Pro 1:2-4 | KingComments | STEP | In Solomon makes clear what the multiple purpose of this book is. To do this, he uses nine words in these verses that recur throughout the book: 1. Wisdom (Hebrew hokma ): to fathom the nature of things and situations, through which one is able to make good choices. 2. Instruction (Hebrew musar ): teaching / education through correction, warning and discipline. 3. Understanding (Hebrew bina ): the ability to apply what you understand by distinguishing between good and evil, making healthy and making sick, truth and lie. 4. Righteousness (Hebrew tsedek ): the right conduct (refers to acting and thinking). 5. Justice (Hebrew mishpat ): what is right according to the standard and the Being of God. 6. Equity (Hebrew meyshar ): the skill to act according to honor and virtue, according to what is appropriate to the situation. 7. Prudence (Hebrew orma ): the skill to see in others what it is all about. 8. Knowledge (Hebrew da’at ): sound information gained through experience. 9. Discretion (Hebrew mezimma ): the ability to act cautiously, thoughtfully with policy and tact. First and foremost, it is about “knowing wisdom and instruction”. Wisdom and instruction are joined together as a unit. The original meaning of wisdom is ‘ability’ or ‘skill’ ( ; ; ). In Proverbs wisdom means the ability to live as God wants. It is the ability to make wise choices and to live successfully after the commandments of God. It is about success in the sense of blessing and advantage in our spiritual life. If we live skillfully in this way, our life will produce fruits of lasting value to God and to the community of which we are a part. All God’s ordinances are simple. If we live by them, ‘success’ is assured. Wisdom is to master the art of living, but as it is according to the will of God. The art is not only that the wise man recognizes the dangers of life, but also that he knows how to overcome these dangers. Wisdom is looking and seeing as God looks and sees. It is looking at how He governs the world, and responding to that governance appropriately. Instruction is inseparable from wisdom. It implies teaching, or – in a broader sense – education, or training. It contains the teachings of a father to his son. It also includes exhortation and punishment or discipline because the tendency to foolishness must be corrected and reverence for the LORD must be developed. As a result, the young man is directed in the right direction. Thus, authority is attached to instruction, for if he deviates he must be disciplined. The important thing is that wisdom and instruction “are known”, making them our property. It means we have to put effort into it. It does not come naturally. We must make effort to make wisdom and instruction our own. “Sayings of understanding” are words that make clear that a person has insight into the path to be chosen. They are sayings that show a person the right way. For these sayings to have the desired effect, the young man must “understand” them. For this reason, those sayings are explained. But the young man will not be helped by an explanation alone. He must understand the explanation also. Therefore he must possess the right mind. In summary, we may say that Solomon makes his words know and explains them, so that they may be understood. To benefit from his teaching, the young man must meet two conditions: he must be willing to make effort to know the wise words and he must be willing to understand them.

‏ Proverbs 1:2-4

To Know Wisdom and to Discern Sayings

In Pro 1:2-4 Solomon makes clear what the multiple purpose of this book is. To do this, he uses nine words in these verses that recur throughout the book:

1. Wisdom (Hebrew hokma): to fathom the nature of things and situations, through which one is able to make good choices.

2. Instruction (Hebrew musar): teaching / education through correction, warning and discipline.

3. Understanding (Hebrew bina): the ability to apply what you understand by distinguishing between good and evil, making healthy and making sick, truth and lie.

4. Righteousness (Hebrew tsedek): the right conduct (refers to acting and thinking).

5. Justice (Hebrew mishpat): what is right according to the standard and the Being of God.

6. Equity (Hebrew meyshar): the skill to act according to honor and virtue, according to what is appropriate to the situation.

7. Prudence (Hebrew orma): the skill to see in others what it is all about.

8. Knowledge (Hebrew da’at): sound information gained through experience.

9. Discretion (Hebrew mezimma): the ability to act cautiously, thoughtfully with policy and tact.

First and foremost, it is about “knowing wisdom and instruction”. Wisdom and instruction are joined together as a unit. The original meaning of wisdom is ‘ability’ or ‘skill’ (Exo 31:6; Psa 107:27; 1Kgs 3:28). In Proverbs wisdom means the ability to live as God wants. It is the ability to make wise choices and to live successfully after the commandments of God. It is about success in the sense of blessing and advantage in our spiritual life. If we live skillfully in this way, our life will produce fruits of lasting value to God and to the community of which we are a part. All God’s ordinances are simple. If we live by them, ‘success’ is assured.

Wisdom is to master the art of living, but as it is according to the will of God. The art is not only that the wise man recognizes the dangers of life, but also that he knows how to overcome these dangers. Wisdom is looking and seeing as God looks and sees. It is looking at how He governs the world, and responding to that governance appropriately.

Instruction is inseparable from wisdom. It implies teaching, or – in a broader sense – education, or training. It contains the teachings of a father to his son. It also includes exhortation and punishment or discipline because the tendency to foolishness must be corrected and reverence for the LORD must be developed. As a result, the young man is directed in the right direction. Thus, authority is attached to instruction, for if he deviates he must be disciplined.

The important thing is that wisdom and instruction “are known”, making them our property. It means we have to put effort into it. It does not come naturally. We must make effort to make wisdom and instruction our own.

“Sayings of understanding” are words that make clear that a person has insight into the path to be chosen. They are sayings that show a person the right way. For these sayings to have the desired effect, the young man must “understand” them. For this reason, those sayings are explained. But the young man will not be helped by an explanation alone. He must understand the explanation also. Therefore he must possess the right mind.

In summary, we may say that Solomon makes his words know and explains them, so that they may be understood. To benefit from his teaching, the young man must meet two conditions: he must be willing to make effort to know the wise words and he must be willing to understand them.

To Receive Instruction

The teaching of Solomon has the purpose to make his son, and us, wise, which will lead us to make the right choices in our life. He teaches an “instruction in wise behavior”. The wisdom teacher holds out to his son an instruction that offers insight into how life should be lived. It is a ‘manual’ for life.

By presenting it in this way, he wants to lead his son, and us, to accept his instruction. It would be very stupid to refuse or ignore his ‘manual’ for life. The word ‘receive’ has to do with submission to the instruction or teaching, with the thought that what is being offered is worth accepting.

By nature, we want to determine our own life and are not inclined to submit. So it is necessary for us to submit in order to gain insight into life. However, we are not forced to accept the instruction, but invited to so, though emphatically and insistently. The father emphatically gives orders and the son would be wise to obey them, but he must make the choice himself whether he wants to.

No one requires us to read the manual that comes with a device before using it, but it is still urgently recommended. It can cost us a lot of money if we start using the device without having read the manual. That certainly goes for this manual for life, of course. The invitation expressed in this verse is that we accept the contents of this book and apply them in our lives.

“Wise behavior” means using our minds enlightened by God’s Word to think through certain matters, make plans and assess risks in order to then make the right choice between good and evil. If we receive this instruction, we will also consider in our actions

1. “righteousness”, meaning acting according to the proper norm or standard, as is done, for example, with weights and measures to measure and weigh something correctly (Deu 25:15); it means acting in accordance with God’s law;

2. “justice”, meaning acting as a result of and in accordance with an official, judicial verdict (Deu 16:18-19), doing what is appropriate;

3. “equity”, that is, acting in a way that is fair and pleasing to others and that we act sincerely.

Prudence, Knowledge and Discretion

In this verse Solomon mentions two kinds of people to whom he especially addresses his teaching and whose character he wants to shape by his teaching. If they heed his teaching, they will prosper spiritually. We may say that the book of Proverbs is the key to success. He who listens to it, that is, takes its teaching to heart, knows how to go his way, what is the wisest way. It is the way on which God can give His blessing.

The “naive” are the first kind. They are gullible, innocent, thoughtless, stupid. We must not identify them with the fools. The naive lives life as it comes to him. He cares about nothing and thinks about nothing. This means that he is easily tempted to go the wrong way.

The “youth”, or the young man, is the second kind. Because he is young, he lacks experience. He cannot know what life all is about and is therefore vulnerable and easy to be tempted to go the wrong way.

The naive and the youth or young man must come to fear God. Then He will teach them through this book about the way they should choose (Psa 25:12).

The wisdom teacher wants to give “prudence” to the naive through his teaching. Prudence is cleverness or shrewdness. If the naive uses the prudence given to him, he will know how to act cleverly. As a result, his choice brings no harm to himself, but on the contrary advantage (Pro 22:3). He will know how to avoid the pitfalls of life. If he does not listen the teaching of the wise, but engages with fools, he becomes a fool.

For the young man, the wisdom teacher has “knowledge and discretion” in mind. Because youth lacks knowledge of life, teaching is aimed at making him familiar with the secrets of life. Young people sometimes think they have a lot of knowledge, but it is only knowledge from books. They often talk like a headless chicken. They simply cannot yet know what life all is about. This lack is more than excellently met by the book of proverbs.

Once the lack of knowledge has been eliminated by taking to oneself the teaching of the contents of this book, it is then important to apply that knowledge in the right way and at the right time. Therefore, “discretion” is directly linked to knowledge here (cf. 2Pet 1:6a). Discretion is a sound mind, thoughtfulness or self-control. He who has a sound mind, thinks before he does or says anything. He will act or speak hastily, but wait for the right time.