Proverbs

Wisdom in Proverbs

The book of Proverbs is the primary locus of prudential wisdom--that is, rules and regulations people can use to help themselves make responsible, successful choices in life. In contrast to Ecclesiastes, which uses a speculative cynicism as its wisdom foil, and Job, which uses speculative wisdom about the unfairness of life in this world, proverbial wisdom concentrates mostly on practical attitudes. As a generalization, it is useful to note that Proverbs teaches what might be called "old fashioned basic values." No parent wants his or her child to grow up unhappy, disappointed, lonely, socially rejected, in trouble with the law, immoral, inept, or broke. It is neither selfish nor unrealistic for a parent to wish a child a reasonable level of success in life--including social acceptance, freedom from want, and moral uprightness. Proverbs provides a collection of pithy advisory statements designed to do just that. There is no guarantee, of course, that a life will always go well for a young person. What proverbs does say is that, all things being equal, there are basic attitudes and patterns of behavior that will help a person grow into responsible adulthood.

Proverbs continually presents a sharp contrast between choosing the life of wisdom and choosing the life of folly. What characterizes the life of folly? Folly is characterized by such things as violent crime (Proverbs 1:10-19; 4:14-19), careless promising or pledging (Proverbs 6:1-5), laziness (6:7-11), malicious dishonesty (6:12-15), and sexual impurity, which is especially odious to God and harmful to an upright life (2:16-19; 5:3-20; 6:23-35; 7:4-27;9:13-18; 23:26-28). In addition, Proverbs urges such things as caring for the poor (2:22, 27), respect for governmental leaders (23: 1-3; 24: 21-22), the importance of disciplining children (23:19-21, 29-35), and regard for one's parents (23:22-25)

Specifically religious language is seldom used in Proverbs; it is present (cf. 1:7; 3:5-12; 15:3, 8-9, 11; 16:1-9; 22:9, 23; 24:18, 21; et al.) but it does not predominate. Not everything in life has to be strictly religious to be godly. Indeed, Proverbs can help serve as a corrective to the extremist tendency to spiritualize everything, as if there were something wrong with the basic material, physical world; as if God had said, "It is bad" rather than "It is good" when he first looked on what he had made.

Uses and Abuses of Proverbs

A good thing to remember about the Proverbs is that in Hebrew they are called meshallim ("figures of speech," "parables" or "specially contrived sayings"). A proverb is a brief, particular expression of a truth. The briefer a statement is, the less likely it is to be totally precise and universally applicable. We know that long, highly qualified, elaborate, detailed statements of fact are not only often difficult to understand but virtually impossible for most people to memorize. So the proverbs are phrased in a catchy way, so as to be learn able by anyone. Indeed, in Hebrew many of the proverbs have some sort of rhythm, sound repetition, or vocabulary qualities that make them particularly easy to learn. Consider the English proverbs "Look before you leap" and "A stitch in time saves nine." The repetition of single-syllable words beginning with the letter l in the first case, and the rhythm and rhyme of single-syllable words in the second case are the elements that give these proverbs a certain catchiness. They are not as easy to forget as would be the following statements: "In advance of committing yourself to a course of action, consider your circumstances and options", "There are certain corrective measures for minor problems that, when taken early on in a course of action, forestall major problems from arising."

These latter formulations are more precise but lack the punch and effectiveness of the two well-known wordings, not to mention the fact that they are much harder to remember. "Look before you leap" is a pithy, inexact statement; it can easily be misunderstood, or thought to apply only to jumping. It does not say where or how to look, what to look for, how soon to leap after looking, and it is not even intended to apply literally to jumping!

So it is with Hebrew proverbs. They must be understood reasonably and taken on their own terms. They do not state everything about a truth but they point toward it. They are, taken literally, often technically inexact. But as learnable guidelines for the shaping of selected behavior, they are unsurpassed. Consider Proverbs 6:27-29;

• Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched? So is he who sleeps with another man's wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished.

Someone might think, "Now that last line is unclear. What if the mailman accidentally touches another man's wife while delivering the mail? Will he be punished? And are there not some people who commit adultery and get away with it?" but such interpretations miss the point. Proverbs tend to use figurative language and express things suggestively rather than in detail. The point you should get from the proverb is that committing adultery is like playing with fire. God will see to it that sooner or later, in this life or the next, the adulterer will be hurt by his actions. The word "touch" in the last line must be understood euphemistically (cf. 1 Cor. 7:1) if the Holy Spirit's inspired message is not to be distorted. Thus a proverb should not be taken too literally or too universally if its message is to be helpful. For example, consider Proverbs 9:13-18:

• The woman Folly is loud; she is undisciplined and without knowledge. She sits at the door of her house, on a seat at the highest point of the city, calling out to those who pass by, who go straight on their way. "Let all who are simple come in hear!" she says to those who lack judgment. "Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!" But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of the grave.

This, too, is a pithy proverb for it includes a whole allegory (story pointing to something other than itself by implicit comparisons) in a few verses. Here folly, the opposite of wise living, is personified as a prostitute trying to entice passersby into her house. The fool is characterized by his fascination with forbidden pleasures (v. 17). But the end result of a life of folly is not long life, success, or happiness--it is death. "Stay away from folly!" is the message of this brief allegory. "Don't be taken in! Walk right past those temptations (spelled out in various ways in other proverbs) that folly makes seem attractive!" The wise, godly, moral person will choose a life free from the selfishness of folly. Proverbs like this are somewhat like parables in that they express their truth in a symbolic way.

Another example that will help us understand about Proverbs is from Proverbs 16:3

• Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

This is the sort of proverb that is most often misinterpreted. Not realizing that proverbs tend to be inexact statements pointing to the truth in figurative ways, a person might assume that Proverbs 16:3 is a direct, clear-cut, always applicable promise from God that if one dedicates his or her plans to God, those plans must succeed. People who reason that way, of course, can be disappointed. They can dedicate some perfectly selfish or idiotic scheme to God, then if it happens to succeed, even briefly, they can assume that God blessed it. A hasty marriage, a rash business decision, an ill-thought-out vocational decision--all can be dedicated to God but can eventually result in misery. Or, a person might commit a plan to God only to have it fail; then the person would wonder why God did not keep his promise, why he went back on his inspired Word. In either case they have failed to see that proverb is not categorical, always applicable, ironclad promise, but a more general truth; it teaches that lives committed to God and lived according to his will succeed according to God's definition of success. But according to the world's definition of success, the result may be just the opposite. The story of Job eloquently reminds us of that.

When these proverbs, then, are taken on their own terms, and understood as the special category of suggestive truth that they are, they become important and useful adjuncts for living.