Chapter 20
Proverbs
Christ the Wisdom of
God
The Poetic Books
set before us essential and blessed aspects of life in Christ as it is
experienced by God’s saints in this world. Job displays the necessity of
self-denial, of dying to self that we may live unto God. The Psalms set before
us the blessedness of worshipping our God in resurrection life. Ecclesiastes
displays the utter vanity of all earthly things, the complete inability of
finding satisfaction for our souls in this perishing world of woe. The Song of
Solomon displays Christ as that One in whom alone our souls find satisfaction.
Lamentations teaches us to set our hearts upon our God and Savior, finding
contentment and satisfaction in him.
Proverbs shows us the blessed wisdom of faith in Christ, wisdom with
which to live for God’s glory in this present evil world. The first nine
chapters of this Book are instructions by Solomon to his son, a series of
parental admonitions to his son to seek wisdom and shun folly; but there is
more here than Solomon’s instructions to his son. In this Book, we have before
us God’s instructions to his sons and daughters, teaching us to seek wisdom and
shun folly. In the remaining chapters (10-31), we are given 374 proverbs that
touch every phase of life in this world.
Purpose
The purpose of this Book is set before
us in the opening verses of chapter one. "The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king
of Israel; To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of
understanding; To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and
equity; To give subtlety to the simple, to the young man knowledge and
discretion. A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of
understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: To understand a proverb, and the
interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings" (1:1-6).
Wisdom
The Key to the Book is found in verse
seven. Here we are told plainly what wisdom is. —"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom
and instruction." There are many books written
by men to teach wisdom. The thing that sets this Book apart from all others is
that it does not teach us about wisdom. It teaches us wisdom. It teaches and
reveals Christ who is Wisdom. That distinguishes this book from all of the
wisdom literature of the world. There is no wisdom without truth; and there can
be no discovery of truth apart from revelation, the revelation of Christ who is
the Truth and the Wisdom of God. All the philosophical wisdom of the world (all
of it) is utter foolishness, because “there is no fear of God before their
eyes'' (Rom. 3:18; 1 Cor. 1:17-25).
Christ is
Wisdom. He alone is Wisdom. He alone can make us wise. That is the message of
this inspired Book of Wisdom. In chapter eight, wisdom is personified. It is
obvious that the personification of wisdom spoken of in that chapter is Christ.
"I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty
inventions…Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have
strength. By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. By me princes rule,
and nobles, even all the judges of the earth. I love them that love me; and
those that seek me early shall find me. Riches and honour are with me; yea,
durable riches and righteousness…For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall
obtain favour of the LORD" (vv. 12, 14-18, 35).
Christ is the Wisdom spoken
of and speaking throughout these thirty-one chapters. This is not a book about
moral philosophy. The Book of Proverbs is a Book about Christ the Wisdom of God
and the Truth of God. James said, ''If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of
God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given
him'' (James. 1:5). The apostle Paul tells us, ''But unto them who are called,
both Jews and Greeks, Christ (is) the power of God, and the
wisdom of God'' (1 Cor. 1:24). In 1 Corinthians 1:30 we read, ''But of Him are
ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom.''
This Book
teaches us that the Lord Jesus Christ, our incarnate God, our crucified
Substitute, our risen and exalted Lord, our omnipotent Savior is the very
wisdom of God. “In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths”
(Pro. 3:6).
A Comparison
Compare what is written in the Book of
Proverbs about wisdom and what is written elsewhere in the Book of God about
Christ, and you will see clearly that the Wisdom spoken of here is a person,
not an attribute, and that that person is our Lord Jesus Christ.
·
"Wisdom
crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets…Turn you at my reproof:
behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto
you" (1:20, 23). —"And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be
converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom
of heaven" (Matt. 18:3)
·
"But
whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of
evil" (1:33). —"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28)
·
"If
thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures"
(2:4)—"In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge"
(Col. 2:3).
·
"Doth
not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice?…Unto you, O men, I call;
and my voice is to the sons of man" (8:1, 4).—"In the last day, that
great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let
him come unto me, and drink" (John 7:37).
·
"O
ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding
heart" (8:5). —"In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I
thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things
from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father;
for so it seemed good in thy sight" (Luke 10:21).
·
"Hear;
for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right
things" (8:6). —"And all bare him witness, and wondered at the
gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this
Joseph's son?" (Luke 4:22).
·
"Counsel
is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength" (8:14).
—"But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom,
and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption" (1 Cor. 1:30).
·
"I
love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me"
(8:17). —"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but
Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the
faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Gal.
2:20). "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock,
and it shall be opened unto you" (Matt. 7:7).
·
"I
lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment"
(8:20). —"He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of
righteousness for his name's sake" (Ps. 23:3).
·
"The
LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old"
(8:22). —"And he is before all things, and by him all things consist"
(Col. 1:17).
·
"I
was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was" (8:23).
—"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God" (John 1:1).
·
"When
he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of
the depth" (8:27). —"All things were made by him; and without him was
not any thing made that was made" (John 1:3).
·
"Then
I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight,
rejoicing always before him" (8:30). —"Hath in these last days spoken
unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he
made the worlds" (Heb. 1:2). "And the Holy Ghost descended in a
bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said,
Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased" (Luke 3:22).
"Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where
I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst
me before the foundation of the world" (John 17:24).
·
"Now
therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways"
(8:32). —"If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I
have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love" (John 15:10).
·
"For
whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD"
(8:35). —"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath
everlasting life" (John 6:47).
·
"Come,
eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled" (9:5).
—"And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me
shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst" (John
6:35).
Faith in Christ
If you would be wise read Proverbs 30 and learn wisdom. The only true
wisdom man has is the wisdom of faith, faith in Christ. The man speaking here
is Agur, the son of Jakeh. He tells us in verse one that what he is declaring
is prophetic. Specifically, it is prophetic of Christ and faith in him.
Wisdom begins with (faith begins with) a confession of our utter
helplessness, unworthiness, and ignorance as fallen, sinful creatures before
God. —"Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the
understanding of a man" (30:2).
This is the cry
of repentance and faith, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” If we are to walk in
the path of wisdom, we must acknowledge our own guilt and weakness. Agur goes
on to declare, in verse 3, that he has no knowledge of God, no wisdom, no
understanding of God. —"I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the
holy." The fact is, we will never know God, we
will never know Christ, until we are convinced that we don’t.
This wisdom, the
knowledge of God, which is eternal life (John 17:3), comes by divine
revelation. “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is
written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness” (1 Cor. 3:19). Even the
Greek philosophers could not answer man's quest for the true meaning of life.
The best the philosophers on Mars Hill could do was to erect an altar to ''the
unknown God'' (Acts 17:23). We cannot by searching find out God. We will come
to know him only when he reveals his Son in us, as he did with Saul of Tarsus
(Gal. 1:15).
Faith sees, acknowledges, confesses, trusts, and worships the risen,
exalted Christ (30:4). Overwhelmed by the thought of God's greatness and power
revealed in Christ (the crucified, risen Savior), and by the infinite distance
separating man and God, Agur asked a series of penetrating questions.
—"Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind
in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all
the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou
canst tell?"
God graciously forced Job to face and deal with these same questions,
laying him in the dust before him. —"Where wast thou when I laid the
foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath
laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon
it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the
corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all the
sons of God shouted for joy?" (Job 38:4-7).
Agur is talking
about Christ, the Son of God. Verse 4 ends with a tremendous question: “What is
His name, and what is His Son's name, if thou canst tell?” God has a Son! “In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”
(John 1:1). Isaiah would prophesy, “'For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son
is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be
called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince
of Peace” (Isa. 9:6).
The Lord Jesus Christ, God
the Son, that One in whom alone the triune God is revealed (John 1:18) is the
One of whom the passage is speaking. Christ descended from heaven to save his
people from their sins. This same Christ is God the Creator and Ruler of all
things, who upholds all things by the Word of his power. He bound the wind in
his fists and holds the waters as in a garment. It is he who established the
ends of the earth. I did not draw this interpretation of Agur’s words out of my
hat. This is precisely what Paul tells us as he sets before us the essence of
saving faith (Rom. 10:6-13).
Blessed is that
person whom the Lord God graciously humbles before him as he did Job, Agu, and
Saul of Tarsus. Such humiliation comes only when Christ is revealed, when he is
made to see the glory of God shining in the face of Jesus Christ.
That faith that God gives to and works in the hearts of men comes from
and rests entirely upon the pure Word of God. Taking Christ, as he is revealed
in Holy Scripture, as our Shield and Refuge, we have peace with God.
—"Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust
in him" (30:5). "Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one
of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever" (Ps. 119:160). "Thou
wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he
trusteth in thee" (Isa. 26:3).
True
wisdom, this wisdom that comes from Christ who is the Wisdom of God, bows to
the revelation and authority of Holy Scripture, the Word of God. —"Add
thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar"
(30:6). "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good
works" (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
Christ In Proverbs
The
Book of Proverbs, the Book of Wisdom, is all about Christ. He is to be seen
everywhere in the Book. It is Christ who calls sinners to repentance, promising
grace to all who come to him and warning rebels of the destruction they bring
upon themselves by their rebellion and unbelief (1:20-33; 29:1). When Christ
enters our hearts, the knowledge he gives is pleasant to our souls. He gives us
understanding and protection from all evil (2:10-17). Christ is our Surety who
snared himself with the words of his mouth (6:1-2).
Christ who is our Wisdom warns us to
avoid “the strange woman” (ch. 7). The harlot here spoken of is not merely the
common prostitute. This harlot allures her victims upon the basis of her
religious devotion (vv. 14-15). She has, by her much fair speech and flattering
words, enticed many and cast many strong men into hell. “Her house is the way
to hell” (v. 27). This harlot is the same old whore described in Revelation 17
and 18. She represents all false religion, all freewill, works religion.
Christ is that One called
“Wisdom” (ch. 8) by whom kings reign and princes decree justice, in whom are
hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, who leads in the way of
righteousness, who causes us to inherit the treasures of boundless grace, who,
being set up from everlasting, stood and spoke as our Wisdom in covenant grace
before the world began. Christ is that One called “Wisdom” who has built his
house from hewn stones upon seven pillars of grace with the sacrifices of God
(ch. 9). Christ is that One called “Wisdom” who teaches his people how to live
in this world for the glory of God in every relationship and experience (chaps.
10-29). The fear of God (faith in Christ) is the
source and beginning of all true wisdom and knowledge in every relationship and
walk of life.
Christ is that One called
“Wisdom” who teaches us and convinces us of divine truth, for he is the Truth.
He shows us that our God is the absolute sovereign of the universe. He who made
all things for himself rules all things, including the hearts, tongues, and ways
of all men, for his own glory! (6:1-4). Even the king’s heart is in his hand,
absolutely controlled by him (21:1). It is only in and by Christ that we are
made to see how God can be both “a just God and a Savior” (Isa. 45:20), purging
iniquity “by mercy and truth” (Pro. 16:6). There is no other way whereby the
holy, just, and true God can forgive sin, except by the sacrifice of his
darling Son, making him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made
the righteousness of God in him (Pro. 17:15; 2 Cor. 5:21).
In
chapter 31, king Lemuel gives us a prophecy taught to him by his mother. This
king Lemuel, whose name means “to God,” is commonly thought to be Solomon, and
that Lemuel was a name by which his mother, Bathsheba, called him. The prophecy
is given to attract our hearts to and teach us to a singular virtuous woman,
“for her price is above rubies” (v. 10), whose “husband is known in the gates”
(v. 23). But the description of this virtuous woman “is drawn up to such a
pitch, and wrote in such strong lines, as cannot agree with any of the
daughters of fallen Adam, literally understood” (John Gill). This virtuous
woman is the church of God. Her husband is Christ himself. She is set before us
in direct contrast to the harlot of Babylon described in chapter 7.
Christ, who is Wisdom, calls for us to trust our God
in all things, giving him our hearts. "Trust in the LORD with all thine
heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge
him, and he shall direct thy paths" (Pro. 3:5-6). "My son, give me
thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways" (23:26). "Keep thy
heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (4:23).
Let us be wise, like the coney, and take refuge in Christ, the Rock of
Salvation. —"The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses
in the rocks" (30:26). The conies are “an emblem of the people of God, who
are a weak and feeble people, unable of themselves to perform spiritual duties,
to exercise grace, to withstand the corruptions of their nature, resist the
temptations of Satan, bear up under afflictive providences, and grapple with
spiritual enemies, or defend themselves from them: but such heavenly wisdom is
given them, as to betake themselves for refuge and shelter to Christ, the Rock
of Israel; the Rock of salvation, the Rock that is higher than they; a strong
one, on which the church is built, and against which the gates of hell cannot
prevail: and here they are safe from the storms of divine wrath, and the
avenging justice of God; from the rage and fury of men, and the fiery darts of
Satan; here they dwell safely and delightfully, and have all manner of
provision at hand for them; they are the inhabitants of that Rock, who have
reason to sing indeed!” (John Gill)
It is written, with regard to all who trust Christ, all who take refuge
in the Rock of Israel, "He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall
be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be
sure" (Isa. 33:16). "Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift
up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of
the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains" (Isa. 42:11).
Do no play the part of the hypocritical spider. —"The spider
taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces" (30:28). Gill
suggests that the spider here represents hypocrites, “whose hope and trust are
as the spider’s web, built upon their own righteousness, spun out of their own
hearts; a fine, thin, slender thread, which cannot bear one stroke of the besom
(broom) of divine justice. Such as these are in the palaces of Christ the King,
in his churches, hypocrites in Zion.” "So are the paths of all that forget
God; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish: Whose hope shall be cut off, and
whose trust shall be a spider's web" (Job 8:13-14).