The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7
The book immediately states the writer’s purpose and theme: he teaches the wisdom so the reader can develop a disciplined life, “doing what is right and just and fair. Speaking as a father, he warns against those who will try to detour his sons into sin and warns against ignoring his advice. He carefully identifies the nature of wisdom and lists its many benefits. Wisdom is foundational to existence, providing perspective on life.
1:4 The simple or “naïve” is young, inexperienced, and likely to make mistakes. The terms prudence and discretion include the harsh facts of life. A wise person has learned by experience how to distinguish what is true, praiseworthy, and good from what is false, shameful, and bad (12:1, 2).
4 To give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion–
1:5, 6 increase learning: No one finishes the study of wisdom; there is always more to learn. Verse 6 speaks of the lessons that a more mature person gains from the study of the Proverbs.
5 A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, 6 To understand a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles.
1:7 The fear of the Lord is the most basic ingredient in wisdom. All wisdom depends on knowledge of God and submission to His will. To know something but not to know God overturns the value of having knowledge in the first place. Fools have rejected the fear of the Lord. The term despise packs a strongly negative punch – not fearing God is the same as rejecting wisdom outright (see Dan. 11:32; John 17:3).
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
1:19 It takes away the life: These words conclude the story and introduce a theme that the following passages develop further: The study of wisdom is a matter of life and death.
19 So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; It takes away the life of its owners.
1:22-27 Wisdom addresses the simple ones, or “open ones,” the naïve. These are young people who have not yet made up their minds about life or the direction they will take. Wisdom ridicules those who reject her when they come to face the inevitable judgment of their foolishness (see Ps. 2:4). Yet Wisdom laughs with joy at God’s works and has delight in the people of God (8:30, 31).
22 “How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, And fools hate knowledge. 23 Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. 24 Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, 25 Because you disdained all my counsel, And would have none of my rebuke, 26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, 27 When your terror comes like a storm, And your destruction comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you.
1:28-33 I will not answer: When fools despise wisdom, they must face the results of their choice. Their hatred for wisdom arises out of a refusal to fear God. Verse 31, 32 pick up the theme of v. 19 from the parents’ instruction: Fools bring about their own destruction. Rejection of wisdom will slay them. This dismal warning ends with a promise of life to the few who will listen; they will find safety and ease.
28 “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. 29 Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the Lord, 30 They would have none of my counsel And despised my every rebuke. 31 Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, And be filled to the full with their own fancies. 32 For the turning away of the simple will slay them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them; 33 But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil.”
** I’m glad God is the one we need to fear and not the evildoers, not even Satan. Because intention of the one we are to fear toward us is good. Like Solomon to his sons or any parents to their children, God gives instructions of life to us so that each of us will be developed into a free and dignified human being. But God is to be feared as Jesus warns us. Many of us are fearful now because we feel that some invisible powers at be are tightening their noose around us. It’s very good to know that they are not to be feared.
But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him! Luke 12:5
1 1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: 2 To know wisdom and instruction, To perceive the words of understanding, 3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, Justice, judgment, and equity; 4 To give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion– 5 A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, 6 To understand a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles. 7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction. 8 My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother; 9 For they will be a graceful ornament on your head, And chains about your neck. 10 My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent. 11 If they say, “Come with us, Let us lie in wait to shed blood; Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause; 12 Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, [1] And whole, like those who go down to the Pit; 13 We shall find all kinds of precious possessions, We shall fill our houses with spoil; 14 Cast in your lot among us, Let us all have one purse”– 15 My son, do not walk in the way with them, Keep your foot from their path; 16 For their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed blood. 17 Surely, in vain the net is spread In the sight of any bird; 18 But they lie in wait for their own blood, They lurk secretly for their own lives. 19 So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; It takes away the life of its owners. 20 Wisdom calls aloud outside; She raises her voice in the open squares. 21 She cries out in the chief concourses, [2] At the openings of the gates in the city She speaks her words: 22 “How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, And fools hate knowledge. 23 Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. 24 Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, 25 Because you disdained all my counsel, And would have none of my rebuke, 26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, 27 When your terror comes like a storm, And your destruction comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you. 28 “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. 29 Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the Lord, 30 They would have none of my counsel And despised my every rebuke. 31 Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, And be filled to the full with their own fancies. 32 For the turning away of the simple will slay them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them; 33 But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil.”
