《Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures – Proverbs (Vol. 1)》

The opening statement in this passage ( Proverbs 1:7 a) tells us that it is the fear of the Lord that will guide us along our journey to rest. These verses on the fear of the Lord will serve as signposts that are posted throughout the journey in order to show to us that we are on the right path; for the way is narrow, and many are the deceptions along the way. As the list of virtues in Proverbs 1:2-6 gives us a brief introduction to characteristics of the wise Prayer of Manasseh , the following verse ( Proverbs 1:7 b) contrasts this passage with a brief introduction to the fool.

Our divine calling from God begins at home, as a child learns to obey his parents. Reverence for parents ( Proverbs 1:8) naturally follows Proverbs 1:7, for learning to obey our parents becomes our first lesson in reverence for God. When a child develops a genuine devotion to his parents, he naturally will learn this same devotion to the Lord. His loyal and gentle spirit serves as an ornament of grace that make this person stand out in a crowd above others of less character ( Proverbs 1:9).

Although the heart of every believer knows that God"s wisdom is higher, he cannot help but hear the voice of the wicked ringing in his ears ( Proverbs 1:10-19). These verses tell us that the wicked seek to exploit others for their own greedy gain, not knowing that they are actually destroying their own souls.

In the midst of the voices of this world, the believer hears the call of wisdom ( Proverbs 1:20-33). This call cries loudly from within the heart of each believer. For those who choose this path, there is safety without fear ( Proverbs 1:33). Those who scorn this voice will find distress ( Proverbs 1:27). If the voice of wisdom is not heeded, she will not answer on the day of their calamity ( Proverbs 1:28). Thus, Proverbs 1:7-33 gives us an initial call to pursue wisdom ( Proverbs 1:20-33), but not before wisdom allows us to hear the call of the wicked ( Proverbs 1:10-19).

Outline- Note the proposed outline:

1. Exhortation to Fear God and Parents — Proverbs 1:7-9

2. The Call of the Wicked Man — Proverbs 1:10-19

3. The Call of Wisdom — Proverbs 1:20-23

4. The Consequences of Rejecting Wisdom"s Call — Proverbs 1:24-33

This Passage Parallel's Solomon's Youth While He was Young and Tender- This passage of Scripture reveals to us the call of wisdom to those who are simple as well as wise. If we find a parallel of the theme of this opening passage within the life of Song of Solomon , it would be his years as a youth, in which he is described by his father David as being "young and tender" ( 1 Chronicles 22:5). During those years, he learned to discern between the call of God and that of the wicked.

1 Chronicles 22:5, "And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the LORD must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. Song of Solomon , David prepared abundantly before his death."

The Characteristics of the Wicked- In Titus 1:6 we see two prevalent characteristics of undisciplined children, which Paul describes as "riotous and unruly." Such children live in a riotous manner and they are full of rebellion.

Titus 1:6, "If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly."

Paul lists these two vices as the characteristics of children who have no fear of God or reverence for their parents. Also, the book of Proverbs deals with these two topics in the opening passage. Proverbs 1:10-19 deals with riotous living and Proverbs 1:20-33 deals with rebellion. This peer pressure towards a riotous lifestyle and then rebellion are two common experiences that young people have to deal with. A riotous lifestyle develops into a heart of rebellion. At first, it appears a fun and games, but then the heart of that young person has to justify himself against his better conscious. This is when he hardens his heart in order to continue such a lifestyle, or he must repent and follow his conscious. These court guardians were very likely to have instructed these young men about these very same issues.

Verses 10-19

The Call of the Wicked- On this journey there are always two voices pulling at our ears, the voice of the fool and the voice of wisdom. As Christians, we can describe these two voices as the outward voice of Prayer of Manasseh , and the inward voice of our conscience and the Holy Spirit. Even from a child, as we are learning to obey our parents ( Proverbs 1:8-9), there are foolish children clinging to us with enticements to follow them.

In contrast to the call of wisdom to pursue its virtues ( Proverbs 1:20-33), the call of the fool is greedy for gain, "So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain"( Proverbs 1:19). This passage is a warning against greed, or covetousness. The sinner's goal is not to benefit those who answer his call. Rather, his goal is for personal gain. Out of the abundance of his mouth the sinner speaks and reveals his objective, that of personal gain.

The Tempter himself, Satan, enticed Jesus with these same words ( Luke 4:6-7).

Luke 4:6-7, "And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine."

Peter tells us in his second epistle that the world has been made corrupt through the lust that dwells within the heart of a fallen humanity.

James writes in his epistle that the spirit that dwells within man "lusts to envy."

Thus, the voice of the wicked can be recognized by its vices that are manifestations of manipulation ( Proverbs 1:10), cruelty ( Proverbs 1:11-12) and a greedy heart ( Proverbs 1:13-14):

1. He entices and manipulates ( Proverbs 1:10)

2. He wants to do things his way ( Proverbs 1:11)

3. He wants secrecy and not openness ( Proverbs 1:11)

4. He pursues injustice ( Proverbs 1:11)

5. He speaks of taking and not giving, of death and not life ( Proverbs 1:12)

6. He pursues earthly things rather than Godly virtues ( Proverbs 1:13)

7. They make promises of which they have no intent to deliver ( Proverbs 1:14)

When someone yields to the enticing voice of the sinner, we would say today, "He got in with the wrong crowd!" Why would a sinner be interested in befriending someone? Remember that even a sinner cannot succeed in this life without relationships with others. Although these relationships are short-term and much abused by the sinner, he still must pursue them in order to reach his greedy desires. Therefore, he is out hunting for someone to entice and in the end to simply for his own selfish gain.

Now such a corrupt person lacks the ability to sustain a relationship with someone else over a long period of time. Once this relationship requires that they give and submit on their part, once it requires a sacrifice and a loss, they are compelled to end this relationship and seek a new one; for their purpose is personal gain and not the well-being of others. They may give a little up front to make you think that this is a giving relationship, but it is all for show to manipulate others. The owner of the nightclubs does not care about your well-being. The tobacco companies do not want you to know that cigarettes cause cancer and kill their victims. They simply want your substance, and they laugh all of the way to the bank while destroying the lives of their victims.

Today, I am amused by the many voices of the enticer. I used to be confused before I renewed my mind with the Word of God. This was because this voice of enticement lured me, it attracted me and grabbed my interest, and my unrenewed mind thought that there was some truth and relevance to those words. Now, I can discern between the voice of wisdom and the words of enticement much better, and it now amuses me to see how foolish the world is to yield to such messages.

A fool perceives earthly possessions as being "precious" because he is blind to the value of true wisdom. In contrast, God says in the book of James that this "precious substance" will become "corrupted treasures" that shall be a witness against the owners on Judgment Day ( James 5:1-3). Yet, these evil men will hazard their very lives, and some of them will lose their lives, for what they perceive as precious substance. Everything that we possess originates from the dirt; our clothes, the homes we live in and the cars we drive, everything. It all is made of the dirt that we walk on, but in the deception of their hearts, they call it "precious."

These enticers propose greedy gain in order to entice their victim, but, little do they know how God"s divine laws of justice will quickly diminish this spoil ( Proverbs 13:11). The first proverb given in this book ( Proverbs 10:2-3) will deal with this issue.

Such traps are strongholds of sin that bind a person in its trap until it brings death. Only the table of blessings that is offered by wisdom can let a man free. This table of blessings includes the bread and the wine that represent the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the phrase "they lurk privily for their own lives," wisdom uses the enticer's method of lurking privily for the innocent to describe his method of destruction, so that he reaps his own judgment ( Proverbs 1:11).

James said it this way in his epistle:

On the Day of Judgment, the very riches that they have stolen will be used to eat their flesh as fire. The greater the riches, the greater the fire of judgment.

Verses 20-23

The Call of Wisdom - Proverbs 1:20-33 gives us the call of wisdom. Keep in mind that the book of Proverbs is written both to the simple and to the wise, both to the sinner and to the child of God. Wisdom not only calls us to salvation, but wisdom keeps calling in order to keep us on the path of salvation.

The very tone of Proverbs 1:20-33 reveals God's love and patience to a disobedient people. God takes every opportunity to speak openly to His people ( Proverbs 1:20-21). This is because it is not His desire to bring judgment ( Proverbs 1:22-23), so He gives people an opportunity and time to repent ( Proverbs 1:25). When He does bring judgment, as upon Sodom and Gomorrah, it was not without prior warnings ( Proverbs 1:25-33). When this divine judgment comes, it then serves as an example so others will not follow the same rebellious path.

Therefore, God pronounces the crime ( Proverbs 1:24-25 and Proverbs 1:30) twice. Then He declares the judgment twice ( Proverbs 1:26-27 and Proverbs 1:31-32). He states that this judgment will be sure and without mercy ( Proverbs 1:28).

Matthew Henry notes that the plural form of this rare verb is used in Proverbs 1:20, which denotes the infinite wisdom of God, as well as His manifold wisdom ( Ephesians 3:10). 54] We hear wisdom in the streets, where we see common men display their manifold characters ( Proverbs 1:20). Wisdom is displayed in the noisy conversations of people ( Proverbs 1:21 a), in the civil laws of our government ( Proverbs 1:21 b) and in the daily business transactions ( Proverbs 1:21 c). Thus, wisdom can be found anywhere if we will just listen, in the private, government and business sectors of any society.

54] Matthew Henry, Proverbs , in Matthew Henry"s Commentary on the Whole Bible, New Modern Edition, Electronic Database (Seattle, WA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc, 1991), in P.C. Study Bible, v 31 [CD-ROM] (Seattle, WA: Biblesoft Inc, 1993-2000), notes on Proverbs 1:20-33.

Ephesians 3:10, "To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,"

God spoke to His people on many occasions and in divers ways ( Hebrews 1:1). He spoke to the patriarchs by dreams. He spoke to Moses face to face. He spoke to the nation of Israel from a fiery mountain and then by the written Law. He then spoke to them by His prophets and by divine judgment when they ignored His prophets. He spoke through the Psalm and by proverbs and by parables. He spoke by signs and wonders. He spoke to Balaam by the mouth of a donkey. Finally, He spoke to His people and to us by the recorded history in Scripture. In every way manner God speaks to His people because of His great love for us.

In wisdom there is no darkness. Rather, wisdom's cry in the open places and in the streets tells us that everyone one has access to the voice of wisdom. These verses teach us that wisdom has cried out to all of us and made itself available to everyone, even the most simple. There is no ear of mankind that has not heard this call. Jesus said, "many are called, but few are chosen". In other words, many people will hear the call of God, but few will choose to pursue Him.

Note that Proverbs 1:21 restates Proverbs 1:20. They literally say the same thing, which is that wisdom does not hid in the dark, but walks unashamedly in the light. One reason for this double statement is that a matter or a truth is confirmed in the mouth of two or three witnesses. Here we have a double testimony of the openness with which wisdom walks. Another example of this double statement is found in Galatians when Paul places a curse upon anyone who preaches contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Galatians 1:8-9, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed."

Wisdom cries publicly with no reason to hide. God never spoke to His people Israel in secret.

Neither did Jesus Christ hide His wisdom from the public.

Jesus Christ also tells us to proclaim the wisdom of the Gospel openly.

As Jesus taught openly in the Temple, so does wisdom cry in the hearing of all the people. People of wisdom have the freedom to speak openly. Wicked people have to speak in the dark in order to hide their wicked deeds. Contrast the hidden secrets of the wicked with the openness of divine wisdom.

Wisdom cries out in the busiest places in society. She cries out in the crowded streets. She lifts up her voice in the major places where people meet and in the gates of the city. This is because wisdom speaks through other people and because it touches every aspect of our lives and every place we go. It speaks through situations around you. Life itself becomes a classroom, and wisdom is the teacher. Thus, in the book of Proverbs , we are shown different types of people in order to learn divine wisdom. Listen, and you will hear.

Wisdom is also seen in public places because it is available for all. In other words, it is not exclusive to the well-educated. There are many people who could not get a good education as a youth. Yet, they became successful in life because they learned much wisdom.

Wisdom invites people to feast on her riches, which are listed in Proverbs 9:1-6. Those riches are bread and wine. We know that this ultimately is a reference to the sacrificial crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ, when He gave his body and shed His blood on Calvary.

Also, God also stretched out his hands continually to a backslidden nation during the time of Isaiah before He finally destroyed it.

Verses 24-33