God To Us
“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not” (1 John 3:1). Therefore the high calling comes to us too. John continues, “… and every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” So we are going to need all that advice from God to “His sons” in the Proverbs if we are to purify ourselves.
The principles which we saw for Israel have a very personal application to us – the dangers of prosperity, the scales in our shop, the tales we tell of others to sow discord or harmony, the education which we provide for our children in divine things etc., these good or evil traits in our way of life, will reveal us as trying to be like God and suitable in His mercy for the new age, or merely products of this age fit only to be destroyed with it.
Can television really provide any useful help for us or for our children? Can we fill our lives with those hobbies which entertain the Gentile mind and pass his time away – photography, music, gardening and a legion of others, and still claim that in ALL our ways we acknowledge Him, and expect God to direct our paths (Prov.3:6)
The examples in the parables of Jesus which we have noted are interesting in themselves as showing the place which they held in Jesus’ mind, but the parables were given for our benefit to help us live faithfully. .These things should drive us back to the Proverbs to find principles to guide our outlook, even as they did that of Jesus. We will by this means be equipping ourselves to develop the fear of God, which was the reason for the Proverbs being penned. This must shew itself in a very real sense in our every day lives.
As Jesus in the parables used the Proverbs, so did the New Testament letter writers. One or two examples from them may shew the relevance of the Proverbs to us from this angle. For example, see Proverbs 27:1: “Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth”, and compare this with James 4:13: “Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow.”
James is warning here of the brother or sister so engrossed in business that plans are made for a year hence with no ‘God willing’ in mind, and the plans are connected only with daily work (buying and selling). We need to examine our own outlook in the light of this since we rub shoulders with people whose outlook is only moneymaking just like this.
Do we always remember at work, or at home, that this is only until Jesus comes, or are we sometimes so absorbed in our job or carried away with planning our progress in this life, that we forget our sojourning? ‘God willing’ is not just a phrase to put on leaflets advertising Bible talks, but a way of life in the ecclesia, at home and at work.
In this proverb the principle is laid, “Boast not of tomorrow.” ‘Boast’ is ‘halal’ often translated ‘praise’ and used frequently of man’s praise to God. If we omit ‘God willing’ from our way of life then we are indulging in self-praise, we are effectively ascribing to ourselves the power to plan our lives, which power is with God alone. We find many other proverbs which tell us these things, e.g. 3:6 “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths”, 13:7: “There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing:”, 20:24 “Man’s goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?”
The continued variety of the Proverbs and their presentation can be a source of pleasure to investigate, to learn God’s likes and dislikes, more especially when it is clear that the New Testament writers have done this. The next verse in Proverbs continues this idea of self praise, 27:2: “Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.” Praise is ‘halal’ again, as was ‘boast’ in verse 1.
The word is used again in 28:4: “They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them.” In 2 Cor.10:12 Paul tells us “We dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.”
In the ecclesia at Corinth there were brethren who were exalting their position, indulging in self-praise, setting up their opinions in opposition to the apostle Paul and strongly needing a dose of Proverbs medicine to correct their outlook. Paul says that they “are not wise” just the condition which the Proverbs set out to correct ”to receive the instruction of wisdom …” It is helpful to trace this word “commend” through 2 Corinthians, to see the interplay between the attitude of the apostle and that of the brethren who commend themselves. In the last verse of the chapter we are reminded, “For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth.”
In the ecclesia also the Proverbs can help us in our relationship with our brethren and in our attitude to the Word of God. Also the Proverbs (28:4) have shown us a need to contend for these things in the ecclesia, much the same as Jude does in his epistle. A related topic is found in Proverbs 30:5,6: “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.”
The word ‘pure’ has the idea of ‘double refined’; so the Word of God is not like ore dug out of the earth, needing the precious metal extracting from it; the Bible is the Word of God already refined, wholly pure gold, which is far more than some would have us believe who say that the Bible only contains the Word of God. This principle in the Proverbs was the issue at stake in Eden; every word was pure; they should not have added to it.
The final warning of Jesus at the end of the Scriptures is similar (Rev.22:18,19): “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” Remember that in the Proverbs God is speaking to us as Father to children and telling us that all He says contains no alloy and that it is sufficient for all our needs, so we should thankfully accept it as such, read it regularly and act on the Fatherly advice received.
Hebrews 12:5,6 says, “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” How sad that the Hebrew brethren had forgotten the exhortation! How tragic if we forget the exhortation, which speaketh unto .., YOU! The exhortation is drawn from Proverbs 3:11 and yet it is to each of us, YOU, MY SON. (Hebrews 12:6 looks much more like the Septuagint of Proverbs 3:12 than what we see in our Authorised Version.)
There is an interesting development in the Proverbs at chapter 3:11: up to that point advice has been given showing how we as God’s children can get wisdom, but now we are introduced to God’s direct activity in our lives. If we take this interest in God and His wisdom then He loves us and so He will correct and chasten us, which will be a test for us. Let us not despise it or be weary of it. This chastening has the idea of instruction, discipline and chastisement. It is the word which is found frequently in Proverbs as ‘instruction’.
It is also to be found in Isaiah 53:5, “the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Seeing the word as ‘instruction’ in Proverbs may lead us to think of it only as a, series of maxims of advice, but to see it as chastisement in Isaiah 53, parallel with ‘stripes’, shows how rough our path can become as God brings ‘many sons to glory.’ Remember Hebrews 5:7,8: “Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.”
Suffering was an education; he learned by the chastening. This is the context of Hebrews 12 where the chastening is referred to – “looking unto Jesus .. who … endured the cross, despising the shame.” That forms a pattern for us; we are to accept the difficulties of life, the sadness, the frustrations as part of God’s instruction for His children. However, we can only be sure of this if we are living our whole life ‘in the truth’. For instance, it matters little how lustily we sing “Take my life ..”, if we hold back part of it for our own enjoyment or ambition.
These ideas are much in mind in another Proverbs quotation a few verses further on (Hebrews 12:13) “And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.” This quotation seems to come from the Septuagint, since the Authorised Version of Proverbs 4:26 has the idea of ‘ponder the path of thy feet.’ We know that “It is not in man that walketh to direct his way”, so how can we make our path straight?
A look down Proverbs 4 (from which the quotation is drawn), will indicate: “I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths …take fast hold of instruction … enter not into the path of the wicked … the path of the just is as the shining light …” So we make our path straight by chosing to do the wise things which God’s Word commands rather than wasting our lives by self-seeking. Which way would the straight path lie – in visiting a sick brother on a wet night or snoozing quietly by the fire at home? In supporting one’s own small ecclesia at a Bank holiday week-end, or going away just to enjoy ourselves at the seaside? In being a working member of a small ecclesia or just ‘attending’ a large meeting? If our ecclesia is to show the Bible Exhibition, shall we take a week of our holiday to staff it, or selfishly keep that back for a rest on the beach and hope that some other brethren will give their time?
There are many ways like this in which we can discipline our own lives and reflect the Father’s care for us. Perhaps these few examples will give us reason to look for many more quotations and allusions to the Proverbs in the epistles and to look closely lest we forget the exhortation. A few final thoughts about studying the Proverbs:
- Copy it Out
– seriously! Israel’s kings were commanded to write out their own personal copy of the Law, and although we have Bibles readily available it is quite astonishing what can be noticed by carefully copying out parts of Scripture. The slow speed at which the exercise forces us to proceed gives time for reflection not so readily available at reading speed. If our copy is done on (say) one third of the width of quarto paper then we have our own ultra-wide-margin Bible to make many notes against.
- Cut it Out
If you do not fancy writing out a long book like Proverbs, then obtain two similar cheap Bibles and cut them out, again making a wide-margin work Bible.
- Who did This?
Bring the Proverbs to life another way by asking who in Scripture made that mistake, or put that wise counsel into practice. This will clothe a brief proverb with a living situation and thereby help us to apply the principle in our lives. For example, “He that with oldeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it.” Proverbs 11:26 – Joseph?
- Themes
Build up a complete picture from Proverbs of the fool, friends, riches, mothers, fear, etc. One short, perhaps unexpected theme is about honey 24:13, Eat honey because it is good for you; 25 16, Eat sufficient honey, not excess; 25:27, Too much honey is not good for you; 27:7, If you have just had a good meal honey loses its attraction. 16:24, Pleasant words are sweet and smooth as honey; 5:3, but beware, harlots can entice with sweet words. This is only a brief outline, but it does show in how many respects the book can help us, from information about food to teaching about words and actions.
This is a book of buried treasure just waiting for us to dig: “If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find knowledge of God” (Prov. 2:4,5).
Reflections on the Potter and the Clay