What does Proverbs 1 teach us about wisdom?

Are you planning on joining me and others in the 2023 Proverbs Reading Challenge? We aspire to read a chapter of Proverbs each day this year! This will have specific benefits that I mentioned in a previous article.

Today, read Proverbs chapter 1, which provides a special kind of introduction to this book of wisdom.

Who Needs Proverbs?

“Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching” (verse 8).

Childhood is the classroom of our lives—it is a time full of instructions and lessons. It makes sense that the book of Proverbs, full of instructions and advice, starts out with a greeting to the author’s own son. However, we shouldn’t assume that Proverbs is mainly for children, as if it’s a book to focus on when you are young and then graduate from at a later date.

Rather, if we want to know what kind of people benefit from and need Proverbs, we should look ahead at the broader audience in verses 4 to 5:

to give prudence to the simple,

    knowledge and discretion to the youth—

Let the wise hear and increase in learning,

    and the one who understands obtain guidance,

Yes, Proverbs are for those of us who are young, and those of us who are “simple”—in need of training and knowledge. But Proverbs also greatly benefit those who have already lived and matured and acquired some wisdom. We are never too old for Proverbs. In fact, those who are wise—the ones we might expect to be writing the proverbs, are also described as benefitting from Proverbs. Studying and learning from Proverbs doesn’t indicate a lack of maturity. Even the wise will continue to learn from this book, being reminded of truth and even increasing in understanding.

However, there are some people who cannot benefit from Proverbs. We might assume that Proverbs was written for fools so that they could become wise, but Proverbs has a slightly different explanation:

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” (verse 7).

In reality, we have to come to Proverbs with a certain recognition of who God is: He is the one who created us and the one who has authority in our lives. He is the author of truth, the Great Teacher. Fools don’t recognize this, and they end up despising the very truth that will bring them life.

Ironically, the type of person we might initially think of as needing Proverbs—the fool—is a person who cannot benefit from them apart from a specific change in perspective.

Today, let’s run to God first, acknowledging Him as the King of all, and then we will be in a position to grow in wisdom, no matter what our age or maturity level.

Posted By: desireetalbert · In: Proverbs