Exalting Jesus in Proverbs

Jonathan Akin, Dr. Daniel L. Akin, David Platt, Tony Merida

• Publisher: Holman Reference
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9780805497663
• eBook ISBN: 9780805497670
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Commentary

Edited by David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida, this new commentary series, projected to be 48 volumes, takes a Christ- centered approach to expositing each book of the Bible.

Rather than a verse-by-verse approach, the authors have crafted chapters that explain and apply key passages in their assigned Bible books. Readers will learn to see Christ in all aspects of Scripture, and they will be encouraged by the devotional nature of each exposition.

Projected contributors to the series include notable authors such as Russell D. Moore, Al Mohler, Matt Chandler, Francis Chan, Mark Dever, and others.

Proverbs

Section 1—Selected Passages

Wisdom: A Person, Not Tips

Proverbs 1:1-7

Main Idea: A relationship with the Lord will make you wise for everyday life.

I. What Is Wisdom (1:1-6)?

A. Wisdom is royal (1:1).

B. Wisdom is correction and understanding (1:2).

C. Wisdom is the knowledge of good and evil (1:3).

D. Wisdom is discernment (1:4).

E. Wisdom is obtaining guidance (1:5-6).

II. How Do You Get Wisdom (1:7)?

A. You get wisdom by reverent trust in the Lord (1:7).

People desperately want to “win” at life. They want to succeed in everyday life, and Christians are no different. They search frantically for tips from books, from “experts” on TV talk shows, or in magazines. The problem is that many Christians look everywhere but the Bible to learn how to “win” at parenting, finances, marriage, the workplace, and other areas of life. They look to Dr. Phil or Oprah or Dear Abby or Delilah After Dark or Intelligence for Life by John Tesh. If you have to look to John Tesh for intelligence on life, you’re in trouble!

Even Christians who want a “Christian” perspective on these topics are more likely to look to a Christian book than to the Book—the Bible! So often we don’t want the Word. Instead, we want practical tips and strategies that have been plucked from the world. Sure, we believe the Bible is God’s Word and it’s authoritative, but we somehow buy into the misconception that it doesn’t do a great job of addressing the nitty-gritty details of daily life. So Christians will do no more than skim the Word devotionally to get some helpful tips for their day. The philosophies of the world primarily shape and fashion their worldview.

However, the problem doesn’t stop there. The problem is that even if we do look to the Book, and even if we do somehow pull out some tips for how to live a better life, more often than not we don’t follow what we already know. Oftentimes we know what to do, but we can’t bring ourselves to do it. Think of how often we mess up. Think of the hurtful words you’ve said to a friend or your spouse or your parents. Think of the times you’ve said more than you should say. Think of the times you spoke too quickly and couldn’t get your words back. Think about the time someone confronted you with something you needed to hear, and in anger you blew them off with, “Who do you think you are?!” Think about the times you should’ve lovingly confronted someone and didn’t. Think about that person whose feelings you hurt. Think about that lie you desperately hope your parents won’t find out or your boyfriend won’t find out or your wife won’t find out. Think about those things you keep hidden from your parents. Think about that time you screamed, “I hate you!” to your mom. Think about that secret that you just couldn’t keep to yourself, and in a moment of supposed confidential privacy you whispered in someone’s ear, “Well, did you hear what happened to . . . ?” Think about the times you’ve bragged about yourself so others would think you’re something. Think about the mistakes you’ve made with your children. Think about the times you didn’t discipline a behavior that has now gotten out of hand. Think about the times your children saw you do something you had told them not to do or heard you say something you told them not to say. Think about that grudge you’ve held and refused to let go because someone really hurt you. Think about the times you’ve been stingy with your money instead of generous to a person with a real need. Think about the frivolous spending that got you in trouble. Think about the get-rich-quick scheme that ruined you. Think about the times you didn’t finish your job assignment on time because you got sidetracked by Facebook. Think about the people you’re jealous of because they got the promotion that passed you by. Think about the times you’ve nagged or ignored helping your spouse. Think about how you repeat the same stupid mistake over and over and don’t learn from it. On and on and on we could go.

What does all of this tell us? It tells us that we have a major problem that no amount of tips will solve. It tells us that we are not wise and are often foolish. It tells us that we are broken and don’t work right. It tells us that we are in desperate need of wisdom to make decisions and navigate our way through life. But we can’t just say that we need wisdom and then go after it. Since we are broken, we don’t even follow the wisdom we already know. We do things we know are hurtful and foolish. We just can’t help ourselves.

The Bible says at creation there was perfect harmony between people and God, between people themselves, and between people and the world around them (Gen 1–2). There was an order to things. Human sin—the fall—broke all of that because people sought knowledge and wisdom apart from God (Gen 3). That messed everything up. Once a man’s vertical relationship with God was out of whack, so were his horizontal relationships with other people and the world around him. Are we really surprised that the first murder in history (Gen 4) followed soon after the fall of humanity?

Because of sin, there are barriers now between us and God, between us and others, and between us and the world around us. We no longer rightly perceive the way the world works—we no longer recognize the order—so we can’t navigate through daily life. God created the world with an order to work in a certain way, and we must live according to that to be truly wise; but in our brokenness we don’t see it.

Proverbs is all about restoring that harmony through Jesus Christ. Proverbs is all about becoming wise in everyday life through a relationship with Jesus—through the gospel. It’s about the life of the kingdom that God always meant for humankind to live. When our vertical relationship with God is right through Jesus, we can be right with others and the world around us.

What Is Wisdom?

Proverbs 1:1-6

Proverbs chapters 1–9 are the introduction to the book. It’s a long introduction—like most preachers’ sermons. Proverbs 1:1-7 is the preamble, the introduction to the introduction. This section tells us what the book is about and the book’s purpose. These are the “proverbs” (v. 1). The proverbs proper are the sentences of wisdom found in the book. Primarily what we think of when we think of “proverbs” are the short, pithy sayings contained in chapters 10–31. Proverbs 1–9 sets those up and shows us how to interpret them. This word for “proverbs” in verse 1 of the LXX (the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament) is a word sometimes used for the parables of Jesus (e.g., John 10:6). Indeed, Jesus is the one “Greater than Solomon” who instructs us in the wisdom of the kingdom.

These are the proverbs “of Solomon” (v. 1). Solomon is the main author of Proverbs, which means that he is responsible for the majority of it. There are other authors like Agur and King Lemuel, but it should be no shock that Solomon is the main author. Solomon was the wisest man in Israel’s history because the Lord granted him a wish for wisdom (1 Kgs 3). First Kings 4:30-34 states,

Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone. . . . His reputation extended to all the surrounding nations.

Solomon spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs numbered 1,005. He spoke about trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing out of the wall. He also spoke about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. Emissaries of all peoples, sent by every king on earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom.

There are basically seven divisions in the book of Proverbs: (1) The Introduction (1:1–9:18); (2) Solomon’s Proverbs (10:1–22:16); (3) The Sayings of the Wise (22:17–24:22); (4) Further Sayings of the Wise (24:23-34); (5) Solomon’s Proverbs Collected by Hezekiah’s Men (25:1–29:27); (6) The Sayings of Agur (30:1-33); and (7) The Sayings of King Lemuel (31:1-31) (Waltke, Proverbs, Chapters 15–31, 4).

Here, in the “introduction to the introduction,” Solomon tells us what wisdom is.

Wisdom Is Royal (1:1)

These are the proverbs of Solomon, “son of David, king of Israel.” Wisdom is royal because it’s how kings rule their people. In 1 Kings 3:9 Solomon asks God for wisdom, which was for him the ability to rule well as king of Israel. He says, “So give your servant a receptive heart to judge your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of yours?” And in Proverbs 8:15-16 Wisdom states, “It is by me that kings reign and rulers enact just law; by me, princes lead, as do nobles and all righteous judges.” Immediately Proverbs connects wisdom with the kingship and with the Messiah. “Son of David” is a messianic title. The Son of David will establish God’s eternal kingdom on earth, but he can only do it through wisdom—through justice (see 2 Sam 7; Isa 11). In Proverbs, Solomon is training his “son” in wisdom so that he can establish the messianic kingdom. As we will see, he is also instructing the youth of the nation in wisdom in hopes of producing it in them as well. But the king embodies the nation and represents the nation. If the king is wise, the people will be wise; but if the king is unwise, the people will be foolish. There is a need for a wise king who can produce a wise nation—a wise kingdom. Throughout Israel’s history the foolishness of the kings led to the difficulties and ultimately the destruction of the kingdom. The kings were fools, so the people were fools. As a result, t...

Table of contents

• Acknowledgments
• Series Introduction
• Section 1—Selected Passages
• Section 2—Riddle Me This: Unlocking the Difficult Proverbs
• Section 3—Family Relationships
• Section 4—Sticks and Stones: The Power of Words
• Section 5—Seven: The Deadly Follies
• Works Cited
• Scripture Index