Laying down the law (Proverbs blog #2)

 (note: this blog is slightly longer than normal; you may want to make a pot of coffee or read it in a couple of sittings)

 

Proverbs – still a tricky book

Last blog, we looked at the key to Proverbs which is given to us at the start of the book: the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction (1:7).

While this is helpful, from talking to some of you, this is far from a silver bullet for understanding this book! Even with this key, Proverbs can be hard to understand, remaining enigmatic and riddle-esque in large parts. What should we do when, even with the key, Proverbs remains hard to understand?

The main thing that will help us understand the book is to read it – read it lots, read it slowly, read it carefully. But having said this, I think the next best thing to help us understand this book is understanding its use of the Old Testament.[1]

 

How Proverbs is like Shrek

Imagine you had never heard of any fairytales before, and then you watched Shrek. Think about how confused you would be – a little wooden boy keeps having his nose grow at random points, mice are wearing sunglasses, seven dwarves are carrying an incapacitated woman in a glass chamber, and so much more weirdness. Of course, you would be able to follow the contours of the plot, and some of it would still be funny, but mostly, it would be very strange: you wouldn’t really get it or understand its intended humour.

Proverbs is a bit like Shrek. But instead of having fairytales as its common base of understanding, it has the law and the prophets from the Old Testament. As a result, without having an understanding of that source material, we are unlikely to really ‘get’ Proverbs or understand its intended meaning in its fullness.

In light of this, the next three blogs will be looking at different parts of the law and the prophets that play a significant role in the book of Proverbs. The first of these is Deuteronomy.[2]

 

The structure of Proverbs: explained by Deuteronomy

As you read Proverbs, you realise that it is structured by a familial refrain, often addressing ‘my son’ or ‘O sons’. This is partly meant to make us think of Solomon addressing his royal son (more on this in the next blog). But I think more importantly, it is an expansion of a key instruction to families in Deuteronomy (6:6-7, Moses speaking):

These words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children.

The words Moses commanded in the law (in Deuteronomy) are words designed to be taught from parents to children, with this task important enough that it needs to be done diligently. This is what is happening on the pages of Proverbs. We can see this as we look at what the parents want to say to their ‘son’/’sons’ (here are a few examples):

Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching (1:8);

My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you (2:1);

My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments (3:1);

Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight, for I give you good precepts; do not forsake my teaching (4:1-2);

My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching (6:20).

All these law-y words are there to show that the parents want to teach their son(s) the law. More than this, the same priorities (bind them to your heart) and patterns (when you wake up, go to bed and all the time in between) that Deuteronomy instructs for receiving the law are reflected in Proverbs:

These words shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them while you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them… (Deuteronomy 6:6-8)

Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you (Proverbs 6:21-22)

Here is instruction that should reach your heart; here is instruction that should be with you when you wake up, go to sleep and for all your ‘walking’ in between.

Speaking of walking – the fact that the parent is teaching the child the law also helps explain all of the path/way/walking language in Proverbs. One of the dominant ways that life is described in Deuteronomy is with walking and path language:

You shall be careful therefore to do as the LORD your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you (Deuteronomy 5:32-33).

That same sort of walking/path language is all over Proverbs, building on the Deuteronomy ideas (here are a few of many examples):

He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints (2:7-8);

Delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech, who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness (2:12-13);

I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness (4:11).

Drawing this all together: Proverbs is structured as an instruction in the law, from parents (mainly father) to their children (son), as Moses commanded in Deuteronomy.

 

The fear of the LORD in Proverbs: explained by Deuteronomy

Seeing this structure then makes sense of a whole swathe of Proverbs’ content. Last blog, it was flagged that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: Proverbs’ wisdom is all rooted in knowing and fearing the LORD God.

Why is this so important in Proverbs? I think the best explanation is that it is of central importance in the law, in Deuteronomy. In chapters 5-6 of Deuteronomy, key to the book of Proverbs,[3] fear of the LORD is mentioned five times. Hence if Proverbs is a book giving instruction in the law, it makes sense that it focuses a lot of the fear of the LORD.

In the postscript at the end of this blog, I will build on our definition of the fear of the LORD by looking at how it is used in Deuteronomy. But in brief now, it is worth flagging just how central the LORD is to life in the law. Here is the first and central instruction in the law:

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

The first thing Israel are to hear in the commandment/law is a statement about the LORD: he is the one and only God of our world, and therefore (as the one God) worthy of all our love. No one or nothing else is God – only the LORD. Hence the most important command in life pertains to him – love him fully.

Putting it in simple logic: (a) the LORD is utterly central in the law (of Deuteronomy); (b) Proverbs is written as an instruction in the law; hence (a) + (b) implies that the LORD is utterly central in Proverbs. I think this helps us in two ways as we study Proverbs:

(1)    It gives us reason to lean into the content on the LORD. The stuff on God in Proverbs is not merely incidental to a book mainly designed to teach us practical wisdom for life. No – he is the beating heart of the message of the law, and he is therefore the beating heart of the message of Proverbs. Our expectation when reading this book should be for us to know the LORD better and to grow in our fear and awe before him.

(2)    It gives us scaffolding for thinking about the content not explicitly about the LORD. When we reach sections or proverbs that don’t explicitly say anything about the LORD, we should be cautious to think we have moved on from the ‘God’ bit of Proverbs. In Deuteronomy, God is always in view throughout the law – and we should have that same approach with Proverbs. We will see an example of what I mean by this in the next blog.

We are nearly there! One last idea to think about: Deuteronomy also helps us define what wisdom actually means.

Wisdom and folly in Deuteronomy

Wisdom and folly not only both appear as concepts in Deuteronomy, but also are given specific definitions. Wisdom’s meaning is closely linked to the law:

See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us (Deuteronomy 4:5-7).

Wisdom for the people of God is not just sage advice like ‘saving for a rainy day’ or generic sayings like ‘too many cooks spoil the broth’. It is far more significant – keeping and doing the statutes of the LORD. His law (including its content describing the LORD and his closeness to his people as in 4:7) is wisdom.

Similarly, the definition folly is very theological – it describes the path of rejecting the LORD:

A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he. They have dealt corruptly with him; they are no longer his children because they are blemished; they are a crooked and twisted generation. Do you thus repay the LORD, you foolish and senseless people? (Deuteronomy 32:5-6)

Israel’s evil turning away from God is described as foolish. Every time the word ‘foolish’ is used in Deuteronomy, it is referring to turning away from the LORD/worshipping false gods. Folly for the people of God is not forgetting to put suncream on for a hot day at the beach, or cycling without a helmet with headphones in, but far more significant: a rejection of the LORD.

Seeing this helps with our prior definitions for “wise”/“wisdom” and “foolish” as we read Proverbs – we should read them with these theological connotations, and not just how modern day newspapers or books would use them (i.e. with no intended link to the LORD or his law). And actually, Proverbs itself encourages us to read with these connotations, often using “law” words (underlined), “wisdom” words (bold), and “fear of the LORD” words (bold underlined) interchangeably, indicating strong overlap in meaning between them all (see two examples below):

Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD, would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof (Proverbs 1:29-30)

My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding; if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. (Proverbs 2:1-5)

 

Conclusion – Proverbs: a family teaching the law

Proverbs is rooted in and infused with the law of Deuteronomy. It is written as one generation teaching the next the law; as such it is centred on the LORD God and right response to him.

If we were to do a silly exercise of what the message of Proverbs might be based on its use of the Old Testament, then we could start our answer based on its use of Deuteronomy as follows:

Proverbs teaches its readers to fear the LORD…

Remarkably, we are exactly where we were at the end of the last blog. But hopefully seeing how it builds on Deuteronomy should strengthen all of those conclusions: far more than just give some practical wisdom/top tips, here is a book designed to grow us in our knowledge and fear of the LORD.

But you might be asking – if Proverbs is just an instruction in the law, then why do we have it in our Bibles? We already have that in Deuteronomy! You would be correct – there is more to the book than just its links to Deuteronomy. Stay tuned for the next blog and a journey into Solomon’s palace…

 

 

Postscript – the fear of the LORD in Deuteronomy

What does the fear of the LORD actually mean in Proverbs? As with the previous blog, there is a lot to unpack on this term, but we can look at how Deuteronomy uses the idea and build that into its meaning in Proverbs. I will try and do this briefly below:

(1)    Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments (Deuteronomy 5:29).

This is the LORD speaking about his people’s response to him at Sinai. They heard the voice of God speak out of thick darkness while standing at the foot of a whole mountain burning on fire – and they were terrified! It was a fear that recognised the LORD as the great, holy God (‘Behold, the LORD our God has shown us his glory and greatness’ Dt 5:24). It was a fear that motivated them to want to hear (via Moses) all the LORD’s words and do them (‘speak to us all that the LORD our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it’ Dt 5:27). So fear here seems to mean: (a) recognise in your heart the LORD’s greatness and glory as the holy God (so much so you are scared of him); and (b) in your scaredness, you want to hear and obey all his words.

(2)    Now this is the commandment – the statutes and the rules – that the LORD your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, that you may fear the LORD your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life (Deuteronomy 6:1-2).

Moses is speaking, introducing the law to Israel. In doing so, he tells Israel the purpose of him giving them the law: so that they may fear him. But fear here doesn’t seem to refer to just feeling scared – it seems to describe their keeping of all his statutes and commandments. So fear here seems to mean: keeping all the LORD’s statutes and commandments all your life.

(3)    And when the LORD your God brings you into the land… then take care lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. It is the LORD your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. You shall not go after other gods (Deuteronomy 6:10, 12-14).

Moses is warning the people of danger: future spiritual complacency in the land when they have lots of nice stuff. Here, fearing the LORD is used in contrast to forgetting the LORD. Fear still seems to share connotations from (1) and (2) – serving the LORD and swearing by his name carry implications of seeing him as great and obeying his commandments. But here it seems to focus on the theological binary: your two choices are either forgetting the LORD (and going after other gods) or fearing the LORD. In other words, it is much more a Christian vs non-Christian distinction, rather than describing a particular part of the Christian life. Fear here seems to mean: choosing the LORD as your God (rather than forgetting him/choosing idols).

(4)    And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day (Deuteronomy 6:24).

Similar stuff to what we have seen before – very linked to hearing and doing his statutes. Note also that it is explicit on the goodness of this way of life – the LORD’s commandment to fear him is for our good always.

 

(5)    And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and the statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding for your good? (Deuteronomy 10:12-13)

First on the list of requirements from the LORD is a fear of him. This I think fits best with (1)a) above, that the very first thing we need to do is recognise the LORD as the great and glorious God. From this, everything else flows. I think this also makes sense of Proverbs 1:7 – the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge. It is first (the beginning) on this list because everything else in your life (walking in his ways, love, service, obedience) flows from it.

 

(6)    You shall fear the LORD your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear. He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen. Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.

Like (5), the first commandment in the list is to fear the LORD. But along with these commands are a reminder of who God is: it is appropriate to fear him, because he has done many great and terrifying things in rescuing from Egypt and blessing the people. This brings us back to the idea in (1): fearing the LORD first of all means recognising his greatness and glory, shown through his great and terrifying acts.

 

To summarise: the fear of the LORD
- recognises him as the great and glorious God;
- with the result that you want to hear and obey his words;
- rather than forgetting him and living like he isn’t there.

Particularly significant for its use in Proverbs I think is (3): you either fear the LORD or forget him. The danger for the people of Israel is moving away from the LORD: choosing to fear the LORD is choosing not to forget him. In view of this, we can update our working summary for the message of Proverbs to be the following:

Proverbs teaches its readers to fear the LORD rather than forget him…

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[1] With thanks to Gwilym Davies, one of my tutors while at the Cornhill training course, for getting me started on thinking about the links between Proverbs and previous bits of the Old Testament (Deuteronomy and 1 Kings).

[2] There are a lot of textual links between Proverbs and Deuteronomy. For the sake of time, I will only focus on a few key ones, but this blog is intended only to be introductory rather than exhaustive in commenting on the links.

[3] When referencing Deuteronomy, I think that Proverbs (while very much drawing on the whole book) draws most from chapters 5-11 in its first nine chapters, particularly drawing on 5:22-6:25.