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- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
Prov. 1
There’s that word, “shrewd”, again. The most fitting definition I found for the Bible’s use of this word is from the Cambridge Dictionary. Being shrewd means, “Able to judge people and situations well and make good decisions.” I think it’s interesting that the writer specifically targets the young and inexperienced in teaching shrewdness with these proverbs. This is because there are two ways that we learn things. One is through our own experiences. The other is through the experience and teaching of others. The young have not had time to build their own experience base. Thus, the writer’s aim is to prevent them from having to learn these things the hard way. Those who are older, have had the experience, and yet persist in their deviant ways are simply fools.
One last little note from this first chapter. The writer says that a parent’s instruction, “will be a garland of favor on your head and pendants around your neck.” (Pr. 1:9). The CSB has a footnote on the word, “pendants”, noting the literal translation as, “chains”. I figure the translators went with pendants because the connotation is more toward adornment than toward bondage, as is the case with chains. That got me thinking, though, about how Paul talks about freedom being bondage to the right thing. In that context, then, binding ourselves with chains to wisdom is how we free ourselves from the devastation described for those who refuse her. Remembering, of course, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge” (Pr. 1:7a).
Prov. 2
This chapter explains that wisdom and understanding are a powerful defense against destructive living. They will guide you on the good path and protect you from those who would lure you off of it. But there’s a bit of a catch. Wisdom isn’t something you just have on hand in case you need it. It is something you have to throw yourself after with great intentionality, effort, and desire. Pursue it like most people pursue riches and power. Set your heart on it. I especially like the footnote on the phrase, “listening closely” to wisdom. The literal translation is an idiom, “stretching out your ear”. That’s more than listening closely. That is straining to hear with all your might. When we do that, however, God gives freely of the wisdom we seek and it both protects and delights us.
Prov. 3
Wisdom doesn’t just keep us from a bad life. It gives us a good life as well. The proverbs are, of course, generalities. The Bible never promises that living with wisdom guarantees us health, wealth, and an easy life. It certainly improves our chances, though. And it does guarantee that we don’t destroy ourselves. The fact is, however, that wisdom isn’t about gaining everything our fleshly hearts desire. Rather, it is about gaining hearts that have the right desires. That is how wisdom brings us the kind of health, wealth, and true happiness that cannot be taken away. And that is why, “nothing you desire can equal her.” (Pr. 3:15b).