fear of Jehovah will then lead to even more wisdom and knowledge (Pro. 1:7).
Pro. 2:6. If one seeks for wisdom according to Pro. 2:1-4, then God will give it to him. Involved in this quest is to acknowledge God as the source of all wisdom and to go to Him for it: If any of you lacketh wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him (Jas. 1:5). This is what Solomon did (Give thy servant therefore an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and evil1Ki. 3:9), and God gave it to him (Behold, I have done according to thy word: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there hath been none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee1Ki. 3:12). In our section Solomon is merely teaching his son from his own experience.
Pro. 2:7. God gives wisdom as well as other blessings to the upright: No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly (Psa. 84:11). As to Gods being a shield to those who walk in integrity, Pro. 20:5 says, He is a shield unto them that take refuge in him. God is Himself a buckler or shield…This aspect of Gods direct protecting power is met with in other parts of Scripture: Gen. 15:1; Psa. 33:20; Psa. 84:11; Psa. 89:18; Psa. 144:2 (Pulpit Commentary).
Pro. 2:8. Yes, Jehovah guards the paths of justice. Is it not remarkable that even though men themselves do not always do what is right that the old basics of what is right and wrong still survive (such as love, kindness, truth-telling, the wrongness of killing, stealing, etc.)? He not only guards the paths of justice but particularly preserves the way of those who walk in those paths: The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous (1Pe. 3:12); He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: He that keepeth thee will not slumber…Jehovah is thy keeper…Jehovah will keep thee from all evil; He will keep thy soul. Jehovah will keep thy going out and thy coming in (Psa. 121:3-8); He will keep the foot of his holy ones (1Sa. 2:9). Note that even Gods Old Testament people were called saints, which means holy ones.
Pro. 2:9. Here are things that every person should understand and not be confused about. If one so applies himself to get wisdom, God will bless him with it, and that will include an understanding of these basic things.
STUDY QUESTIONS OVER 2:1-9
1.
What other chapters begin with my son (Pro. 2:1)?
2.
How many of these opening verses contain doublets (Pro. 2:1)?
3.
Comment upon incline and apply in Pro. 2:2.
4.
Comment on the stronger words used in Pro. 2:3 than those used in Pro. 2:2.
5.
Comment on the possible progressiveness of the ifs in Pro. 2:1-4.
6.
What great promise is found in Pro. 2:5?
7.
How did Solomon himself get wisdom (Pro. 2:6)?
8.
God gives wisdom to what group in Pro. 2:7?
9.
Comment on God guarding the paths of justice (Pro. 2:8).
10.
What will one understand if God blesses him with wisdom (Pro. 2:9)?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
II.
(c) Third Discourse:An Exhortation to follow after Wisdom (Proverbs 2).
(1) Hidei.e., store up. (Comp. Pro. 2:4.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
THE TEACHER SHOWS HOW TO FIND Wisdom , vv1-9.
The last verse of the preceding chapter makes a very suitable close to the discourse of Wisdom. The general character of that discourse is that of a modern practical and hortatory sermon dissuading from evil and persuading to good, with appropriate threatenings and promises. This introduction of Wisdom speaking for herself is a very natural and ornamental episode, carrying out the main design of the author the idea with which he set out in his motto or text, (Pro 1:7,) “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” With this key to Pro 2:1-5 scarcely another word is necessary to make the whole harmonious and impressive. Nevertheless, the force of a few of the words may be exhibited. The author, it will be seen, now speaks again in his own person.
1. Hide my commandments with thee Treasure up my precepts.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Solomon Calls On His ‘Son’ To Receive His Words With A View To Attaining A True Knowledge Of God Which Will Cause Him To Reverence Him ( Pro 2:1-5 ).
The first voice that speaks to the young man is the voice of his mentor, which echoes the voice of God (Pro 2:6). He calls on him to apply his heart and mind to understanding the fear of YHWH and finding the knowledge of God. And this he will do by seeking earnestly after wisdom and understanding, partly as divulged by his mentor.
This can be seen as presented chiastically:
A My son, if you will receive my words, and lay up my commandments with you (Pro 2:1).
B So as to incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding (Pro 2:2).
C Yes, if you cry after discernment (Pro 2:3 a).
C And lift up your voice for understanding (Pro 2:3 b).
B If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures (Pro 2:4)
A Then will you understand the fear of YHWH, and find the knowledge of God (Pro 2:5).
In A the young man is to receive his words and lay up his commandments and in the parallel he will through them understand the fear of YHWH and find the knowledge of God. In B effort is required in achieving this (‘incline — apply’), and in the parallel the same is true (‘seek’). Centrally in C he is to cry out and call for discernment and understanding. (BCB can also, of course, be seen as progressive).
Pro 2:1-5
‘My son, if you will receive my words,
And lay up my commandments with you,
So as to incline your ear to wisdom,
And apply your heart to understanding,
Yes, if you cry after discernment,
And lift up your voice for understanding,
If you seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hid treasures,
Then will you understand the fear of YHWH,
And find the knowledge of God.’
Once again we have the introductory, ‘my son’, typical of a wisdom teacher. Fatherly advice is being given. And it is being given in words, words which he shortly explains are from the mouth of God (Pro 2:6, note the for/because’ which relates Pro 2:6 to what has gone before). Note here that the purpose in seeking wisdom is to be in order to understand the fear of YHWH, and in order to find the knowledge of God, and that great effort must be exerted to that end. In Israel all wisdom had as its end the awareness and knowledge of God. That is where Israel’s wisdom teaching differed from much other wisdom teaching. And as a surrogate father speaking to his son Solomon calls on him to receive his words, and lay up his commandments ‘with him’. They are to be his constant companion and guide, with a view to his inclining his ear towards wisdom, and applying his heart to understanding.
Thus he is to receive, learn, and meditate upon them. He is to ‘cry after’ understanding and discernment because he is so eager for it, seeing it as the equivalent of silver and as a hidden treasure which must be desperately sought for. The reference to silver and to hidden treasures (men would often bury gold in the ground for safety, only to be unable to retrieve it later), indicates the aims of everyday men and women to whom such goals were achievable. Solomon is bearing in mind the limits of their ambitions. He is bearing in mind what most men seek. But from Solomon’s point of view, ‘silver was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon’ (1Ki 10:21).
However, the point is clear. Man’s greed must not be for wealth, but for God. Note the progression of thought. The young man is to ‘incline his ear and apply his heart/mind’ to wisdom and understanding; then he is to ‘cry after’ discernment and understanding (as Wisdom cried after him – Pro 1:20-21), and finally he is to ‘seek’ and ‘search for’ wisdom and understanding as men seek silver and search for buried treasure. This verse may well have been in Jesus’ mind when He taught the parable of the buried treasure (Mat 13:44).
Note also the contrast with the greedy and violent men in Pro 1:13 who sought ‘all precious substance’ and to ‘fill their houses with spoil’. There they wanted ill-gotten gain and would do anything to obtain it. But here the search is to be for the precious substance of truth. The seeker after truth is to have the same eagerness for truth as the sinner has for wealth, but in his case it is to be an eagerness to obtain the discernment and understanding which will enable him to understand the fear of YHWH and to find the knowledge of God. His longing is to be that he might be a true servant of God.
It is important to note the final goals, which are so very different from other wisdom literature. Paradoxically the aim is to understand God’s awesomeness and hiddenness and holiness (the fear of YHWH), whilst at the same time coming to know Him as He is (the knowledge of God), not theoretically through theology, but practically through experience of God. Whilst He is far off, He is to be seen as ever near. As Solomon would say elsewhere, ‘even the Heaven of Heavens could not contain Him’ (1Ki 8:27). And yet now he confirms that He reveals Himself to those who seek Him. This is the wonder of our God.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Prologue To The Book ( Pro 1:8 to Pro 9:18 ).
It was common throughout the 3rd to the 1st millenniums BC for collections of wisdom saying to have a prologue preparing for the ‘sayings’ that would follow. Those sayings would then be introduced by a subheading. Proverbs thus follows the usual precedent in having such a prologue in Pro 1:8 to Pro 9:18, followed by general sayings in Pro 10:1 ff headed by a subheading (Pro 10:1). It was also common for such a prologue to be addressed to ‘my son’, or similar, with constant references being made to ‘my son’ throughout the prologue. And this is interestingly a feature of Proverbs 1-9, where it occurs fifteen times. One difference, however, lies in the fact that the ‘son’ was usually named in other wisdom literature, something which does not occur in Proverbs. Indeed, in Proverbs ‘my son’ is sometimes replaced by ‘sons’ (Pro 4:1; Pro 5:7; Pro 7:24; Pro 8:32). It is addressed to whoever will hear and respond.
The Prologue consists of ten discourses, and divides into two. It commences with five discourses, each of which follows a similar pattern, an opening appeal followed by two further subsections, and closing with a contrast between the righteous and the unrighteous, the wise and the foolish. We can compare how there are five ‘books’ to the Torah, and five books of Psalms. Five is the covenant number. Each of the subsections is in the form of a chiasmus.
From chapter 6 onwards the pattern changes. Initially we find a description of three types, whom we could describe as the naive, the foolish, the wicked (Pro 6:1-19), and this is followed by Pro 6:20 to Pro 9:18 which are centred on the contrast between the seductive power of the strange woman, and the uplifting power of woman wisdom, all continually urging the young man to turn from the enticements of the world and choose wisdom.
The prologue may be analysed as follows;
The Five Discourses.
1). Discourse 1. Addressed To ‘My Son’. Those Who Seek To Walk In The Fear Of YHWH Will Listen To The Instruction Of Godly Authority, And Will Avoid The Enticements Of Sinners Motivated By Greed. Wisdom Is Then Depicted As Crying Out To Be Heard, Longing For Response, Promising Inculcation Of Her Own Spirit, And Warning Of The Consequences Of Refusal (Pro 1:8-33).
2). Discourse 2. Addressed To ‘My Son’. The Source Of True Wisdom Is YHWH, And Those Who Truly Seek Wisdom Will Find YHWH Himself, And He Will Then Reveal His Wisdom To Them. This Wisdom That God Gives Them Will Then Deliver Them From All Who Are Evil, Both From Men Who Have Abandoned The Right Way, And From The Enticements Of Immoral Women (Pro 2:1-22).
3). Discourse 3. Addressed To ‘My Son’. The Young Man Is To Trust In YHWH, To Fear YHWH And To Honour YHWH, And In View Of Their Great Value Is To Find YHWH’s Wisdom And Obtain Understanding Which Will Be His Protection And Will Through YHWH’s Chastening Activity Restore Him To Man’s First Estate. In View Of Them He Is To Observe A Series Of Practical Requirements Which Will Result In Blessing For The Wise (Pro 3:1-35).
4). Discourse 4. Addressed to ‘Sons’. Wisdom And Understanding Are To Be Sought And Cherished, For They Produce Spiritual Beauty, and Lead Those Who Respond Unto The Perfect Day (Pro 4:1-19).
5). Discourse 5. Addressed To ‘My Son’ (and later ‘Sons’). He Is To Avoid The Enticements Of The Strange Woman Whose Ways Lead To Death, And Rather Be Faithful To His True Wife (Pro 4:20 to Pro 5:23).
A Description Of Three Contrasting Failures.
6). Discourse 6. The Naive, The Fool And The Scorner Illustrated. The First Addressed To ‘My Son’ Is A Call To Avoid Acting As A Surety For Others, The Second Addressed To ‘You Sluggard’, Is A Call To Shake Off Laziness, And The Third, Unaddressed, Concerns A Worthless Person And A Troublemaker (Pro 6:1-19).
A Contrast Between The Strange Seductive Woman And The Pure Woman Wisdom.
Discourse 7. Addressed To ‘My Son’. He Is Urged To Observe The Commandment And The Torah Of Father And Mother, Avoiding The Enticement Of The Adulterous Woman, And Being Aware Of The Wrath Of The Deceived Husband (Pro 6:20-35).
Discourse 8. Addressed To ‘My Son’. After Appealing To Him To Observe His Words Solomon Vividly Describes The Wiles Of A Prostitute And Warns ‘Sons’ Against Her (Pro 7:1-27).
Discourse 9. The Call of Ms Wisdom As The One Who Seeks Response, Gives Men True Instruction, Ensures Good Government, Enriches Men Physically and Spiritually, Was Present With God During Creation, And Blesses Men And Brings Them Into Life So That They Find God’s Favour (Pro 8:1-36).
Discourse 10. The Appeal Of Woman Wisdom Contrasted With The Allure Of Woman Folly (Pro 9:1-18).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
How We Develop an Ear to Hear the Call of Wisdom (This Passage Parallel’s Solomon’s Prayer for a Hearing Heart) – Chapter one tells us that wisdom calls both to the simple and to the wise, to guide them daily in the path of blessing and protection. But thank God that chapter one does not leave us struggling to understand how we are to discern the voice of wisdom. In chapter two we are told how to develop a hearing ear so that we can hear wisdom’s voice and gain discernment by studying the Word of God (Pro 2:1-5); for wisdom proceeds from God (Pro 2:6), and it is God’s way of protecting His children (Pro 2:7-9). When we learn how to obtain it, we find ourselves protected from the calamities that befall the wicked (Pro 2:10-20), from the voice of the evil man (Pro 2:12-15) and the strange woman (Pro 2:16-19) so that we can dwell in the land and not be cut off (Pro 2:21-22).
We may ask, “How does reading God’s Word help us to be more aware of the Holy Spirit speaking to us?” In answer to such a question, it has been my experience that when the Word of God is dwelling richly in my heart and mind, the Holy Spirit easily reminds me of a particular verse or passage of Scripture in a way that applies to a situation I am facing. Thus, the logos word we have memorized is turned into a living, rhema word as the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking unto us.
If we find a parallel to this passage in the life of Solomon, we find it in his prayer for wisdom. We remember Solomon’s prayer to God, “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad.” (1Ki 3:9) This is the theme of Proverbs chapter 2. Solomon wants to lead us through the same journey that he had to take in order to hear from God. I believe that God answered Solomon’s prayer, not by speaking to him audibly on a regular basis, or by imparting unto him a spiritual heart to hear from God, but rather, by revealing to him that secret to developing a hearing heart through spending time meditating in God’s Word. It was up to Solomon to work this divine truth out in his life. The anointing is imparted. But in order to be led by the Spirit of God we must develop our spirit man.
We find another parallel to Pro 2:1-5 in the epistle of Hebrews where the author say, “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” (Heb 5:14) In other words, we must exercise our senses so that we can hear the voice of God and distinguish between the good and the bad decisions in our life.
As a believer, we must learn how to obtain wisdom. Wisdom calls, but we must learn how to answer that call. We answer the call of wisdom by applying ourselves to the study of the Holy Bible (Pro 2:1), by meditating on His Word (Pro 2:2), by praying for understand (Pro 2:3) and by making this search more important than the pursuits of this world (Pro 2:4). Only then will we find wisdom (Pro 2:5), which proceeds from no other source but God (Pro 2:6).
Now God chooses this method of giving a man wisdom so that the wicked will not be able to find it, and in rejecting it, they increase their own judgment from Almighty God (Luk 8:10). This is because God’s ways are merciful, even to the wicked. He wants to reduce their judgment if possible.
Luk 8:10, “And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.”
This method of finding the hidden treasures of wisdom will deliver us from the wicked man (Pro 2:10-15) and from the immoral woman (Pro 2:16-20).
In the following chapters, wisdom tells us how the Word of God transforms our hearts, minds and bodies so that the voice of wisdom shines brighter and brighter as the noonday sun. Thus, chapter two reveals that we can learn to discern the voice of wisdom so that we can avoid being deceived by the voices of this world, and thus avoid falling into calamities as the world experiences.
Pro 2:1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
Pro 2:1
Pro 2:1 Word Study on “words” Gesenius says the Hebrew word “words” ( ) (H561) means, “a word, discourse” when used poetically, and it means, “a command, mandate.” Strong says it means, “something said,” and it comes from the primitive root ( ) (H559), meaning, “to say.” The Enhanced Strong says it is used 49 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as, “words 43, speeches 2, sayings 2, appointed 1, answer 1.” This Hebrew word is used 22 times in the book of Proverbs.
Pro 2:1 Word Study on “hide” Gesenius says the Hebrew word “hide” ( ) (H6845) means, “to hide, to conceal.” Strong says this primitive root means, “to hide, to hoard, to reserve,” and figuratively, “to deny, to protect.” The Enhanced Strong says it is used 33 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as, “hide 16, lay up 7, esteemed 1, lurk 1, hidden ones 1, privily 1, secret places 1, secret 1, misc 4.”
Pro 2:1 Word Study on “commandments” Gesenius says the Hebrew word “commandment” ( ) (H4687) means, “a command, a precept.” Strong says it means, “a command.” The Enhanced Strong says it is used in the Old Testament 181 times, being translated in the KJV as, “commandments 177, precept 4, commanded 2, law 1, ordinances 1.”
Pro 2:1 Comments In the phrase “My son,” we feel the patience and love of God each time He addresses us in this manner.
Regarding the words “receive….hide,” the word “receive” means to hear God’s Word, to take hold of it and not let it go. That is, we must open our hearts and learn God’s Word as our instruction. The word “hide” means that we are to memorize God’s Word in our hearts. In other words, it is an act of our will to “receive” or reject the words we hear. Upon receiving them, we make the choice to “hide” them down in our heart (Psa 119:11).
Psa 119:11, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
Regarding the words “my words.my commandments,” they contrast the several ways in which these young men were taught and the ways in which the Lord speaks to us. These men in the king’s court were taught largely by oral tradition, as well as learning the Mosaic Law. In the same sense, the Lord may speak to us by an utterance, translated in this verse as “words,” or He may speak to us by His written “commandments” out of the Scriptures. He may speak to us in “sayings” with a still, small voice of the Holy Spirit, or through something that someone says, both of which we would call a “rhema” word. Or, the Lord may speak to us by His written Word, the Holy Bible, which we would call a “logos” word. Either way, we must open our hearts and take hold of His Word to us.
Pro 2:2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
Pro 2:2
Comments – The word “ear” in Pro 2:2 is figurative of the heart; for it is by our ears that wisdom first enters our mind so that our heart can embrace it. We find this same figurative use of the word “eyes” in Eph 1:18 in the phrase “the eyes of our understanding.”
Eph 1:18, “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,”
Pro 2:2 “and apply thine heart to understanding” – Word Study on “apply” Gesenius says the Hebrew word “apply” ( ) (H5186) means, “to stretch out, to extend.” Strong says this primitive root means, “to stretch or spread out, to bend away.” The Enhanced Strong says it is used 215 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as, “stretch out 60, incline 28, turn 16, stretch forth 15, turn aside 13, bow 8, decline 8, pitched 8, bow down 5, turn away 5, spread 5, stretched out still 4, pervert 4, stretch 4, extend 3, wrest 3, outstretched 3, carried aside 2, misc 20.”
Pro 2:2 Comments – Pro 2:2 tells us the results of verse one as we learn to listen to God’s words. When we begin to place His Word into our hearts, we gain wisdom and understanding about the circumstances in our lives. This verse implies the need to spend time studying and meditating upon God’s Word in order to gain insight into its meaning. Note:
Psa 49:3, “My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.”
At first God’s Word can be very challenging to understand as a new believer, but as we apply ourselves to understand, the Holy Spirit begins to open the eyes of our understanding and to give us divine revelation and spiritual truths to live by.
Pro 2:3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
Pro 2:3
Mat 5:6, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”
Jas 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
More specifically, we are to ask God how this word applies to our life, or how it reveals God’s divine plan for our lives. The Word of God guided Jesus Christ through His life and the Holy Spirit used the Word to reveal His destiny of Calvary and Resurrection. We, too, are to look to God’s Word for direction in life.
Pro 2:4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
Pro 2:4
As new believers we have an instinctive love for the Word of God. But often the cares of this world chokes out that love so that we become interested again in the pursuits of this life. But we can take these four steps again and renew our love for the Word of God. For example, I worked for about nine years in the busy Dallas lifestyle and my quiet-time was choked out. Under conviction, I found myself too committed to things and too desirous of particular pursuits to slow down. The Lord even gave me a dream where I saw myself sticking my hand into a water fountain full of coins and gathering them up with passion. In this dream, I then looked up and saw a pastor peacefully studying the Scriptures. I awoke and clearly understood what the Lord was saying to me, that I was too busy chasing the things of this world that were of little value and ignoring the pursuit of the valuable Word of God. When I moved to the mission field in 1997 I made a personal commitment to limit my lifestyle to work, family time and church attendance. All other time I had became devoted to the discipline of studying God’s Word again. I found my old love for His Word coming back into my heart. How did I restore this love for God’s Word; by applying these principles into my life again?
When we get a “rhema” word from God, breathed into our spirit, it becomes very precious to us. It becomes a valuable source of strength to take us through seasons in life. Only a person who has received such divine words understands their value.
Pro 2:4 Illustration – As soon as I graduated from college, I took off to Key West in search of Mel Fisher, a well-known treasure hunter. I had called him about a job, and he had told me to come and help him. While I was with him during the summer of 1975, Mel Fisher had already spent a number of years in search of the sunken treasure ship called the Nuestra Senora de Atocha, a Spanish galleon treasure ship that sank off the coast of Florida in 1622. I helped him build a homemade metal detector that was pulled behind a boat. He told me the tragic story of how he lost his son and daughter-in-law one night in a stormy sea when their boat turned over. In 1985 he did find this treasure ship valued at US$ 450 million, but not without a great cost. [57]
[57] Mel Fisher, Mel Fisher’s Treasures [on-line]; accessed 14 January 2010; available from http://www.melfisher.com; Internet.
Mat 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Pro 2:5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
Pro 2:5
Deu 17:19, “And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them.”
Pro 2:5 “and find the knowledge of God” Comments – As we ask God and seek for understanding in God’s ways, He will reward us with knowledge and understanding.
Pro 2:5 Comments – If we have meet the conditions of Pro 2:1-4, then we will begin to understand the fear of God. This is a procedure that we must go through in order to learn how to gain wisdom. Another way to read this verse is to say, “Then we will begin to see life around us from a divine perspective.” We will look at people and events the way God looks at them, they way He judges and the way He works in the affairs of mankind. If we will follow these steps, we will better know the voice of wisdom so that it will deliver us from danger (Pro 2:6-11), from the evil man (Pro 2:12-15) and from the strange woman (Pro 2:16-19).
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
How to Find Wisdom – As a believer, we must learn how to obtain wisdom. Wisdom calls to us from within (Pro 1:20-33), but we must learn how to find wisdom. We will not search for wisdom without a sincere desire to pursuit it. Therefore, chapter 2 tells us some simple steps that we are to follow in order to create that desire within our hearts to follow wisdom’s call. Another way to describe this chapter is to say that it teaches us how to begin to train our spirits to hear the voice of wisdom, which is the voice of the Holy Spirit.
This desire to know the voice of the Lord was Solomon’s prayer as a young king.
1Ki 3:9, “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?”
Therefore, we find in this passage, as well as chapter 4, the process by which a person can develop his spirit in order to better hear the voice of God. For this was Solomon’s passion as a young king.
In chapter 2, we learn that wisdom is found by humbling our hearts to receive God’s Word (Pro 2:1), by meditating on His Word (Pro 2:2), by praying for understand (Pro 2:3) and by making this search more important than the cares of this world (Pro 2:4). As we spend time in God’s Word with an open heart (Pro 2:1), it strengthens our spiritual desire for the things of God. As we continue in his Word (Pro 2:2), the desire for wisdom grows (Pro 2:3) until it becomes the passion of our lives (Pro 2:4). It is only when we follow this guideline that we will find wisdom for our lives (Pro 2:5), which only proceeds from God (Pro 2:6). Wisdom will then protect us along life’s journey (Pro 2:7-9).
The 3-Fold Make-up of Man – Let us discuss the make-up of the human being in order to better understand this passage of Scripture. We are created with five “sense gates”; seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and touching. Primarily, we will grow as a Christian using two of these sense gates, which are hearing and seeing. Information for our Christian life enters our minds primarily through our seeing or hearing. Our minds analyze and study this information using a god-given process called reason. (Reason is the voice of the mind, as our conscience is the voice of our spirit, and feelings are the voice of our physical body.) We then must make the choice to embrace this information and receive it into our hearts, or to reject it. Our conscience will tell us whether this information is good or bad. But our God-given will to choose, which dwells within our mind, will make the final decision. This is because within the soulish realm, which is our mental realm, dwells the will, the intellect and the emotions. Our mind may ignore our conscience and make a decision based upon emotions or reason, and not out of inner conviction. Once we accept these thoughts, they are embraced within our heart. Then our bodies are moved by our heart, our passion, to pursue these thoughts and visions. We begin to make decisions based upon the information that we have embraced into our hearts, whether it is correct information or not. Pro 2:1-5 will take us through a procedure of feeding our mind upon God’s Word until our heart embraces it and the things of God become our passion.
For example, a child can be taken into the demonic religions of Islam or Hinduism or other cults. If this child is subjected to these teachings, by the time he is a young man, he will literally give his life for his beliefs. We can take that very same child and place him in a church and Christian school. By the time he is a young man he will be willing to give his life for the cause of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Lord spoke to me in 1997 and said, “Son, there are two phases of the Christian life. There is conversion and there is discipleship. If a person will go through both phases, he will give his life for the cause of Christ. If he goes through both phases in a cult or foreign religion, he will also give his life for such a cause, as ridiculous as it may appear.”
We find a New Testament parallel to this passage in Rom 12:1-2 where Paul the apostle tells us to renew our minds by the Word of God in order that we may know God’s will for our lives.
Rom 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
By the renewing of our minds, we begin to understand God’s good, acceptable and perfect will in our lives. In other words, we will begin to understand that we have choices, and some choices are more pleasing to God than other choices, although either of them are within Scriptural boundaries of keeping us out of sin. We can learn to make the best decisions for our lives.
The Need to Pursue Wisdom Pro 2:1-9 also reveals to us not only the process of renewing our mind with the Word of God, but it reveals that we must pursue wisdom in order to find it, because it does not come free without this pursuit. God chooses this method of providing wisdom to His children so that only those who genuine desire it will find it and those who are indifferent will not have it. The diligent will find wisdom and value it. This search will cause the believer to treasure wisdom for its true value, rather than taking it for granted and thus, increasing his eternal judgment also when he misuses it. This is how Jesus gave His wisdom to His disciples. Note:
Luk 8:10, “And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.”
God also chooses this method of giving man wisdom so that the wicked will not easily receive wisdom and fully reject it, thus increasing his own judgment from God. For God’s ways are merciful, even to the wicked. Thus, wisdom can only be found by diligently searching for it.
God is easily able to impart a great amount of wisdom into any of us in a moment, both to saints and to sinners. God sometimes gives us a word of wisdom or a word of knowledge in order to minister to someone. God supernaturally dropped a tremendous amount of wisdom into the heart of Solomon. However, God does not choose to work this way on a day-to-day basis. God wants us to learn to pursue fellowship with Him daily in order to receive our needed wisdom, or “daily bread.” However, if this wisdom were easily available to us without seeking God for it, then we would not hold it as valuable. He will make us accountable for living by it and judge us by it on the Day of Judgment. Thus, He also allows even the sinner to walk in his darkness out of mercy for him. For in doing so, the sinner will face a less harsh judgment in eternity than someone who knows the truth and rejects it. This is the reason that Jesus spoke in parables to the multitudes. They were healed and blessed by His ministry, but they left these gatherings without a deeper insight into the ways of God because of the hardness of their hearts. They only wanted a blessing, but did not want to follow Him, as did His disciples.
God chooses to speak in dark sayings so that the saints of God will have to search for wisdom before finding it. In so doing, the wisdom that is someone pays a price to obtain becomes precious to the one who finds. When we dig it out and pay a price to pursue God in His infinite wisdom, and when He drops His wisdom into our hearts in this manner, we are able to value it as a great treasure. Note:
Pro 12:27, “The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious.”
In the natural, the most precious metals and gems are found in the depths of the earth. In the same way is divine wisdom found.
Since God will also judge the saints for what truths they know, God, in His infinite wisdom, only entrusts His precious truths to those to whom He has counted faithful. God does not cast His pearls before swine (Mat 7:6).
Mat 7:6, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.”
For example, Paul the apostle spent fourteen years serving the Lord before God entrusted him with the ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. Note:
1Ti 1:12, “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;”
Therefore, we must follow the order found in this passage of diligently seeking wisdom in order to find it, which God so much wants to give us. This method of finding the hidden treasures of wisdom will teach us to know the voice of wisdom so that we will be delivered from the call of the wicked man (Pro 2:10-15) and from the immoral woman (Pro 2:16-20). There are many voices in this world, and unless we learn how to hear the voice of wisdom, we will be found listening to the enticing voices of this world.
The words “path and way” are used ten times in this chapter alone. This chapter tells us that there are two paths to follow. We are told that God’s Words will be our guide on the good path that provides wisdom, divine protection and long life. But the words of the evil man and the strange woman will lead on down a different dark path of a short life and certain destruction. We are told that both of these evil characters call their victims down a crooked path that leads to death.
We find a New Testament parallel to this passage in Mat 7:13-14 where we are told that there are two paths to take in this life. One path leads to eternal life and the other leads to eternal destruction.
Mat 7:13-14, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
The Conditions that Must Be Met to Find Wisdom Pro 2:1-9 contains three “ifs” and one promise. It is a conditional sentence with a promise to those who meet these three conditions. Pro 2:1-5 are a conditional sentence. Pro 2:1-4 are the proteases. Pro 2:5 is the apodosis. Pro 2:6-8 tell us the reason why Pro 2:5 is true. Pro 2:9 tells us what will come to pass when the Lord accomplishes Pro 2:6-8 in our lives.
This process in not always easy to begin in a person’s lifestyle. This is because when people begin their pursuit of God, they are often bound by the cares of this world. In the natural it appears that they cannot get free in order to come to God’s Word and begin to apply it to their lives, but this is a deception of Satan. Benny Hinn was once given a vision. In this vision he was bound by cords and sitting in a corner of a room. In the other corner of the room he saw Jesus with His hand outstretched saying, “Come.” Benny Hinn realized that he wanted to come to Jesus, but the cords had him bound. Jesus said again, “Come.” Benny Hinn said, “But I can’t.” Jesus said a third time, “Come to Me.” Then Benny Hinn begin to reach out his hand towards Jesus. The further he stretched out his body to touch Jesus, the weaker the cords became. As he continued to strain his body to reach out towards Jesus, the cords became loose and fell from him and he was set free. [56] This is often the way we feel as a new Christian. We want to live in the ways of God, but our minds tell us we are bound. However, if we will study God’s Word, meditate upon it, cry out for wisdom and put His Word first in our lives, we find ourselves being set free from the bondages of this corrupt world, and free from the ways of the evil man and strange woman.
[56] Benny Hinn, This is Your Day (Irving, Texas), on Trinity Broadcasting Network (Santa Ana, California, 6 January 2003), television program.
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Answering God the Father’s Call As a believer, we must learn how to obtain wisdom. Wisdom calls, but we must learn how to answer that call. We answer the call of wisdom by applying ourselves to the study of the Holy Bible (Pro 2:1), by meditating on His Word (Pro 2:2), by praying for understand (Pro 2:3) and by making this search more important than the pursuits of this world (Pro 2:4). Only then will we find wisdom (Pro 2:5). God chooses this method of giving a man wisdom so that the wicked will not be able to find it, and in rejecting it, they increase their own judgment from Almighty God (Luk 8:10). This is because God’s ways are merciful, even to the wicked. This method of finding the hidden treasures of wisdom will deliver us from the wicked man (Pro 2:12-15) and from the immoral woman (Pro 2:16-20).
Luk 8:10, “And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.”
Outline – Here is a proposed outline:
1. How to Find Wisdom Pro 2:1-9
a. Develop a Hearing Heart Pro 2:1-5
b. Wisdom Protects Our Path Pro 2:6-9
2. Wisdom’s Path of Escape Pro 2:10-22
a. The path of escape Pro 2:10-11
b. Escape from the wicked man Pro 2:12-15
c. Escape from the adulteress Pro 2:16-20
d. End results of wise man & fool Pro 2:21-22
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
God the Father’s Foreknowledge: Calling Us to Our Journey (Preparation for the Journey) Most scholars consider Proverbs 1-9 to be a discourse, or a tribute, to wisdom. This section serves as an introduction to Solomon’s collection of wise, pithy sayings that follows. This introductory material is a preparation for being able to understand the rest of the book. Its underlying emphasis is the divine calling that God gives to every human being. Therefore, we find the statement of wisdom “crying out,” “uttering her voice” and “calling” used repeatedly throughout this section of Proverbs.
In these first nine introductory chapters, wisdom is personified as a person speaking in the feminine gender. Just as an artist sketches an outline of a painting, then splashes colors upon the canvas, until a beautiful painting emerges, so in these chapters of Proverbs does wisdom begin to reveal itself verse by verse (as an artist reveals a picture color by color) until chapter 8, when wisdom is seen as an intimate part of God and His creation. Wisdom is personified as a person speaking because man would be incapable of understanding his experiences in life without divine wisdom being given to him. This impartation is done in the person of the Holy Spirit. Wisdom is personified as a woman because the Hebrew word translated as “wisdom” is in the feminine gender.
These chapters contrast the table of blessings (Pro 9:1-6) with the trap of death (Pro 1:17-19, Pro 9:18). The wise man chooses wisdom’s table of blessings. In contrast, the fool chooses the trap of death, supposing that it is a table of blessing. Studying this introduction is a necessary preparation for finding one’s way through the rest of the book of Proverbs. Thus, a drama immediately unfolds in the introduction, revealing to us how wisdom sets a man free, but the trap of death ensnares its victims in the strongholds of sin. These strongholds do not turn its captives loose until it completes its assignment of death. In contrast, wisdom leads a man into his rightful place of glory and honor above God’s creation (Pro 3:35, Pro 31:30), and into submission to his Creator.
This section of Proverbs is actually a call to follow the path of wisdom, in which wisdom presents his arguments for choosing the path of wisdom over the path of the fool. God calls mankind to righteousness in this present Church age through the convicting power of the Holy Spirit that has been sent upon the earth, who convicts the world of sin righteousness and judgment (Joh 16:7-11); but prior to this age God called mankind to righteousness through wisdom, which testified from Creation (Rom 1:19-23), and from society. We see in these chapters that wisdom is a path that is to be diligently followed. Wisdom is a decision that is made on a daily basis, and these daily decisions will determine our destiny, both in this life and in the life to come. This book of wisdom contrasts the wise man with the fool throughout the book. As we will see in Proverbs, every decision that we make is either a wise decision, or a foolish one. Every decision affects our eternal destiny. This section begins with a call to follow wisdom (Pro 1:7-9), and ends by explaining how every human being decides between destinies, heaven or hell (Pro 9:1-18).
In the path of wisdom, there are many dangers. It is for this reason these nine chapters give us many warnings against the evil man and the adulteress, even before the real journey begins. The path of wisdom is narrow and easily missed. All of us have fallen off this path at one time or another in our lives. This book of Proverbs was written by King Solomon, considered the wisest person that has ever lived. Yet, even he fell off this path of wisdom because he allowed pride to blind his vision and dull his hearing. This gives us an indication of how narrow is this path to follow.
Pride is an attitude of the heart. It is the very reason that Solomon fell into idolatry. It is the root cause of every man’s failure. It comes clothed in many forms, such as false humility and it clothes itself in man-made titles of honour, such as “honorable, his lordship, his excellence, his grace, cardinal, pope, etc.” For example, the Pope in Rome carries the title of “His Holiness”. These nine chapters open and close with Pro 1:7; Pro 9:10, which reveal the secret of avoiding failure, which is caused by pride. We are told that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Pro 1:7 and Pro 9:10). This fear keeps us from falling off the path of wisdom.
This introductory material in Proverbs 1-9 makes up almost one third of the book. Why is this introduction to Proverbs so lengthy relative to the overall length of the book? It is because the preparation for our journey in life is also lengthy. Solomon was taught for many years before he took the throne as king of Israel. Good training takes time and a good education does not come quickly. The degree that a person receives a secular education usually determines the height of his career. In comparison, the degree that a person becomes rooted and grounded in the Word of God will determine the height of that person’s ministry. You must take the time to receive this introductory training in the first nine chapters of Proverbs before you are ready for the journey. The better we are able to understand the introduction of the book of Proverbs, the better we will be able to understand the rest of its teachings.
For hundreds of years in western civilization, a theological education was a part of a well-rounded education. All students learned the classical languages of Hebrew, Greek and Latin in order to study theological literature. The children of Israel were also to give each child a theological education. Solomon received such an education. Therefore, we can see this introduction to Proverbs as the theological training that everyone should go through in preparation for the journey in life.
One further note is worth mentioning about chapters 1-9. Upon reading, we must ask the question as to why this lengthy introduction in Proverbs spends so much time describing and warning the readers about the harlot. Perhaps because this is the one area that trapped and deceived Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived. This is the area that Solomon knows many of the young men he is training for leadership positions in the kingdom will be tempted. In addition, in a figurative sense, such spiritual adultery represents a believer who chooses to love the things of this world above his love for God.
Outline Here is a proposed outline:
1. The Call of Wisdom to Young & Tender Pro 1:7-33
2. Answering Wisdom’s Call (A Hearing Heart) Pro 2:1-22
3. The Blessings of Wisdom Pro 3:1-35
4. Three Paths of Wisdom Pro 4:1-27
5. Three Paths of Destruction Pro 5:1 to Pro 6:11
6. Characteristics of the Evil People Pro 6:12 to Pro 7:27
7. Characteristics of Wisdom Pro 8:1-36
8. Wisdom’s Final Call (Food for the Journey) Pro 9:1-18
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Advantages in Accepting Wisdom
v. 1. My son v. 2. so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom v. 3. yea, if thou criest after knowledge v. 4. If thou seekest her as silver v. 5. then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord v. 6. For the Lord giveth wisdom v. 7. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous v. 8. He keepeth the paths of judgment v. 9. Then shalt thou understand righteousness and judgment and equity
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
Pro 2:1-22
3. Third admonitory discourse, pointing out the benefits which arise from a sincere, earnest, and persevering search after Wisdom. This discourse divides itself into three parts.
(1) Pro 2:1-9 : a statement of the conditions which, if fulfilled, result in the highest knowledge of Jehovahthe fear of Jehovah and the knowledge of God, who is the Source of wisdom and the Protection and Ensurer of safety to the righteous.
(2) Pro 2:10-19 : the negatively beneficial results of Wisdom, in delivery from the paths of evil, from destructive lusts and passions, from the temptations of wicked men and wicked women.
(3) Pro 2:20-22 : the epilogue, or conclusion, combining encouragement on the one hand, and warning on the other.
Pro 2:1
The teacher here reverts to the original form of his address, as appears from the employment of the term, my son. It seems clear that it is no longer Wisdom personified who is the speaker, from the fact that the words, “wisdom and understanding” in Pro 2:2 are used without the possessive pronoun “my,” which would have been undoubtedly inserted if this address had been a continuation of the discourse in the preceding chapter. Some of the ideas of that address, however, are restated, as the crying and lifting up the voice after Wisdom, and the conclusion, wherein the respective destinies of the pious and wicked are portrayed. The particle “if” () is conditional, and serves to introduce the series of clauses (Pro 2:1-4) which lay down the conditions upon which the promises depend, and which form the protasis to the double apodosis in Pro 2:5 and Pro 2:9. De Wette, Meyer, and Delitzsch regard it as voluntative, as expressing a wish on the part of the teacher, and translate, “Oh that thou wouldst!” and , “if,” is used in this way in Psa 139:19; but the LXX. () and Vulgate (si) make it conditional. It is repeated in an emphatic form in Psa 139:3. Receive. The verbs “receive” and “hide” show that the endeavour after Wisdom is to be candid and sincere. “To receive” () seems to be here used, like the LXX. in the sense of “to receive graciously,” “to admit the words of Wisdom.” It is noticeable that there is a gradation in emphasis in the various terms here used by the teacher. Just as “commandments” is stronger than “words,” so “hide” is stronger than “receive.” The emphasizing is carried on in the following verses in the same way, and at length culminates in Psa 139:4, which sums up the ardent spirit in which the search after Wisdom is to be prosecuted in presenting it to us in its strongest form. Hide. The original (, tsaphan) is here used in a different sense to that in which it occurs in Pro 1:11 and Pro 1:18. It here refers, as in Pro 7:1; Pro 10:14; and Pro 13:22, to the storing or laying up, as of treasure, in some secret repository, and means “to lay up.” The Divine commands of the teacher are to be hidden in safe custody in the memory, in the understanding, in the conscience, and in the heart (cf. Pro 4:21; Pro 7:1). The psalmist expresses the same idea in Psa 119:11, “Thy words have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
Pro 2:2
This verse is dependent on the preceding. So that thou incline. The literal translation is “to incline;” but the inclination of the ear and the application of the heart follow as a consequence upon the precepting ideas (cf. the Vulgate, ut audiat sapientiam auris tua). The root idea of the original (, kashav) is “to sharpen,” viz. the ear as expressed, and so to give diligent attention to the precepts of Wisdom. In Pro 1:24 it is rendered “to regard.” To apply thine heart is to turn the heart with the whole scope of its powers, in the spirit of humility and eagerness, to understanding. As the ear represents the outward vehicle of communication, so the heart (, lev) represents the inward, the intellectual faculty, the mind, or it may mean the affections as suggested by the LXX. and Vulgate cor. Understanding (, t’vunah) is here interchanged with “wisdom,” which must determine its meaning to some extent. The LXX. interpreters take it as , the faculty of comprehension.” Like (vinah) in Pro 1:2, the word describes the faculty of distinguishing or separating: but it does not appear to be here used as representing this “as a faculty of the soul, but as a Divine power which communicates itself as the gift of God” (Delitzsch). A second and perhaps simpler sense may be given to the sentence. It may mean the turning or applying of the heart in an affectionate and loving way, i.e. with full purpose, to the discrimination of what is right and what wrong. The ideas of wisdom and understanding seem to some extent to be brought forward as personifications. They are things outside of ourselves, to which we have to give attention. Religion appeals not only to the affections, but also to the intellect, as this satisfies all the yearnings of our nature.
Pro 2:3
Yea, if thou criest after knowledge. The endeavour after Wisdom is not only to be sincere, it is also to be earnest, as appears from the “yea, if,” and the verbs “crying” and “lifting up the voice,” both of which frequently occur in Scripture as indicating earnestness. This earnestness is the counterpart of that which Wisdom herself displays (see Pro 1:20, Pro 1:21). Knowledge; i.e. insight. In the original there is practically little difference between “knowledge” and “understanding” ( and ). They carry on the idea expressed in “understanding” in the preceding verse, and thus throw the emphasis on the verbs. The LXX. and Vulgate, however, take “knowledge” as equivalent to , sapientia, “wisdom.” The reading of the Targum, “If thou tallest understanding thy mother,” arises from reading for , but is not to be preferred to the Masoretic text, as it destroys the parallelism.
Pro 2:4
If thou seekest, etc. The climax in the series of conditions is reached in this verse; and the imagery employed in both clauses indicates that the search after Wisdom is to be persevering, unrelaxing, and diligent, like the unremitting toil and labour with which men carry on mining operations. “To seek” (, bakash) in the original is properly “to seek diligently” (piel), and is kindred to “to search” (, khaphas), which again is equivalent to “to dig” (, khaphar), the Vulgate effodere, “to dig out.” Compare the expression in Job 3:21, “And dig for it more than for hid treasures.” We trace in these verbs the idea in the mind of the teacher indicated above, which finds expression also in the object of the search, the silver, in its crude state, and the hidden treasures ( mat’monim), i.e. the treasures of gold, silver, and precious metal concealed in the earth. The comparison here made between the search for Wisdom and the search for the hidden treasures of the earth was not unfamiliar to the Hebrew mind, as it is found worked out with great beauty of detail in the twenty-eighth chapter of Job. Again, the comparison of Wisdom with things most precious in the estimation of man is natural and common, and occurs in Psa 119:72; Job 28:15-19. The same ideas and comparisons here used are presented to us in the New Testament teaching, in our Lord’s parable of the man who finds the hid treasure in the field, and, in the phraseology of St. Paul, who speaks of “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,” and of “the unsearchable riches of Christ.” “Divine knowledge is an inexhaustible mine of precious ore” (Wardlaw). The language of the Proverbs would receive additional three from the circumstances of the reign of Solomon, the most splendid and prosperous era in the annals of the Jewish national history, in the means taken to secure the treasures of other and distant countries; the wealth and the riches of that reign (see 2Ch 9:20-22) would help to bring out the idea of the superlative value of Wisdom. In no era of the Jewish national history was there such abundance of riches, such splendid prosperity, as in the reign of Solomon, whose ships of Tarshish brought “gold and silver” (see 2Ch 9:20-22), and this state of things would give point to the comparisons which the teacher uses in our text.
Pro 2:5
Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord. Then (), introducing the first apodosis, and answering to the conditional “if” of Pro 2:1, Pro 2:3, Pro 2:4. The earnest endeavour after Wisdom meets with its reward, and those that seek shall find (cf. Mat 7:7): and thus an inducement is held forth to listen to the admonition of the teacher. Understand implies the power of discernment, but Zockler gives it the further moaning of taking to one’s self as a spiritual possession, just as “find” meaning primarily “to arrive at” conveys the idea of getting possession of (Mercerus). The fear of the Lord ( , yir’ath yehovah); “the fear of Jehovah,” as in Pro 1:7. As it is the beginning, so it is the highest form of knowledge and the greatest good. Elsewhere it is represented as a fountain of life (Pro 15:27). All true wisdom is summed up in “the fear of the Lord.” It here means the reverence due to him, and so comprises the whole range of the religious affections and feelings, which respond to various attributes of the Divine character as they are revealed, and which find their expression in holy worship. The knowledge of God ( , daath Elohim); literally, the knowledge of Elohim. Not merely cognition, but knowledge in its wider sense. The two ideas of “the fear of the Lord” and “the knowledge of God” act reciprocally on each other. Just as without reverence of God there can be no knowledge of him in its true sense, so the knowledge of God will increase and deepen the feeling of reverence. But it is noticeable that the teacher here, as in Pro 9:10, where, however, it is “the knowledge of the holy” ( , daath k’doshim), gives the chief place to reverence, and thus indicates that it is the basis of knowledge, which is its fruit and result. The relation here suggested is analogous to that which subsists between faith and knowledge, and recalls the celebrated dictum of Anselm: “Neque enim quaero intelligere ut credam; sed credo, ut intelligam.” Elohim, here interchanged with Jehovah, is not of frequent occurrence in the Proverbs, as it is only found therein five times, while the predominating word which is used to designate the Deity is Jehovah. But it is difficult to draw any distinction between them here. Jehovah may refer more especially to the Personality of the Divine nature, while Elohim may refer to Christ’s glory (Plumptre). Bishop Wordsworth thinks that a distinction is made between the knowledge of Elohim and the knowledge of man which is of little worth.
Pro 2:6
For the Lord giveth wisdom. The Lord Jehovah is the only and true Source of wisdom. The truth stated here is also met with in Dan 2:21, “He giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding.” He “giveth,” or more properly, “will give” (, yitten, future of , nathan), wisdom; but the connection requires us to understand that the assurance applies only to those who seek after it earnestly and truly (cf. Jas 1:5-7). The two coefficients to our obtaining wisdom are our efforts and God’s assistance. Solomon may be adduced as s striking exemplification of this; he asked for “an understanding heart,” and God graciously granted his request (see 1Ki 3:9, 1Ki 3:12). Out of his mouth (, mippiv); ex ore ejus; God is here spoken of anthropologically. He is the true Teacher. The meaning is that God communicates wisdom through the medium of his Word (Delitzsch. Pi.). The law proceeds from his mouth (Job 22:22). In the Book of Wisdom (Wis. 7:25), “Wisdom is the breath of the power of God.” His word is conveyed to us through men divinely inspired, and hence St. Peter (2Pe 1:21) says that “holy men of old spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
Pro 2:7
Wisdom which is the foundation of security and safety, and hence is sound wisdom, is that which God treasures up for the righteous. The teacher passes to another phase of the Divine character. God is not only the Source of wisdom; he is also the Ensurer of safety, the Source of salvation to those who act uprightly. It will be noted that the use of the word is confined to the Proverbs and Job, with the exception of the two passages in Isaiah and Micah. Buckler. Besides storing up the treasures of sound wisdom, which the righteous may use and so obtain security in their uprightness, God is himself a Buckler, or Shield (, magen), to those who walk in innocence. This aspect of God’s directly protecting power is met with in other parts of Scripture. In Gen 15:1 he encourages Abram with the assurance, “I am thy Shield.” In Psa 33:20; Psa 84:11; Psa 89:18; Psa 144:2, Jehovah is called a Shield to his saints. He renders them security against the assaults of their enemies, and especially against the fiery darts of the wicked one. Again, in Pro 30:5, it is said, “God is a Shield (magen) up to them that walk uprightly.” It is incorrect to take (magen) either as an accusative after the verb or in apposition with “sound wisdom.” To them that walk uprightly; literally, to the walkers in innocence ( , l’khol’key thom). (thom) is “integrity of mind,” “moral faultlessness,” “innocence.” “To walk uprightly” is to maintain a course of life regulated by right principles, and directed to right ends. He “walks uprightly who lives with the fear of God as his principle, the Word of God as his rule, and the glory of God as his end” (Wardlaw). The completeness of the moral and religious character is involved in the expression which is found also in Pro 10:9 and Psa 84:11. The Vulgate translates the latter clause of the verse, proteget gradientes simpliciter, “he will protect those who walk in simplicity;” cf. 2Co 1:12 in illustration of the phrase. He layeth up; i.e. he treasures up (LXX; ), or preserves and protects (custodire, Vulgate), as a person does “treasure or jewel, that it may not be stolen” (Zockler). The majority of commentators read the Keri (, “he will treasure up,” future of ) in preference to the Khetib (, perfect of same verb, with prefix , “and he treasured up”), and this is the; reading adopted in the Authorized Version. The Keri implies that God does treasure up sound wisdom, while the Khetib, as Delitzsch observes, has the force of the aorist, and so represents the treasuring up as an accomplished fact. The same verb occurs in Pro 2:1, where it is translated in the Authorized Version by “hide,” and also in Pro 7:1 and Pro 10:14 by “lay up.” The laying up, or treasuring, points to the preciousness of that which is treasured, “sound wisdom.” Sound wisdom. A great variety of opinions exists as to the true meaning of the word in the original, (tvushiyyah), of which “sound wisdom” is an interpretation. Zockler explains it as “wisdom, reflection;” Delitzsch, as “advancement and promotion;” Dathe, as “solid fortune;” Gesenius, as “aid.” The proper meaning of the word seems to he “substance,” from the root , “to be, to exist, to be firm.” Professor Lee remarks on the word, “From the places in which it occurs, either wealth, thought, or some such sense it manifestly requires. It occurs in Job 6:13, in parallelism with ‘help;’ in Pro 2:7, with a ‘shield;’ in Job 1:6, with ‘wisdom;’ in Job 12:16, with ‘strength;’ in Pro 3:21, with ‘discretion;’ in Pro 8:14, with ‘counsel’ and ‘understanding;’ in Isa 28:29, with ‘counsel;’ and so in Job 26:3. In Job 30:22 and Mic 6:9, ‘entirely’ or the like seems to suit the context; see also Pro 18:1, and generally ‘excess,’ or ‘abundance,’ taken either in a good or bad sense, and varied by other considerations, seems to prevail in every case in which this word is used” (see Professor Lee, on Job 5:12). The parallelism of the passage before us seems to require that it should be understood in the sense of security; and transferring the idea to wisdom as the means of security. This idea is reproduced in the LXX. , the Vulgate salus, and the Targum incolumitas.
Pro 2:8
He keepeth the paths of judgment. This verse is explanatory of the latter hemistich of Pro 2:7, and points out more fully in what way God is a Protector of his saints. Some connect the Hebrew infinitive (lin’tsor), “to watch or keep,” with “them that walk uprightly,” and translate, “them that walk uprightly by keeping the paths of judgment;” but this is to transfer the idea of protection from God to such persons. The verb signifies specially “to defend, to preserve from danger,” as in Pro 22:12, “The eyes of the Lind preserve knowledge; i.e. defend or protect it from danger.” It is God who “keepeth the paths of judgment,” as he alone has the power to do so. He watches over all that walk therein, guides, superin. tends, and protects them. The paths of judgment; or rather, justice, (at’khoth mishpat). The abstract is here used for the concrete, and the phrase means “the paths of the just,” i.e. the paths in which the just walk, or “those who walk justly” (Mercerus). This expression corresponds with “the way of his saints,” just as “keep” and “preserve” are synonymous verbs, both meaning “to guard, keep safe, or protect.” He preserveth the way of his saints. God does this
(1) by his preventing grace, as in Psa 66:9, “He suffereth not our feet to slip.” Cf. Hannah’s song, “He will keep the feet of his saints” (1Sa 2:9);
(2) by angelic agency, as in Psa 91:11, “He shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways.” The saints are ever under the watchful care and mighty protection of Jehovah. His saints (, khasidav); i.e. the pious towards God, the godly, those in whose hearts the principles of sanctity have been implanted, and who cherish earnest inward love to God, and “walk righteously” and “speak uprightly” (Isa 33:15). It is remarkable that the word saints only occurs once (in this passage) in the Proverbs. During the period of the Maccabaean Wars, a party or sect, which aimed at ceremonial purity, claimed for themselves the title of Chasidim or Asidaeans (), as expressive of their piety or devotion. They are those whom Moses called “men of holiness,” Exo 22:31 (, v’an’shev-kodesh); cf. Psa 89:5; Psa 149:1; Psa 89:8; Deu 33:3; Dan 7:18, Dan 7:22, Dan 7:22, Dan 7:25. Under the Christian dispensation, the saints are those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus (1Co 1:2; 1Jn 5:1), and who are holy in all manner of conversation (1Pe 1:25; 1 Macc 2:42; 7:13; 2 Macc 14:6); see Bishop Lightfoot, ‘Colossians and Philemon,’ diss. 2, p. 355.
Pro 2:9
Then (, az), repeated from Pro 2:5, introduces the second apodosis. As the former referred to God, so this appears to refer more especially to man, and thus we have stated the whole benefit, in its twofold aspect, which Wisdom confers on those who diligently seek her. It is not to be affirmed, however, that righteousness and judgment and equity refer exclusively to man; they must represent some aspects of our relationship to God, both from the meaning of the words themselves, and because the law which regulates our dealings and intercourse with man has its seat in the higher law of our relation to God. Righteousness, and judgment, and equity. These three words occur in the same collocation in Pro 1:3, which see. Yea, every good path. “Yea” does not occur in the original. The expression is a summarizing of the three previous conceptions, as if the teacher implied that all good paths are embraced by and included in “righteousness, and judgment, and equity;” but the term is also comprehensive in the widest degree. The literal translation is “every path of good” (, cal-ma’gal-tov), i.e. every course of action of which goodness is the characteristic, or, as the Authorized Version, “every good path,” the sense in which it was understood by St. Jerome, omnem orbitam bonam. The word here used for “path” is (ma’gal), “the way in which the chariot rolls” (Delitzsch), and metaphorically a course of action, as in Pro 2:15; Pro 4:26.
Pro 2:10-19
Statement of the advantages which result from the possession of Wisdom, and specially as a safeguard against evil men (Pro 2:12-15) and evil women (Pro 2:16-19).
Pro 2:10
When wisdom entereth into thine heart. There is practically little difference as to the sense, whether we render the Hebrew by the conditional “if” or by the temporal “when” as in the Authorized Version. The conditional force is adopted by the LXX. and the Vulgate si. In the previous section of this address, the teacher has shown that the search after Wisdom will result in possession.; now he points out, when Wisdom is secured, certain advantageous consequences follow. The transition is easy and natural. The form of construction is very similar to that adopted previously. There is first the hypothesis, if we give this force to , though much shorter; and secondly the climax, also shorter and branching off into the statement of two special cases. Entereth; or, shall enter (, thavo) in the sense of permanent residence in the heart. Wisdom is not only to come in, but to rest there (cf. Pro 14:33). The expression is illustrated by Joh 14:23. The imagery of the verse is taken from the reception and entertainment of a guest. As we receive a welcome guest, and find pleasure in his company, so is Wisdom to be dear to the heart and soul. Into thine heart (, b’libecha). The heart () “concentrates in it. self the personal life of man in all its relations, the conscious and the unconscious, the voluntary and the involuntary, the physical and the spiritual impulses, the emotions and states” (Cremer, ‘Bib. Theol. Lex.,’ sub voce ). It is that in which the (nephesh),”soul,” manifests itself. It is the centre of the life of will and desire, of the emotions, and of the moral life. Rudloff remarks that everywhere in the Scriptures the heart appears to belong more to the life of desire and feeling than to the intellectual activity of the soul. But at the same time, it is to be noted that intelligent conception is attributed to the heart (); Pro 14:10; Pro 8:5; Pro 16:9. The expression seems to be put here for the moral side of man’s nature; and in the Hellenistic sense, , the proper equivalent of “heart,” involves all that stands for , and ; i.e. it includes, besides other things, the intellectual faculty. The word “soul” (, nephesh) is here found in combination with “heart.” The other passages where they are mentioned together are Deu 6:5; Psa 13:2; Jer 4:19; Pro 24:12. The soul is primarily the vital principle, but according to the usus loquendi of Holy Scripture, it frequently denotes the entire inward nature of man; it is that part which is the object of the work of redemption. The homo of the soul is the heart, as appears from Pro 14:10, “The heart knoweth his own bitterness [or, ‘the bitterness of his soul,’ Hebrew].” While the “heart” () is rendered by and , the only Greek equivalent to “soul” () is . The two expressions, “heart,” and “soul,” in the passage before us may be taken as designating both the moral and spiritual sides of man’s nature. Wisdom is to be acceptable and pleasant to man in these respects. It may be remarked that an intellectual colouring is given to the word “heart” by the LXX; who render it by , as also in Deu 6:5 and other passages, evidently from the idea that prominence is given to the reflective faculty. Classically, is equivalent to “thought,” “faculty of thought,” “intellect.” Knowledge (Hebrew, ); literally, to know, as in Pro 8:10 and Pro 14:6; here used synonymously with “wisdom.” Knowledge, not merely as cognition, but perception; i.e. not merely knowing a thing with respect to its existence and being, but as to its excellence and truth. Equivalent to the LXX. , “perception,” and the Vulgate scientia. Is pleasant (Hebrew, , yin’am); literally, shall be pleasant; i.e. sweet, lovely, beautiful. The same word is used impersonally in Jacob’s blessing of Issachar (Gen 49:15, “And he saw the land that it was pleasant”), and also in Pro 24:25, “To those that punish [i.e. the judges] there shall be delight.” And this usage has led Dunn to take knowledge as an accusative of reference, and to translate, “There is pleasure to thy soul in respect of knowledge;” but the Authorized Version may be accepted as correct. “Knowledge” is masculine, as in Pro 8:10 and Pro 14:6, and agrees with the masculine verb “is pleasant.” Knowledge will be pleasant from the enjoyment and rest which it yields. The Arabic presents the idea of this enjoyment under a different aspect: “And prudence shall be in thy soul the most beautiful glory.”
Pro 2:11
Discretion shall preserve thee. Discretion (, m’zimoth), as in Pro 1:4, is the outward manifestation of wisdom; it tests what is uncertain, and avoids danger (Hitzig). The word carries with it the idea of reflection or consideration (see Pro 3:21; Pro 5:2; Pro 8:12) The LXX. reads, , “good counsel;” and the Vulgate, concilium. Shall preserve thee. The idea of protection and guarding, which is predicated of Jehovah in Pro 1:8, is here transferred to discretion and understanding, which to some extent are put forward as personifications. Understanding (, t’vunah), as in Pro 2:11; the power of distinguishing and separating, and, in the case of conflicting interests, to decide on the best. Shall keep; i.e. keep safe, or in the sense of watching over or guarding. The two verbs “to preserve” (, shamar) and “to keep” (, natsar), LXX. , occur together again in Pro 4:6.
Pro 2:12
To deliver thee from the way of the evil man. The first special advantage resulting from the protecting guardianship of discretion and understanding. From the way of the evil man; properly, from an evil way; Hebrew, (midarek ra), not necessarily, though by implication, connected with man, as in the Authorized Version. (ra), “evil,” “wicked,” in an ethical sense, is an adjective, as in Jer 3:16 ( , lev ra), “an evil heart;” cf. the LXX; ; the Vulgate, Targum, and Arabic, a vid mala, and the Syriac, a viis pravis. “Way,” is here used in the sense of “conduct,” and the evil way is a line of conduct or action which is essentially wicked or evil. The teacher has already Warned youth against the temptations and dangers of the way of evil men in Pro 1:10-15; he now shows that discretion, arising from wisdom being resident in the heart, will be a sufficient safeguard against its allurements. From the man that speaketh froward things. Perverse utterances are here brought in contradistinction to the evil way or froward conduct. Man (, ish) is here used generically, as the representative of the whole class of base and wicked men, since all the following verbs are in the plural, Froward things. The word (tah)pucoth), here translated “froward things,” is derived from the root (haphak), “to turn,” “to pervert,” and should be translated “perverseness.” Perverseness is the wilful misrepresentation of that which is good and true. The utterances are of a distorted and tortuous character. The word, only found in the plural, is abstract in form, and is of frequent, though not of exclusive, occurrence in the Proverbs. It is attributed to the Israelites in Deu 32:20. It is met with again in such expressions as “the mouth of perverseness,” Authorized Version “froward mouth” (Pro 8:13); “the tongue of perverseness,” “froward tongue,” Authorized Version (Pro 10:31); “the man of perverseness,” “froward man,” Authorized Version (Pro 16:28). What is here said of wicked men is attributed to drunkards in Pro 23:33, “Thine heart shall utter perverse things.” The expression finds its explanation in Pro 6:13, Pro 6:14. The spirit which indulges in this perverseness is stubborn, scornful, self-willed, and rebellious, and it is from such a spirit that discretion is a preservative. In Job 5:13 it is said that “the counsel of the froward is carried headlong” (see also 2Sa 22:27; Psa 18:26; Psa 101:4). The LXX. rendering of this word is , “nothing trustworthy,” which is amplified in the Arabic, quod nullam in se continet veritatem, “that which contains in itself no truth.”
Pro 2:13
Who leave the paths of uprightness. Between Pro 2:13 and Pro 2:15 the teacher proceeds to give a more detailed description of those who speak perversely. Who leave (, haoz’vim); literally, forsaking, but the present participle has the force of the preterite, as appears from the context. The men alluded to have already forsaken or deserted the paths of uprightness (see previous note on the word “man.” The paths of uprightness ( , ar’khoth yosher); the same as the “right paths” of Pro 4:11. The strict meaning of the Hebrew word translated “uprightness” is “straightness,” and hence it stands opposed to “perverseness” in the previous verse. Uprightness is integrity, rectitude, honest dealing. The LXX. translators represent the forsaking of the paths of uprightness as a consequence resulting from walking in the ways of darkness, “O ye who have left the right ways by departing [ , equivalent to abeundo] into the ways of darkness.” Again, the ways of darkness ( , dar’chey kkoshek) are opposed to the “paths of uprightness” which rejoice in the light. Darkness includes the two ideas of
(1) ignorance and error (Isa 9:2; Eph 5:8), and
(2) evil deeds.
To walk in the ways of darkness, then, is to persist in a course of wilful ignorance, to reject deliberately the light of knowledge, and to work wickedness, by performing “the works of darkness ( ),” which St. Paul exhorted the Church at Rome to east away (Rom 13:12), and by having fellowship with “the unfruitful works of darkness ( ),” against which the same apostle warned the Ephesians (Eph 5:11). They are ways of darkness, because they endeavour to hide themselves from God (Isa 29:15) and from man (Job 24:15; Job 38:13, Job 38:15). In their tendency and end they lead to the blackness of darkness forever. In Scripture darkness is associated with evil, just as light is with uprightness (see Joh 3:19, Joh 3:20). The same association of ideas is discoverable in the dualism of the Persian system, as formulated by ZoroasterOrmuzd, the good principle, presides over the kingdom of light, while Ahriman, the principle of evil, is the ruler of the kingdom of darkness.
Pro 2:14
Who rejoice to do evil. Another element is here brought forward, and the description increases in intensity. The wicked not only rejoice to do evil themselves, but they exult when they hear of evil in others (cf. Rom 1:32). Such may be the interpretation, though the latter part, of the verse is capable of a different and more general rendering as signifying exultation in evil generally, whether it appears in themselves or others. The expression rendered in the Authorized Version, in the frowardness of the wicked, is in the original ( , b’thah’pucoth ra), in the perverseness of evil, or in evil perverseness, where the combination of the two nouns serves to give force to the main idea, which is that of perverseness. This rendering is adopted in the LXX; , “in evil distortion;” in the Vulgate, in pessimis rebus; in the Targum, Syriac, and Arabic, in conversatione mala, “in a bad course of conduct;” and in the Targum, in malitiae perversione, “in the perversion of wickedness.” It is not perverseness in its simple and common form that these men exult in. but in its worst and most vicious form (for a similar construction, see Pro 6:24; Pro 15:26; and Pro 28:5). How widely different is the conduct of charity, which “rejoiceth not in iniquity” (1Co 13:6)!
Pro 2:15
Whose ways are crooked; better, perhaps, who as to their ways are crooked. This is the construction adopted by Fleischer, Berthean, Zockler, and others, though it may be remarked that the substantive (orakh), “way,” is common gender, and may thin; agree with the adjective (ikesh), “perverse,” which is masculine. The Targum, LXX; Vulgate, Syriac, and Arabic, all make “crooked” agree with “ways,” do that, grammatically, the Authorized Version may be regarded as not incorrect. Crooked (, ik’shim); i.e. tortuous, perverse, not straightforward, (, LXX.). Symmachus translates the original by , i.e. “bent.” Theodotion, by , “twisted, crookt? Sinners, in their perverseness, are ever winding about, turning in every direction, and changing from purpose to purpose, as wayward caprice or shifting inclination, the alternations of evil propensity, happen to dictate (Wardlaw). (For the expressions “crooked ways,” see Psa 125:5.) And they froward in their paths; i.e. perverse in their paths. The root idea of the Hebrew niph. participle (vun’lozim), translated “and they froward,” is “to bend aside,” “to turn away.” They are turned aside to the right hand and to the left in their walk. The niph. participle (naloz) only occurs four times in the Scriptureshere; Pro 3:32; Pro 14:2; and Isa 30:12. This is the last feature in their wickedness.
Pro 2:16
To deliver thee from the strange woman. This is the second form of temptation against which wisdom (discretion) is a preservative, and the great and especial dangers arising from it to youth, owing to its seductive allurements, afford the reason why the teacher is so strong in his warnings on this subject. Two terms are employed to designate the source of this evil”the strange woman” ( , ishshah zara), and “the stranger” (, nok’riyah)and both undoubtedly, in the passage before us, mean a meretricious person, one who indulges in illicit intercourse. The former term is invariably employed in this sense in the Proverbs (Pro 5:2, Pro 5:20; Pro 7:5; Pro 22:14; Pro 23:33) of the adulteress (, zarim), and Jer 2:25. The participle (zar), from the verb (zur), of which (zarah) is the feminine form, is, however, used in a wider sense, as signifying
(1) one of another nation, or one of another family;
(2) or some one different from one’s self;
(3) or strange.
Thus:
(1) in Isa 1:7 we have “Strangers devour it (your land) in your presence;” but in Exo 30:33 “the stranger” is one not the high priest.
(2) The “stranger” is another (Pro 11:15; Pro 14:10; Pro 20:16; Pro 27:2, Pro 27:13).
(3) The “strange fire” ( , esh zarah) is the unlawful fire as opposed to the holy fire (Le Exo 10:1); the “strange god” ( , el zar) is the foreign god (Psa 81:9). But the idea of foreign origin implied in the word is more strongly brought out in the next term, (nok’riyah), on which Delitzsch remarks that it scarcely ever divests itself of a strange, foreign origin. This word is used to designate those “strange women” whom Solomon loved in his old age, and who turned his heart aside to worship false gods (1Ki 11:1-8), “outlandish women,” as they are termed in Neh 13:26; it designates “the strange wives” of Ezr 10:1-44, and Neh 13:27; and is applied to Ruth the Moabitess (Rth 2:10). Again, it has to be further observed that the laws of the Mosaic code against prostitution were of a most stringent nature (Le 19:29; 21:9; Deu 23:17), and no doubt served to maintain a higher standard of morality among Israelitish women than that observed among the Midianites, Syrians, and other nations. Strong prohibitions were directed against the intermarriage of Israelites with the women of the surrounding nations; but the example set by Solomon would serve to weaken the force of these prohibitions, and would lead to a large influx of women of a different nationality. The conclusion we arrive at is that the class mentioned in the text, though not Israelitish by birth, were yet so by adoption, as the context clearly indicates (verse 17) the fact of marriage and the acceptance of certain religious observances. Such women, after a temporary restraint, would eventually set all moral and religious obligations at defiance. and would become the source of temptation to others. The allegorical interpretation given to this passage by the LXX. is to be rejected on the ground that the previous section (verses 12-15) speaks of perverse men. Which flattereth with her words; literally, who has made smooth her words, the hiph. perfect being used of (khalak), “to make smooth,” or “flattering.” The preterite shows what her habitual practice is, and is used of an action still continuing, and so may be fitly rendered by the present, as in the Authorized Version: “She has acquired the art of enticing by flattering words, and it is her study to employ them;” cf. the Vulgate, quae mollit sermones suos, “who softens her words;” and the Syriac, quae subvertit verba sua, “who subverts her words,” i.e. “uses deceit.” The expression occurs again in Pro 5:3; Pro 6:24; Pro 7:5.
Pro 2:17
The guide of her youth ( , alluph n’ureyah); properly, the associate or companion of her youth. The Hebrew, (alluph), being derived from the root , (alaph), “to accustom one’s self to,” or “to be accustomed to” or “familiar with” anyone. The word is rendered as “friend” in Pro 17:9; Pro 16:28; Mic 7:5. The idea of guidance, which is adopted in the Authorized Version, and appears also in the Vulgate dux. and Targum ducatus, is a secondary idea, and is derived probably from the relation in which the husband stands to his wife. Various interpretations have been given to the expression. It occurs again in Jer 3:4, where Jehovah applies it to himself, and says, through his prophet, to the religiously adulterous Judah, “Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My Father, thou art the Guide of my youth ( , alluph n’ura)?” It has also been understood as referring to the woman’s parents, her father and mother, who were her natural guardians. But the context seems to require that it should be taken as designating her husband. It will then be the correlative of “the wife of thy youth” of Mal 2:14. The covenant of her God; i.e. the marriage covenant, called “the covenant of her God,” because entered into in his presence. The forsaking of the guide of her youth is essentially bound up with a forgetfulness of the solemn covenant which she had entered into in the presence of God. No specific mention is made in the Pentateuch of any religious ceremony at marriage; yet we may infer, from Mal 2:14, Mal 2:15, where God is spoken of as “a Witness” between the husband and “the wife of his youth,” “the wife of thy covenant,” that the marriage contract was solemnized with sacred rites. The Proverbs thus give a high and sacred character to marriage, and so carry on the original idea of the institution which, under the gospel dispensation, developed late the principle of the indissolubility of the marriage tie. It is no objection to this view that the monogamic principle was infringed, and polygamy countenanced. The reason of this latter departure is given in Deu 22:28 and Exo 22:16. The morality of the Proverbs always represents monogamy as the rule, it deprecates illicit intercourse, and discountenances divorce. It is in entire accordance with the seventh commandment. The woman who commits adultery offends, not only against her husband, but against her God.
Pro 2:18
For her house inclineth unto death; rather, she sinks down to death together with her house (Bottcher, Delitzsch). The objection to the Authorized Version is that it does not tbllow the construction of the original, the verb “sinks down” (, shakhah) being feminine, while “house” (, bayith) is invariably masculine. Aben Ezra translates, “She sinks down to death, (which is to be) her house;” but it seems better to regard “her house” as an adjunct of the strange woman. Her house includes all who belong to her. She and they are involved in the same fate. The Authorized Version is evidently influenced by the Vulgate, Inclinata est enim ad mortem domus ejus, “For her house is inclined to death.” The LXX. gives a different rendering, , “For she hath placed her house beside death.” So the Arabic. The “for” (, ki) refers back to verse 16, and indicates how great is the deliverance effected by wisdom. The meaning of the passage is aptly illustrated by Pro 7:27, “Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.” And her paths unto the dead. The dead (, r’phaim) are properly the quiet, or the feeble. They are the shadowy inhabitants or shades of Hades, the inferi of the Vulgate, and are here put for Sheol itself. Compare the of Homer, and the umbrae, “shades,” of Virgil. The word occurs again in Pro 9:18; Pro 21:16; and in Psa 88:11; Isa 26:14, Isa 26:19; Job 26:5.
Pro 2:19
None that go unto her return again. The fate of the companions of the strange woman is described as irrevocable. All who visit her shall not return again. The Targum reads, “They shall not return in peace.” The difficulty which they who give themselves up to the indulgence of lust and passion encounter in extricating themselves makes the statement of the teacher an almost universal truth. Hence St. Chrysostom says, “It is as difficult to bring back a libidinous person to chastity as a dead man to life.” This passage led some of the Fathers to declare that the sin of adultery was unpardonable. Fornication was classed by the scholastic divines among the seven deadly sins, and it has this character given to it in the Litany: “From fornication, and all other deadly sin.” St. Paul says, “No whoremonger nor unclean person hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God” (Eph 5:5; cf. 1Co 6:9; Rev 22:15). The sin which they commit who have dealings with the strange woman is deadly and leads on to death, and from death there is no return, nor laying hold of or regaining the paths of life (see Job 7:9, Job 7:10). Compare the words with which Deiphobe, the Cumaean sibyl, addresses AEneas
“Tros Anchysiade, facilis descensus Averno
Sed revocare gradum superasque evadere ad auras,
Hoc opus, hic labor est.”
(Virgil, ‘AEneid,’ 6.126-129.)
“O Trojan, son of Anchyses, easy is the path that leads to hell. But to retrace one’s steps, and escape to the upper regions, this is a work, this is a task.”
Pro 2:20-22
Conclusion of the discourse in which are antithetically stated the respective destinies of the good and the bad, the upright and the wicked.
Pro 2:20
That (Hebrew, l’maan); in order that (Vulgate, ut), carries us back properly to Pro 2:11. The protecting power of wisdom is developed in a positive direction. Negatively, it delivers from the evil man and from the strange woman, but it does more”it shall keep thee in order that thou mayest walk in a good way,” etc. The Hebrew (l’maan) is coordinate with “to deliver thee,” but it serves to bring the discourse to a conclusion. Umbreit renders it “therefore,” thus making what follows an inference from the preceding discourse. So the Syriac, ambula igitur, “therefore walk.” In the way of good men ( , b’derek tovim); i.e. in the way of the good, in an ethical sense, i.e. the upright, as in Isa 5:20. The Vulgate renders, in via bona, “in the good way.” “The way of good men” is the way of God’s commandments, the way of obedience. Keep. The Hebrew verb (shamar) is here used in the sense of “to observe,” “to attend to,” but in a different sense from Psa 17:4, “I have observed the ways of the violent man,” i.e. that I might avoid them. To keep the paths of the righteous is to carefully attend to the life of obedience which they follow. The LXX. closely connects this verse with the preceding, and renders, “For if they had walked in good ways, they would have found the paths of righteousness light.”
Pro 2:21
For the upright shall dwell in the land. Much the same language is met with in Psa 37:29, “The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein foreverse” It is the secure and peaceful dwelling in the land which is intended (cf. Pro 10:30). To dwell in the land was always put forward as the reward of obedience to God’s commandments (see Exo 20:12; Le Exo 25:18; Exo 26:5), and the phrase conveyed to the Hebrew mind the idea of one of the greatest, if not the greatest, of all temporal blessings. The love of country was a predominant characteristic of the race. Elster, quoted by Zockler, remarks, “The Israelite was beyond the power of natural feeling, which makes home dear to every one, more closely bound to the ancestral soil by the whole form of the theocracy; torn kern it, he was in the inmost roots of life strained and broken. Especially from psalms belonging to the period of the exile this patriotic feeling is breathed out in the fullest glow and intensity.” The land (, arets) was the promised land, the land of Canaan. The word is not used here in the wider sense in which it occurs in Mat 5:5, “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” And the perfect shall remain in it; i.e. they shall not, as Rabbi Levi remarks, be driven thence nor caused to migrate. The perfect (, th’mimim), the holy (LXX; ), the spotless (immaeulati, Targum), those without a staid (qui sine labe, Syriae), the guileless (simplices, Vulgate). Shall remain; (yivrath’ru), niph. future of (yathar), properly “to be redundant,” and in the niph. form, “to be left,” or “to remain.” LXX; “shall remain;” permanebunt, Vulgate.
Pro 2:22
But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth. The punishment of the wicked is contrasted with the blessings that are promised to the upright. Shall be cut off; (yikkarethu), niph. future of (karath), “to cut off, or destroy.” LXX; ; Vulgate, perdentur.;The expression is used to convey the idea of extermination, as in Psa 37:9 (cf. Job 18:17; Psa 37:28; Psa 104:35). The verb is found also in Gen 17:14; Exo 12:15. The earth; properly, the land. The same word (, arets) is used as in Exo 12:21. The transgressors (, bog’dim); here employed synonymously with “the wicked” (, y’shaim), “the impious.” The primary meaning of the verb from which it is derived (, bagad) is “to cover,” “to deal treacherously,” and hence the word signifies those who act treacherously or perfidiously, the faithless. They are those who perfidiously depart from God, and break away from the covenant with Jehovah. LXX; (cf. Pro 11:3, Pro 11:6; Pro 13:2, Pro 13:25; Pro 22:12; Psa 25:3; Psa 59:5; Isa 33:1). Shall be rooted out (, yiss’khu). This word is taken by Davidson as the future kal of (nasah), “to pluck up,” and hence is equivalent to “they shall pluck up,” or, passively, “they stroll be plucked up.” Delitzsch remarks that it is as at Pro 15:25 and Psa 52:7, active, “they shall pluck up,” and this with the subject remaining indefinite is equivalent to the passive form, “they shall be plucked up.” This indefinite “they” can be used of God, as also in Job 7:3 (Fleischer). The expression has been understood as referring to being driven into exile (Gesenius), and this view would be amply justified by the fate which overtook the apostate nation when both the kingdoms of Israel and Judah suffered this fate (cf. LXX. , “they shall be driven out”). It also derives colour from the language of the preceding verse, but the imagery appears to be derived from the cutting down and rooting up of trees. The destruction of the wicked and transgressors will be complete. They shall be exterminated (cf. Targum, eradicabuntur; Syriac evellentur; and Arabic, exterminabuntur).
HOMILETICS
Pro 2:1-5
The search for wisdom
I. DIVINE WISDOM MUST BE SOUGHT BEFORE IT CAN BE FOUND. It is true that Wisdom cries aloud in the street and invites the ignorant and simple to partake of her stores. But the burden of her cry is to bid us seek her, It is the voice of invitation, not that of revelation. The latter is only audible to those who incline their ears purposely and thoughtfully. The thoughtless are satisfied with hasty impressions of the moment; but the only religious convictions worth considering are the outcome of thought and prayer. Still, it is to be observed that this wisdom is not reserved for the keen-sighted, the intellectual, the philosophical. It is not ability, but industry, that is required; not exceptional capacity to attain knowledge, but diligence in pursuing it. Laborious dulness can never achieve the triumphs of the brilliant scholar in secular studies. Industry alone will not make a senior wrangler. But the highest knowledge, Divine knowledge, depends so much more on moral considerations which are within the reach of all, that it can stand upon this democratic basis and offer itself to all patient inquirers.
II. THE SEARCH FOR DIVINE WISDOM MUST BEGIN IN RECEPTIVE FAITH. This wisdom is not innate; it is not attained by direct observation; it is not the result of self-sustained reasoning. It comes as revelation, in the voice of God. Thus the soul’s first duty is to hear. But the right attitude towards the Divine revelation is not merely a state of receptivity. It is one of faith and careful attention, receiving the words and hiding them. All through the Bible this essential distinction between heavenly truth. and philosophy, between the mere intellectual requisites of the one and the faith and obedience which lie at the root of the other, is apparent. The first steps towards receiving the wisdom of God are childlike trust and that purity and devoutness which bring the soul into communion with God.
III. THE SEARCH FOR DIVINE WISDOM MUST BE MAINTAINED WITH INCREASING EARNESTNESS. The verses before us describe a progressive intensity of spiritual effortreceiving, hiding the commandment, inclining the ear, applying the heart, crying after, lifting up the voice, seeking, searching as for hid treasure. The truth may not be found at once. But the earnest soul will not desist at the first discouragement; if his heart is in the pursuit, he will only press on the more vigorously. It is, moreover, the characteristic of Divine truth that a little knowledge of it kindles the thirst for deeper draughts. Thus we are led on to the most energetic search. Spirituality does not discourage the eager energy with which men seek worldly gain; on the contrary, it bids us transfer this to higher pursuits, and seek wisdom as men seek for silver, and sink mines after hidden treasures. Christ does not say, “Be anxious for nothing;” but, “Be not anxious for the morrow”in order that we may transfer our anxiety to more important concerns, and “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.”
IV. THE SEARCH FOR DIVINE WISDOM WILL BE REWARDED WITH SUCCESS. Some question this, and, after weary pursuit, abandon the quest in despair, or settle down into indolent indifference. Perhaps they lack patiencetoiling in the night and taking nothing, they cannot hold on till the dawn, when the Master will give them a rich draught; or they seek wrongly, not in spiritual faith, but in cold human reason; or they seek a mistaken goalthe explanation of mystery rather than practical wisdom as the guide of life. This wisdom is promised to those who truly seek, and it is attainable.
Pro 2:6
Wisdom a gift of God
I. TRUE WISDOM ORIGINATES IN DIVINE INSPIRATION. Prophets and apostlesteachers of the highest truthsclaim to be delivering a message from heaven. The greater the thoughts declared to us in Scripture, the more emphatic is the ascription of them to a superhuman source. Surely this very factthis conjunction of unique value in the thoughts with the confident assertion that they are from Godshould go far in leading us to believe in the inspiration of them. But it is also urged by the men who bring these truths to us that we can only receive them when we are inspired by the Spirit of God; and experience shows that they who have most spirituality of life are able to drink most deeply of the fountains of revelation. Further, when once we admit this much, it follows that, if we recognize the constancy of God in all his methods of action, it is reasonable for us to feel that all truth must depend on a Divine illumination for its manifestation, and that all wisdom must be the outcome of some degree of inspiration. Nevertheless, it is not to be inferred that inspiration dispenses with natural channels of knowledge; on the contrary, it opens the eyes of men, who must then use their eyes to be seers of spiritual truth.
II. THE INSPIRATION OF WISDOM DEPENDS ON SPIRITUAL RELATIONS WITH GOD. If inspiration is the source, the questions ariseWho are privileged to drink of this fountain? and how do they gain access to it? Now, it is much to be assured that this is not reserved to any select class of men. Prophets have a special revelation to convey a special message, and apostles have a distinctive endowment for the accomplishment of a particular mission; but the inspiration of wisdom generally is not thus limited. On the contrary, it comes freely to all who rightly avail themselves of it. What, then, are the conditions for receiving it?
1. Prayer. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gareth to all liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (Jas 1:5). Whosoever seeks shall find.
2. Purity. “The pure in heart shall see God,” and the highest wisdom is in the beatific vision of him who dwells in the light of eternal truth.
3. Obedience. As we submit our wills to God’s wilt, we open the channel through which his Spirit enters into us, and by fellowship illumines.
III. TRUE WISDOM, BEING INSPIRED BY GOD, WILL BEAR THE STAMP OF DIVINE CHARACTERISTICS. It will differ from mere human speculation; sometimes it will be so much in conflict with that speculation as to pass for foolishness (see 1Co 1:18). It will be distinctly opposed to the wisdom that is purely carnal, i.e. to that which takes account only of earthly facts and ignores spiritual principles, the wisdom of expediency, the cleverness of men of the world. Such wisdom is not only earthly; its low maxims and immoral devices proclaim it to be “sensual devilish” (Jas 3:15). Divinely inspired wisdom, on the contrary, is spiritualtaking account of the facts and laws of the higher order; purenot ministering to selfish greed and degraded pleasure; wholesomestrengthening and elevating the soul; “peaceable, gentle, easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without variance, without hypocrisy” (Jas 3:17).
Pro 2:10, Pro 2:11
The antidote to temptation
I. WE NEED AN ANTIDOTE TO TEMPTATION. It is not enough to trust to our own spiritual health to throw off the poison. We are already diseased with sin, and have a predisposition to yield to temptation in the corruption of our own hearts. But if we were immaculate, we should still be liable to fall; the power of temptation is so fearful that the purest, strongest soul would be in danger of succumbing. The tempter can choose the moment of his attack. When we are most off our guard, when we are faint and weary, when we are suffering from spiritual depression, the mine may be suddenly sprung, and we may be lost before we have fully realized the situation. Like the dragon in Sponsor’s ‘Faery Queene,’ which would have stifled the Red Cross Knight with the fiery fumes it belched forth unless he had fallen into the healing fountain, the tempter would destroy our spiritual life with an atmosphere of foul thoughts after more tangible attacks have failed, were it not that we have a supply of grace outside ourselves, equal to our need. Even Christ, when tempted, did not rest on his own purity and power, but appealed for support to the sacred wisdom of Scripture.
II. THE ANTIDOTE TO TEMPTATION MUST BE SOME FORM OF POSITIVE GOOD. Fire is quenched by water, not by opposing flames. Evil must be overcome with good. The way to keep sin out of the heart is to fill the heart with pure thoughts and affections till there is no room for anything else. The citadel entered most easily by the tempter is an empty heart.
III. TRUE WISDOM IS THE SUREST ANTIDOTE TO TEMPTATION. All knowledge tends in some degree to preserve from evil. Light makes for goodness. Both are from God, and therefore they must harmonize. Secular knowledge is morally useful. A very large proportion of the criminals in our jails can neither read nor write. Ignorant of wiser courses, they are led aside to the lowest pursuits. Sound intelligence and good information introduce men at least to the social conscience. But the schoolmaster is not the saviour of the world. Higher wisdom is needed to be the successful antidote to sinthat wisdom which, in the Book of Proverbs, is almost synonymous with religionthe knowledge of God and his laws, and the practical discernment of the application of this knowledge to conduct. We must know God’s will and the way of the Christian life, the beauty of holiness and how to attain it, if we are to have a good safeguard against sin. Christ, the Wisdom of God, dwelling in our hearts, is the great security against temptation.
IV. TO BE EFFECTUAL AS AN ANTIDOTE TO TEMPTATION, WISDOM MUST BE RECEIVED WITH DELIGHT. Knowledge must be “pleasant.” We are most influenced by that which we love most. There is a strength in the Divine joy. So long as religious truths are accepted in cold intellectual conviction, or submitted to through hard compulsions of duty, they will have little power over us. But happily God has joined the highest truth to the purest gladness. Wisdom is a pleasure to those who welcome it to their hearts. The acquisition of all knowledge is pleasurable, The knowledge of God is joined with peculiar spiritual delights. In rejoicing in this and in love to the incarnation of this wisdom in Christ, we have the strongest safeguard against temptation.
Pro 2:14
Rejoicing to do evil
We often insist upon the fact that goodness is the secret of true happiness, and invite men to rejoice in the service of God; but we are here reminded of an opposite kind of joy which some find in the course of wickedness.
I. THIS IS A POSSIBLE EXPERIENCE. It is so unnatural that one who knew nothing of the world might well declare it to be impossible. But experience proves its existence, and the explanation of it is not far to seek.
1. Naturally desirable ends lend a sense of pleasure to the evil means by which they are sought. The miser loves his money on its own account through previous associations with the ideas of what it might purchase. So the criminal may come to delight in his crimes because the profit he gets out of them has cast a glamour over the ugly deeds themselves.
2. Some pleasures are sinful. Then the whole course, end as well as means, is wicked; yet, as it concerns self-indulgence, a wicked glee accompanies it.
3. There is a sense of freedom in sin. There is more room to range at large over the broad way than in the narrow path of righteousness. The sinner has burst the shackles of law, and he revels in the licence of self-will.
4. Sin gives an opportunity for the exercise of power. Much evil is done simply for the sake of effect, in order that the doer of it may find himself producing results. But it is easier to do harm than to do good. Therefore a man turns to evil for the larger realization of his power. So wicked children delight in picking flies to pieces.
II. THIS IS A SIGN OF ADVANCED WICKEDNESS.
1. At first it is painful to sin. The poor, weak soul gives way to temptation, but the very act of sinning is accompanied with a sense of uneasiness and humiliation.
2. A further stage is reached when sin is committed with indifference. This is indeed a state of moral degradation, for conscience is now practically dead, and the sinner is as willing to have his pleasure by lawless means as in an innocent manner.
3. The lowest depth is reached when there is a positive pleasure in doing wrong. Evil is then chosen on its own account, and not as the disagreeable or the indifferent means for reaching some ulterior end. When two courses are open, the bad one is deliberately selected as the more pleasant on its own account. A malignant joy lights up the countenance of the abandoned sinner at the mere prospect of some new villainy. This is Satanic wickedness. The abandoned sinner can now exclaim with Milton’s Satan
“Evil, be thou my good!”
III. THIS IS A DELUSIVE JOY.
1. It is shallow. Though it may be excited into a diabolical ecstasy, it has no heart-satisfying qualities. Beneath it there is profound unrest, The peace which accompanies the joy of holiness, and which is the sweetest ingredient in the cup of the good man, is quite wanting here. There are shooting pangs, dark misgivings, and dread sinkings of heart in the midst of this monstrous delight.
2. It will not endure. The pleasures of sin do but endure for a season. The sweet morsels soon turn to dust and ashes. After the wild crete there follows deep depression or dread despair, or at best a sense of listless weariness. The appetite is soon exhausted. New and more piquant forms of wickedness must be invented to stimulate the jaded palate. At length the awful consequences must come, and anguish of soul follow the delights of sin when God’s judgment takes effect.
Pro 2:15
Crooked ways
I. CROOKED WAYS ARE DEVIATIONS FROM THE STRAIGHT PATHS OF MORAL SIMPLICITY. The man of high character is simple in conduct. Great complexity of motive is generally a sign of moral laxity. The way of right is straight because it makes for its goal without any considerations of expediency, danger, or]pleasure. To be turned aside from the steep Hill of Difficulty, or into By-path Meadows is to forsake the right for selfish ease. When men allow considerations of momentary advantage to guide their actions, they will be perpetually swayed from side to side till their track is marked by an irregular “zigzag.” “The expression of truth,” rays Seneca, “is simplicity.”
II. CROOKED WAYS ARE SIGNS OF LACK OF PRINCIPLE. Principles are like the rails on which the train runs, keeping it in a direct course and facilitating its speed. The unprincipled man is off the rails, and the result is confusion. Like a ship without compass, rudder, or chart, the unprincipled man drifts with wind and tide, and so leaves behind him a crooked track. The security for straightforward conduct is the guidance of a deep-seated principle of righteousness.
III. CROOKED WAYS RESULT FROM SHORT–SIGHTED AIMS. The lane which is made, bit by bit, from farm to farm, is likely to wind about; but the old Roman high road that connects two distant cities runs as directly as possible. The ploughman who looks no further than his horses’ heads will make a crooked furrow; to go straight he must fix his eyes on the end of the field. He who regards only present circumstances will wander aimlessly. To go right we must look out of self to Christ; beyond present expediency to the full purpose and end of life; above all earthly pursuits to the goal of the life eternal.
IV. CROOKED WAYS ARE DECEITFUL WAYS. Bad men often fear to go straight towards their evil aims lest they shall be discovered. They beat about the bush. The assassin avoids the high road and slinks along under a hedge, that he may come upon his victim unawares. The thief breaks into the house by the back door. Honesty is direct; dishonesty is circuitous. Crooked ways tend to become deceitful, if they are not so of set purpose. A man may wander in them till he has lost account of the points of the compass, and knows not whither he is going. The most elementary notions of right and wrong are then confused. This is the common issue of casuistic and disingenuous conduct; it results in self-deception.
V. CROOKED WAYS LEAD TO A FATAL END. The way to heaven is to “turn to the right, and keep straight on.” The road that leads to destruction is broad, admitting of much irregularity of motion from one side to the other. It is the straight and narrow way that leads to life.
HOMILIES BY E. JOHNSON
Pro 2:1-9
The conditions of religious knowledge
The previous chapter having shown us in a variety of representations the necessity and the worth of wisdom, the question is now dealt withHow shall it be sought and attained?
I. CONDITIONS ON MAN‘S SIDE. The enumeration is climactic, proceeding from the less strong to the stronger expressions.
1. Receptivity. The open mind and heart, ever ready to “adopt” true sentiments and appropriate them as one’s own. The point is not to askWho says this? By what channel does it come to me? ButIs it sound? is it true? If so, it is for me, and shall be made my own. Truth is common property.
2. Attention, concentration, assimilation. “Keeping her commands with us.” The thorough student finds it necessary to exercise his memory, and to help it by the use of notebooks, where he hides his knowledge. So must we hive and store, arrange and digest, our religious impressions, which otherwise “go in at one ear and out at the other.” Short germ sayings may be thus kept in the memory; they will burst into fertility some day.
3. Active application. In figurative language “bending the ear” and “turning the heart” in the desired direction. The mind must not be passive in religion. It is no process of “cramming,” but of personal, original, spiritual activity throughout.
4. Passionate craving and prayerfulness. “Calling Sense to one’s side, and raising one’s voice to Prudence”to give another rendering to Pro 2:3. We must invoke the spirit of Wisdom for the needs of daily conduct; thus placing ourselves in living relation with what is our true nature. Fra Angelico prayed before his easel; Cromwell, in his tent on the eve of battle. So must the thinker in his study, the preacher in his pulpit, the merchant at his desk, if he would have the true clearness of vision and the only genuine success. True prayer is always for the universal, not the private, good.
5. Persevering and laborious exertion. illustrated by the miner’s toil. The passage (Job 28:1-28.), of extraordinary picturesque power and interest, describing the miner’s operations, may help us to appreciate the Illustration. The pursuit of what is ideal is still more arduous than that of the material, as silver and gold. It is often said that the perseverance of the unholy worker shames the sloth of the spiritual man. But let us not ignore the other side. The toil in the spiritual region is not obvious to the eye like the other, but is not the less really practised in silence by thousands of faithful souls. We should reflect on the immense travail of soul it has cost to produce the book which stirs us like a new force, though it may appear to flow with consummate ease from the pen. Such are the conditions of “understanding the fear of Jehovah,” or, in modern language, of appropriating, making religion our own; “receiving the things of the Spirit of God,” in the language of St. Paul (1Co 2:14). It is the highest human possession, because permanent, inalienable, and preservative amidst life’s ills.
II. CONDITIONS ON THE SIDE OF GOD. If religion be the union or identification of the soul with God, he must be related to us in such a way as makes this possible.
1. He is wisdom‘s Source and Giver. He not only contains in himself that knowledge which, reflected in us, becomes prudence, sense, wisdom, piety; he is an active Will and a self-communicating Spirit. The ancients had a glimpse of this when they said that the gods were not of so grudging or envious a nature as not to reveal their good to men. God is self-revealing; “freely gives of his things” to us, that we may know, and in knowing, possess them.
2. His wisdom is saving. “Sound wisdom” (Pro 2:7) may be better rendered soundness, or salvation, or health, or saving health. It seems to come from a root signifying the essential or actual. Nothing is essential but health for sensuous enjoyment; nothing but health, in the larger sense, for spiritual enjoyment. Let us think of God as himself absolute Health, and thus the Giver of all health and happiness to his creatures.
3. He is Protector of the faithful. The Hebrew imagination, informed by constant scenes of war, delights to represent him as the Buckler or Shield of his servants (Psa 18:2; Psa 33:20; Psa 89:19). Those who “walk in innocence” seem to bear a charmed life. They “fear no evil,” for he is with them. The vast sky is their tent roof. They may be slain, but cannot be hurt. To be snatched from this world is to be caught to his arms.
4. He is eternal Justice. Being this in himself, the “way of his saints,” which is synonymous with human rectitude, cannot be indifferent to him. Right is the highest idea we can associate with God. It is exempt from the possible suspicion of weakness or misdirection which may cleave to the mere idea of goodness or kindness. It essentially includes might. Thus the soul finds shelter beneath this vast and majestic conception and faith of its God. These, then, are the conditions, Divine and human, of religion. That we may realize it in ourselves, “understand right, justice, and equity”in a word, “every good way” of life and thought, uniting piety with moralitythe conditions must be faithfully fulfilled. Perfect bodily health may not be attainable; some of its conditions lie without the sphere of freedom, and within that of necessary law. Spiritual health is attainable, for it lies within the sphere of freedom. Then God is realized; it is the ether of the soul, and the region of love and light and blessedness.J.
Pro 2:10-22
The profit of religious knowledge
It is preservative amidst the influences of evil example and of sensuous solicitation.
I. THE WAY IN WHICH IT ACTS AS A PRESERVATIVE.
1. By taking up a central place in the consciousness. “When wisdom enters thy heart, and knowledge is dear to thy soul.” Not as a stranger or mere guest, but a beloved and confidential intimate. The heart denotes here, as elsewhere, “the centre and organic basis of the collective life of the soul, the seat of sentiment, the starting point of personal self-determination.” The soul, as used by Hebrew writers, denotes the entire assemblage of the passive and active principles of the inner life. Delitzsch terms the heart, as used in the Bible, “the birthplace of thought;” and thin is true, because thought springs out of the dim chaos of feeling as the defined crystals from the chemical mixture.
2. By counteractive force. If the inmost thing we know and feel be a sense of right and a sense of God, a pure sentiment and a lofty idea, this must exclude the baser feelings, and displace the images of pleasure and objects of desire which are unlawful and undivine. Them is watch and ward in the fortress of Man-soul against the enemy and the intruder. The “expulsive force of a new affection” operates. It is the occupied heart that alone is temptation proof. “Discretion shall watch over thee, prudence guard thee.” The mind, directed to what is without, and feeling for its course among uncertainties, thus appears forearmed against dangers.
II. THE DANGERS FROM WHICH IT PRESERVES. Social dangers. In society lies our field of full moral development, both in sympathy with the good and in antipathy to the evil. Two dangers are particularized.
1. The influence of the bad man. We know men by their talk and by their actionstheir habit in both; their “style,” their “form,” in the expressive language of the day.
(1) His talk is of “froward things,” or “perversities”cunning, crafty, malicious in spirit (Pro 2:12). Literally it is crooked talk, which is a relative termthe direct opposite of the “straightness” of Pro 2:9 being meant. Our moral intuitions appear in the mind under the analogy of relations in space, and are thus designated probably in all languages. The right line and the curve or zigzag represent what we feel about good and evil in conduct. The speech of evil insinuation, covert suggestion, bad tone, generally may be meant; or perhaps, rather, guilty topics of conversation. The East is more leisurely in its habits than are we; and the warning has peculiar adaptation to the unfilled hours of an easy life, and which bad talk so often wastes and corrupts.
(2) His habit of life. He forsakes the “straight paths” to walk in “dark ways,” such as those alluded to by St. Paul (Rom 13:13; Eph 5:11; 1Th 5:5). In the like sense that darkness is antipathetic to us, is moral evil (hence its appropriateness as an emblem); we may overcome the feeling partially, but only by doing ourselves a violence. It is a step further in self-perversion to “take pleasure in the execution of evil, and to make merry over wickedness.” Human nature demands sympathy; the most depraved cannot do without it or the semblance of it. We are always craving the sight of that which reflects us; hence the sight of evil gives joy to the bad man, the sight of good enrages him. For he is a deformity. His ways are crooked, twisted all his mode of mind and life; a moral deformity. The conscience, armed with the healthy perception of the true, beautiful, and good, sees all this in the bad man, recognizes him for what he is, and so is proof against him. One great lesson of Goethe’s ‘Faust’ is that the tempted man does not see the devil in human shape, because his moral temper has been first unstrung, and so his vision vitiated.
2. The solicitations of the bad woman. The expressions, “strange, foreign” (Pro 2:16), appear to designate her as the wife of another, an adulteress (comp. Pro 6:26; but the sense is disputed). To allegorize the passage is to weaken its force; for the actual dangers of youth are clearly indicated. She is depicted in the strongest light of reality. This is what she is in the view of the inspired conscience.
(1) Her infidelity to her husband and her God (Pro 2:17). For marriage is a bond, not only between two human beings, but between each and God. Affiance is the glory of womanhood; to break her plighted troth is to wreck all her true charm and beauty. “Companion of her youth” is a beautiful designation of the husband (Jer 3:4; Psa 55:14).
(2) Her dangerous arts. Oh, what can replace a youth defiled? or what more dangerous influence can there be than that of her whose “hatred is goaded by shame”hatred against the virtue which confronts to reproach her? Her smooth tongue, flattering her victim with simulated admiration, and with the “hypocrisy of passion,” is more deadly than the sword.
(3) Her deadly seductions. Death, the kingdom of the shades, the ghosts who lead, according to the view of the ancient world, a faint and bloodless existence below, is the end of her and the partakers of her sins. To Sheol, to Hades, the bourne whence no traveller returns, the steps of all her visitors tend. Her house seems ever to be tottering over the dark abyss. The truth held in this tragic picture is too obvious to need further illustration. Fatal to health of body, to peace of soul, to the very life itself, is the zymotic disease of lust. To the religious conscience thus the harlot appears; stripped of her paint and finery, her hypocrisy exposed, the poison of her being detected. It is the shadow of a life, and ends in emptiness, darkness, and ghostly gibbering.J.
Pro 2:20-22
The principle of moral stability
This may be regarded as the epilogue or summary of the whole chapter. The object of all Wisdom’s exhortations and warnings is the direction of youth to the good way, and that they may hold on the path of the just. For
I. THE RIGHTEOUS HAVE A FUTURE BEFORE THEM. A “dwelling in the land”the homeland; sound dear to an Israelitish ear. The form in which the happy future shall be realized may be first material, but only to pass into the spiritual. For ages Israel saw the promise under the image of material prosperity; afterwards, in the purification and enlightenment of her conscience by the gospel, she looked for a “better country, that is, an heavenly.” Both senses may be included. The enlightened spirit knows how to idealize every material content, and will leave much undefined in the prospect. Enough to say of all the seekers of God’s kingdom and righteousness, “They have a future before them.” The soul itself suffices to itself for the scene el bliss, and converts the rich land of Canaan into the type of its inward joys and harvests of good.
II. THE WICKED HAVE NO FUTURE BEFORE THEM. That is, in the sense par excellence. Their doom is to be rooted out and cast forth from the land. What lies behind the material figure, who can say? To conceive it transcends the bounds of human thought. There is no travelling out of the analogies of experience possible. We reach at last a negative conception in the case both of future bliss and future woe. The Buddhists aim as their highest goal at the Nirvana, which is the negation of finite existence with its defects and evils. What must be the Nirvana of the wicked? The negation of the Infinite must mean confinement in self, and this is death indeed. They who have persistently said “No” to God and the good in their life will be confronted by an everlasting “No!” And thus again the wheel comes full circle, and they reap as they sow (comp. Mat 7:24-27).J.
HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON
Pro 2:1-9
The course, the goal, and the prize of wisdom
These are comprehensive verses; they include the three main features of the heavenly race.
I. THE COURSE OF THE WISDOM SEEKER. He who searches for wisdom is a wise runner in a heavenly race; he is pursuing an end which the Divine Author of his being distinctly and emphatically commends.
1. His search for life-giving truth must be characterized by readiness to receive. He must be wholly different in spirit from those who are disinclined to learn; still more must he be far removed from those who scornfully reject; he must be a son who “will receive the words” of wisdomthe words of the “only wise God,” of him who is “the Wisdom of God” (Pro 2:1).
2. But there must be not only readiness; there should be eagerness to receive. He must “incline his ear” (Pro 2:2). Not only be prepared to listen when Wisdom speaks, but make a distinct and positive effort to learn the truth which affects him and which will bless him.
3. Beyond this, there must be carefulness to retain. The student must not let his mind be a sieve through which knowledge passes and from which it is readily lost; he must make it a reservoir which will retain; he is to “hide God’s commandments” within him (Pro 2:1). to take them down into the deep places of the soul whence they will not escape.
4. Farther, there must be perseverance in the search. He must “apply his heart to understanding” (Pro 2:2). Not by “fits and starts” is the goal to be reached, but by steady, patient, continuous search.
5. And there must also be enthusiasm in the endeavour (Pro 2:3, Pro 2:4). With the impassioned earnestness with which a man who is lest in the pathless wood, or is sinking under the whelming wave, “cries” and “lifts up his voice,” should the seeker after heavenly wisdom strive after the goal which is before him. With the untiring energy and inexhaustible ardour with which men toil for silver or dig for the buried treasure of which they believe themselves to have found the secret, should the soul strive and search alter the high end to which God is calling it.
II. THE GOAL HE WALL SURELY REACH. He who thus seeks for heavenly truth will attain that to which he is aspiring; “for the Lord giveth wisdom,” etc. (Pro 2:6). There is no man who desires to be led into the path of that Divine wisdom which constitutes the life and joy of the soul, and who pursues that lofty and holy end in the spirit here commended, who will fail to reach the goal toward which he runs. That earnest and patient runner shall be helped of God; Divine resources shall be supplied to him; he shall run without weariness, he shall walk without fainting, till the winning post is clasped (see Mat 5:6; Mat 7:7, Mat 7:8).
1. He shall apprehend the essential elements of religion. “Thou shall understand the fear of the Lord” (Pro 2:5). He will be led into a spiritual apprehension of that which constitutes the foundation and the essence of all true piety. He will be able to distinguish between the substance and the shadow, the reality and the pretence of religion.
2. He shall alsoand this is a still greater thingattain to a vital and redeeming knowledge of God himself. “Thou shall find the knowledge of God” (Pro 2:5). To know him is eternal life (Joh 17:3), But this knowledge must bewhat in the case of the earnest disciple of heavenly wisdom it will becomea vital knowledge; it must be of the whole spiritual nature, and not only of the intellectual faculty. It must be a knowledge which
(1) engages the whole powers of the spirit;
(2) which brings joy to the soul;
(3) which leads to an honest effort after God-likeness.
III. THE PRIZE HE WILL WIN. It may be truly said that the runner in the race finds a deeper satisfaction in clasping the goal while his competitors are all behind him than in wearing the chaplet of honour on his brows. And it may be truly said that the most blessed guerdon which the heavenly runner wins is in that knowledge of God which is his “goal” rather than in the after honours which are his “prize.” Yet we may well covet with intense eagerness the prize which Wisdom holds in her hand for those who are victorious. It includes much.
1. Stores of deep spiritual verities. “He layeth up sound wisdom,” etc. (Pro 2:7)greater and deeper insight into the most profound and precious truth.
2. Discernment of all practical wisdom. “Thou shall understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path” (Pro 2:9).
3. Divine guardianship along all the path of life. “He is a Buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment,” etc. (Pro 2:7, Pro 2:8).C.
Pro 2:10-15
The course of sin and the strength of righteousness
We have here portrayed for us
I. THE SHOCKING COURSE OF SIN.
1. It begins in departure from rectitude. Evil men first manifest their error by “leaving the paths of uprightness.” They were once under the wholesome restraints of righteousness. Parental control, the influences of the sanctuary and of virtuous society, held them in check, but these are thrown off; they have become irksome, and they are rebelled against and abandoned. The old and wise principles which were received and cherished are one by one discarded, and they stand unshielded, unguided, ready to wander in forbidden paths.
2. It continues in the practice of evil. Having thrown off old restraints, they “walk in the ways of darkness” (Pro 2:13); they proceed to do, habitually, those things which the unenlightened dothose things which shun the light and love the darkness; deeds of error and of shame.
3. It resorts to despicable shifts. “Whose ways are crooked” (Pro 2:15). Sin cannot walk straight on; it would be soon overtaken by penalty, or fall over the precipice. It is like men pursued of justice, who have to turn and double that they may elude those who are behind. The course of sin is twisted and tortuous; it resorts to cunning and craftiness. All manliness is eaten out of it; it has the spirit and habit of a slave (see Rom 6:16).
4. It hardens into utter perversity. They “are froward in their paths” (Pro 2:15); they “speak froward things” (Pro 2:12), i.e. they sink down into complete hardihood and spiritual stubbornness; their hearts are turned aside from all that is devout, pure, wise, and they have gone utterly after that which is profane and base.
5. It culminates in a hateful and hurtful propagandism. They “rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked” (Pro 2:14). Sin can go no further in enormity, no deeper in abasement, than when, rejoicing in iniquity, it seeks to lead others into the same guilt and vileness with itself. What a pitiful zealotry is thisthe anxiety and pertinacity of sin in winning from the paths of rectitude the children of innocence and truth! What a saddening thought that thousands of our fellow men are actively occupied in this diabolical pursuit!
II. THE PERIL OF PIETY AND VIRTUE. Here, on earth, the purest virtue must walk side by side with the worst depravity. Sin sits down at the same hearth with goodness; profanity with piety. And thus brought into close contact, it is open to one to win or to seduce the other. We rejoice that godliness is seeking to gain impiety for God, but we mourn and tremble as we see sin seeking to pervert purity and goodness from “the right ways of the Lord.” We are all open to human influence. The heart of man is responsive to human entreaty and example. But especially so is the heart of youth: that is tender, impressionable, plastic. Perhaps never a day passes but the sun looks down, in every land, on some young heart detached from truth, led into the path of evil, stained with sin, through the snares and wiles of guilty men. Who does not sigh with some feeling of solicitude as he sees the young man go forth from the shelter of the godly home into the world where the wicked wait, “rejoicing to do evil,” and taking pride in the destruction they produce?
III. THE STRENGTH AND SECURITY OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. When wisdom enters the heart and knowledge is pleasant to the soul, then discretion will preserve, and understanding will keep us (Pro 2:10, Pro 2:11). In other words, the cordial acceptance of the truth of God is the one security against sin. Delighting to do God’s will, his Law being in the heart as well as in the understanding (Psa 40:8), this will prove an effectual breakwater against the tides of evil. He that can say,” O Lord, how love I thy Law!” (Psa 119:1-176) will never have to utter words of bitter remorse and black despair. Would youth know the certain path of victory, and pursue that way which leads, not down to shame, but on and up to heavenly glory?
1. Let it regard with earnest gaze him who is the Wisdom of God in fullest revelation to the sons of men.
2. Yield to him its early, unbounded love.
3. Then will it find unfading joy in the Divine truth which flowed from his lilts, and which shone in his holy life. Whoso believes in him shall never be confounded.C.
Pro 2:16-19
The way of sin: a sermon to young men
Reference is made here to one particular sin. While the words of the teacher are specially appropriate to it, they will also apply to all sin; they show the way it takes. Let us see
I. THAT SIN IS THE CONTRADICTION OF THE DIVINE THOUGHT. It is a “strange” thing (Pro 2:16). The painted harlot is “the strange woman.” And while the prostitution of a human being, meant to be a helpmeet for man in all his highest and holiest pursuits to a mere ministress to his unlawful lusts, is the very saddest departure from the Divine ideal, and amply justifies the use of the word “strange woman,” we may remember that all sin is a strange thing in the universe of God. How it ever entered there is the problem which can never be solved. But meeting with it here. in whatever form, we say, “This is the contrary of the thought of the Supreme,” “This is the exact opposite of his design,” “This is something alien, unnatural, intrusive: cannot we cast it out?”
II. THAT SIN MUST STOOP TO FALSEHOOD IF IT WILL WIN ITS WAY. It “flattereth with its words” (Pro 2:16). Flattery is only another name for a sweet falsehood. The woman that is a sinner uses flattery to accomplish her ends. So sin cannot live without lying. That may be said of sin which was said of a great European usurper, that it “has deliberately taken falsehood into its service.” But the most effective and destructive form of it is flattery. Let the young take earnest heed to their danger. When the lips of beauty speak soft and gratifying things, let purity beware; it is only too likely that temptation in its most seductive form is nigh, and that character and reputation are being insidiously assailed.
III. THAT SIN SINKS TO ITS DARKEST DEPTHS THROUGH VARIOUS VIOLATIONS. (Pro 2:17.) It is uncertain whether by the “guide of her youth” is to be understood her husband (see Mal 2:14, Mal 2:15), her parents, or her God. The second clause clearly refers to the marriage covenant, which is regarded as a sacred bond. Whichever be the correct view of the former clause, it is certain that the sinner of the text could only descend to her shameless depth by violating every promise she has made, by breaking through every fence which once stood between her and guilt. This is the inevitable course of sin. It violates first one vow, then another, until all sacred promises are broken.
(1) Deliberate resolutions,
(2) solemn assurances,
(3) formal vows;all are infringed.
IV. THAT SIN LEADS STRAIGHT TO THE DOORWAY OF DEATH. (Pro 2:18, Pro 2:19.) It leads:
1. To physical death. Vice carries with it a penalty in the body; it robs of health and strength; it enfeebles; it sows seeds of sickness and death. The “graves of lust” are in every cemetery and churchyard in the land.
2. To spiritual death. “None that go unto her return again” as they went. Men come away from every unlawful indulgence other than they goweaker and worse in soul. Alas for the morrow of incontinence, of whatever kind it be! The soul is injured; its self-respect is slain, its force is lessened; it is on the incline which slopes to death, and one step nearer to the foot of it. “Her house inclineth unto death.”
3. To eternal death. They who resort to forbidden pleasure are fast on their way to the final condemnation; they have wandered long leagues from “the paths of life.” We conclude with two admonitions:
(1) Keep carefully away from the beginnings of evil. Shun not only the “strange woman’s” door, but the evil glance, the doubtful company, the impure book, the meretricious paper.
(2) The way of escape is immediate and total abandonment of sin. Such resolution made at once, seeking God’s strength and grace, will permit the wanderer to “return again.”C.
Pro 2:20-22
Recompense and retribution
It ought to be enough for us that wisdom is the supremely excellent thing; that the service of God is the one right thing. We should hasten to do that which commends itself to our conscience as that which is obligatory. But God knows that, in our weakness and frailty, we have need of other inducements than a sense of duty; he has, therefore, given us others. He has made wisdom and righteousness to be immeasurably remunerative; he has made folly and sin to be utterly destructive to us. We look at
I. THE REWARD OF WISDOM. (Pro 2:20, Pro 2:21.)
1. The man who pursues wisdom, who seeks conformity to the will of the Wise One, will have holy companionship for the path of life. He will walk in the way in which good and righteous men walk. Instead of being “the companion of fools,” he will be “the friend of the wise.” Those whose hearts are pure, whose minds are stored with heavenly treasure, and whose lives are admirable, will be about him, making his whole path fragrant with the flowers of virtue, rich with the fruits of goodness.
2. He will be upheld in personal integrity. Walking in the way of the good, and keeping the paths of the righteous, he himself will be preserved in his integrity, and be set before God’s face forever (see Psa 41:12). His feet will not slip; he will not wander into forbidden ways; he will keep “the King’s highway of holiness;” his face will be ever set toward the heavenly Jerusalem.
3. He will dwell in the land of plenty (Pro 2:21). To “dwell in the land,” to “remain” in the land of promise, was to abide in that country where all things in rich abundance waited for the possession and enjoyment of the people of God (Exo 3:8). Those who are the children of wisdom now dwell in a region which is full of blessing. If outward prosperity be not always their portion, yet is there provided by God
(1) everything needful for temporal well being;
(2) fulness of spiritual privilege;
(3) the abiding presence and favour of the eternal Father, the unfailing Friend, the Divine Comforter.
II. THE FATE OF FOLLY. (Pro 2:22.) Those who were the children of folly in the wilderness period were shut out of the land of promise; they did not enter into rest. The threat of the Holy One to those who had inherited the land was deportation and distance from their inheritancebeing “cut off” and “rooted out.” The evils which foolish and stubborn souls have now to dread, as the just penalty of their folly and their frowardness, are
(1) exclusion from the “kingdom of God” on earth, and
(2) exile from the kingdom of God in heaven.
Such impenitent and unbelieving ones, by their own folly, cut themselves off from that “eternal life” which begins in a blessed and holy union with the Lord of glory here, and which is consummated and perpetuated in the nearer fellowship and more perfect bliss of heaven.C.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Pro 2:1. My son, if thou wilt receive, &c. The attention of those who read this book being bespoken in the foregoing chapter, the wise man persuades not only to read, but to receive and obey his good counsels, by representing the benefits of being wise, that is, holy and virtuous, and the mischiefs that a man shall thereby avoid. The chief is, that he is sure to be under the guidance and blessing of God, who will impart more and more of himself to those who study wisdom; which is the scope of the former part of this chapter: and as, on the contrary, if he do not order his ways by the rules of wisdom, he is sure to wander most dangerously; so, if he keep close to them, they will preserve him from utter ruin; which is the design of the latter part of them. See on Pro 2:12; Pro 2:18. Instead of hide, we may read lay up. Schultens renders the second verse, By giving thine attentive ears to wisdom, thou wilt incline thine heart to prudence.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
3. Exhibition of the blessed consequences of obedience and of striving after wisdom
Pro 2:1-22
1My son, if thou receivest my words
and keepest my commandments by thee,
2so that thou inclinest thine ear to wisdom,
and turnest thine heart to understanding;
3yea, if thou callest after knowledge,
to understanding liftest up thy voice;
4if thou seekest her as silver,
and searchest for her as for hidden treasure;
5then shalt thou understand the fear of Jehovah,
and find knowledge of God;
6for Jehovah giveth wisdom,
from his mouth (cometh) knowledge and understanding:
7and so he layeth up for the righteous sound wisdom,
a shield (is he) for them that walk uprightly,
8to protect the paths of justice,
and guard the way of his saints;
9then shalt thou understand righteousness and justice
and uprightness,every good way.
10If wisdom entereth into thine heart,
and knowledge is pleasant to thy soul,
11then will discretion watch over thee,
understanding will keep thee,
12to deliver thee from an evil way,
from the man that uttereth frowardness,
13(from those) who forsake straight paths,
to walk in ways of darkness;
14who rejoice to do evil,
who delight in deceitful wickedness;
15whose paths are crooked,
and they froward in their ways;
16to deliver thee from the strange woman,
from the stranger who maketh her words smooth,
17who hath forsaken the companion of her youth
and forgotten the covenant of her God.
18For her house sinketh down to death
and to the dead (lead) her paths;
19her visitors all return not again,
and lay not hold upon paths of life.
20(This is) that thou mayest walk in a good way
and keep the paths of the righteous!
21For the upright shall inhabit the land,
and the just shall remain in it:
22but the wicked are cut off from the land,
and the faithless are driven out of it.
GRAMMATICAL AND CRITICAL
[Pro 2:1 sq. De Wette and Noyes conceive of the first two verses as not conditional, but as containing the expression of a direct and independent wish: Oh that thou wouldest receive, etc. The LXX, Vulg., Luther, etc., make the first verse conditional, but find the apodosis in Pro 2:2. Muenscher finds in Pro 2:2 an independent condition, and not a mere sequence to the preceding; so Holden, with a slightly different combination of the parts of Pro 2:2 : If by inclining thine earthou wilt incline thine heart, etc. M., H., Stuart and others find the apodosis of the series of conditional clauses in Pro 2:5, agreeing in this with the E. V. These diverse views do not essentially modify the general import of the passage. Zckler it will be observed finds the apodosis in Pro 2:5; Pro 2:9, Pro 2:6-8 being parenthetical.A.].
Pro 2:7. For the construction with the Stat, constr. compare Isa 33:15. [Compare Green. 254, 9, b and 274, 2.]
Pro 2:8. The infinitive is followed by the imperf. as above in Pro 2:2. [For explanations of the nature and use of this infinitive construction see Ewald, 237, c. The literal rendering would be for the guarding, protection, keeping. Whose keeping the paths, etc.? Holden understands it of the righteous: who walk uprightly by keeping the paths, etc. Most commentators understand it of God, who is a shield for the protection, i.e., to protect, etc. Zckler in translation conforms the following Kal pret. to this infin., while most others reverse the process.A.]
Pro 2:10. [The with which the verse commences is differently understood, as conditional or temporal, or as causal. Thus E. V., N., M.,when wisdom, etc.; S., K., Van Ess, for wisdom, etc.; De W., Z., if wisdom, etc. Between the first and last there is no essential difference, and this view of the author is probably entitled to the preference.A.].
The feminine , knowledge (which is used here, as in Pro 1:7, as synonymous with wisdom) has connected with it the masculine verbal form , because this expression it is lovely is treated as impersonal, or neuter, and is connected with it as an accusative of object [acc. synecd., there is pleasure to thy soul in respect to knowledge]. Comp. the similar connection of with the masculine verbal form in Pro 14:6;also Gen 49:15, 2Sa 11:25.
Pro 2:11. [For the verbal form , with unassimilated, for the sake of emphasis or euphony, see Btt., 1100, 3.A.].
Pro 2:12. is a substantive subordinate to the stat. constr. as in Pro 8:13, or as in Pro 2:14, in , Pro 28:5, etc.
Pro 2:18. , which, is everywhere else masculine is here exceptionally treated as feminine; for is certainly to be regarded as 3d sing. fem. from , and not with Umbreit and Elster as a 3d sing, masc., for only and not (to stoop, to bow) has the signification here required, viz., that of sinking (Lat. sidere). The LXX read from , and therefore translate: [she set her house near to death] in which construction however sidere, is incorrectly taken as transitive. [Both Bttcher and Fuerst recognize the possibility of deriving this form as a 3d sing. fem., either from or from , which have a similar intrans. meaning. To neither Rdiger (Gesen. Thes.) nor Robinsons Gesenius, nor Fuerst gives any other than a transitive meaning.A.]. Perhaps Bttcher (De Inferis, 201, 292; Neue Aehrenl., p. 1) has hit upon the true explanation, when he in like manner makes the wanton woman the subject, but treats not as object but as supplementary to the verb, and therefore translates for she sinks to death, with her house, and to the dead with her paths. [Rd. (Thesaur. p. 1377, a) expresses his agreement with B., but states his view differently: de ipsa muliere cogitavit scriptor initio hemistichii prioris, tum vero in fine ad complendam sententiam loco mulieris subjectum fecit .” Fuerst also pronounces it unnecessary to think of any other subject than .A.]. Compare however Hitzigs comment on this passage, who remarks in defence of the common reading that is here exceptionally treated as feminine, because not so much the house itself is intended as the conduct and transactions in it (comp. Pro 7:27; Isa 5:14).
Pro 2:22. With , the expression which is employed also in Psa 37:9, to convey the idea of destruction, there corresponds in the 2d clause , which as derived from (Deu 28:63; Psa 52:5; Pro 15:25) would require to be taken as Imperf. Kal and accordingly to be translated actively: they drive them out, i.e., they are driven out (so e.g., Umbreit, Elster, and so essentially Bertheau also). But inasmuch as the parallelism requires a passive verb as predicate for (i.e., the faithless, those who have proved recreant to the theocratic covenant with Jehovah, comp. Pro 11:3; Pro 11:6; Pro 13:2; Pro 22:12) which is employed unmistakably as synonymous with ,and inasmuch as no verb exists as a basis for the assumed Niphal form , we must probably read with Hitzig, , as an Imperf. Hophal from and compare as an Imperf. Hophal of (used with the Pual of the same verb).
EXEGETICAL
1. Pro 2:1-9. This first smaller division of the chapter forms a connected proposition, whose hypothetical protasis includes Pro 2:1-4, while within the double apodosis (Pro 2:5; Pro 2:9) the confirmatory parenthesis, Pro 2:6-8 is introduced. The assertion of Ewald and Bertheau [with whom Kamphausen and Stuart agree] that the entire chap. forms only one grand proposition, rests on the false assumption that the if in Pro 2:10 is to be regarded as a causal particle, and should be translated by for,to which idea the relation of Pro 2:10 both to Pro 2:9 and to Pro 2:11 is opposed. Comp. Umbreit and Hitzig on this passage. [On the other hand, the LXX, Vulg., Luther, etc., complete the first proposition, protasis and apodosis, within the first two verses; the Vulgate e.g. renders si susceperis inclina cor tuum, etc., and Luther willst du, meine Rede annehmen So lass dein Ohr u. s. w. The E. V. ends the proposition with Pro 2:5 as the apodosis.A.].If thou receivest my words. To the idea of receiving that of keeping stands related as the more emphatic, just as commandments () is a stronger expression than words (). In the three following verses also we find this same increased emphasis or intensifying of the expression in the second clause as compared with the first,especially in Pro 2:4, the substance of which as a whole presents itself before us as a superlative, or final culmination of the gradation which exists in the whole series of antecedent clauses, in so far as this verse sets forth the most diligent and intent seeking after wisdom.
Pro 2:3. Yea, if thou callest after knowledge, i.e., if thou not only inclinest thine ear to her when she calls thee, but also on thine own part callest after her, summonest her to teach thee, goest to meet her with eager questioning. This relation of climax to the preceding is indicated by the , imo, yea, rather; comp. Hos 9:12; Isa 28:28; Job 39:14 [comp. Ewald, 343, b]. The Targum translates the passage If thou callest understanding thy mother, and must therefore have read . But the Masoretic pointing is to be preferred for lexical reasons (instead of , according to the analogy of Job 16:14 we should have expected , my mother), and because of the parallelism between Pro 2:1; Pro 2:3. Still knowledge (), as well as understanding, which is named as its counterpart in the parallel clause, appears evidently as personified.-Pro 2:4. If thou seekest her, etc.- The figure of diligent seeking is taken from the tireless exertion employed in mining, which has before been described in the Book of Job, chap. 28., with most artistic vivacity in its widest extent. The are surely the treasures of metal concealed in the earth (comp. Jer 41:8; Jos 7:21.), Umbreit. [For illustrations of the peculiar significance of this comparison to the mind of Orientals, see Thomsons Land and Book, I., 197.A.].
Pro 2:5. Then wilt thou understand the fear of Jehovah. Understand is here equivalent to taking something to ones self as a spiritual possession, like the finding in the second clause, or like [receiveth] in 1Co 2:14. The fear of Jehovah (comp. Pro 1:7) is here clearly presented as the highest good and most valuable possession of man (comp. Isa 33:6), evidently because of its imperishable nature (Psa 19:9), and its power to deliver in trouble (Pro 14:26; Psa 115:11; Sir 1:11 sq.; Pro 2:7 sq.).And find knowledge of God.Knowledge of God is here put not merely as a parallel idea to the fear of Jehovah (as in Pro 9:10; Isa 11:2), but it expresses a fruit and result of the fear of Jehovah, as the substance of the following causal proposition in Pro 2:6-8 indicates. Comp. the dogmatical and ethical comments. [Is the substitution of Elohim for Jehovah (in clause 6) a mere rhetorical or poetical variation? Wordsworth calls attention to the fact that this is one of five instances in the Book of Proverbs in which God is designated as Elohim, the appellation Jehovah occurring nearly ninety times. The almost singular exception seems then to be intentional, and the meaning will be, the knowledge of Elohimas distinguished from the knowledge of man which is of little worth. In explaining the all but universal use of Jehovah as the name of God in our book, while in Eccles. it never occurs, Wordsworth says, when Solomon wrote the Book of Proverbs he was in a state of favor and grace with Jehovah, the Lord God of Israel; he was obedient to the law of Jehovah; and the special design of the Book of Proverbs is to enforce obedience to that law, etc. (see Introd. to Eccles., p. 78)A.].
Pro 2:6-8. The Divine origin of wisdom must make it the main object of human search and effort, and all the more since its possession ensures to the pious at the same time protection and safety. And so he layeth up for the righteous sound wisdom.So we must translate in accordance with the Kthibh which is confirmed by the LXX and Pesch. as the oldest reading. The Kri , without the copulative, would connect the proposition of Pro 2:7 with Pro 2:6 as essentially synonymous with it, to which construction the meaning is however opposed. [The majority of commentators prefer the Kri, making this verse a continuation and not a consequence of the preceding. Kamphausen agrees with our author in what seems to us the more forcible construction, which has the advantage also of resting on the written text; comp. Bttcher, 929, b.A.]. to protect, to preserve, after the manner of a treasure or jewel, over which one watches that it may not be stolen; comp. above, Pro 2:1, and also Pro 7:1; Pro 10:14.In regard to [rendered sound wisdom by the E. V. here and in Pro 3:21; Pro 8:14; Pro 18:1] properly prosperity and wisdom united, see Introd., 2, note 3. The word is probably related to , and denotes first the essential or actual (so e.g., Job 5:12), and then furthermore help, deliverance (Job 6:13), or wisdom, reflection, as the foundation of all safety; so here and Pro 3:21; Pro 8:14; Pro 18:1; Job 11:6 sq.; Isa 28:29. Comp. Umbreit and Hirzel on Job 5:12. Hitzig (on Pro 3:21) derives the word from the root , which he says is transposed into (? ?), and therefore defends as the primary signification of the expression an even, smooth path, or subjectively evenness, i.e., of thought, and so considerateness; he compares with this which signifies plain as well as righteousness.A shield for them that walk blamelessly.The substantive (shield) is most correctly regarded as an appositive to the subject, Jehovah: for also in Psa 33:20; Psa 84:11; Psa 89:18, Jehovah is in like manner called a shield to His saints. In opposition to the accusative interpretation of [which is adopted by Stuart among others], as object of the verb (he secureth, or ensureth) we adduce, on the one hand, the meaning of this verb, and on the other the fact that we should expect rather (as an appositive to ). The old translations, as the LXX and Vulgate, furthermore read the word as a participle ( or ); they translate it by a verb (LXX: ). , literally the walkers of innocence, are the same as those that walk uprightly, Pro 10:9 (the ) or Psa 84:11 (the ).To protect the paths of justice, etc.The 8th verse gives more specifically the way in which God manifests Himself to the pious as a shield, and the ensurer of their safety. Paths of justice are here, by the substitution of the abstract for the concrete expression, paths of the just, and therefore essentially synonymous with the way of the pious in the second clause. Comp. Pro 17:23.
Pro 2:9 carries out the import of the parallel Pro 2:5 as the particle repeated from the preceding verse shows.Every good path.This expression () includes the three conceptions given above, justice, righteousness and integrity, and thus sums up the whole enumeration. Therefore, it is attached without a copula; comp. Psalms 8. Pro 2:9 b.
2. Pro 2:10-19 form a period which in structure is quite like Pro 2:1-9; only that the hypothetical protasis is here considerably shorter than in the preceding period, where the conditions of attaining wisdom are more fully given, and with an emphatic climax of the thought. This is connected with the fact that in the former period the Divine origin of wisdom, here, on the contrary, its practical utility for the moral life and conduct of man forms the chief object of delineation. There wisdom is presented predominantly as the foundation and condition of religious and moral rectitude in general,here specially as a power for the consecration of feeling and conduct, or as a means of preservation against destructive lusts and passions.If wisdom entereth into thine heart.This coming into the heart must be the beginning of all attaining to wisdom; then, however, she who has, as it were, been received as a guest into the heart must become really lovely and dear to the soul. There is, therefore, a climax of the thought, as above in Pro 2:1-4. The heart is here, as always, named as the centre and organic basis of the entire life of the soul, as the seat of desire, and the starting point for all personal self-determination. The soul, on the contrary, appears as the aggregate and sum total of all the impulses and efforts of the inner man. The former designates the living centre, the latter the totality of the personal life of man. Comp. Beck, Bibl. Seelenlehre, p. 65; Delitzsch, Bibl. Psychol., pp. 248 sq.; von Rudloff, Lehre vom Menschen, pp. 59 sq. What the last mentioned author, pp. 64 sq., remarks in criticism upon Delitzschs too intellectual conception of the idea of the heart as the birthplace of the thoughts,that every where in the Scriptures it appears to belong more to the life of desire and feeling, than to the intellectual activity of the soul,this view finds foundation and support especially in the passage now before us, as well as in most of the passages which mention heart and soul together (e.g., Pro 24:12; Psa 13:2; Jer 4:19; Deu 6:5; Mat 22:37; Act 4:32). Comp. also Hitzig on this passage.And knowledge is pleasant to thy soul.[For a peculiarity of grammatical structure in the original, see critical notes.]
Pro 2:11. Then will reflection watch over thee. as in Pro 6:22. (construed, however, with a mere accusative of the object) and have already been found connected in Pro 2:8 above, and occur again in Pro 4:6. here reflection, considerateness (LXX: ), properly wisdom, so far forth as its direction is outward, and it presents itself in relation to the uncertain, testing it, and to danger, averting it (Hitzig).
Pro 2:12. To deliver thee from an evil way properly from the way of evil. From the man that uttereth perverseness. perverseness, a strong abstract form [found almost exclusively in ProverbsFuerst] which expresses the exact opposite of (uprightness, Pro 1:3; Pro 2:9),it is therefore deceitfulness, subtlety, maliciousness. Comp. the expressions, mouth of perverseness, Pro 8:13; Pro 10:32; tongue of perverseness, Pro 10:31; man of perverseness, Pro 16:28; also passages like Pro 6:14; Pro 16:30; Pro 23:33.
Pro 2:13-15. Closer description of the wayward or perversely speaking man, in which, because of the generic comprehensiveness of the conception , the plural takes the place of the singular.Who forsake straight paths.The participle expresses, strictly interpreted, a preterite idea, those who have forsaken; for according to Pro 2:15 the evil doers who are described are already to be found in crooked ways.In dark ways.Comp. Rom 13:12; Eph 5:11; 1Th 5:5; also Job 24:15; Isa 29:15.Deceitful wickednessliterally perverseness of evil (comp. remarks on Pro 2:12) a mode of combining two nouns which serves to strengthen the main idea.Whose paths are crookedliterally, who in respect to their ways are crooked; for the prefixed is to be construed as an accusative of relation belonging to the following ; comp. Pro 19:1; Pro 28:6. In the second clause in the place of this adverbial accusative, there is substituted the more circumstantial but clearer construction with perverse in their ways.
Pro 2:16-19. The representation passes into a warning against being betrayed by vile women, just as in Pro 5:3; Pro 6:24; Pro 7:5 sq.From the strange woman, from the wanton woman.As strange woman ( ) or a wanton woman (, properly unknown, and so equivalent to strange or foreign woman) the betrayer into unchastity is here designated, so far forth as she is the wife of another (comp. Pro 6:26), who, however, has forsaken her husband (Pro 2:17), and therein has transgressed also Gods commandment, has broken the covenant with her God (Pro 2:17; Pro 2:1. c.).The person in question is accordingly at all events conceived of as an Israelitess; and this is opposed to the opinion of those who, under the designation the strange, or the foreign woman (especially in connection with the last expression which appears as the designation of the adulteress in Pro 5:20; Pro 6:24; Pro 7:5; Pro 23:27), think first of those not belonging to the house of Israel, because the public prostitutes in Israel were formerly, for the most part, of foreign birth (so especially J. F. Frisch: Commentatio de muliere peregrina apud Ebros minus honeste habita, Leips., 1744, and among recent commentators, e.g., Umbreit). This view is in conflict with the context of the passage before us quite as decidedly as is the idea of the LXX, which interprets the foreign and wanton woman as the personification of temptation in contrast with wisdom (Pro 1:20 sq.), but to carry out this view is obliged to introduce all manner of arbitrary relations,e.g., referring that of the companion of youth in Pro 2:17 to the instruction in Divine truth ( ), which was a guide in youth. It is decisive against this allegorical conception of the strange woman, which has been a favorite with some Christian expositors also, such as Melanchthon, Joach. Lange, Chr. B. Michaelis, that the wicked and perverse men in Pro 2:12-15 cannot possibly be interpreted figuratively, but certainly only as individual concrete representatives of moral evil. [This word is especially applied to those strange women whom Solomon himself loved in his old age, and who turned away his heart from the Lord his God, and beguiled him to favor and encourage the worship of their false gods (see 1Ki 11:1-8; comp. Neh 13:26-27). Here is a solemn lesson. Solomon warns his son against that very sin of which he himself was afterwards guilty. Thus by Gods goodness Solomons words in this Divinely inspired book were an antidote to the poison of his own vicious example. Wordsworth].Who maketh her words smooth i.e., who knows how to speak flattering and tempting words; comp. Pro 7:21; Psa 5:9; Rom 3:13.
Pro 2:17. The companion of her youth.The same expression occurs also in Jer 3:4; comp. Psa 55:13, where in like manner means companion, confidant. The forsaking of this companion of youth, i.e., the first lawful husband, is, at the same time, a forgetting of the covenant of her God, i.e., a forgetting, a wilful disregard of that which she has solemnly vowed to God. Marriage appears here not merely as a covenant entered into in the presence of God, but in a certain sense one formed with God. Quite similar is the representation in Mal 2:14, where the adulterous Israelite is censured for the faithless abandonment of his (wife of youth)
because God was witness with her at the formation of the marriage covenant. That the marriages of the Israelites were not consummated without sacred rites connected with the public religion, although the Pentateuch makes no mention of them, is accordingly a very natural assumption,one which, e.g., Ewald, Bertheau, Hitzig, Reinke, v. Gerlach, etc., have made on the ground of the two passages here under consideration, especially the passage in Malachi. Yet compare besides A. Khler on the latter passage (Nachexil. Prophh., IV. 102 sq.), who finds there a witness of Jehovah, not at the consummation, but at the violation of marriage.
Pro 2:18-19. For her house sinks down to death, etc.A reason for the strong expression in Pro 2:16, to deliver thee from the strange woman.And to the dead her paths.The (i.e., properly the weak, languid, powerless [Gesen., Thes.: quieti, silentes,Fuerst, the dark, the shadowy]; comp. the of Homer, and the umbr of Virgil) are the dwellers in the kingdom of the dead (comp. Pro 21:16; Ps. 138:10; Isa 14:9; Isa 26:14; Isa 26:18-19), and stand here, like the Latin inferi, for the world of the dead, or Sheol itself.Her visitors all return not again,because from Sheol there is no return to the land of the living; see Job 7:9-10,and comp. Pro 5:5-6.Paths of life, as in Psa 16:11; Pro 5:6.
3. Pro 2:20-22. While the [in order that] is strictly dependent on Pro 2:11, and co-ordinate with the of the two final clauses in Pro 2:12 sq. and 16 sq., still we are to recognize in the announcement of a purpose which it introduces, a conclusion of the entire admonitory discourse which this chapter contains,an epilogue, as it were (all this I say to thee in order that, etc.), which again may be resolved into a positive and a negative proposition (Pro 2:20-21 and Pro 2:22). Umbreits translation of by therefore is ungrammatical, nor can it be justified by reference to passages like Psa 30:12; Psa 51:4; Hos 8:4.The upright shall inhabit the land.In the description of the highest earthly prosperity as a dwelling in the land (i.e., in the native land, not upon the earth in general, which would give a meaning altogether vague and indefinite), we find expressed the love of an Israelite for his fatherland, in its peculiar strength and its sacred religious intensity. The Israelite was, beyond the power of natural feeling, which makes home dear to every one, more closely bound to the ancestral soil by the whole form of the theocracy; torn from it he was in the inmost roots of life itself strained and broken. Especially from some Psalms belonging to the period of the exile this patriotic feeling is breathed out in the fullest glow and intensity. The same form of expression has also passed over into the New Testament, comp. Mat 5:5, and also, with regard to the idea as a whole, Psa 37:9; Psa 37:11; Psa 37:29; Pro 10:30 (Elster).But the wicked shall be rooted out from the land.See critical notes above.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
He only who seeks after wisdom, i.e., who turns his practical efforts wholly toward it, and walks in its ways, finds true wisdom. For wisdom in the objective sense, is a gift of God, an effluence from Him, the only wise (Rom 16:27). It can therefore come into possession of him alone who seeks appropriately to make his own the true subjective wisdom, which is aspiration after God and divine things; who in thought and experience seeks to enter into communion with God; who devotes himself entirely to God, subjects himself fully to His discipline and guidance, in order that God in turn may be able to give Himself wholly to him, and to open to him the blessed fulness of His nature.This main thought of our chapter, which comes out with especial clearness in Pro 2:5-6, is essentially only another side, and somewhat profounder conception, of the motto which, in Pro 1:7, is prefixed to the entire collection, viz., that the fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom,or again, of the significant utterance in Pro 28:5 : They that seek God understand all things. Within the limits of the New Testament we may compare above all else, what the Lord, in Joh 7:17, presents as the condition of a full comprehension of Himself and of the divine truth revealed in Him: If any man will do His will he shall know whether this doctrine be of God; likewise: Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find, etc. (Mat 7:7); and also: Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light (Eph 5:14). Comp. further the passage from the Book of Wisdom (Pro 6:12-13), which Melanchthon, with perfect propriety, cites in this connection: Wisdom is willingly found of them that seek her, yea, she cometh to meet and maketh herself known to those that desire her; and also Davids language: In thy light do we see light (Psa 36:9), the well-known favorite motto of Augustine, which in like manner, as it was employed by the profound metaphysician Malebranche, ought to be used by all Christian philosophers as their daily watchword and symbol.
In the second section of this admonition (Pro 2:10-19) this true wisdom, to be conferred by God, to be found only with God, is more completely exhibited, on the side of its salutary influence upon the moral life of humanity, especially as a preserver against sin and vice and their ruinous consequences. After this in conclusion the epilogue (Pro 2:20-22) contrasts the blessed results of wise and righteous conduct and the punishment of ungodliness in strongly antithetic terms, which remind us of the close of the first Psalm and of the Sermon on the Mount (Mat 7:24-27; comp. Psa 1:6). Comp. the exegetical comments on these two sections.
HOMILETIC
Homily on the entire chapter: The main stages in the order of grace, contemplated from the point of view of the wisdom of the Old Testament: 1) The call (Pro 2:1-4); 2) Enlightenment (Pro 2:5-6); 3) Conversion (Pro 2:7-10); 4) Preservation or sanctification (Pro 2:11-20); 5) Perfection (Pro 2:21-22).Starke:The order of proceeding for the attainment of true wisdom and its appropriate use: 1) the order for the attainment of wisdom consists in this,that we a) ask for it, (13), b) search for it with care and diligence (4). 2) The wisdom thus attained is the only true wisdom, as appears a) from its own characteristics (5), b) from the person of its giver (6), c) from the conduct of the men who possess it (7, 8). 3) This only true wisdom is profitable, a) for the attainment of righteousness in faith and life (911, b) for deliverance from evil (1219), c) for the steadfast maintenance of an upright life (2022).Simpler and better Stcker:Studiosi sapienti 1) officium (18); 2) prmium (922). [The student of Wisdom 1) in his duty, 2) in his reward].Calwer Handb.: The way to wisdom consists 1) in listening to its call (1, 2); 2) in searching for it prayerfully (36); 3) in deference to that portion of wisdom which one has already attained, by earnestness in a holy walk (79); 4) in the experience of the power of wisdom, which lies in this, that it preserves from ways of evil, especially of impurity (1022).
Pro 2:1-9. Melanchthon:He admonishes how we may make progress (in wisdom): for he combines two causes: 1) Gods aid; 2) our own zeal. (No. 2 ought here necessarily to have been put firstan improvement which was made by Stcker in his reproduction of this analysis of Melanchthon).Stcker:The rounds upon which one must, with divine help, climb up to the attainment of wisdom are seven: 1) eager hearing; 2) firm retention; 3) attentive meditation; 4) unquestioned progress; 5) due humiliation; 6) devoted invoking of Gods, help; 7) tireless self-examination.[Chalmers (on Pro 2:1-9):The righteousness of our conduct contributes to the enlightenment of our creed. The wholesome reaction of the moral on the intellectual is clearly intimated here, inasmuch as it is to the righteous that God imparteth wisdom].Starke (on Pro 2:1-4):As the children of the world turn their eyes upon silver and treasures, run and race after them, make themselves much disquiet to attain them, though after all they are but shadows and vanity; so ought the children of God to use much more diligence to attain heavenly wisdom, which endures forever, and makes the man who possesses it really prosperous.[Pro 2:1-6. Bridges:Earthly wisdom is gained by study; heavenly wisdom by prayer. Study may form a Biblical scholar; prayer puts the heart under a heavenly pupilage, and therefore forms the wise and spiritual Christian. But prayer must not stand in the stead of diligence. Let it rather give life and energy to it.Arnot (Pro 2:2):The ear inclined to divine wisdom will draw the heart: the heart drawn will incline the ear. Behold one of the circles in which God, for His own glory, makes His unnumbered worlds go round.(Pro 2:4). Fervent prayer must be tested by persevering pains.Trapp (Pro 2:2):Surely as waters meet and rest in low valleys, so do Gods graces in lowly hearts.(Pro 2:3). A dull suitor begs a denial].Starke (On Pro 2:5-9) :Righteousness of faith and righteousness of life are closely connected. As soon as the first exists (Pro 2:5-8) the other must also show itself in an earnest and pure walk before God and man, Luk 1:74-75; Php 1:11.Lange (on Pro 2:6):One may indeed by natural knowledge very readily learn that God is a very benevolent being; but how He becomes to a sinner the God of love, this can be learned only from the mouth of God in the Holy Scriptures.[Trapp (Pro 2:9):Thou shalt understand righteousness, not as cognoscitiva, standing in speculation, but as directiva vit, a rule of life.]
Pro 2:10-22.[Pro 2:11. Bridges:Before wisdom was the object of our search. Now, having found it, it is our pleasure. Until it is so it can have no practical influence.Arnot:It is pleasure that can compete with pleasure; it is joy and peace in believing that can overcome the pleasure of sin.]Stcker (on Pro 2:10-12):Wisdom helps such as love her in all good, and preserves them against all evil; she directs them to the good and turns them from the evil way.(On Pro 2:12-19):Wisdom delivers from the three snares of the devil, viz., 1) from a godless life; 2) from false doctrine; 3) from impurity and licentiousness.Starke (on Pro 2:12 sq.):Daily experience teaches us that we are by nature in a condition from which we need deliverance. But how few are there of those who are willing to be delivered, Mat 23:37!(On Pro 2:20-22):Not merely some steps in the right way, but continuing to the end brings blessedness, Mat 24:13!Granted that for a time it goes ill with the godly in this world. Gods word must nevertheless be made good, if not here, surely in eternity, Psa 126:5.[Bridges:The spell of lust palsies the grasp by which its victim might have taken hold of the paths of life for his deliverance.]Hasius (on Pro 2:21-22):People who mean rightly neither with God nor men are with their posterity rooted out of the world. He who observes will even now see plain proofs of this, Psa 73:19; Psa 34:16.Von Gerlach (on Pro 2:21 :)The meaning of the promise, so common in the law, of the pious dwelling in the land depends especially on the fact that Canaan was type and pledge of the eternal inheritance of the saints in light.
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
DISCOURSE: 754
THE WAY OF ATTAINING DIVINE KNOWLEDGE
Pro 2:1-6. My Son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom; out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
WISDOM is justly considered as the first of human attainments. It is that which elevates us in the scale of being, and to it we are indebted for all the most refined comforts of civilized society. But there is a spiritual wisdom totally distinct from that which is merely intellectual, and as much superior to it both in its qualities and effects, as reason is superior to instinct. What this is, and how it is to be attained, we are informed by Solomon in the words before us. Let us then consider,
I.
Wherein true wisdom consists
The nature of true wisdom is plainly declared in the text
[That which in one verse is called, Wisdom, and Understanding, in a subsequent verse is called, The fear of the Lord, and The knowledge of God. The wisdom which unregenerate men possess, resides only in the head; but that of which the text speaks is seated in the heart. The former consists merely in a knowledge of men and things, with a faculty of applying that knowledge to present circumstances: but the latter consists in a knowledge of God as reconciled to us in Christ Jesus, together with a correspondent fear and love of his name. The former enlarges the mind, and directs the conduct in things relating to time: the latter informs and regulates the soul in reference to eternity.]
This description is just and accurate
[We confess that the knowledge and fear of God is not so reputed by the world: on the contrary, it is stigmatized as folly and madness. But that which arrogates to itself an exclusive title to the appellation of wisdom, is by no means so deserving of it as this: because, whatever excellencies it possesses, its operations are weak, uncertain, transient: whereas the wisdom that is from above brings into subjection every rebellious passion, and progressively prepares us for the enjoyment of our God. It was with this wisdom that the Messiah himself was endued [Note: Isa 11:2-3.]. And it is of this that Solomon speaks, when he declares that nothing else is worthy the name of wisdom [Note: Pro 9:10.].]
Respecting wisdom the text further informs us,
II.
By what means it is to be attained
The wisdom of this world may be gained by study only: but spiritual wisdom requires,
1.
Sincerity
[If a man have not a disposition to obey the word of God, he will find occasion of cavil and dispute in the plainest expressions. The Pharisees of old, though conversant with the sacred writings, and instructed by our Lord himself, remained ignorant of the truth, because they loved darkness rather than light. Thus it will be with us. However good the seed that is sown may be, it will never bring forth fruit to perfection, unless it be received into an honest and good heart. If we would be truly wise, we must imitate the docility of Cornelius [Note: Act 10:33.]; or, in the language of the text, we must receive Gods word, and hide his commandments with us, as an inestimable jewel which we are solicitous to possess and keep.]
2.
Diligence
[This idea is strongly inculcated in the words before us: we should incline our ear, and apply our heart to understanding, and seek it as silver, and search for it as for hid treasures. We should consider the inspired volume as an inexhaustible mine, which yields nothing to a superficial observer, but will richly repay those who explore its inmost recesses. To this effect was the direction given to Joshua [Note: Jos 1:8.]; and if we follow that advice, we shall succeed like the Bereans of old [Note: Act 17:11.]. It is the diligent hand, and that only, that can ever make us rich.]
3.
Prayer
[Nothing will succeed without prayer. A man might commit to memory the whole Bible, and yet not understand one spiritual truth contained it, if he trusted in his own powers, instead of looking up to God for the teaching of his Spirit. Our blessed Lord assures us, that none knoweth the Father, but he to whom the Son shall reveal him [Note: Mat 11:27.]. And this also is intimated in the repeated direction given us in the text, to cry after knowledge, and lift up our voice for understanding. The Apostles themselves needed to have their understandings opened, before they could understand the Scriptures [Note: Luk 24:45.]. Yea, established Christians still need a spirit of wisdom and revelation to be given to them, in order to their obtaining a juster view of revealed truths [Note: Eph 1:17-18.]. All of us therefore, if we would be taught of God, must cry with David, Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law [Note: Psa 119:18.].]
For the encouragement of all, Solomon further declares,
III.
The certain issue of those means
God is the source and giver of all spiritual knowledge
[Nothing can be more positive than the assertion before us. That God giveth wisdom, and that out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. It is in this view that he is called, The Father of lights [Note: Jam 1:17.]; because as that bright luminary, the sun, was the work of his hands, so all light, intellectual or spiritual, is derived from him. Human learning gives a man no advantage towards the attainment of true wisdom. All, under God, depends on the state of mind with which men seek divine knowledge: if they be willing to learn of the Father [Note: Joh 6:15.], he will teach them: if they be too proud to submit to his instructions, he will leave them to wander further and further from the right way. He will take the wise in their own craftiness [Note: 1Co 1:19; 1Co 3:19.], and reveal to babes what he hides from the wise and prudent [Note: Mat 11:25.].]
Nor will he suffer us to use the appointed means in vain
[Frequent are the assurances which God has given us respecting this [Note: Psa 25:9; Psa 25:12; Psa 25:14.]. And he has made distinct promises to each of the foregoing means. Are we sincere? he will open our eyes [Note: Joh 7:17.]. Are we diligent? he will reveal himself to us [Note: Pro 8:17.]. Are we importunate in prayer? he will give us liberally, and without upbraiding [Note: Jam 1:5.]. No want of learning, no weakness of intellect, shall be any obstacle to him, or deprive us of the benefits which we seek [Note: Isa 35:8.]. On the contrary, he will make use of the weakest and most contemptible of men to confound the wise and mighty [Note: 1Co 1:27-28.].]
Infer
1.
How highly should we value a preached Gospel!
[Men spend much time and money in acquiring human knowledge, and are glad to avail themselves of all lectures, public or private, whereby they may gain instruction. But a frequent ministration of divine ordinances, and a faithful dispensation of Gods word, are deemed worthy of censure rather than of approbation; and the very persons for whose benefit the word is preached, can scarcely be prevailed upon to lend an ear to the instruction that is freely offered. Little do they think what it is that they thus despise. The ordinances are appointed of God for the express purpose of converting souls, and making wise the simple [Note: Job 23:12. Psa 19:7.]. How many are there now in heaven, who would have perished for lack of knowledge, if the voice of God in his ministers had not reached their hearts, and brought them out of darkness into marvellous light [Note: 1Pe 2:9.]! Let all then improve the ordinances with diligence, and pray that by means of them they may be made wise unto salvation [Note: 1Pe 2:2. Heb 2:1].]
2.
How precious should the Scriptures be in our sight!
[It is only at certain seasons that we can attend on public ordinances: but the Scriptures we may read at all times. In them is contained all that we need to know. And the Holy Spirit is promised us, to guide us into all truth [Note: Joh 16:13. 1Jn 2:20; 1Jn 2:27.]. Let the sacred volume then be our delight, and our meditation all the day [Note: Psa 1:2.]. Let us not cavil at any part of it, or say. This is a hard saying [Note: Joh 6:60.]: but let us receive it with meekness, knowing that, if it be engrafted in our hearts, it is able, and shall be effectual, to save our souls [Note: Jam 1:21.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
CONTENTS.
Wisdom continueth her sermon through this chapter, which she had begun in the former. Blessings are promised to the faithful, and destruction shewn to be the sad portion of the wicked.
Pro 2:1-5 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
The subject continues the same as in the former chapter; and the address as from a father to a son is carried on under the same endearing appellation, by way of enforcing what is said. And this doth not at all lessen the idea, that it is Christ who is here personated; for he fills all relations and is included in all the charities of life. He is the everlasting Father, as well as the husband of his church, and the Brother born for adversity. Isa 9:6 ; Pro 17:17 ; Isa 54:5
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
The Promises of Wisdom
Pro 2
This third discourse consists of an exhortation to follow after Wisdom. The position of seniority is still retained, the voice of the father predominates throughout the whole of the animated and noble counsel. The general tone of the exhortation is that of profound and painful experience.
“My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee” ( Pro 2:1 ).
The tone of entreaty of this verse is very remarkable. The father is by no means sure that the son will listen to him as he comes before the child in an attitude of supplication and appeal. The child can say No to the father, and the creature can repel the approaches of the Creator. As the father in this verse pleads with the son, so the Father of mankind pleads with his rebellious creatures. Not only may it be said, Like as a father pitieth his children; it may be added, Like as a father pleadeth with his children, or suffereth for his children, or is deeply interested in all that concerns his children, so the Lord, etc.
“So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding” ( Pro 2:2-3 ).
Man must listen to Wisdom if he would be wise; his attitude must be one of attention; he must turn his ear towards the heavens, and listen for every whisper that may proceed from the skies; and whilst his ear is listening his heart must be applied with unbroken attention to understanding. Everything depends upon our spirit as to the results of our study in the school of Wisdom. Few men really listen, or incline their ear unto Wisdom; they think they are listening, whilst they are only hearing imperfectly; they do not store every little word in their hearts; they do not combine the word with the tone in which it is spoken. They leap to conclusions without anxiously and carefully passing through the whole process of exposition and exhortation. Not only is there to be listening to, there is to be crying after knowledge, and a lifting up of the voice for understanding. These terms may be regarded as equivalent to an exercise in prayer. If we personate knowledge and individualise understanding, then the attitude of the seeker is that of a suppliant; he prays to the genius of knowledge, he wishes the spirit of understanding; he begs them to be gracious to him, and to withhold nothing from him that can enrich his mind or edify his character. All this may be considered as subjective that is to say, to have relation to the state of the mind and feeling with regard to the value of wisdom and understanding. But there must be more than a correct state of mind; there must be activity or energy of the intensest quality. The proof of this is in
“If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God” ( Pro 2:4-5 ).
Hear how the process develops: “incline thine ear,” “apply thine heart,” “criest after knowledge,” “liftest up thy voice;” now comes the exercise of energy. The student is to seek for wisdom as for silver, and to search for her as for hidden treasures. Seeking for wisdom as for silver is an allusion to mining, which was understood long before the time of Solomon. The remains of copper-mines have been discovered in the peninsula of Sinai, and the remains of gold-mines have been found in one part of the desert of Egypt. It is interesting to notice that inscriptions have been found upon the rocks near the copper-mines which point to a period of something like four thousand years before Christ. Wisdom does not lie on the surface. Wisdom is to be dug for; no rock is to permanently interrupt the pursuit of the seeker. Deserts must be braved, rocks must be exploded, mountains must be tunnelled, deep waters must be searched, in order to find the object on which the mind has fixed its eager attention. The allusion to searching for wisdom as for hid treasures points to a custom in Eastern countries. In consequence of the great insecurity of life and property the habit was to hide treasure in the earth. Frequently the owner might die without pointing out to any one the place where he had concealed his treasures. Consequently, the habit of seeking for such hidden things grew up in the East, and became a source of great profit to those who were successful in its cultivation. It would seem as if God had purposely hidden both wisdom and understanding in order that the energy of man might be developed in searching for them. When it is said that the Lord God cursed the ground for man’s sake, it has been pointed out that the Lord meant through the discipline of labour and waiting to train man’s faculties to their greatest perfection. There is pleasure in all reasonable exertion. The huntsman finds that the mere gratification of pursuing the prey is greater in many instances than its capture. To plough the land, and sow the seed, and reap the harvest, is a process which creates an appetite for the products of the earth, and turns mere eating itself into a healthful pleasure. So with wisdom and understanding; they are not found, as we have said, on the surface of the earth, to be taken up by any one who cares to stoop for them. Wisdom is hidden in ancient books; in the experience of the whole world; in all difficult places; and is to be sought for with perseverance and zeal, the very act of searching being accompanied by a blessing. When the apostle says, we have not, because we ask not, or because we ask amiss, he employs a form of words which may also be used in reference to the pursuit of wisdom. With regard to wisdom it may be said, if ye have not, it is because ye ask not, or seek not, or because ye ask or seek amiss. The living certainty is that wisdom is in existence, and wisdom is to be found, and understanding is awaiting the approach of those who are in pursuit of her prizes. On this side of the question there is no manner of uncertainty, the uncertainty is in our steadfastness of will and purpose; it is the human will that yields, it is not wisdom or understanding that has withdrawn from the field of inquiry. The promise is that the man who seeks for wisdom as for silver, and searches for understanding as for hid treasures, he shall understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. This is a profoundly religious promise. Man everywhere finds more than he is immediately seeking for, when his purpose is good and honest. In seeking for wisdom we may find the Lord,; and in inquiring diligently for understanding we may come suddenly upon the knowledge of God. This indeed is the supreme wisdom. “This is life eternal, to know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” The history of the world is the proof of the truth of this statement. It is not meant that complete intellectual knowledge of God can be attained, but such knowledge may be acquired as to divest the mind of all uncertainty as to his existence, and create in the heart a blessed hunger for a deeper and truer realisation of his presence and ministry in the whole life.
“For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints” ( Pro 2:6-8 ).
The Apostle James advances the same doctrine in the words, “If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not.” The idea of the sixth verse is that the Lord alone can give wisdom. He is not one of the fountains of wisdom occupying an equal position with a thousand other fountains; he is in very deed the one fountain of wisdom, and there is none other. Elsewhere we may find partial revelations, broken experiences, hints of meanings, temporary satisfactions, but until we have discovered the Lord, and set him always before us, we shall be working without a centre, and having no centre we shall have no certainty that the light in which we work will continue to illuminate us. True religion comes before true philosophy. The pious mind is essential to metaphysical genius. Not that but there may be cleverness enough without religion, and great ability without even the form of prayer, but if we believe that God created the heavens and the earth, and that the hearts of all men are in his hands, and that he is the fountain of wisdom and of true knowledge, then of necessity it must be that he who most deeply knows God most certainly knows all wisdom. Not indeed that the knowledge may be technical or pedantic, but it will have such a living sympathy with all things proportionate, beautiful, true, and musical, that by the power of the Spirit the man shall know when he is in the sanctuary of God, and when he is in paths forbidden to the children of light.
The seventh verse would appear to support this view, in so far as it suggests that righteousness of character is necessary to the enjoyment of the treasures of sound wisdom. By sound wisdom we are to understand furtherance or advancement: the meaning would seem to be that whoever has begun to acquire wisdom shall have more and more added to him as the reward of his labour, “Whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance.” The expression “layeth up” should be noted. They are truly rich who trust in God, for their reserves are infinite, and the riches of Christ are inexhaustible. The Apostle Paul speaks of “the hope which is laid up for you in heaven,” and the Apostle Peter also speaks of an inheritance that is reserved for those who are in Christ Jesus. We have more than we have merely in the hand. We do not live from hand to mouth, in so far as we are the living children of the living God. “All things are yours.” Not only has the Lord laid up wisdom for the righteous, and thus showed himself the complacent friend of such as are intent upon walking in the ways of understanding, he himself stands in a relation of energy to those who give themselves up to the pursuit of true knowledge. He is a buckler to them that walk uprightly, and he keepeth the paths of judgment that is to say, he protects those who walk in them, and he preserveth the way of his saints, literally of “his ardent worshippers.” This term was used of the tribe of Levi because of their zeal in God’s service. The word saint implies dedication to God, and being set apart to the love and service of Christ. The doctrine of the text is that God is evermore on the side of those who are righteous, or upright, or holy. They represent him upon the earth, and as his chosen children they are dear to him, and on them the light first shines which is to fall downward upon the rest of the world, as the light of the morning first strikes the mountains and then passes down into the valleys and chases away all darkness.
“Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: to deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; whose ways are crooked and they froward in their paths: to deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life. That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous. For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it” ( Pro 2:9-22 ).
Wisdom enters into the heart, and thus keeps the whole life pure. Knowledge is not merely an acquisition, it becomes a real pleasure to the soul, and not until it has become such a pleasure are we really in possession of it. In the learning of a language there is a great difficulty, simply from lack of interest in the thoughts which that language represents. When a vocabulary has been acquired, and a man can use that vocabulary with a measure of ease, enjoyment begins to be realised that is to say, the language becomes a distinct addition to our intellectual pleasures. So not only is there profitable discipline in the acquisition of knowledge, there is hallowed enjoyment in its possession and use. The text represents discretion and understanding as the keepers of the soul its protectors and guides, saving the soul from the way of the evil man, and protecting it from the man who delights in froward things, literally in the misrepresentations and distortions of the truth. The father now turns to give a vivid description of those who are evil, that his son may know them even whilst they are afar off, and avoid the paths which they delight to tread. The bad man has his peculiar advantages as well as the good man. The father here speaks of those who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked. This is a shallow and uncertain gladness: it depends wholly upon circumstances; it describes but a momentary mood of the mind. On the other hand, the joy of the good man springs from his character and from his relation to God, and from his conscious companionship with truths infinite and doctrines eternal. The suffering patriarch was enabled to say, “I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food,” he lived the mental life, he entered into the mystery of spiritual existence, and found that life was but a burden and a cloud, unless the soul were daily fed with the grace and truth of God.
Another triumph of wisdom, spiritually understood and honestly applied, is to save life from profligacy. The term “strange woman” would seem to refer to the evil example of Solomon, of which we read in 1 Kings xi. By marrying foreign women they had become common in Israel, and history shows that the corruption of their lives had tainted the life of the whole nation. Immorality and morality cannot be mingled with advantage to the latter. Many an attempt was made in ancient times to combine heathen practices with reverence for divine commandments, and in every instance the divine commandment was borne down by the heathen custom. A picture so awful as is given in the text is rather to be imagined than described. It does not deal with any local circumstance, or any mere antiquity, but with an evil that is present in every age, and more or less active in every mind. The evil woman has still forsaken the guide of her youth and forgotten the covenant of her God. She has broken her vows, and, being disloyal herself, she would seem to have entered into a compact to taint the loyalty of the world. All that the wisest man can do is to refer to the melancholy experience of the world, and to exhort the untaught and the unwary to accept the testimony of the ages. Things most beautiful in themselves may be turned to the deadliest uses. The passion of love may so be used as to upturn the very foundations of character and the corner-stones of society. That little can be done by mere warning events have abundantly testified, yet it is right that the Church in all its ministries, instructions, and practices should hold up the signal of caution and warning, that some at least of the young, being forewarned, may be forearmed.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
XIX
THE INSTRUCTION OF WISDOM
Pro 1:1-3:35
We learn, in general, from the salutation, Pro 1:1-6 :
1. The general author of the book, especially that Solomon was the father of this kind of literature;
2. The manifold use of proverbs, or the manifold purpose of the book.
The manifold purpose of the book, as set forth in the salutation, is: to know wisdom; to discern words; to receive instruction; to give prudence, knowledge, and discretion; and to understand a proverb.
The author’s text for this division (Pro 1:1-9 ) is Pro 1:7 : The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge; But the foolish despise wisdom and instruction,
“Fear” here means childlike reverence and “instruction” means discipline, or correction.
The foundation maxims of wisdom are parental reverence and obedience: My son, hear the instruction of thy father, And forsake not the law of thy mother: For they shall be a chaplet of grace unto thy head, And chains about thy neck. Pro 1:8-9 .
There is a warning in Pro 1:10-19 against robbery caused by greed of gain. The times reflected here are the different times in the history of Israel from the Judges to the time of Christ. Thompson’s The Land and The Book. gives a fine description of the conditions here referred to. There are two striking figures of speech in Pro 1:12-17 , one describing the greediness of sinners and the other representing the craftiness of the trapper, meaning the wiles of the devil.
In Pro 1:20-33 we have personified wisdom’s appeal and the folly of rejecting it. And analysis of this paragraph is as follows:
1. Wisdom’s method (Pro 1:20 ff.): she cries aloud. She is not esoteric but exoteric. She teaches not in secret but openly. She does not carry on through a secret society but, like Jesus and Paul, she teaches “publicly, and from house to house.”
2. Wisdom’s appeal (Pro 1:22-23 ): she gives reproof and exhorts the simple ones, the scoffers and fools to turn and heed. In Pro 1:23 we have a promise of the spirit’s illumination which is later given and enlarged upon by Isaiah (Isa 32:15 ) and Joel (Joe 2:28 ).
3. Wisdom’s rejection and the result (Pro 1:24-32 ) ; she had called and stretched out her hand, but they did not regard, therefore she will turn the deaf ear to all their signals of distress when their storm of calamity comes like a whirlwind.
4. Wisdom’s encouragement (Pro 1:33 ); she gives a ray of hope to those who heed her call and offers them a quiet, peaceful, and secure dwelling place.
The meaning of “simple ones,” “scoffers,” and “fools” (Pro 1:22 ), is as follows: “simple” here means unwary; “scoffers” refers to a class of defiant and cynical freethinkers in contrast with the “wise” referred to so often in the Wisdom Literature; “fools” signifies heavy, dull, gross fellows. This enumeration covers the field: the “simple,” from whom recruits are too easily drawn to the army of evil; “scoffers,” the proud leaders of the host; “fools,” the rank and file of the host. Pro 1:23 of this passage is, undoubtedly, the germ of Isa 44:3 and Joe 2:28 , and the fulfilment of which is Joh 7:37 and Act 2:33 .
Pro 1:31 reminds us of Gal 6:7 : “Be not deceived, God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.”
The teaching of Pro 2 is that wisdom must be sought as one would seek silver or hid treasures, expressed in synonymous parallelism mainly. The characteristics of the seeker of wisdom are a willingness and desire to know, accompanied by devotion, to which may be added diligence and persistency (Pro 2:1-4 ).
The results of finding such wisdom are expressed in Pro 2:5-20 , which are the understanding of the fear of Jehovah, the finding of the knowledge of God who gives wisdom to the upright, who also is a shield and guard to his saints, then the understanding of righteousness and justice, the pleasure of knowledge, the deliverance from evil ways and perverse men who forsake right paths to walk in darkness, and deliverance from the strange and wicked woman who has forsaken her friends, forgotten her God, and whose house leads to death from which there is no recovery.
There is a great and encouraging prophecy given in Pro 2:21-22 . It is the final triumph of the righteous over the wicked. The righteous who possess the divine wisdom here described may walk in the ways of good men and dwell safely in the land, but the wicked are doomed to defeat and final banishment.
The subject of Pro 3 is the cultivation of wisdom as the best thing to adjust all our relations toward God and man. A brief outline of this chapter is:
1. Our duty to God (Pro 3:1-12 ).
2. The happy state of them that have wisdom (Pro 3:13-26 ).
3. Man’s duty to his fellow man (Pro 3:27-35 ).
According to Pro 3:1-12 , our duties to God are to remember his law and keep his commandments; to walk in the ways of kindness and truth; to trust in Jehovah implicitly and acknowledge him always; to be not conceited but fear Jehovah; to honor Jehovah with our substance, and not to despise the chastening of Jehovah nor be weary of his correction, since it all comes as an expression of his love for us as his children.
It is interesting to note here the New Testament use made of Pro 3:11-12 . Paul quotes these verses in Heb 12:5-6 to enforce his argument on the chastening of the Lord being a proof of his love for his people. Here the author of Hebrews calls this passage in Proverbs an “exhortation, which reasoneth with you as with sons” and then shows the superiority of God’s chastening over the chastening of our earthly parents who chasten us as it seemed good to them, but God chastens his children for their good. This shows the unmistakable meaning and application of Pro 3:11-12 .
According to the second division of this analysis, we find that the value of wisdom is beyond all comparison with earthly attainments or things, and produces a happiness far more enduring than the most valuable things of time; she is better than silver, more precious than rubies and beyond comparison with anything that the human heart can desire, since she holds in her hand lengths of days, riches and honor; her ways are pleasant and her paths are peace; she is a tree of life and a perpetual source of happiness; by her Jehovah wrought his mighty works and she is to be kept as a source of life and grace; she helps to walk straight, takes away fear and gives sweet sleep; she takes away sudden fear of the desolation of the wicked since her possessors are believers in Jehovah and their feet are being kept by him.
According to the last section of this chapter, our duties to our fellow man and God’s attitude toward the wicked and the righteous are set forth. The righteous are commanded to pay what they owe when it is possible for them to do it and not to put off their neighbors one day when they can attend to it at once. Then they are commanded to plan no evil against their neighbor and to avoid all responsibility for strife and envy, since the wicked are abominable to Jehovah and his curse rests upon them, while his blessing and grace are with the righteous. The last verse contrasts the wise and the foolish. One is reminded here of our Lord’s parable of the ten virgins. Pro 3:34 is quoted by James (Jas 4:6 ) and Peter (1Pe 5:5 ) to show God’s attitude toward both the proud and the humble. They both say, “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.”
QUESTIONS
1. What do we learn, in general, from the salutation, Pro 1:1-6 ?
2. What is the manifold purpose of the book as set forth in the salutation?
3. What is the author’s text for this division (Proverbs 1-9) and what is the meaning of “fear,” and “instruction”?
4. What is the foundation maxims of wisdom?
5. What is the warning in Pro 1:10-19 , what time does this passage reflect and what striking figures of speech used here?
6. What is the warning in Pro 1:20-33 , and what is a brief analysis of this section?
7. What is the meaning of “simple ones,” “scoffers,” and “fools,” Pro 1:22 ?
8. Of what scripture is Isa 1:23 the germ and what scriptures show their fulfilment?
9. Of what New Testament scripture does Pro 1:31 remind us?
10. What is the teaching of Pro 2 and what kind of parallelism is most prominent in this chapter?
11. What must be the characteristics of the seeker of wisdom?
12. Give a summary of the results of finding such wisdom.
13. What is the great and encouraging prophecy given in Pro 2:21-22 ?
14. What is the subject of Pro 3 ?
15. Give a brief outline of this chapter.
16. According to Pro 3:1-12 what are our duties to God and what New Testament use of Pro 3:11-12 ?
17. According to the second division of this analysis, what is the value of wisdom and what does she offer to those who seek her?
18. According to the last section of this chapter, what are our duties to our fellow man and what is God’s attitude toward the wicked and the righteous, and what is New Testament use of Pro 3:34 ?
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
Pro 2:1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
Ver. 1. My son. ] Fatherly and filial affection ought to be between teacher and hearers. “But who is their father?” 1Sa 10:12 “O my father, my father,” said he to the dying prophet. 2Ki 13:14 “Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest,” said that idolatrous Micah to the wandering Levite. Jdg 17:10 Popish novices do so observe their padres (as they call them), that though they command them a voyage to China or Peru, without dispute or delay they presently set forward a Tu et asinus unum estote, said one once to a young novice, who being about to enter into a monastery, asked his counsel how he should carry himself. “Come, children, hearken unto me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord.” Psa 34:11
a Spec. Europ.
Proverbs Chapter 2
Here the Holy Spirit turns from the sad end of impious indifference and contempt, to enter on a new part of His design. He shows how the moral wisdom and right understanding is to be obtained, which consists in the fear of Jehovah and the knowledge of God, at least by the submissive and docile heart.
“My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and lay up my commandments with thee; so that thou wilt incline thine ear to wisdom, and apply thy heart to understanding; yea if thou cry after discernment, [and] lift up thy voice for understanding, if thou seek her as silver and search for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou apprehend the fear of Jehovah, and find the knowledge of God. For Jehovah giveth wisdom; out of his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the upright, a shield to those that walk in integrity; guarding the paths of just judgment and keeping the way of his saints. Then thou shalt understand righteousness and judgment and equity – every good path.” vv. 1-9.
As we are begotten of God’s will by the word of truth, so to receive His words, and lay up His commandments with one, is the constant condition of blessing. We see in Luk 10 our Lord deciding for Mary the good part which should not be taken from her. In this Martha complained of her sister’s indifference. For she herself was wrong in judging Mary’s sitting at His feet and hearing His word. It is really to incline the ear to wisdom, and to apply the heart to understanding. Yet this is not all, for at the beginning of Luk 11 our Lord shows the need and the value of earnest prayer also. So here to cry after discernment, to lift up the voice for understanding, follows according to God the reception of His words. We are called to dependence and to confidence in thus importunately looking up; for every good gift and every perfect giving is from the Father of lights, as Solomon could attest, who thus sought and found wisdom.
Our age can testify the zeal with which men seek silver and gold and other hidden treasures, as Solomon’s day of magnificence and noble designs of an earthly sort was famous for its success; for that enterprise was conducted by his skill beyond any other monarch. Now it is the mere vulgar thirst for lucre to spend on vanity and self-indulgence to a degree without parallel in the breadth of its diffusion. But now, as then, the toils are immense, the dangers continual, the sufferings extreme, the experience full of bitter trial and frequent disappointment, the moral atmosphere shameless. But the quest demands in any case constancy and endurance and undaunted resolution; and thence does the Holy Spirit draw the lesson where no disappointment can be. “If thou seek her [wisdom] as silver, and search for her as for hid treasures, then shalt thou apprehend the fear of Jehovah and find the knowledge of God.” Jehovah is full of goodness and mercy. So here He “giveth wisdom,” when the heart is thus in earnest. It is the reversal of man’s dream of education. Man is proud of his own acquisitions. “Jehovah giveth wisdom; out of his mouth [not of man’s mind or heart] come knowledge and understanding.” Where are we to find what “His mouth” gives out, but in His Word?
Solomon failed to maintain the brightness of his beginning; and old age found him foolish about his wives, and faithless about the glory of Him who had given him all that made him what he was at first. Still less could Solomon guarantee wisdom for the son that succeeded to his throne; none acted less wisely than Rehoboam, and his humiliation was not small. But “Jehovah giveth wisdom,” He only and surely, to such as wait on Him with purpose of heart and diligently search into and value the treasures of that Word which He has magnified above all His name.
It is plain throughout that not intellectual activity is in question, but what is spiritual and for moral ends practically. Hence in verse 7 it is said, “He layeth up sound wisdom for the upright; a buckler [he is] to those that walk in integrity.” There is assured a supply of what is valued most, and guardian care for those whose eye and heart are toward His revealed will in their ways. But it is wholesome to notice that He guards the path of just judgment; that is, His own chosen way, And He also preserves the way of His saints or godly ones. He knows the way which pleases Him, and He shows it to His own, who desire nothing more than to see and follow it. Christ it is who brought this out habitually and in manifold forms. See Joh 1:44 ; Joh 8:12 ; Joh 12:26 ; Joh 14:6 . It is as real today as when He presented it in following Himself. Indeed the disciples far better knew its blessedness when He went on high and the Spirit came to be in them, who abides for us to know it now. “Then thou shalt know righteousness and judgment and equity – every good path.” We ought to know it even better and in higher ways than a godly Israelite could.
The preservative power of wisdom is next shown in guarding from moral perils, whether of iniquity or of corruption.
“For wisdom shall enter into thy heart and knowledge be pleasant unto thy soul, discretion shall watch over thee, understanding shall keep thee: – to deliver thee from the way of evil, from the man that speaketh froward things; [from those] who forsake the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; who rejoice to do evil – delight in the frowardness of evil; who in their paths are crooked, and pervert in their course; – to deliver thee from the strange woman, from the stranger who flattereth with her words; who forsaketh the friend of her youth and forgetteth the covenant of her God. For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead; none that go unto her return again, nor attain unto the paths of life; – that thou mayest walk in the way of the good and keep the paths of the righteous. For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the land, and the treacherous shall be plucked out of it.” vv. 10-22.
How admirable is the wisdom Jehovah gives the heart! and not less on the negative or dark side than on the positive, especially where the knowledge that accompanies it is pleasant to the soul. Discretion and discernment follow with vigilance against an evil world. Violence and greed are not the only dangers but the way of evil through deceitful speech. Silence is not always golden; but “the tongue of the just is choice silver” (Pro 10:20 ); or, as the New Testament exhorts, “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt.” How powerful is the soft and pure answer, not only to turn away wrath, but to check heat and pride and will! It is dangerous to hear froward things; it is wicked to speak them. How soon after this the paths of uprightness are forsaken to walk in the ways of darkness! – evil words allowed lead to a walk which God’s light never illumines. How sad the descent in rejoicing to do evil! – delighting in the frowardness, or deceits of evil! It is to glory in the worst shame – how crooked in their paths and perverse in their course! Truly their judgment is just.
But the discretion that flows from wisdom is no less efficacious to guard from “the strange woman” (v. 16) and her flattering words, where lust reigns, not love, and selfish passion, not true affection and tender regard. Debauchery is all that could be expected from her that forsakes the guide of her youth, and forgets the covenant of her God.
We do not hear the glad tidings of grace in this Book. There is no gospel call throughout. It addresses those who are under the law and the covenant, whoever else may profit by it. It is very excellent for any man that has ears, and those who know most of grace and heavenly privilege will most prize it; its voice direct is to the ancient people of God, to Israel. For them all flows simply and easily. There is no strain of a single sentence or word, no need of accommodation, no lending it a sense which it does not truly contain or convey. In it therefore, “Jehovah” appears regularly, and “Elohim” rarely used has its exceptional force.
By the way, remark how the notion of various writers here or anywhere indicated by such designations is the shallowest of dreams. It may afford pleasant pastime to men who, not knowing God (or, at least, beguiled and blinded by such), find in its cultivation a field for imagination and ingenuity without truth, conscience, or love, a mere linguistic or intellectual tour de force whetted by the keen will to damage and deface every landmark of divine authority.
It is evident that corruption, especially when it takes the form of the violation of a holy relationship, is as hateful to God as it is destructive to man. See how Babylon and its counterpart is spoken of and dealt with in the Revelation. So here it is said that “her house inclineth unto death, and her path unto the dead.” This, Israel as a people had to prove before Christendom existed to follow the fatal wake. It is no less true of individuals. “None that go unto her [the corrupting woman] return again, nor attain unto the paths of life.”
Wisdom then from Jehovah it is that insures discretion to walk in the way of the good and to keep the paths of the righteous. So were led the faithful of old; but how much brighter is the light of life in following Him whose ways and words here below we know from God as of none else! Yet was Jehovah’s word, before He shone in this world of darkness, a lamp to their feet and a light to their path. And the day hastens when it will be made manifest to every eye that “the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.” What was plainly attested in the days of David and Solomon is but a witness to the full display of this truth in the coming kingdom, when “the wicked shall be cut off from the land, and the treacherous shall be plucked out of it.”
My son. Note this guide to the Structure on p. 864.
words = sayings. Hebrew. ‘imrah. App-73.
hide = lay up. More than listening = hide as in a treasury. Illustrations: Deu 6:6. Psa 119:9, Psa 119:11. Mat 13:44. Luk 2:19, Luk 2:51; Luk 9:44.
Chapter 2
My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with you; So that you incline your ear unto wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; Yes, if you cry after knowledge, and lift up your voice for understanding; If you seek after her as silver, and you search for her as for a hidden treasure; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to him that walks uprightly. He keeps the paths of judgment, and preserves the way of his saints. Then shall you understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yes, every good path. When wisdom entered this into your heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto your soul; Discretion will preserve you, understanding will keep you: And they will deliver you from the way of the evil man, and from the man that speaks froward things ( Pro 2:1-12 );
The word froward is a word that means perverse. The Hebrew word is perverse things.
Who leaves the paths of the uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; Who rejoices to do evil, and delights in the perverseness of the wicked; Whose ways are crooked, and they pervert their own paths: To deliver you from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flatters with her words; Who has forsaken the husband of her youth, and has forgotten the covenant that she made before God. For her house inclines unto death, her paths unto the dead. None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life. That thou mayest walk in the ways of good men, keep the paths of the righteous. For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it ( Pro 2:13-22 ).
So the instructions of a father to a son. I think that so many times as fathers we probably don’t take enough time to just really sit down with our sons and talk to them about life and the issues of life. The importance of seeking after the knowledge of God and the wisdom of God. Seeking it diligently just like you would seek for prosperity from silver or anything else. Hidden treasures. For the treasures of the wisdom and the knowledge, the treasures that they bring to a man who possesses them.
And then the warning against the adulterous woman. How that wisdom will lead you from her, deliver you from her who flatters with her words. As most women know, men are real suckers for flattery. “Oh, you’re so strong. Can you open this jar for me, you know? Oh, you’re strong, you know.” And men are just… they eat it up.
Now, unfortunately, our wives are many times more honest with us. And they, so many times, are just blunt. “Sometimes I think you’re so dumb. How can you do such stupid things?” And here the stranger comes along and with her flattery says, “Oh, you’re so smart! My, where did you learn all of that? I’ve never met a man as clever as you,” and the flattery. How many men have been trapped by that? And so the warning is against the adulterous woman who flatters with her lips. Be careful of that.
The Bible says that she has forsaken the covenant that she made before God, the marriage vows, the husband of her youth. She has left him. And now she is looking for a prey. She’s looking for security. And she comes along with her flattering words and like poor Samson, through her flattering lips the strongest man can be brought down to a crust of bread.
And so here is just a father warning his son, “Be careful for these gals, son, who come along with their flatteries and all. Who can turn and twist your judgment because their path is the path of death. You go into their houses, you don’t come out again. There’s destruction in their ways.” And so the dad warning his son, and we need to be warned of the folly of forsaking the covenants that we have made in our own marriage vows in order to listen to the words of a flatterer. “None that go in unto her return again, neither do they take hold of the path of life.” “
Pro 2:1-11
How to Obtain Fear and Knowledge of God (Pro 2:1-11):
“My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and lay up my commandments with thee; So as to incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thy heart to understanding; Yea, if thou cry after discernment, and lift up thy voice for understanding; If thou seek her as silver, and search for her as for hid treasures: Then shalt thou understand the fear of Jehovah, and find the knowledge of God” (Pro 2:1-5). Solomon continues to speak to his readers as though they were his own children. A classic “if then” statement is found within these first five verses. If a son will do seven things then he will “understand the fear of Jehovah, and find the knowledge of God.” Recall that Solomon had said that “The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge” (Pro 1:7). Here is the formula for gaining a fear of Jehovah.
Solomon lists seven things for man to do to gain and understanding of fear and knowledge of God:
First, one must be willing to “receive my words” (i.e., words of instruction and wisdom – the source of which is divine revelation, father, and mother [see Pro 1:3; Pro 1:8]).
Secondly, one must not only receive instruction but “lay up my commandments” within the heart. One who only has knowledge yet refuse to apply the knowledge in life lacks wisdom. We must not only know but lay them to our heart; i.e., value the instructions and make them a part of our very being.
Thirdly, one must “incline thine ear unto wisdom.” The one who will fear and know God is the one who’s purpose it is to obtain wisdom.
Fourthly, one must “apply thy heart to understanding.” When we “apply” our hearts to something we are concerned about it. If we are concerned about understanding we will obtain it because it is something that we value in this life.
Fifthly, the one who is to fear and know God must “cry after discernment (to differentiate between things – like right and wrong).” When one “cries” after something it is of utmost importance in our lives. We will give great diligence to obtain it.
Sixthly, to obtain fear and knowledge of God one must “lift up the voice for understanding” (i.e., be inquisitive and curious about it; i.e., be interested in).
Seventhly, to obtain fear and knowledge of God one must seek and search after her as though it were hidden treasure. Fear and knowledge of God is identified as treasure throughout the scriptures (see Mat 13:44; Col 2:3; 2Co 4:7).
The quest for understanding the fear of Jehovah and gaining knowledge begins with man’s willingness to value truth greater than anything this world has to offer. Such an approach to truth will see a man concerned, diligent, curious, and searching after truth. If wisdom and an understanding of the fear of God was something easily found on the surface then everyone would have it and it would not be something of value. Likewise if gold nuggets were laying all over the surface of our yards they would not be valuable. The fear of God is of great value and must be sought after diligently if one expects to find it.
“For Jehovah gives wisdom; out of his mouth comes knowledge and understanding: He lays up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to them that walk in integrity; that he may guard the paths of justice, and preserve the way of his saints” (Pro 2:6-8). Again, wisdom is defined as sound judgment, insight, and understanding in relationship to the things of God and eternity. God gives wisdom to those who do the seven things listed above. When Jesus was asked why he spoke in parables he answered, “Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given…” (Mat 13:10-11). Those that are given wisdom and knowledge are those who are willing, value, purpose to obtain, concerned about, are diligent to know, interested, and spend their time seeking and searching after it. God gives wisdom, knowledge and fear to such.
Those who could care less about truth, wisdom, knowledge, and the fear of Jehovah will do none of these things and thereby shall receive nothing. These are the “simple” (remember Pro 1:22). The simple love things that are easy. The simple don’t want to work for anything… they expect all things to be given to them in life. They are lazy and worthless. The simple will gamble away a paycheck in hopes of receiving a pot of gold for no work performed. The simple are unwilling to work hard to obtain things in this life and they hate those who do work hard. The simple will cheat on an exam because they don’t want to study. These are people who are opposed to hard labor. They want material blessings for no labor. God has no respect for such people and neither do the people of God.
Jehovah had predetermined before the foundation of the world that there would be men and women on both sides of wisdom, knowledge, and fear (see Eph 1:3-7; Rom 8:29-30). Jehovah will act as a shield and He will guard and preserve the saints (i.e., those who receive instruction, wisdom, knowledge, and fear God). The mathematics of the thought is simple. Those who are interested in God and thereby seek out wisdom in life shall obtain it and that wisdom shall shield and guard them against false teachers and worldliness. The saints will be those who exercise “sound judgment!”
“Then shalt thou understand righteousness and justice, and equity, yea, every good path. For wisdom shall enter into thy heart, and knowledge shall be pleasant unto thy soul; discretion shall watch over thee; understanding shall keep thee” (Pro 2:9-11). So many foolish men and women in the body of Christ today exclaim, “We cannot know all truth…we cannot all agree on all parts of the scriptures… unity in faith can only be obtained by tolerating the diversity of man’s faith and understanding…” Notice that Solomon states that when a man or woman has the disposition to obtain knowledge, wisdom, and fear then “thou shalt understand…” When we value and diligently search after wisdom, knowledge, and discretion then these things shall “enter into thy heart, watch, and keep thee.” Though men act as though wisdom and understanding of divine things are an impossible swim across and ocean or flight into the heavens the Lord tells us that those who truly desire will have it because they gave diligence to obtain it (Deu 30:11-12; Rom 10:5 ff; 2Ti 2:15).
Don’t you want to know “every good path” to take in this life? Don’t you want to be able to give an answer to every man concerning the faith within you (1Pe 3:15)? Don’t you want to be able to give a thus saith Jehovah for every question that comes up within the church today? God will direct us in paths of righteousness if only we will seek them out. I can know the answer to every spiritual question as I search it out in the authorized word of God.
From here and through chapter 8 we have a series of parental counsels. These all begin with the address, “My son,” and deal with the value of wisdom, and make many practical applications.
The first of these is one of a couplet which deals with wisdom generally, and it has to do with the method of the search for wisdom (verses Pro 2:1-8), and its value (verses Pro 2:9-22).
First, as to the method of the search, there must be willingness and desire to know (verses Pro 2:1-2). To this must be added diligence. The illuminative phrases are “cry,” ‘lift up thy voice,” “seek,” “search.” All indicate desire, expressing itself in devotion. The values are the discerning and discreet heart, which enables a man to understand his pathway, and consequent ability to refuse the friendship of false men and women, who would lead into darkness and death; and the resulting choice of a path of good men, with all the benefits resulting therefrom.
Wisdom Guards from Evil
Pro 2:1-22
Several words are reiterated in this chapter, which will unlock its treasures. Understanding, Pro 2:2-3; Pro 2:5; Pro 2:9; Pro 2:11. If wisdom is a moral quality, leading to intuitive knowledge, understanding may be taken to include something of a prophetic strain. Understanding gathers up and makes use of the results of observation and experience, whether of oneself or of others.
Notice also the word walk, Pro 2:7; Pro 2:13; way, Pro 2:8; Pro 2:12-13; Pro 2:15; Pro 2:20; paths, Pro 2:8; Pro 2:13; Pro 2:15; Pro 2:18-20. See how eager the Divine Teacher is (l) to deliver the unwary from the way of the evil man, Pro 2:12, and from the way of the evil woman, Pro 2:16; and (2) to direct the feet of the young into the ways of the good and into the paths of the righteous, Pro 2:20. The path of safety and permanence is that in which we are perpetually conscious of the presence of the Master, Christ. He is the unseen companion of the soul in its difficult and perilous pilgrimage; and we may, in that companionship, appropriate the buckler of Pro 2:7, the integrity of Pro 2:8, and the stability of Pro 2:21.
Proverbs 2
In the opening verses of Proverbs 2 the secret that so many have sought in vain is revealed: how to find the knowledge of God. After all, there is very little mystery about it. The Christian need not be scholarly and profound to understand the Scripture. It is a certain condition of soul, rather than a well-equipped mind, that is required. God has given His Word. He exhorts us to search it in dependence on His Holy Spirit, who guides us into all truth.
2:1-5
These verses do not suggest a careless reading or cursory examination of the Scriptures. The soul is exhorted to receive these words. The sayings of God must be received into the heart where they are to be stored. The ear must be inclined to wisdom; the heart applied to understanding; the mouth crying after knowledge; and the voice lifted up for spiritual intelligence. The whole being is thus devoted to the search for the truth. The earnest seeker must dig into the Word of God as a man searching for silver or hidden treasure. He will not be content with surface findings. When Gods words are valued more than our necessary food, the result is certain: Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God (5).
Diligent Bible study is on the decline even among those who value precious truth. Reading books about the Bible is very different from searching the Word for oneself. Notes and expositions may be helpful. But these works of uninspired men must not be permitted to take the place of the sure Word of God. Such one-sided study will cause men to draw their thoughts from one another instead of from God. This will result in dry intellectuality rather than fresh, vigorous spirituality.
2:6-9
Searching for truth must always be followed by walking in the truth that is found. God will defend those who earnestly desire to live in the power of His truth. He will guard them and preserve their way. By diligently seeking His truth they will daily increase in the knowledge of every good path. This is very different from merely holding to a certain theological system or school of Biblical thought. It is not so much holding the truth, as being held by that truth. There is a vast difference between the two states.
There are many vain talkers and deceivers who boast of their knowledge of prophetic and dispensational teaching. Yet their unguarded ways and careless life bring shame on these solemn and precious truths. As they continue in this life their conscience is seared and their heart is hardened until the most searching ministry fails to make any impression on them.
2:10-19
The proper attitude for one who really holds the truth is set forth in these verses. When wisdom and knowledge are embraced they give discretion that preserves from evil and guards from false ways.
Two enemies are seen attacking the young man: the evil man and the strange woman. The evil man is the man who walks in the pride of his heart and in independence of God. This way of life seems very attractive to the young, appealing to their natural mind. To follow the evil man is to leave the straight paths of righteousness and to walk in the ways of darkness (13). But when one receives the truth of God and allows it to control his life he will be delivered from the perverse paths of the evil man.
The Word of God is also given to deliver the young man from the strange woman (adulteress in niv). Again and again we catch glimpses of this strange woman flitting in and out of the book of Proverbs. Who is she? Does she speak of anything more than impurity and uncleanness? The primary meaning is clear on the face of the passages that concern her. As the enemy of morality and virtue, she seeks to ensnare the young and unwary. Forsaking the guide of her youth and forgetting the covenant of her God, she gives herself up to impure pleasures and soul-destroying lusts. Those who have been ensnared by the strange woman must live with the consequences of their unclean ways. Even sincere repentance will not erase the shameful memories.
Could there be a secondary meaning in these many warnings concerning the strange woman? In the evil man we saw independence from God-rationalism gone wild. Whereas the strange woman represents false religion that eventually will be headed up in Babylon the great, the mother of harlots (Rev 17:5). How devious are her ways! How subtle and deceptive her solicitations! And how truly can it be said that her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.
2:20-22
Only the Word of God can preserve the soul from her corruptions and keep ones feet on the paths of life. These verses, like the rest of the Old Testament, speak of earthly rewards since the heavenly rewards were not revealed yet. Here we read of the earthly hope of the godly Israelite: He will dwell in the land when the lawless Gentiles and the transgressing Israelites will be rooted out of it.
Ours is a far better portion. We have an inheritance reserved for us in Heaven where Christ the forerunner has entered for us. How much greater is our responsibility to see that our steps are ordered according to the Word of the living God!
Pro 2:1-5
This is only one passage out of many in which wisdom is connected with religion, in which it is asserted that a religious fear of God is the first step in true wisdom, and that he who would know God aright must love wisdom, and humbly and vigorously seek after her.
I. Even taking the lowest view of things, that is only a selfish view, looking only to what is to be gained, making it only a matter of profit and loss, the religious man is the wise man. For it has been often argued, that even though a man who gives his mind to religion be wrong, yet he loses nothing in the end; he has had his own happiness here, and has trodden the weary vale of life buoyed up by the expectation of a glorious resurrection morning. But if we think of another life, which is the happier then? If the religious man be right, what becomes of the irreligious?
II. Religion is wisdom and ungodliness folly, because the religious man is concerned with far grander and more exalted things than any other man. The principal attribute of a wise discerning man is to be able to see things as they really are, to pierce through outside appearances, and get at the heart of things, and not be cheated by sham outsides; and, therefore, when a man is deceived by the show of the world, and believes its promises, and lays up his treasure here, and thinks his treasure real and safe, I think that the man is in reality weak in judgment and childish in his way of viewing things. I can see no wisdom in him, but quite the reverse.
III. Wisdom is spoken of as a thing that must be laboured for; it is not to be sought merely for amusement, but the search is to be the very business of man’s life; there is no point more clearly laid down, none more insisted on, than the necessity of exertion in the pursuit of wisdom. There are lessons enough in the Book of God for every day of the longest life, and he who puts off learning them will find that they will press heavily upon him when he has the least power to learn. The wisdom we are to seek is the result of many actions; almost every act tells one way or another, tends either to wisdom or folly.
Bishop Harvey Goodwin, Parish Sermons, 1st series, p. 239.
References: Pro 2:1-9.-R. Wardlaw, Lectures on Proverbs, vol. i., p. 52. Pro 2:1-15.-Outline Sermons to Children, p. 65.
Pro 2:2-5
I. Solomon’s meaning is, that we are to begin life by fearing God, without understanding it; as a child obeys his parents without understanding the meaning of their commands. If we do not always know the reason at first, we shall know it in due time, and get, so Solomon says, to understand the fear of the Lord. In due time we shall see from experience that we are in the path of life.
II. This is the secret of life-to believe that God is your Father, schooling and training you from your cradle to your grave; and then to please Him and obey Him in all things, lifting up daily your hands and thankful heart, entreating Him to purge the eyes of your soul, and give you the true wisdom, which is to see all things as they really are, and as God Himself sees them. If you do that, you may believe that God will teach you more and more how to do, in all the affairs of life, that which is right in His sight, and, therefore, good for you. He will reward you by making you more and more partakers of His Holy Spirit and of truth, by which, seeing everything as it really is, you will at last-if not in this life, still in the life to come-grow to see God Himself, who has made all things according to His own eternal mind, that they may be a pattern of His unspeakable glory; and beyond that, who needs to see? For to know God and to see God is eternal life itself.
C. Kingsley, The Good News of God, p. 204
References: Pro 2:4.-Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. i., p. 224. Pro 2:4, Pro 2:5.-W. Arnot, Laws from Heaven, 1st series, p. 88.
Pro 2:6
Religion may be properly considered in relation to the ends of study, and to the spirit in which these ends are to be pursued.
I. Education ought to discipline and to strengthen the powers of the mind. This is the real object of all study. Men are to be prepared for their work. The best student is the man who is most, not the man who has learned most. No good student will neglect any side of his being. He must have fulness of nature, wideness of capacity; all that God has given him must receive its due regard.
II. It is here that the subject of religion comes to be considered by the student. The nature which he possesses is distinctly religious-that is to say, he has capacities and powers which have relation to the Supreme Being, and which require training and discipline equally with all the others. Man is naturally formed for God, and if a man does not attend to that faculty whereby he regards God and can apprehend Him, he neglects that part of himself which is most important and most influential.
III. Consider the influences which religion exerts upon the student. (1) It renders him reverent. Nothing is so unsuitable to the man who desires a cultivated mind as arrogance and self-esteem. All wisdom is humble. Religion and its duties produce reverence. The religious man recognises the constant presence of God. The world to him becomes a temple, and every duty is a sacrifice. All objects of study with such a man ascend towards God, and shine in the light of the Divine throne. (2) Another element of the studious nature is the harmony which subsists between the different powers of the soul. Man cannot gain intellectual vigour when his whole being is torn asunder by conflicting forces. Outward physical quietness is the usually necessary condition of study. Inward spiritual peace is as needful. Religion will give this. Nothing in our nature so tends to preserve the balance and equipoise of the whole. And how is this religious life sustained, except by the knowledge of Him who is the express image of the Father, and the shining ray of the central light of God? To the student especially does Christ appeal. His religion is the religion of intelligence. He is the Word. We are to know Him, and through Him to know God.
L. D. Bevan, Sermons to Students, p. 9 (see also Christian World Pulpit, vol. vi., p. 337).
References: Pro 2:10, Pro 2:11.-Old Testament Outlines, p. 156. Pro 2:12-19.-W. Arnot, Laws from Heaven, 1st series, p. 97.
Pro 2:10-11
I. If we look at the teaching of Scripture upon the subject of Christian humility, we find that its two main characteristics are: (1) distrust of self and of purely human wisdom; (2) trust in, and gratitude to, God as the Giver of all good gifts. From these qualities, when carried into practice, spring modesty and forbearance, and consideration in our dealings with each other; a devotion to, and worship of, Him to whom we acknowledge that all we have is due. Christian humility then, in its widest acceptation, is the attribute alike of a good citizen and a good Christian. It summarises, so to speak, and gathers into one focus that duty to man and duty to God which our Lord Himself, the pattern standard of humility, declared to be the sum total of Christian practice. It is the crowning grace of every relation of human life: in young and old, in teacher and in learner, in master and in servant, in parent and in child, at the councils of statesmen, in busy scenes of merchandise and industry, or at little children’s play.
II. We do not, of course, suppose that humility, unlike any other virtue, has not its limits. Obedience may be slavish and unreasoning; self-effacement may cover a shrinking from responsibility; self-sacrifice may even be quixotic and useless. Childlike humility is indeed a crown of human character, a necessary ingredient in human perfection; but it may not stand in the way of Christian zeal for high and noble objects; it may not bar the path of Christian duty by encouraging weakness and irresolution. Shrink not from self-assertion in the cause of good when once you have ascertained that it is the cause of good, and not the cause of self; let not humility stay your hand from the plough when there is hard, rough soil of evil lives and evil habits to be broken up, misery to be relieved, degradation to be raised, and the very germs of civilisation to be implanted; in that great field of labour, whether in heathen lands afar, or amid scarcely less heathen scenes at home, where the labourers are so few and the work so great, and where so much has to be done to prepare the soil before there can be even a distant hope of harvest.
T. L. Papillon, Oxford and Cambridge Undergraduates’ Journal, Feb. 28th, 1884.
Reference: Pro 2:10-22,-R. Wardlaw, Lectures on Proverbs, vol. i.. p. 64.
Pro 2:17
I. There is a season when youth becomes independent and intolerant of control, when gentle guidance is mistaken for love of interference and of power, when the youth and the maiden think scorn to follow the ways and maxims of the parent, the friend, the teacher, and take pride in forming a code and gathering maxims of their own; in speaking their own words and walking after the light of their own eyes. These are critical days in every man’s life-days which determine whether he is to be a pilgrim to the light, or to drop down into the darkness-days when he is made or marred for ever. On which side am I? Which have I chosen for my lot? Is the guide of my youth still my guide?-that soft voice still my monitor? Is my father’s God my God for ever and ever, and have I taken Him for my guide unto death?
II. Notice the reason of this woful departure and falling away: “She forgetteth the covenant of her God.” The solemn fact that God’s vows are upon her is suffered to pass from her into forgetfulness. She saith in her heart, “There is no God.”
And if she, one of ancient Israel was bound to God, by a covenant, what shall we say in this matter? The covenant of our God began in our earliest days. Baptism and confirmation were to us seals of the covenant, most solemn and important. You bound yourselves to forsake God’s enemies; you bound yourselves to cleave to Him and serve Him. (1) We are bound by that covenant to stand aloof from Satan. How are we situated with regard to the great enemy of our souls? He is ever busy around us; knowing our weak points, urging our evil tempers, suggesting, prompting, decoying us into sin. Are we his enemies, or are we in league with him? (2) We are to stand aloof from the world. Those who are bound by God’s covenant should not run to the excess prevalent in the ungodly world, in adornment of person, in frivolity of amusement, in countenancing any of those employments or meetings where merely self-display is the object; that the person, and the household, and the furniture, and the equipage of the Christian should be modest, unobtrusive, showing the conscientious stewardship of one who has a neighbour to benefit and edify, and a God to glorify, and not the lavish expenditure of one who lives for himself, or for his family, or for the world.
H. Alford, Quebec Chapel Sermons, vol. vii., p. 16.
References: Pro 3:1.-Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. xiii., p. 269; W. Arnot, Laws from Heaven, 1st series, p. 106. Pro 3:1-4.-Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. vi., p. 83. Pro 3:1-10.-R. Wardlaw, Lectures on Proverbs, vol. i., p. 75.
CHAPTER 2
1. The pursuit of wisdom and its results (Pro 2:1-9)
2. Preservation from the evil man and the strange woman (Pro 2:10-19)
3. The path of the righteous (Pro 2:20-22)
Pro 2:1-9 This second chapter of divine instructions begins with an exhortation to pursue after Wisdom. The sayings of Wisdom, that is the Word of the Lord, must be received, laid up, the ear must incline to hear them, the heart must be applied to understanding. In verse 3 mention is made of prayer. There must be crying after knowledge and for understanding and that must be followed by seeking and searching. If these conditions are fulfilled then the fear of the Lord is ones portion as well as the knowledge of God. These are excellent instructions for the study of the Word of God. If followed then the Lord will give wisdom (Jam 1:5). He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous. He Himself is the Wisdom and in Him are laid up all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col 2:3). He also is a shield (the better word for buckler) to them that walk uprightly, and the way of His saints is preserved by Him.
Pro 2:10-19. When Wisdom entereth the heart and the soul rejoiceth in true knowledge, what blessed consequences will follow! There is preservation and deliverance. The way of the evil man, the proud, the ungodly and their crooked ways hold out no attraction to those who love and seek wisdom. Then for the first time the strange woman, the foreign woman is mentioned. While a prostitute is meant, the warning to Solomon was to beware of the allurement of those who were outside of the commonwealth of Israel, the heathen Canaanitish cults in which prostitution played such a prominent part. If we look on these instructions as given to a young man, we see the temptations out lined which are peculiar to the young-disobedience to parents, evil companions and the lust of the flesh.
Pro 2:20-22. He who ordereth his conduct according to divine instruction will walk in the way of the good and keep the paths of the righteous, dwelling in the land of promise while the wicked have no such hope.
if: Pro 1:3, Pro 4:1, Pro 7:1, Joh 12:47, Joh 12:48, 1Ti 1:15
hide: Pro 3:1, Pro 4:20-22, Pro 6:21, Deu 6:6-9, Job 23:12, Psa 119:9-11, Mat 13:44, Luk 2:19, Luk 2:51, Luk 9:44
Reciprocal: Lev 11:3 – cheweth Deu 11:19 – General Deu 30:13 – go over the sea Deu 33:3 – shall receive Jos 1:8 – thou shalt 1Ch 28:8 – keep 1Ch 28:9 – if thou seek Neh 8:13 – the second Job 22:22 – receive Psa 25:8 – teach Psa 34:11 – I will Psa 119:11 – Thy word Psa 119:66 – Teach me Pro 1:8 – My son Pro 4:21 – in the Pro 5:1 – attend Pro 18:1 – seeketh Pro 19:8 – he that keepeth Pro 19:20 – receive Pro 23:15 – My son Pro 24:14 – when Pro 28:7 – keepeth Dan 12:10 – but the wise Hos 6:3 – if Mat 2:9 – the star Mat 6:33 – seek Mat 13:19 – and understandeth Luk 11:36 – the whole Joh 5:38 – ye have Joh 8:32 – ye shall Joh 17:6 – they Joh 17:8 – received Act 8:28 – and sitting Act 17:11 – they received 1Th 2:11 – as 2Th 2:10 – they received Heb 2:1 – the more
WISDOMS COUNSELS
My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.
Pro 2:1-5
This is only one passage out of many in which wisdom is connected with religion, in which it is asserted that a religious fear of God is the first step in true wisdom, and that he who would know God aright must love wisdom, and humbly and vigorously seek after her.
I. Even taking the lowest view of things, that it is only a selfish view, looking only to what is to be gained, making it only a matter of profit and loss, the religious man is the wise man.
II. Religion is wisdom, and ungodliness folly, because the religious man is concerned with far grander and more exalted things than any other man.The principal attribute of a wise, discerning man is to be able to see things as they really are.
III. Wisdom is spoken of as a thing that must be laboured for; it is not to be sought merely for amusement, but the search is to be the very business of mans life; there is no point more clearly laid down, none more insisted on, than the necessity of exertion in the pursuit of wisdom.
Bishop Harvey Goodwin.
Illustration
How much I miss and forfeit for lack of diligent energy and zeal!
There is my study of the Scriptures. Too often I allow my thinking and reflective powers to lie dormant when I am in the company of Gods Holy Book. But nowhere is there such room for patient, steadfast, persevering scrutiny. Nowhere are there such enriching rewards waiting to crown thought and study. My clearest, highest, most vigorous moments ought to be devoted to the angels task of looking into the marvels and mysteries of redemption.
Pro 2:1-5. My son, &c. These words are spoken by Solomon, either, 1st, In the name of wisdom, as before: or rather, 2d, In his own name. If thou wilt hide my commandments with thee Wilt lay them up in thy mind and heart with care, as men do their choicest treasures; So that thou incline, &c. Give thyself to the study of wisdom with affection and diligence. Yea, if thou, criest after knowledge Namely, unto God, the only giver of it. Hebrew, , if thou callest to knowledge, that is, invitest it to come to thee; earnestly desirest its guidance; If thou seekest her as silver With the same unwearied diligence and earnest desire, and patient expectation under all delays, disappointments, and difficulties, which the men of the world use in pursuit of riches, or in digging in mines of silver; Then shalt thou understand More perfectly and profitably; the fear of the Lord Which is the beginning of this wisdom, Pro 1:7.
Pro 2:1-2. Hide my commandments with thee, as a treasure is secured in the cabinet, or as the copy of the law was put within the ark in the holy place. The words of the law must be retained in the memory, as maxims of wisdom, and the sentiments concealed in the heart. Then they are ready on all occasions, as defences against temptation. This is to incline, to cleanse, and open the ear.
Pro 2:4. If thou seekest her, as the merchants in search of gold and silver cross the deserts, encountering dangers, and as the miners follow their veins of oreif we seek religion as the men of the world seek wealth and pleasure, we shall succeed in our efforts. Such is the promise: When ye seek me with your whole heart, then shall ye find me. Deu 4:29.
Pro 2:6. The Lord giveth wisdom. As the fertilizing rain, he replenishes the heart with its treasures, and covers the conscience with its shield.
Pro 2:8. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints, in equity to men, and piety towards God.
Pro 2:12. To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, who would initiate thee into all the secrets of his club; allure thee to intemperance, instruct in order to deceive and defraud the unwary; to blaspheme religion and launch the reins to passion. These are the crooked ways that lead to destruction.
Pro 2:16. To deliver thee from the strange woman, where thy innocence will be lost, where thy conscience will be ruined, thy soul destroyed, and thy body perish. These are dangerous connections:
Joyless, loveless, unendeared.
These are scenes not to be contemplated, but avoided and abhorred.
Pro 2:19. None that go unto her return again. See that young man with a pale cheek, treading the streets with cautious steps. His friends talk of colds and consumptions; but widely differing are the symptoms. After awhile we hear of his death! Compared with these examples, how noble is real love; how cheerful and pleasant is the married state, how honest and upright the intentions. Their presence cheers all families where they visit, and the issues are crowned with nuptial felicity.
Pro 2:22. The transgressors shall be rooted out. Hebrews bogadim. The men that wear a cloak or covering, the hypocrites. Not only shall the veil with which they cover themselves be rent, but they shall be rooted out of the earth. Sudden and total destruction awaits them.
Pro 2:1-22. Third Discourse.The wise man praises Wisdom, describing the blessings of obedience to her. The deeper religious element in wisdom appears, the fundamental conception of Hebrew prophecy, that the knowledge of God is the supreme good.
Pro 2:1-11. If the young man hearkens to wisdom, prizes it above all other gain, he will acquire the true knowledge of God. Yahweh alone gives wisdom, and He gives it only to the upright.
Pro 2:5. The phrase knowledge of God occurs in the OT only here and in Hos. Also Elohim only occurs elsewhere in Pr. in Pro 2:17, Pro 3:4, Pro 25:2, Pro 30:9.
Pro 2:7. sound wisdom: cf. Job 6:12. The root possibly means to assist, support, hence effectual wisdom, implying success in life.
Pro 2:8. his saints: rather his pious ones. The term hasidim (Psa 4:3*) occurs only here in Pr.
Pro 2:12-19. He who possesses true wisdom in the knowledge of God will be preserved from the perverse and self-opinionated man and from the strange woman. These may be personifications, like Wisdom, representing some form of foreign philosophy or heretical teaching, so the later Jewish commentators explain. But probably the reference is to literal vice. The strange woman is the professional prostitute, possibly a foreigner and connected with foreign idolatrous cults (cf. Josephus, Ant., xii. 46; Sir 9:3-9; Sir 23:16-26).
Pro 2:17. friend of her youth: husband rather than God. For the phrase cf. Jer 3:2-5.
Pro 2:18. LXX reads she has set her house by death, RV presupposes a change in the accents, MT is rendered in RVm, the Targums and Peshitta suggest her house is a pit of deep gloom.the dead: the rephaim, the inhabitants of Sheol, beyond Gods jurisdiction. For history of term see Charles Eschatology (cf. Gen 14:5*, Job 26:5*, Isa 14:9).
Pro 2:20-22. Blessing of the upright who hearken to wisdom, and punishment of the wicked. The result of conduct is expressed in the material form of older Jewish hopes. A long life in the land of Israel was the ideal of good, but the phrases to possess, inherit, or dwell in the land remained as the expression of blessing when its local and temporary sense had been forgotten (cf. Mat 5:5). Psalms 37 represents this point of view very fully.
2:1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and {a} hide my commandments with thee;
(a) That is, keep them in your heart.
3. Wisdom as a treasure ch. 2
Chapter 2 is a discourse that sets forth the blessings that wisdom confers.
The difficulty of obtaining Wisdom 2:1-5
Even though Wisdom wants people to adopt her (Pro 1:20-33), she is hard to obtain. The person who wants her has to work hard for her (Pro 2:3). If understanding does not come easily, one should work harder to obtain it. [Note: See Julius H. Greenstone, Proverbs with Commentary, p. 17.] He or she must start with revelation, and study it diligently, in order to obtain spiritual rather than merely academic wisdom. The "fear of the Lord" emphasizes awe, and the "knowledge of God" stresses intimacy. [Note: For a synthesis of what the Book of Proverbs reveals about God, see Zuck, pp. 238-39.]
"If you want wisdom, you must listen to God attentively (Mat 13:9), obey Him humbly (Joh 7:17), ask Him sincerely (Jas 1:5), and seek Him diligently (Isa 55:6-7), the way a miner searches for silver and gold.
"Obtaining spiritual wisdom isn’t a once-a-week hobby, it is the daily discipline of a lifetime. But in this age of microwave ovens, fast foods, digests, and numerous ’made easy’ books, many people are out of the habit of daily investing time and energy in digging deep into Scripture and learning wisdom from the Lord. Thanks to television, their attention span is brief; thanks to religious entertainment that passes for worship, their spiritual appetite is feeble and spiritual knowledge isn’t ’pleasant to [their] soul’ (Pro 2:10). It’s no wonder fewer and fewer people ’take time to be holy’ and more and more people fall prey to the enemies that lurk along the way." [Note: Wiersbe, p. 36.]
CHAPTER 3
WISDOM AS THE GUIDE OF CONDUCT
“To deliver thee from the way of the evil manTo deliver thee from the strange woman.”- Pro 2:12-16
WISDOM is concerned, as we have seen, with the whole universe of fact, with the whole range of thought; she surveys and orders all processes of nature. We might say of her,
“She doth preserve the stars from wrong, And the most ancient heavens by her are fresh and strong.”
But while she is occupied in these high things, she is no less attentive to the affairs of human life, and her delight is to order human conduct, not despising even the smallest detail of that which is done by men under the sun. Side by side with physical laws, indeed often intertwined with them, appear the moral laws which issue from the lively oracles of Wisdom. There is not one authority for natural phenomena, and another for mental and moral phenomena. As we should say now, Truth is one: Science is one: Law is one. The laws of the physical order, the laws of the speculative reason, the laws of practical life, form a single system, come from the sole mind of God, and are the impartial interests of Wisdom.
As the great authority on Conduct, Wisdom is pictured standing in the places where men congregate, where the busy hum of human voices and the rush of hurried feet make it necessary for her to lift up her voice in order to gain attention. With words of winsome wooing-“for wisdom shall enter into thy heart, and knowledge shall be pleasant unto thy soul” {Pro 2:10}-or with loud threats and stern declarations of truth -“the backsliding of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them” {Pro 1:32} -she tries to win us, while we are yet young, to her paths of pleasantness and her ways of peace. Her object is to deliver youth,
(1) from the evil man, and
(2) from the evil woman, or in the most comprehensive way “to deliver us from evil.”
First of all, we may spend a few moments in noting the particular temptations to which men were exposed in the days when these chapters were written. There was a temptation to join a troop of banditti, and to obtain a living by acts of highway robbery which would frequently result in murder; and there was the temptation to the sin which we call specifically Impurity, a temptation which arose not so much from the existence of a special class of fallen women, as from the shocking looseness and voluptuousness of married women in well-to-do circumstances.
Society under the kings never seems to have reached anything approaching to an ordered security. We cannot point to any period when the mountain roads, even in the neighborhood of the capital, were not haunted by thieves, who lurked in the rocks or the copses, and fell upon passing travelers, to strip and to rob, and if need be to kill them. When such things are done, when such things are even recounted in sensational literature, there are multitudes of young men who are stirred to a debased ambition; a spurious glory encircles the brow of the adventurer who sets the laws of society at defiance; and without any personal entreaty the foolish youth is disposed to leave the quiet ways of industry for the stimulating excitement and the false glamour of the bandit life. The reckless plottings of the robbers are described in Pro 1:11-14. The character of the men themselves is given in Pro 4:16-17 : “They sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fail. For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.” The proverb in Pro 24:15 is addressed to such a one: “Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the habitation of the righteous; spoil not his resting-place.”
The rebukes of the prophets-Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah-may have a wider application, but they seem at any rate to include this highwaymans life. “Your hands are full of blood” is the charge of Isaiah; and {Isa 1:15} again, “Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity.” {Isa 59:7} “They build up Zion with blood,” says Micah indignantly. {Mic 3:10} Jeremiah cries with still more vehemence to his generation, “Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the innocent poor”: {Jer 2:34} and again, “But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it.” {Jer 22:17}
We are to conceive, then, the young and active men of the day constantly tempted to take these unhallowed paths which seemed to promise wealth; the sinners were always ready to whisper in the ears of those whose life was tedious and unattractive, “Cast in thy lot among us; we will all have one purse.” The moral sense of the community was not sufficiently developed to heartily condemn this life of iniquity; as in the eighteenth century among, ourselves, so in Israel when this book was written, there existed in the minds of the people at large a lurking admiration for the bold and dashing “gentlemen of the way.”
The other special temptation of that day is described in our book with remarkable realism, and there is no false shame in exposing the paths of death into which it leads. In Pro 5:3-20 the subject is treated in the plainest way: “Her latter end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on Sheol.” It is taken up again in Pro 6:24-35 : “Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? or can one walk upon hot coals and his feet not be scorched?” The guilty man who has been betrayed by the glitter and beauty, by the honeyed words and the soft entreaties, “shall get wounds and dishonor, and his reproach shall not be wiped away.”
Pro 7:5-27 a most vivid picture is drawn of the foolish youth seduced into evil; there he is seen going as an ox to the slaughter, as one in fetters, “till an arrow strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.” And the Introduction closes with a delineation of Folly, which is obviously meant as a counterpart to the delineation of Wisdom in Pro 1:20, etc. {Pro 9:13-18} The miserable woman sits at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city; with seductive words she wins the foolish passers-by to enter her doors: “The dead are there; her guests are in the depths of Sheol.”
It is a temptation which in many varying forms has always beset human life. No small part of the danger is that this evil, above all others, grows in silence, and yet seems to be aggravated by publicity. The preacher cannot speak plainly about it, and even writers shrink from touching the subject. We can, however, be thankful that the book, which is Gods book rather than mans, knows nothing of our false modesty and conventional delicacy: it speaks out not only boldly, but minutely; it is so explicit that no man who with a prayerful heart will meditate upon its teachings need fall into the pitfall-that pitfall which seems to grow even more subtle and more seductive as civilization advances, and as the great cities absorb a larger proportion of the population; or if he fail he can only admit with shame and remorse, “I have hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof. Neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me. I was well-nigh in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.” {Pro 5:12-14}
In the second place, we must try to look at these temptations in the light of our own day, in order that we may listen to the voice of wisdom, not in the antiquarian, but rather in the practical spirit. The second temptation exists amongst us almost unchanged, except that the vast accumulation and concentration of vice in great cities has provided that mournful band of women whom a great moralist has designated the Vestal Virgins of Humanity, consecrated to shame and ruin in order to preserve unsullied the sacred flame of the domestic altar. The result of this terrible development in evil is that the deadly sin has become safer for the sinner, and in certain circles of society has become recognized as at any rate a venial fault, if not an innocent necessity. It is well to read these chapters again with our eye on the modern evil, and to let the voice of Wisdom instruct us that the life is not the less blighted because the body remains unpunished, and vice is not the less vicious because, instead of ruining others for its gratification, it feeds only on those who are already ruined. If the Wisdom of the Old Testament is obscure on this point, the Wisdom of the New Testament gives no uncertain sound. Interpreting the doctrine of our book, as Christians are bound to do, by the light of Christ, we can be left in no doubt, that to all forms of impurity applies the one principle which is here applied to a specific form: “He doeth it that would destroy his own soul.” “His own iniquities shall take the wicked, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sin.” {Pro 6:32 and Pro 5:22}
But with regard to the first of the two temptations, it may be urged that in our settled and ordered society it is no longer felt. “We are not tempted to become highwaymen, nor even to embark on the career of a professional thief.” We are disposed to skim lightly over the warning, under the impression that it does not in any way apply to us. But stop a moment! Wisdom spoke in the first instance direct to the vice of her day, but she gave to her precepts a more general coloring, which makes it applicable to all time, when she said, “So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; it taketh away the life of the owners thereof.” {Pro 1:19} The specific form of greediness described in this first chapter may have become obsolete among decent and respectable people; but that greed of gain which showed itself then in a particular form is alive today. Dressed in a different garb, it presents temptations of a slightly different order; but the spirit is the same, the issue, the fatal issue, is the same. It is a melancholy fact that in the most progressive and civilized communities the greed of gain, instead of dying out, becomes aggravated, acquires a dominant influence, and sways men as the master passion. The United States, a country so bountiful to her children that a settled peace might be supposed to pervade the life of men who can never be in fear of losing the necessaries, or even the comforts, of life, are inflamed with a fierce and fiery passion. Society is one perpetual turmoil; life is lived at the highest conceivable pressure, because each individual is seeking to gain more and ever more. In our own country, though society is less fluid, and ancient custom checks the action of disturbing forces, the passion for gain becomes every year a more exacting tyranny over the lives of the people. We are engaged in a pitiless warfare, which we dignify by the name of competition; the race is to the swift, and the battle to the strong. It becomes almost a recognized principle that man is at liberty to prey upon his fellow man. The Eternal Law of Wisdom declares that we should treat others as we treat ourselves, and count the interests of others dear as our own; it teaches us that we should show a tender consideration for the weak, and be always ready, at whatever cost, to succor the helpless. But competition says, “No; you must try rather to beat the weak out of the field; you must leave no device untried to reduce the strength of the strong, and to divert into your own hands the grist which was going to your neighbors mill.” This conflict between man and man is untempered by pity, because it is supposed to be unavoidable as death itself. In a community so constituted, where business has fallen into such ways, while the strong may hold their own with a clean hand, the weaker are tempted to make up by cunning what they lack in strength, and the weakest are ground as the nether millstone. The pitilessness of the whole system is appalling, the more so because it is accepted as necessary.
The bandit life has here emerged in a new form. “Come, let us lay wait for blood,” says the Sweater or the Fogger, “let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause; let us swallow them up alive as Sheol, and whole as those that go down into the pit.” The Bandit is an outcast from society, and his hand is turned against the rich. The Sweater is an outcast from society, and his hand is turned against the poor. By “laying wait” he is able to demand, from weak men, women, and children, the long hours of the day for unceasing toil, and the bitter hours of the night for hunger and cold, until the gaunt creatures, worn with weariness and despair, find a solace in debauchery or an unhallowed rest in death.
Now, though the temptation to become a sweater may not affect many or any of us, I should like to ask, Are there not certain trades or occupations, into which some of us are tempted to enter, perfectly honeycombed with questionable practices? Under the pretext that it is all “business,” are not things done which can only be described as preying upon the innocence or the stupidity of our neighbors? Sometimes the promise is, “We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil.” {Pro 1:13} Sometimes the simple object is to escape starvation. But there is the miserable temptation to sacrifice probity and honor, to stifle compassion and thought, in order to bring into our own coffers the coveted wealth. And is there not, I ask, a similar temptation lurking in a thousand haunts more or less respectable-a temptation which may be described as the spirit of gambling? The essence of all gambling, whether it be called speculative business or gaming, in stock and share markets or in betting clubs and turf rings, is simply the attempt to trade on the supposed ignorance or misfortune of others, and to use superior knowledge or fortune for the purpose, not of helping, but of robbing them. It may be said that we do it in self-defense, and that others would do the same by us; yes, just as the bandit says to the young man, “We do not want to injure the traveler yonder; we want his purse. He will try to shoot you; you only shoot him in self-defense.” It is the subtlety of all gambling that constitutes its great danger. It seems to turn on the principle that we may do what we like with our own; it forgets that its object is to get hold of what belongs to others, not by honest work or service rendered, but simply by cunning and deception.
It is, then, only too easy to recognize, in many varied shapes of so-called business and of so-called pleasure, “the ways of those who are greedy of gain.” Wisdom has need to cry aloud in our streets, in the chief place of concourse, in the city, in exchanges and marts. Her warning to the young man must be explicit and solemn: “My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.” The bandit life still has its attractions, though its methods are changed; it plays upon the idle imagination: it promises freedom from laborious and distasteful toil; but it says nothing of the ways of death into which it leads.
Now, in the third place, we come to the protest of Divine Wisdom against these evil ways in which men are tempted to walk. They are, she says, folly of the most egregious kind. There may be an apparent success or a momentary gratification: “precious substance may be amassed, and houses may be filled with spoil”; but the people who are betrayed into these wicked courses “shall be cut off from the land.” {Pro 2:22} They “lay wait for their own blood”; greed “taketh away the life of the owner thereof”; {Pro 1:19} and as for the strange woman, that flattereth with her words, “none that go unto her return again.” {Pro 2:19}
It needs but a clear vision or a little wise reflection to see the destructive tendency of Evil. It is the commonest fact of experience that where “vice goes before, vengeance follows after.” Why do men not perceive it? There is a kind of fatuity which blinds the eyes. The empty-headed bird sees the net spread out before its eyes; {Pro 1:17} many of its fellows have already been caught; the warning seems obvious enough, but it is all “in vain”: eager to get the bait-the dainty morsel lying there, easy obtainable – the foolish creature approaches, looks, argues that it is swifter and stronger than its predecessors, who were but weaklings! it will wheel down, take the food, and be gone long before the flaps of the net can spring together. In the same way the empty-headed youth, warned by the experience of elders and the tender entreaties of father and mother, assured that these ways of unjust gain are ways of ruin, is yet rash enough to enter the snare in order to secure the coveted morsel. And what is the issue? Setting at naught all the counsel of Wisdom, he would none of her reproof. {Pro 1:25} A momentary success led to wilder infatuation, and convinced him that he was right, and Wisdom was wrong; but his prosperity destroyed him. Soon in the shame of exposure and the misery of remorse he discovers his mistake. Or, worse still, no exposure comes; success continues to his dying day, and he leaves his substance to his heirs; “he eats of the fruits of his own way, and is filled with his own devices,” {Pro 1:31-32} but none the less he walks in the ways of darkness-in paths that are crooked and perverse-and he is consumed with inward misery. The soul within is hard, and dry, and dead; it is insensible to all feelings except feelings of torture. It is a life so dark and wretched, that when a sudden light is thrown upon its hidden secrets men are filled with astonishment and dismay, that such things could exist underneath that quiet surface.
Finally, note these two characteristics of the Divine Wisdom:
(1) she is found in her fullness only by diligent seekers; and
(2) rejected, she turns into the most scornful and implacable foe.
She is to be sought as silver or hidden treasure is sought. The search must be inspired by that eagerness of desire and passion of resolve with which avarice seeks for money. No faculty must be left unemployed: the ear is to be inclined to catch the first low sounds of wisdom; the heart is to be applied to understand what is heard; the very voice is to be lifted up in earnest inquiry. It is a well-known fact that the fear of the Lord and the knowledge of God are not fruits which grow on every wayside bush, to be plucked by every idle passer-by, to be dropped carelessly and trodden under foot. Without seriousness and devotion, without protracted and unflagging toil, the things of God are not to be attained. You must be up betimes; you must be on your knees early; you must lay open the book of Wisdom, pore over its pages, and diligently turn its leaves, meditating on its sayings day and night. The kingdom of God and His righteousness must be sought, yes, and sought first, sought exclusively, as the one important object of desire. That easy indifference, that lazy optimism-“it will all come right in the end”-that habit of delay in deciding, that inclination to postpone the eternal realities to vanishing shadows, will be your ruin. The time may come when you will call, and there will be no answer, when you will seek diligently, but shall not find. Then in the day of your calamity, when your fear cometh, what a smile of scorn will seem to be on Wisdoms placid brow, and around her eloquent lips! What derision will seem to ring in the well-remembered counsels which you rejected. {Pro 1:24-31} O tide in the affairs of men! O tide in the affairs of God! We are called to stand by death-beds, to look into anguished eyes which know that it is too late. The bandit of commercial life passes into that penal servitude which only death will end; what agony breaks out and hisses in his remorse! The wretched victim of lust passes from the house of his sin down the path which inclines unto death; how terrible is that visage which just retains smirched traces that purity once was there! The voice rings down the doleful road, “If I had only been wise, if I had given ear, wisdom might have entered even into my heart, knowledge might have been pleasant even to my soul!”
And wisdom still cries to us, “Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.”
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
Fuente: The Sermon Bible
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary