The key to the book of Proverbs

 

Proverbs is one of my favorite books in the Bible.

"Proverbs" refers to short, pithy sayings that express general truths or practical precepts. The book of Proverbs is divinely inspired wisdom meant to guide moral and ethical behavior. Much of Proverbs is common sense.  What makes proverbs unique is that the wisdom taught in Proverbs is God-centered, about handling one’s affairs in God’s world, and in submission to His will.  

I want talk about the motto of the book of Proverbs, the key to the whole book.

What is a motto?  A motto is a short sentence or phrase that expresses a belief, purpose, or guiding principle.

The motto of the book of Proverbs, is found in chapter 1 verse 7.  

And it says:  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,

The fear of the Lord: means a worshiping submission to the covenant God.  The fear of the Lord also means an affectionate reverence that results in bowing to the Father’s will.  The fear of the lord also means that we desire not to sin because of the great love of God and also the wrath of God against sin.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,

The beginning means the first thing, the controlling principle, the foundation.  The beginning does not mean a stage you leave behind.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge means there isn’t just a right way to think but a right way to relate to God in what you think, and, what you think comes out of what you know, and what you know plays out in how you live.  

We must live in a horizontal attitude towards God and vertical plane with living at the same time.

Proverbs teaches us that true knowledge is a relationship with God dependent on revelation from Him that is inseparable from character development.

All the knowledge that Proverbs teaches us is learned through and by fearing the Lord which means living a life of reverent worship in relation to the Lord who we are in covenant with.

Because the key to the whole book is the fear of the Lord, that means that faith and faithfulness is required to learn wisdom, knowledge and common sense revealed by God.  Proverbs teaches us to come under and live in God’s righteous order for our lives and find success and happiness there. Proverbs teaches walking with God first and then having that relationship affect all aspects of our lives, especially how we relate to other people.

In other words, we bring our relationship with God into every aspect of our lives.  This develops our character in godliness and causes us to be Christlike.  Children of God should resemble their father.

Proverbs teaches us how to live our lives as 24-7 worshipers living in covenant with God.

Because the overriding foundation for living is reverential fear of God the Lord who we walk with in a covenant relationship through our lives, morality or moral considerations always take precedence.  

Proverbs teaches us both about doing the right thing, and how to get ahead or be successful.  But whenever getting ahead or becoming successful clashes with morality, Proverbs teaches us to take the path of morality.

Proverbs teaches that being good is a prerequisite for being or becoming wise.

Being good and being wise always go together in Proverbs.

Proverbs teaches us that godliness and wisdom must go together.

Who is the God, who is the Lord in the book of Proverbs?  God or the Lord is mentioned about 100 times in Proverbs and 88 times the Hebrew word is Yahweh, the covenant name for God.  

This tells us that the book of Proverbs is written to the covenant people of God.  And the God of the covenant people is God who reveals Himself and is personal.  And covenant people today are Christians, people born of God through Christ.

This is what a Topical Hebrew Lexicon says about the word Yahweh:

(YHWH) is the covenant name by which the God of Israel uniquely identifies Himself. Its first appearance is in Genesis 2:4, and it occurs more than 6,200 times throughout the Old Testament, saturating narratives, law, poetry, and prophecy. Whenever YHWH speaks or acts to preserve, judge, or bless His people, the text often uses this personal name rather than a generic title, stressing His intimate relationship with His covenant community.

What is a covenant and what is the covenant God offers to all people today?

The covenant is an unchangeable, divinely imposed legal agreement between God and man that stipulates the conditions of their relationship.  Even though this definition includes the word agreement, to illustrate that it is between persons and God, the words divinely imposed tell us that their is no negotiation on our part and that God sets the parameters of the agreement.  A covenant is not to be confused with the word contract or much less deal.  We are not equal partners with God. 

The first readers of Proverbs had the Old Covenant, but today we are under the New Covenant through Christ:  To come into this covenant, we must believe or have faith in Christ and to remain or continue in the covenant we must be obedient to God’s commands.  Genuine faith in Christ to enter the covenant will produce obedience to God through Christ.  The covenant we have with God is not like fire insurance.  The proof or evidence that we are in the covenant or that we are genuine Christians is that we are obedient to Christ.

Now that we know that Proverbs is written to God’s covenant people, we can understand that when Proverbs says in chapter 1, verse 7 that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, that it is saying that there’s more to it than just having respect for God.  It is about walking with God.

The book of Proverbs calls out to those who have made God their Lord and follow Him in their lives and teaches us how to be the people of God at home, at work, and in the marketplace.  It’s purpose is to teach us how to be godly in everyday life.  It is filled with training on how to serve the Lord in everyday life.

All of the Lord’s covenant people who are true Christians are invited to the Lord’s school of wisdom and knowledge, but it is up to each person how much they will learn there.  The Lord wants each one of us to know Him in our lives in everyday life, 24-7.  Knowing the Lord is the ultimate prize and goal in the life He has for us.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.  This means being in submission to His authority, to His majesty; for Christ is King.  This is our education.  As we search for wisdom, we find the prize of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord.

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Bibliography

Proverbs, Derek Kidner, 1964