The Book of Proverbs

To read about the things in life that truly matter to God as it relates to man is the beginning of knowledge.....to actually understand and apply them to living is wisdom.

The verbs to know, to perceive, and to receive refer to the ways we acquire wisdom. Wisdom refers to skill. Instruction could also be translated discipline; it refers to the process of receiving knowledge and then applying it to daily life. A person develops discipline in life by applying words of insight.

Everyone knows the value of good advice. Listening to those who are wiser than we are gives us the benefit of their hard-won experience. Growing up, getting along with others, and holding a job all would be impossible without guidance from folks who have been there before. The Book of Proverbs gives that kind of help.

But the book is more than a collection of “tips and tricks.” It passes on a core of knowledge and experience that God says we must have if we are to live successfully. These proverbs are not merely old sayings that concern people in far-off lands, but universal principles that apply to all people of all times. They speak to modern problems as much as to ancient ones because they concern human nature and God’s ways. Human nature has not changed since Solomon’s time; neither has God’s. Only the landscape around us has changed.

Proverbs 1:1-7

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.