Proverbs Study

The next purposes of the book of Proverbs we find in verse :4 “for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young”

Now the first one listed here is “for giving prudence to the simple” The King James says “subtlety to the simple,” but “prudence” is better and is reflected in most newer translations.

There is an interesting contrast here. In verse :3 we saw the “wisdom” there means decisiveness. This word refers to “incisiveness”. That’s from the word “incision” which means to make a cut, and that is appropriate because this is a person we might refer to as being “sharp”.

You see someone who encounters an emergency situation for instance and they know exactly what to do, and you say, “That guy is sharp”. That’s what we see here, except with a slightly different twist. It is used of being prudent toward evil.

In scripture we are told different ways to handle sin and temptation depending on the situation. In Matt. 4 we are taught to confront it with scripture. In James 4:7 we are told to resist it. In I Tim. 6:11 we are told to flee from it. Here is a man who knows how to handle evil. These proverbs “will help us avoid crafty and devious people”.

Now we are told that this is to be given to the “simple”. This is an important person in Proverbs. Or rather it’s important for you to understand who this is talking about. It comes from the word “pethi” which means, “open minded”. Now we’ve all heard people talk about how we need to be open minded. And that’s true. But you have to be careful because it’s possible to be so open minded that your brains fall out. That’s the picture here.

The NASB translates this word “naïve”. Now let me show you an important difference between two people who may at first look alike. This “simple” man/woman is a person who is inexperienced, yet teachable. Now there is another kind of person that we will meet in this Proverbs who is inexperienced but who is not teachable. This kind of person is called a “fool”. 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

The person we meet here in verse :4 is inexperienced and unlearned, but he/she is open to being influenced. The problem is that they are open to being influenced by both good and evil.

Now this is the reason why it is important to disciple new believers, to teach them the truth. Someone has said, “Not to teach good is to expose those who are inexperienced to the world of evil.” And that’s true – evil, bad theology, moral corruption… When a person gets saved, the devil loses a soul, but he will do everything he can to draw them away from truth and into error. But through instruction, the “inexperienced” can become the “incisive”.

The next phrase we see in verse :4 and the next purpose of the book, is to give “knowledge and discretion to the young”.

Now “knowledge” we’ve seen. It refers to accumulated facts, which are important, but knowledge alone, knowledge with nothing to balance it is dangerous. I Cor. 8:1 tells us that unbalanced knowledge causes arrogance. And it does. You know that. You’ve seen it.

Now there’s nothing wrong with being intelligent. There’s nothing wrong with being educated. I tell young people all the time, “You should get all the education you can”. But knowledge alone is not enough and if that’s all you have, you will end up being a fool, because you think you know it all and will become unteachable.

So knowledge must be balanced, but by what? :4 “discretion”.
Ok what is “discretion”? “Discretion” is “good judgment”, “discernment”, “the power of discrimination” – That is the ability to recognize the difference between right and wrong, good and bad. But as a Christian it goes to an even finer distinction than that. – Sometimes as Christians, the choices we make are not between good and evil, it’s between good and best. Should I do this good thing, or would it be better to do that good thing.

So “discretion” is the ability to chart your own course by making careful distinctions. Actually the word used here is a naval term that means to know where the shoals or shallow places lie and plotting a course to avoid them.

This is where we too often make a mistake and I’m glad God placed this here in the introduction to the book, because we need to know this up front. Yes the book of Proverbs teaches us Wisdom and other principles that enable us to solve life’s problems and to correct mistakes. BUT if we didn’t make the mistakes in the first place we wouldn’t have to solve them – right?

You see too often we spend all our time trying to solve problems instead of avoiding them. I have people come to my office and call me all the time to talk to me about how to solve their problems. But very seldom do I have people come and talk to me about how they can avoid the problems in the first place. And even when I teach it, as you can see by looking around, not many come to learn it.

Where are the shallow places in my marriage, and my lifestyle? Where are the pitfalls in my parenting…? Where are the rocks in my relationships…?

And not only identifying where those shoals are but how do I sail between them? How do I avoid problems with my money, with my marriage, with my children…?

Many start but few finish, because a lot of Christians, especially young Christians end up getting stuck on a spiritual gravel bar or run into some submerged snag and get pulled under and never get out.

Solomon says we can steer clear of those obstacles, and it is the purpose of the book of Proverbs to teach us how.