Wisdom – Proverbs 1:1-6

How do you define wisdom?  The Wikipedia article on wisdom says this, “Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledge, self-transcendence and non-attachment, and virtues such as ethics and benevolence.”  There are a variety of philosophical ethics alluded to there and also the application of knowledge in amoral matters, matters without moral consequence.  Is that how Solomon and the Scriptures define wisdom?

The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight,

to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity;

to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth—

Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles. (Proverbs 1:1-6, ESV)

When Solomon became king in place of his father David, Yahweh appeared to him in a dream and asked him what He should give him (1 Kings 3:3-9).  Solomon asked for wisdom.  Solomon said to Yahweh, “I am but a little child…. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”  For Solomon, wisdom was entirely about discerning good and evil.  Unlike Adam and Eve, who desired to be able to determine good and evil for themselves, desired to be God, Solomon knew he needed God to be God and to show him wisdom.  There were no amoral issues, issues without moral consequences.

And so Solomon has written what we call the book of Proverbs.  And its purpose, as he states it, is to know God’s wisdom so that one may deal in “righteousness, justice, and equity.”  It is pertinent for the simple (those who are “gullible, without moral direction and inclined to evil” [NIV footnote a]), and the young (those who are untrained in moral direction), and even for those already wise, so they may “obtain guidance.”  His words will be in the form of proverbs and sayings, the words of the wise and their riddles.

The Oxford English Dictionary aptly defines a proverb as, “A short, well-known pithy saying, stating a general truth or piece of advice.”  These are the words of the wise, people who have demonstrated wisdom in their lives and who have taught it to others.  We’re told in 1 Kings 4:32 that Solomon “also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005.”  But he does not only include his proverbs in his book, adding the sayings of Agur and King Lemuel (chapters 30 and 31), and it is possible that those of others are interspersed with his in chapters 1-29.

But why riddles?  The Oxford English Dictionary defines riddle as, “A question or statement intentionally phrased so as to require ingenuity in ascertaining its answer or meaning.”  An example would be “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.  Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.” (Proverbs 26:4–5, ESV)  Riddles are a form the wise use because it requires someone to think and their willingness to do so evidences their desire for wisdom.

Solomon’s instruction will begin with an appeal to his son (chapters 1-9) encouraging him to embrace wisdom, after he first states a basic premise about wisdom in 1:7.  Do you want to be wise?  Do you want to discern good and evil, and not only discern it, but live it?  Then hitch your wagon to this team of oxen and ready yourself for some work.