“The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;” (Proverbs 1:1)

“To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;” (Proverbs 1:2)

“To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;” (Proverbs 1:3)

“To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.” (Proverbs 1:4)

“A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:” (Proverbs 1:5)

“To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.” (Proverbs 1:6)

This is a continuation of the thoughts from yesterday’s post. Yesterday, we looked at Why God had Solomon to write these Proverbs. Now we look further:

The What

1) The first phrase is “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning.”

The wise man is the man indwelt by Christ, Who is Wisdom Himself:

“But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:” (1 Corinthians 1:30)

The first part is he “will hear.” This is not maybe, but “will hear.” Why? Because this is God’s order. The sinner was dead in sins and trespasses. Then God the Spirit quickens him (or makes him alive) by the “Rhēma” Word of God (the Living Word). (See John 6:63.) When this happens, the dead sinner is made alive, or raised from the dead. See John 11:25, 41-44; where Christ raised Lazarus. As Christ commanded them to loosen Lazarus from his grave clothes – so the Gospel loosens the grave clothes from a quickened (or made-alive) sinner.

“For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:17)

The quickened sinner has ears, spiritual ears, to hear the Word of God. Proof of this ability to hear is in the next part…

The second part of the first phrase is “and will increase learning.” That is, the proof is in fruit bearing; which is a fruit of increasing in the knowledge of God:

“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” (2 Peter 1:4)

“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;” (2 Peter 1:5)

“And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;” (2 Peter 1:6)

“And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.” (2 Peter 1:7)

“For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:8)

2) The second phrase is “and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels.”

“A man of understanding” is a wise man; and a wise man is a man of understanding. A man of understanding is a man of perception; and he knows wisdom (or how to implement knowledge or facts).

“Shall attain unto wise counsels”; here again, note the words “shall attain,” not maybe, but they will attain unto wise counsels, or wisdom. And only the wise will come to wisdom.

3) The third phrase says “To understand a proverb, and the interpretation.”

That is, a wise man will understand (or perceive) a proverb (an adage; “a pithy popular saying”; an old familiar saying; a proverb; a saying; a maxim; an expression; a cliché; a commonly repeated statement). The wise man is the regenerated man; and he will understand by the Spirit of Truth that lives in him.

Also he will understand (or perceive) the interpretation (the meaning of the proverb). That is, he will know the truth of the proverb.

4) The fourth phrase is “the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.”

The “words of the wise” are the proverbs, or the expressions of truth.

The meaning of “their dark sayings” is that their words of truth are “dark” and not understandable – until you are given the ability to “receive the instruction of wisdom” (verse 3); which is given in Regeneration by God the Spirit.

The Explanation

1) “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.”

Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”

Therefore, knowledge and wisdom are synonyms; that is, they are interchangeable. However, it appears that knowledge is the facts, or the truth; and wisdom is the how to apply the truth; for Wisdom is Christ Himself, The Truth. Proverbs 9:10b proves this fact for, “the knowledge of (the fact of) the holy is understanding (or wisdom, the how to apply the truth).”

Secondly, look at Proverbs 14:27, “The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.” This is another proof that Wisdom is Christ, Who is the Life (John 14:6).

Therefore, “the fear of the Lord” is Christ, the Truth in you, Who is the Knowledge, the Wisdom, and the Understanding. Solomon styled the fear of the Lord as “the beginning of…” because when Christ comes to live in a person, it is the beginning of Experiential Eternal Life in that person.

Solomon makes this statement to prove there is no knowing wisdom, or knowing instruction; no perceiving of words of understanding; no receiving the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity; and no giving subtilty to the simply and no giving to the young man knowledge and discretion – without “the fear of the Lord” (or Christ) dwelling in you.

2) “But fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Here Solomon gives the negative, the rejection of wisdom and instruction. The wise receive and the fool rejects truth.

Which are you? Are you a wise man or a fool? The answer is not hard to see.

Jesus said in Matthew 7:15-20:

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” (Matthew 7:15)

“Ye shall know them by their fruits…” (Matthew 7:16)

Either you will hear and will increase in learning; or you will despise wisdom and instruction. The former ones will bear the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). The latter ones shall “eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices”; they shall be slain and destroyed (Proverbs 1:31-32). Whereas the former ones:

“But whoso hearkeneth unto me (Wisdom; Christ) shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.” (Proverbs 1:33)