Proverbs 3

"The Blessing of Wisdom"

Proverbs 3 consists of three addresses of the father to his son.

Verses 1-10, 11-20, 21-35.

Each begins with the call "My son."

But whereas chapter 2 set forth the call to "accept my teaching,"

chapter 3 warns against forgetting.

Here the father urges his son, "do not forget my teaching" (v1)

"do not despise the LORD's discipline" (v11)

and "do not lose sight of wisdom and discretion" (v21)

The same themes as chapter 2 are used-

the language of the way or the path is used once in each section, in verse 6, 17, 23-

but this time the focus is on the motivation for finding wisdom.

1. Wisdom Brings Life and Peace (3:1-10)

The first section, in verses 1-10, consists of five quatrains

(a quatrain is a poetic term meaning four lines;

a couplet is two lines; a quatrain is four lines).

Each quatrain consists of 2 or 3 admonitions to pursue wisdom,

together with 1 or 2 reasons why pursuing wisdom is a good idea.

Look at the reasons given:

v2-for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you

v4-so you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man

v6-he will make straight your paths

v8-it will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones

v10-then your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will be bursting with wine

What kind of life and peace does wisdom bring?

At first blush it looks like "health, wealth, and prosperity"!

Trust in God and you'll get a big fat bonus at the end of the month!

Fear God and you'll be healthy, wealthy, and wise!

If you do what God says, then you'll be making money hand over fist!

Believe in God and you'll never lack for anything!

Is that what Proverbs is saying?

Absolutely!

Beyond question, that is what Proverbs is saying.

If you bind steadfast love and faithfulness around your neck,

if you trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding,

but in all your ways know him,

(most translations say "acknowledge" but literally, it's "know")

then he will most certainly make your paths straight

and give you success in the sight of God and man.

If you fear the LORD and turn away from evil,

honoring the LORD with your wealth and the firstfruits of all your produce,

then your barns will be filled with plenty,

and your vats will be bursting with wine.

This is absolutely the case.

What had God promised in Deuteronomy?

Dt 28:1-14

God promised his son (Israel), that if they faithfully obeyed him,

then he would pour out his blessings upon them.

But if they disobeyed (Dt 28:15-68),

then he would pour out his curses upon them.

Did you hear the blessings of Dt 28?

To paraphrase:

"your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine."

The father in Proverbs 3 is simply reminding his son of God's covenant promises to Israel

If you live as the faithful son who walks in the way of wisdom,

then this is what God has promised.

But, the son asks, how come I don't see it?

How come the wicked prosper?

Why do the righteous suffer-and how come the wise sometimes are killed by fools?!

If there is no eschatology in Proverbs, then the author of Proverbs was an idiot!

If there is no future judgment where God rights the wrongs of this age,

then Proverbs is an idealistic utopian farce.

And as we'll see, Proverbs 3 is a coherent chapter-

yes, verses 1-10 set up the ideal: this is the way things should be;

but as we go along we'll see that the way things should be is, in the end,

the way things will be!

In short,

the father is teaching his son to walk by faith-

to see how the world should be,

and (what is harder) to live as the world should be,

because some day, it will be the way it should be!

Because some day, there will be a Son who never forsakes his Father's teaching!

2. Wisdom Is Better than Anything Else (3:11-20)

In the second-and central-section, verses 11-20,

we begin to see the eschatological vision of Proverbs.

At the heart of Proverbs 3 lies the blessing upon the one who finds wisdom.

The father says to his son,

"My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline or be weary of his reproof,

for the LORD reproves him whom he loves,

as a father the son in whom he delights."

We looked at this briefly a few weeks ago when we were going through Hebrews 12.

Here the father plainly connects the relationship between God and the believer

as the relationship of father to son.

Reproof certainly assumes that you've done something wrong.

Discipline, though, has a broader sense.

It certainly assumes immaturity, but not necessarily sin.

Hebrews, after all, says that Jesus was "made perfect" through suffering-

he was brought to maturity through what he suffered,

enduring-dare we say-the discipline of his Father.

But for us, we need discipline and reproof because we have fallen short of wisdom.

But we must remember that God disciplines us and reproves us because he loves us!

If you cry out and object to God's discipline,

what you are really saying is, "I don't want God to love me!"

what you are saying is, "I don't want to be conformed to the likeness of Christ!"

"I just want to live my life my way!"

Do not despise the LORD's discipline.

Lamentations 3:25-27 says:

"The LORD is good to those who wait for him,

to the soul who seeks him.

It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth."

God is training you to look more and more like Jesus.

It isn't pleasant at the time,

but it is for your good!

And God disciplines us corporately as well as individually.

I'm not sure whether to say that our corporate discipline has individual implications,

or that our individual discipline has corporate implications,

but I think that both need to be said.

Deuteronomy 28 sets forth the corporate aspect.

Proverbs 3 sets forth the individual aspect.

They come together in Christ-who is the true Son of God-the true Israel.

And therefore they come together in us who are united to him by faith.

He, then, is the blessed man who finds wisdom (3:13).

And we are blessed in him as he has become for us wisdom from God.

But if verses 1-10 made it sound like the pursuit of wisdom was motivated by health and wealth,

verses 13-18 show us the true meaning of life and peace!

"Blessed is the one [literally, the man, the adam] who finds wisdom,

and the one who gets understanding,

for the gain from her is better than gain from silver

and her profit better than gold.

She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.

Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.

Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.

She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;

those who hold her fast are called blessed."

In the first half of the poem (v14-15),

wisdom is portrayed as better than all the gold, silver and jewels in the earth.

Wisdom is so valuable,

That "nothing you desire can compare with her."

In the second half of the poem (v16-17),

we hear why: because she is the guardian of long life, riches, honor,

and her path, her ways, are ways of pleasantness and paths of peace.

This could be taken as another saying from Poor Richard's Almanac:

"early to bed and early to rise make a man healthy, wealthy and wise,"

but verses 13 and 18 frame the poem to point us in a different direction.

The first adam did not find wisdom.

And he did not partake of the tree of life.

But the adam who finds wisdom will discover that she is a tree of life to him.

This is why you cannot see Proverbs 3 as talking purely about "this-worldly" life & peace

The image of the tree of life plainly echoes with the rebellion in the garden.

Israel is called to be a new humanity-a new adam-

who will partake of the tree of life.

You can have what Adam lost.

Earthly riches pale in comparison to what Adam lost.

What did Adam lose?

Life.

Peace.

The inheritance of eternal blessedness.

All of this is yours, if you lay hold of wisdom!

What good is silver and gold if you don't have wisdom?

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? (Mt 16:26)

What are you looking for?

What do you seek?

What do you desire?

Nothing you desire compares with Wisdom!

Following up on the "tree of life" image,

the father instructs his son that

"The LORD by wisdom founded the earth;

by understanding he established the heavens;

by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down their dew."

Note the threefold description of the world:

the earth, the heavens, and the deeps.

The image is of God building his house-a dwelling place where he lives with his people.

And God built this house by wisdom, understanding and knowledge.

This is echoed in Proverbs 24:3-4

"By wisdom a house is built,

and by understanding it is established;

by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches."

Even as God has built this creation, the heavens, the earth and the deeps,

so also we build as imitators of God,

using his wisdom, his understanding, and his knowledge.

The reason why Wisdom is so valuable is because it is God's wisdom.

Wisdom is not just some abstract principles.

Knowledge is not just random, brute facts.

All wisdom and knowledge comes from the LORD.

Before an idea has ever been conceived in the mind of man,

it has first been conceived by the mind of God.

We never truly "discover" anything.

God has all knowledge and all wisdom in himself.

Therefore our knowledge and wisdom is derivative from his.

3. Wisdom Will Bring Blessing (3:21-35)

In the third lesson (verses 21-35), the father makes the application explicit:

He has just said "blessed is the man who finds wisdom,"

and that "those who hold her fast are called blessed."

Now the father says, this means you, son!

"My son, do not lose sight of these-

keep sound wisdom and discretion,

and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck."

Wisdom will make you look good-both on the inside and the outside.

"Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble.

If you lie down, you will not be afraid;

when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet."

Wisdom gives confidence, because you need not fear.

When sudden terror comes, you can have confidence.

When the ruin of the wicked comes, you know that all is going according to God's plan.

Notice that it doesn't say that bad things never happen to the wise.

Rather, that you do not need to fear in the midst of bad things,

for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.

Verses 27-31 then give a series of five commands that illustrate the life of wisdom,

the life of one who does not fear the vicissitudes of life.

These things are more than "good advice;"

they are your covenantal obligations.

This is what it means to "love your neighbor."

1) Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.

We ought to delight in doing good to others-

so when you have opportunity, take advantage of it!

Look for ways that you can do good to those to whom it is due.

You might then ask, but to whom is it due?

Start with your wife-your children-your family.

But then also consider your brothers and sisters in the family of God.

Indeed, Paul says in Galatians 6:10,

"So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone,

and especially to those who are of the household of faith."

2) Do not say to your neighbor, 'Go and come again, tomorrow I will give it'-

when you have it with you.

Be ready to do good, and do not put someone off

when you have the power to give what they ask!

3) Do not plan evil against your neighbor who dwells trustingly beside you.

and

4) Do not contend with a man for no reason when he has done you no harm.

In other words, be a good neighbor.

Do not be greedy; do not be selfish.

But love your neighbor-this is the path of wisdom

5) Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways,

for the devious person is an abomination to the LORD,

but the upright are in his confidence.

While the first four commands focused on being a good neighbor,

the fifth command, like the 10^th Commandment,

turns to the heart-Thou shalt not covet!

And here, in verses 33-35 we hear the rationale, not just for the fifth command,

but for the whole pursuit of wisdom-and its practical outworkings in our neighborhoods:

"The LORD's curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the dwelling of the righteous.

Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor.

The wise will inherit honor, but fools get disgrace."

The righteous,

the humble,

the wise.

Those who seek after wisdom will receive a glorious inheritance.

But the wicked,

the scornful,

the fools.

These will receive only the disgrace and scorn of God's curse.

If it is only for this life that we have hope, we are the most miserable of men.

But as Paul says in Romans 2:7-11,

"To those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality,

he will give eternal life;

but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness,

there will be wrath and fury.

There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil,

the Jew first and also the Greek,

but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good,

the Jew first and also the Greek.

For God shows no partiality."

Paul is simply drawing on the wisdom tradition of Proverbs.

The righteous,

the humble,

the wise-these will inherit honor.

How can you be wise?

By trusting in Jesus.

How can you be righteous?

By trusting in Jesus.

How can you be humble?

By trusting in Jesus.

He has become for us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.

All that Proverbs promises is found in Jesus.

He is the Son who sought wisdom,

held fast to wisdom,

lived by wisdom,

and indeed, died by wisdom.

Therefore he is greatly blessed by God,

and all who take refuge in his dwelling find life and peace.

Amen!