The main DIVISIONS of the Book of Proverbs are:—I. A series of discourses on the excellency and advantages of wisdom, and the destructive character of sin (ch. i.—ix.). II. A collection of unconnected maxims on various subjects (ch. x.—xxii. 16). III. Short discussions on a variety of subjects (ch. xxii. 17—xxiv. 22), with a brief appendix of maxims (ch. xxiv. 23, 24). IV. The collection of Solomon’s proverbs made in the time of Hezekiah (ch. xxv.—xxix.). V. A supplement containing the words of Agur (ch. xxx.) and of King Lemuel (ch. xxxi.). [Annotated Paragraph Bible.]
CHAPTER I.
Critical Notes.—1. Proverbs. See Introduction. 2. Instruction, properly “chastisement,” signifying moral training, admonition, then good habits, the practical side of wisdom. 3. Wisdom. A different word from that in ver. 2. It means “prudence.” Justice relates to a man’s attitude in relation with God, and would be better translated “righteousness.” Judgment includes our duties to our fellow-man and should be rendered “justice.” Equity is “uprightness,” “sincerity of purpose.” 4. Subtlety, “prudence.” Simple, literally “the open,” those easily persuaded. 5. Wise counsels, or “capability to guide,” literally “helmsmanship.” 7. Fools, derived from a word meaning to be gross and dull of understanding. Gesenius understands it to signify “one who turns away,” the “perverse.” 10. Entice thee, “lay thee open.” Miller here reads, “if sinners would make a door of thy simplicity, afford thou no entrance.” 17. Some interpret this verse as referring to the godly who escape the snares laid for them, others to the wicked, who, not so wise as the bird, plunge themselves into ruin by plotting against the good. Then the blood and lives of ver. 18 refer to the blood and life of the sinner. 20. The word wisdom is in the plural form in the Hebrew. 27. Desolation, or “tempest.” 28. To seek early denotes “earnestly.” See ch. viii. 17, Hos. v. 15. The person now changes from the second to the third, “as though wisdom were increasingly alienated.” (Miller). 32. The turning away of the simple, i.e., their rejection of wisdom. Prosperity, “Security,” “idle, easy rest.”
main homiletics of the paragraph.—Verses 1–4.
The Author, His Method, and His Object.
I. Four things connected with Solomon would tend to commend his proverbs to the Hebrew nation. 1. His remarkable antecedents. The influence of any man in this world depends very much upon his antecedents. If they happen to be such as are held in esteem by society, they form at once letters of commendation for him, and often prove stepping-stones to great positions. The question, “Whence art thou?” is more often asked than “What art thou?” Perhaps this was even more true of Hebrew society than it is of English. Solomon was the son of a king. The king whom he claimed as his father was the man whom God had honoured more than any other since the days of Moses. He was not only a king, but a prophet and a poet, who had no equal in the day in which he lived. He was more than this. His reputation as a warrior, more than anything else, endeared him to a people who looked upon him in this light as the best representative of their nation. The fact that Solomon was the “son of David,” would ensure him the ear of the Jewish people throughout all their generations. 2. His personal position. He was not only the son of a king but a king himself—a king who had attained the highest pinnacle of royal greatness. 3. His practical wisdom. The instance of this narrated in 1 Kings iii. 16–28, proved to Israel that “the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment.” Who so fit to utter proverbs concerning human life as a man who could thus so skilfully bring to light the hidden counsels of the heart? The Son of God Himself speaks of Solomon as a wise man (Matt. xii. 42). 4. The variety of his experience. Experience is always a good reason why men should speak their thoughts. Those are most fitted to counsel others who have travelled by the same path before them. Solomon’s experience had been great and varied. He knew the real value of all that is held in estimation by men. See Eccles., chapters i. and ii. These considerations gave weight to his words in the day in which he lived and among his own people, and have done so in every succeeding age and in every nation in which his proverbs have been made known.
II. The form in which Solomon communicates his thoughts. A proverb is a large amount of wisdom wrapped up in the fewest possible words. It is like a corn-seed which, though a tiny thing in itself, encloses that which may expand and increase until it furnishes food for millions. Even a child may carry a large sum of money when it is in the form of golden coin, although his strength would be quite unequal to the task if the same amount were in a baser metal. One diamond may constitute a small fortune, and may be easily carried and concealed upon the person, but its value in iron could only be lifted by the united strength of many. The proverb stands in the same relation to mental and moral wisdom as gold and diamonds do to copper and iron. It is so portable that it can be carried and retained by the weakest memory.
III. The main object of the utterer of these proverbs. “To give subtilty to the simple.” The man who has to travel a dangerous path may be ignorant of the way to arrive at his destination in safety. His simplicity arises from his ignorance. Anyone who has gone the same way before, and has thus experimentally gained the knowledge which he lacks, can make him wise upon this subject. Solomon has trodden the greater part of the path of human life, those who had not done so were the simple, or ignorant, to whom he here desires to impart the knowledge which might save them from moral ruin. There were those in the days of Solomon, as there are now, who would take advantage of simplicity to destroy character. Solomon desires to preserve and strengthen character by showing how to avoid and resist sin.
outlines and suggestive comments.