1:1 The Proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
Solomon wrote over 3,000 proverbs, but only 375 are contained in this book. He wrote these proverbs when he was the King of Israel. These proverbs were written as advice to his young sons who were starting out in life and training to be on the royal cabinet.
1:2 To learn wisdom and moral instruction, and to discern wise counsel.
The boy who starts out in life needs to learn wisdom and moral instruction so that he can recognize wise counsel. To learn wisdom is to know the Messiah. If one does not know the Messiah, then this man is an evil and dangerous fool. He is a part of the satanic world system. He will not be able to recognize good from evil. He will think that evil is good and good is evil. He will reject God and worship the creation instead of the Creator. He will elevate his own human opinion above the Word of God. He will persecute others who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. He will blaspheme God. He will support homosexuality, lesbianism, abortion, biblical censorship, multiculturalism, evolution, pantheism, human philosophy, secular humanism, atheism, liberalism, materialism, transgenderism, and other godless philosophies of the satanic world system.
If one does know Christ, then he needs to learn moral instruction. Moral instruction is Bible doctrine. A boy must learn Bible doctrine from the entire counsel of the Word of God, or he will make human-viewpoint decisions instead of divine-viewpoint decisions. A carnal Christian makes just as many human-viewpoint decisions as the unbeliever, because their soul is filled with teachings from the satanic world system. The carnal Christian needs to feed his soul Bible doctrine from the entire counsel of the Word of God at the deepest level on a daily level so that he can escape the traps of the devil and recognize wise counsel.
If a believer does not master Bible doctrine from the entire counsel of the Word of God, then he will be fragmented and ineffective. The enemy knows the weakness of a believer. He will exploit this area and bring this carnal Christian down into the dust. Therefore, every believer needs to fill his soul daily with Bible doctrine from the entire counsel of the Word of God at the deepest possible level. Then, the believer will be able to discern wise counsel.
It is important to note that there are a great many brilliant people who possess knowledge and intelligence, yet they lack wisdom. Wisdom comes from knowing Christ. One can only know Christ though the study of the entire counsel of the written Word of God.
1:3 To receive moral instruction in skillful living, in righteousness, justice, and equity.
One must feed himself Bible doctrine from the entire counsel of the Word of God at the deepest level so that he can be skillful in living his life on this world. Mastery of Bible doctrine will help one to live a righteous life. It will help one to rule and make just decisions. It will give the person the balance in his life that he needs to offset the teachings of the satanic world system.
1:4 To impart shrewdness to the morally naive, and a discerning plan to the young person.
The “morally naive” are carnal Christians who have not mastered Bible doctrine at the deepest level. Bible doctrine from the entire counsel of the Word of God will turn the carnal Christian into a wise and obedient servant of Christ who cannot be deceived by the devil’s tricks. Mastery of Bible doctrine will give the believer a plan and direction in his life. Those who do not master Bible doctrine will become bored with life. They will attempt to fulfill this void with wealth, power, sex, career, education, family, art, science, or sports skills. Eventually, they will find that all of these pursuits leave them empty and bored. Once they master one of these venues, then they will say to themselves, “Is this it?” “Is this all there is?” “Is there nothing else?”
Bible doctrine can never be mastered, so those who seek to know the mind of Christ will never be bored. They will have a new divine plan in their life. When they experience persecution for their service to Christ, then they will understand the purpose of their suffering and be able to continue on into their ministry. They will be happy and fulfilled in their life no matter when and where God places them. They will understand the sovereignty of God and find it wonderful. They will understand election and predestination and find it marvelous. They will understand suffering and find it refreshing. They will understand evil and expose it. They will understand God's grace and teach it gladly to others.
1:5 (Let the wise also hear and gain instruction, and let the discerning acquire guidance!)
The wise man will hear instruction from the Word of God and apply it in his life. The fool will think that he does not need the Word of God. The Holy Spirit has a lot to teach us, but His instructions are found only in the written Word of God.
1:6 To discern the meaning of a proverb and a parable, the sayings of the wise and their riddles.
The Word of God deserves all the intense study that one can possibly bring to it. The biggest sin of the Christian is ignorance of the Word of God. This ignorance takes place in the pulpit and the pew. Many carnal Christians think that they can just go to church when they feel like it and learn enough on Sunday to survive in the satanic world system. These type of carnal Christians are AWOL in the angelic conflict around them. Once they do enter the angelic conflict, then they become a casualty, because they do not possess enough Bible doctrine to survive it. Many Bible teachers teach the Bible to others when they themselves have not even studied the entire counsel of the Word of God at the deepest level. These teachers are stepping into a battle without their full armor. They will become casualties when Satan decides to come against them. They will lead their congregation into error, because they will not stress the daily self-feeding of the Word of God which is needed to keep spiritual soldiers strong and fit. Teachers need to equip themselves first, and then their students, in the entire counsel of the Word of God. Otherwise, they will become ineffective drill sergeants who will get themselves and their students killed in the angelic warfare.
7 Fearing the Lord is the beginning of moral knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
One must fear God before he can understand morality. Unbelievers cannot understand the Word of God, because the Bible is a supernatural book which must be taught personally by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit could teach the Bible Himself to every believer personally, but instead, He uses human teachers with the gift of teaching to pursue this goal.
Fools are those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ. They despise wisdom, which only comes from the Word of God. They despise instruction from the Holy Spirit. Unbelievers hate Bible study. They would rather spend their time in other worthless pursuits which propagate the satanic world system.
1:8 Listen, my child, to the instruction from your father, and do not forsake the teaching from your mother.
Parents are responsible for teaching their children the entire counsel of the Word of God at the deepest level. Children should be able to debate rabbi by the time that they are 13 years old. Public school education is not developing rabbi debaters, but citizens of the New World Order.
Education should consist of reading, writing, arithmetic, creation science, Bible expository, Christian history, Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, and other spoken languages (such as Spanish, German, Russian, Chinese, etc.) One good tip is to schedule your children to watch one Bible cartoon every day in a foreign language.
1:9 For they will be like an elegant garland on your head, and like pendants around your neck.
Children who are taught the Word of God at the deepest level will be prepared to handle the deceptions and evils of the satanic world system as they grow into adulthood. On the other hand, may God have mercy on the parents who are not instructing their children in the entire counsel of the Word of God.
1:10 My child, if sinners try to entice you, do not consent!
When a child moves outside of the house, the first person he encounters will most likely be a sinner. The majority of the world is filled with those who reject Christ. Joseph turned away from the seductions of a married woman and so should those grounded in Bible doctrine.
1:11 If they say, “Come with us! We will lie in wait to shed blood; we will ambush an innocent person capriciously. 12 We will swallow them alive like Sheol, those full of vigor like those going down to the Pit. 13 We will seize all kinds of precious wealth; we will fill our houses with plunder.
The sinner premeditates how he can get something for nothing. He lives off others and makes someone else a victim so that that he might prosper.
1:14 Join with us! We will all share equally in what we steal.”
This is the philosophy of the satanic world system. Let’s steal, kill, and destroy, for tomorrow we die. Use all kinds of methods, even crooked methods, to get something for nothing.
1:15 My child, do not go down their way, withhold yourself from their path;
Fathers need to teach their sons to stay away from these kinds of evil people. Every son will head in this direction, unless they are fed complete Bible doctrine on a daily level.
1:16 for they are eager to inflict harm, and they hasten to shed blood.
If children are not instructed in complete Bible doctrine, they will grow up and become violent teenagers.
1:17 Surely it is futile to spread a net in plain sight of any bird,
Birds are smart enough to avoid a net they see spread out to catch them. However, these gangsters are more stupid than birds. They not only see the trap, but they even set it for themselves. They get caught in their own trap.
1:18 but these men lie in wait for their own blood, they ambush their own lives!
These young men will destroy themselves.
1:19 Such are the ways of all who gain profit unjustly; it takes away the life of those who obtain it!
Education needs to get away from teaching materialism. It needs to drop its godless secular humanism program and replace it with Biblical systematic theology. Thieves steal money, but then it takes their lives.
1:20 Wisdom calls out in the street, she shouts loudly in the plazas;
Wisdom is calling our to these boys to come to her school and learn something about life.
1:21 at the head of the noisy streets she calls, in the entrances of the gates in the city she utters her words:
Wisdom calls again, asking these boys to attend her school.
1:22 “How long will you simpletons love naiveté? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?
Wisdom asks these boys how long they are going to continue acting so stupidly.
1:23 If only you will respond to my rebuke, then I will pour out my thoughts to you and I will make my words known to you.
By responding to wisdom’s rebuke, a foolish person can become wise.
1:24 However, because I called but you refused to listen, because I stretched out my hand but no one paid attention,
Wisdom called, but no one listened.
1:25 because you neglected all my advice, and did not comply with my rebuke,
Wisdom gave advice, but it was not followed.
1:26 so I myself will laugh when disaster strikes you, I will mock when what you dread comes,
When trouble comes, wisdom will mock and laugh at those who were too stupid to listen to her.
1:27 when what you dread comes like a whirlwind, and disaster strikes you like a devastating storm, when distressing trouble comes on you.
Terrible times will come upon all of those who refuse to listen to wisdom.
1:28 Then they will call to me, but I will not answer; they will diligently seek me, but they will not find me.
When trouble comes, they will call to wisdom. She will not answer. They will seek wisdom, but they will not find her.
1:29 Because they hated moral knowledge, and did not choose to fear the Lord,
Those who do not fear the Lord hate wisdom. Wisdom is Bible doctrine
1:30 they did not comply with my advice, they spurned all my rebuke.
Those who do not fear the Lord spurn Bible doctrine.
1:31 Therefore they will eat from the fruit of their way, and they will be stuffed full of their own counsel.
Since Bible doctrine was rejected, these boys will reap what they sow. They will eat the rotten fruit that they sow. They will follow their own human viewpoint.
1:32 For the waywardness of the simpletons will kill them, and the careless ease of fools will destroy them.
Those who do not fear the Lord and study Bible doctrine will be destroyed by their own stupid human-viewpoint decisions.
1:33 But the one who listens to me will live in security, and will be at ease from the dread of harm.
Those who study and apply Bible doctrine will live in security. Every believer is promised food, clothing, and shelter (unless they are called to wear the martyr's crown). Mature Bible students will live at ease, even when the enemy attempts to harm them. One who understands the sovereignty of God knows that God is in control of his life. The enemies of the Messiah can do nothing to harm a true believer without the permission of God.