Dear reader, consider these words from Proverbs 1:1 carefully and slowly. They are wonderful words. You have entered the personal library of inspired royalty. Secrets of wisdom have been collected and preserved for you. Solomon, the rich and wise king of Israel, son of beloved king David, will teach you to be great in the sight of God and men (

You stand before an open door of knowledge, prudence, honor, riches, and life, among many other blessings. These are not the mere words of a pagan thinker, whose sayings have long ago been proven false. These are the inspired words of God as learned, proven, and written down by the world’s greatest analyst and philosopher (

What is a proverb? Before you read this wonderful book and attempt to understand these words of Solomon, consider the definition and nature of a proverb. The English word, according to The Oxford English Dictionary, means the following:

1. A short pithy saying in common and recognized use; a concise sentence, often metaphorical or alliterative in form, which is held to express some truth ascertained by experience or observation and familiar to all; an adage, a wise saw.

2. A common word or phrase of contempt or reproach, a byword.

3. An oracular or enigmatical saying that requires interpretation; an allegory, a parable.

The Bible uses the word “proverb” in all three ways, and it contains all three types of proverbs. Solomon’s book of Proverbs contains all three kinds as well.

Proverbs can be difficult to understand. As the definitions show, they are often metaphorical, which means they use words figuratively, not literally. And they are often enigmatical, which means they were composed intentionally with obscure metaphors or other figures of speech to challenge the reader to discover their hidden lesson. They can be obscure and perplexing by design, which gives them unique appeal, beauty, and force.

Solomon in his introduction describes proverbs as needing interpretation and being the dark sayings of wise men (

). You may almost see him admitting definitions one and three above, for metaphors need interpretation and enigmas are truly dark sayings. His proverbs are not for speed-reading or light reading. They are for careful and slow reading, with much thought on the lesson or lessons and how to apply the wisdom to your life.

These sayings need interpretation and application, which means finding the sense intended by God and Solomon (

). As with all proper Bible study, the words are to be read distinctly, and then the proper sense given to cause understanding (

). This procedure must be followed in all books of the Bible, but especially here.

Jesus and His disciples further show the difficulty of understanding proverbs. Consider the following two verses showing the obscure nature of a proverb:

“These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.”

“His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb.”

Jesus knew proverbs were not plain speech, and the disciples knew proverbs were not plain speech. Proverbs need careful analysis and interpretation to know the full and correct meaning and application. Instead of being intimidated, get excited at the prospect.

These proverbs provide short, valuable, and challenging rules for living life successfully by the wisdom of God. You will learn the fastest way to honor and riches and be saved from the pitfalls that trap others. What an exciting literary form! What an interesting way of communicating truth! And all by the Divine inspiration of the LORD Jehovah!

But these are not just any proverbs, they are the proverbs of Solomon, son of David and king of Israel. Begotten and trained by the man after God’s own heart, God gave Solomon largeness of heart and wisdom above all other men (

). As a rich king with a peaceful reign, he explored the purpose and rules for life more than any other man could even attempt, as is recorded in his philosophical book, Ecclesiastes.

God inspired Solomon to write many proverbs, by which he taught the people knowledge and set out acceptable words, even words of truth (

). Of a total of three thousand proverbs (

), the best five hundred are here. What a collection! You will learn truth and wisdom to cover most areas of your life. Honor, long life, peace, prosperity, and safety are right before you. Your part is simply to read, learn, and do.

Tremble before the Bible – God’s divine library of perfect revelation – and celebrate the opportunity to find great spoil from the mind of God and the observations of Solomon. Ask God by His Spirit to reveal precious things to you (

). Make learning and obedience your goals, without even a trace of mere academic interest or knowledge for the sake of pride. Let your ambition be to grow in wisdom to please God and men.

The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;

Why did Solomon write Proverbs? He wanted you to have the benefits of his exceptional wisdom, fantastic experiments, and insightful observations as to the purpose and profit of man. He wanted to give wisdom, instruction, and understanding to you.

What a wonderful gift! David said Scripture was sweeter than honey and more precious than much fine gold (

). Job esteemed it more important than his necessary food (

). How thankful are you, good reader? The wisest king ever, in perfect cooperation with the King of kings, wants to privately tutor you in the wisdom of life!

God gave Solomon more wisdom and understanding than any other man (

). And God gave him the opportunity to experiment with different things more than any other man, for he was exceeding intelligent, rich, powerful, attractive, and had a peaceful reign, allowing him great freedom for testing and observing. He wrote the book of Proverbs to share his wisdom and observations in short, pithy sayings for your profit.

Solomon wrote to share his great wisdom and social experiments with his son and nation (

). The book of Ecclesiastes, a philosophy of life culled from his extraordinary situation by inspiration, describes his social experiments and observations about the purpose of man’s life. He gave some of his wise answers there, but he primarily taught the people, and indirectly you, through his many proverbs.

Solomon hoped to help his son and nation avoid foolishness in life and choose the way of the fear of the Lord and wisdom. He hoped to provide the instruction and understanding that wise men could use to live a more God-pleasing and prosperous life. He wanted to save them from the snares and pitfalls of folly and sin.

The terms of this proverb overlap and should not be isolated altogether from each other, but you may consider any shades of their meanings that are unique to them. The value of repetition of similar words is to emphasize the quality and quantity of the thing described (

). In other words, these proverbs are jammed pack full of every aspect of valuable learning that a man could desire.

He wants you to know wisdom, which is the power of right judgment. Wisdom knows what to do in any situation. It knows the right use of the best means for the best ends. It knows to choose the good and refuse the evil, and the reasons to do so (

). He will tell you later that wisdom is the principal thing and you must have it (

He wants you to know instruction, which is the teaching of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. He will be the teacher; you will be the student. What a blessed privilege! Instruction is the teaching discipline of education and training (

). Without the book of Proverbs, who would instruct you in successful living?

He wants you to perceive understanding, which is the power of accurate discernment (

). A man with understanding comprehends and grasps a situation, or information, to properly identify its leading features and arrive at the correct knowledge of its difficulties, implications, and consequences. It is to know right from wrong, truth from error, light from darkness, integrity from fraud, and so forth. It is to perceive and approve things that are excellent (

Though you did not get very far in the instruction of wisdom and understanding in this short proverb, you may jump ahead for the most important foundational lesson. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the holy is understanding (

). Dear reader, do you fear the Lord this day? Do you tremble before the holy and terrible God of the Bible and seek with all your heart to obey and please Him? There is no learning, wisdom, or understanding without the fear of the Lord.

If this foundation is in place, then the next thing to do is apply yourself to these proverbs. The Preacher Solomon is going to teach you, but learning requires an eager, expectant, focused, seeking, and praying student. Are you ready to consider and absorb each proverb with the same desire and intensity you would exert to discover hid treasures (

)? Men who truly desire wisdom will dedicate themselves to this great goal (

The ultimate source of wisdom and understanding is that taught by the Holy Spirit through the power of the Lord Jesus Christ (

). All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found in Christ Jesus (

), so you may joyfully know you have found the One greater than Solomon (

To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;

Why read the book of Proverbs? Solomon in his introduction gave at least nine reasons (

). He lists wisdom, instruction, understanding, judgment, justice, equity, subtilty, knowledge, and discretion as goals, all of which are vital for success in life. Here are four of them – wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity. These are four things you must learn.

You were born ignorant and selfish. Your heart has depraved and perverted affections from Adam, which destroy ability to perceive and reason correctly. Until God regenerates you with a new heart, you will not be wise or right, for your affections remain selfish and perverse. After regeneration, you need instruction to bring your mind up to speed.

Here is inspired instruction from the wisest man ever. The book of Proverbs will teach wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity to regenerated persons. But you must receive the instruction, and only humble and submissive readers will do that. Man’s innate pride fights against being corrected and taught by another, for he presumes he is wise and right.

What is wisdom? It is the power of right judgment. It is the analytical ability to fully discern a dilemma or situation and correctly conclude the godly and right attitude or action in response. Wisdom is not highly correlated to intelligence, for wisdom operates on a much higher plane than mere rote memory or calculating speed of simple facts. Wisdom looks beyond the apparent to discover the true nature of a thing or situation.

What is justice? It is choosing solutions that are just and righteous. Justice always condemns the wicked and justifies the righteous. It does not confuse the two or compromise in either direction. It knows what is right and demands it with faithful integrity. The book of Proverbs teaches justice by defining what is right and wrong.

What is judgment? It is closely connected to justice and often used in tandem with it in the Bible. When men say, “He has good judgment,” they mean he has ability to identify error and choose right. Fads, fear, appearances, or other distractions do not alter judgment. Wise men cut to the essential issue of a matter and judge rightly (

What is equity? It is thinking and acting that is completely equal, fair, impartial, and evenhanded. A man with equity is not moved by emotions, friendships, or compensation to compromise. He will not distort truth or slant matters in any direction. He is meticulously fair in distributing both rewards and punishments. He is equally as tough on his own family and friends as he would be on his enemies (

Though there may be some overlap in Solomon’s four goals here, the repetition does not hurt you, for it only emphasizes the exceeding great value of this book. Wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity are wonderful things to have, and every noble reader will crave them with great desire. They are before you in this book. They are hardly taught anywhere else in the world. Thank God for your blessed opportunity, and receive them!

Jesus of Nazareth had these four traits in abundance (

). His own enemies said, “Never man spake like this man” (

). And when on trial for His life before combined religious and political enemies, they could not produce a single fault in His very public life (

). Today He reigns at the pinnacle of power of the universe, and He does so in perfect righteousness (

To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;

Why did God inspire, and Solomon write, the book of Proverbs? Here is part of the answer (

). These proverbs provide subtilty for simple people, and knowledge and discretion for young men. All men are born simple, ignorant, and foolish; without correction and instruction, they will be perplexed and punished by life. But the wise Preacher recorded his observations and learning in short sayings to teach wisdom for life.

Simple people have little understanding or wisdom. They are foolish, gullible, naïve, silly, and stupid. They lack ability to quickly and accurately discern, comprehend, analyze, and choose wisely. Solomon’s precious proverbs can give subtilty, or prudence, to such people, which is sharp ability to quickly perceive, understand, and judge matters, even where the distinctions are fine. Subtle men are knowledgeable, clever, and wise.

Young men arrive as babies. They know nothing. They eat like nursing puppies, and they need diapers to protect themselves. They take a year to walk, another to talk, and another to potty. By five they ride a bike, and by fifteen barely drive a car. They dream of marrying a supermodel, playing in the NBA, and driving a Ferrari. At twenty they are foolish, gullible, impulsive, naïve. They lack temperance (self-discipline) and experience.

They play hard and sleep long, but they find work hard and long. When they do work hard, they do not know how to work smart. They spend money, but do not know to save it. They instantly spot attractive women, but they cannot measure her character. They can marry a wife, but do not know how to lead one. They can father a child, but do not have a clue about training one. They can make money, but they do not know how to invest it.

What happens to these foolish and ignorant young men? Adultery, bankruptcy, crime, debt, depression, disease, divorce, drugs, drunkenness, fighting, jail, painful marriages, pornography, poverty, unemployment, vain business ventures, and premature death! All which can be avoided by learning and practicing Solomon’s wonderful proverbs.

Knowledge here is to know what is appropriate, effective, godly, profitable, right, and safe. It is to know God, fear Him, and know He rewards those that diligently seek Him. Such knowledge cannot come from the world; it must come from heaven; and God gave it to you in the book of Proverbs. Young men need this precious kind of knowledge.

Discretion discriminates between right and wrong. It knows how, when, and why to do or not to do something. It perceives a situation and takes advantage of its opportunities or avoids its dangers. It wisely discerns and separates factors in any matter to rightly judge its merit or morality. Young men need discretion to correct their folly and inexperience.

Young man, you need these proverbs. Without them, you are going to be hurt in life and never amount to what you could with them. With them, you can be great in the sight of God and all good men. You can truly be successful and prosperous. These lessons are not difficult. You must make the investment each day to learn them well, retain their wisdom, and apply them to the specific decisions and situations of your own life.

Father, you do not know what to teach your children? Teach them Solomon’s proverbs! They were inspired and written for this very purpose. Anything else you have learned in life is only valid to the degree it agrees with Proverbs and the rest of the Bible. What Ben Spock and the NEA believe should be taught is a tragedy. Teach them inspired wisdom from heaven for your mutual happiness and the prosperity of your family.

If you think you are already subtle, knowledgeable, and discreet, then these proverbs are not for you. You are a self-deceived and self-righteous fool and scorner, and you will meet your fate soon enough. God, wisdom, and wise men will laugh at your calamity (

). If you think yourself to be something, when you are nothing, you have simply lied to yourself (

). Give God the glory, and repent for your arrogance.

But if you can come admitting your simplicity and need for knowledge and discretion, then these proverbs are for you. By the grace of God and diligent application of these rules to your life, you can be exceeding wise and deliver yourself from the way of fools. What will you do today? For today is the first day of the rest of your life, and it may be the last! You can never recover this day to apply your heart unto wisdom.

To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.

Solomon wrote Proverbs for the young and simple (

). But he also wrote it for the mature and wise, that they might gain greater learning to understand and apply the words of this book (

). Therefore, there is great value to study these proverbs and their interpretations in order to attain to wise counsels. If you want to be wise, here is the way!

Proverbs are the dark sayings of the wise, and they need interpretation (

). But the effort is well worth it, for the reward is obtaining greater learning and wise advice. By understanding Solomon’s proverbs and their interpretations in this book, and learning the words of the wise and their dark sayings, you will attain to wise counsels. Men will come to you for help in intricate matters, for you will have acquired wisdom and understanding.

What is the rule for increasing learning and attaining unto wise counsels? Hearing! Even wise and understanding men must stop thinking and talking in order to listen instead to become wiser. Your age or wisdom does not matter. To learn more and attain to the counsels of the wise, you must hear instruction from others. Humble yourself before this inspired collection of proverbs and get learning and wise counsel. It is your choice.

Wisdom is acquired by the ears, not the mouth. You have two ears, but one mouth. You should be swift to hear and slow to speak (

). However, foolish man would rather speak, for he wants to show others his wisdom. But a wise man will close his mouth and open his ears, so that he might hear the instruction of his teachers and gain their wisdom.

Listening is hard for the young and simple, because they are foolish and impatient. Children are self-deceived to think they know more than parents. Without experience or understanding, they want to teach their elders. But older men also have a problem with listening, for they value their experience too highly. Only a quick survey of this book of Proverbs, or a small review of the problems among men, reveals widespread ignorance.

Great men understand the times and know what ought to be done (

). They discern changing circumstances and the response to them that pleases God and men. How do they come to this illustrious position from the confusion and ignorance they inherited at birth? They listen and learn from their primary teachers – parents and pastors.

The blessed God inspired the Bible, which is full of wisdom for life and eternity. And He also sent parents and pastors to teach the Bible to willing hearers (

). Your part is left! Will you listen like Israel to Ezra, Cornelius to Peter, and the noble Bereans to Paul (

A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:

God inspired the book of Proverbs for you. It is in the Bible to teach wisdom to the simple and young (

). It can also take wise men to new levels of knowledge (

). But the wisdom in Proverbs must be carefully studied in Solomon’s short, dark sayings. Careless or lazy men will give up before learning anything (

There are no boring or stuffy theories here that are hard to grasp and apply. Instead, there are short, pithy observations of life that can give you great insight into human experience and sure rules for success. Noble and wise men will realize this incredible gift and apply themselves to learn these obscure sayings of the wisest man in history (

King Solomon was also a preacher – for he used his great wisdom, social experiments, and findings in philosophy to teach his people knowledge (

). He considered his collection of proverbs a great achievement. He made the project a priority, identified the best proverbs, and put them in order. He used only the best words and limited them to absolute truth that God approved. He chose the 500 or so proverbs in the book of Proverbs from the 3,000 he wrote and others he found (

It requires effort to learn wisdom from proverbs. They are unlike the sound bites of politicians, the anecdotes used in most pulpits, the juvenile and sensational words of the media, and the dumbed-down wording of school textbooks. Proverbs are dark sayings: they are riddles (

). Their lesson is obscure. They must be interpreted and applied, or you will miss the lesson buried under the surface of the pithy saying. The mother lode of wisdom is waiting for those who will diligently mine Solomon’s proverbs.

You were born with several handicaps, which you must overcome with God’s help. All men are born with depraved hearts that lie to them (

). All the learning the world offers is vanity (

). There are few teachers of wisdom left (

). And you were born in a lazy and impatient generation. Instead of McGuffey’s Eclectic Readers, you were trained by Dick and Jane and Dr. Seuss! Proverbs are extra difficult for the MTV generation, many of whom were taught the sight method of reading and/or Ebonics.

Instead of resenting the difficulty of proverbs, rejoice at finding the great spoil of secret wisdom hid among the words (

). Instead of grieving over the effort required, get excited about the intellectual challenge and soul benefit of figuring them out and applying them to your life (

). Since they are difficult, most others will never learn the wisdom to compete with you. Grab the opportunity!

These are the words of God. These are the words of the wisest King and philosopher that ever lived. These proverbs will save you from trouble in your life. These proverbs will bring happiness and success. These proverbs will teach you wisdom – the power of right judgment in all situations you will face. These proverbs will give you the knowledge of why things happen to others as they do. You will have understanding over other men. You will be able to teach truth and wisdom to others (

Why did God inspire dark sayings that are hard to understand? Because success, truth, and wisdom are not rights. They are privileges by God’s grace for those humble enough to study them diligently (

). Wisdom mocks those who are not fervently earnest (

). But wisdom offers herself freely to the passionate (

Jesus often spoke in parables, which are merely lengthy proverbs. Why? To confuse the majority of his hearers, who did not deserve the truth (

). If you neglect His opportunities to learn truth and gain wisdom, the glorious God of heaven has promised to take from you even the little understanding you think you have (

You have been warned. You should read a proverb a day and diligently try to understand it. Wisdom is freely offered (

). And wisdom should be the principal goal of your life (

). Dedicate yourself to obtaining God’s wisdom (

). Love and learn these dark sayings that provide great value and pleasure (

To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

This is a crucial proverb, for the rest are wasted without fearing the LORD. Solomon put it first! The basic foundation for learning is to fear God (

), but fools reject wisdom and instruction, for they are proud and selfish without regard for God. They love their own opinions (

). Rather than search for truth, fools simply want to promote their own thoughts (

). You cannot even start learning without the true fear of God.

Who is the LORD? He is Jehovah of the Bible, the great I AM THAT I AM (

). He created the heavens, earth, seas, and everything in them in six twenty-four hour days. When He came as a man 2000 years ago, He was named Jesus (

). Jesus Christ is Jehovah! He is coming soon with His mighty angels in flaming fire to destroy His enemies and this world (

The fear of God is an affectionate reverence for Him and humble submission to His word. Fearing God is loving His commands and hating evil (

). Fearing God recognizes Him as the First Cause and Last End of all things (

). It knows His forgiveness and seeks to please Him (

). A man fearing God trembles humbly at His word (

Natural men, who do not fear God, are fools (

). Their reasoning processes are perverse, for they reason in a circle from their own conceited ideas (

). Spiritual men, who do fear God, are wise and reasonable, because their thoughts begin with faith in a Creator God (

). The fool begins his thinking with thoughts of other fools, the believer with the words of God.

All men reason in a circle, or begin by assumptions. Their knowledge and wisdom depend on their assumptions. The God-rejecter begins by assuming his ideas and those of the fools before him are intelligent and rational. He begins by assuming he has made great advances in the twenty years since he was in diapers. The righteous man begins by assuming faith in an infinitely wise God, Who has revealed truth and wisdom in Scripture. He begins by thinking he knows nothing at all and needs the help of Another.

The fool cannot prove his theories. He calls hallucinations like evolution to be science, but he has never observed evolution, duplicated it in a laboratory, or adequately defined it. He is a fool! And his so-called science is merely a fable (

). The believer knows the Bible is absolutely true internally and externally, but he cannot and will not prove it to the fool, because the fool is missing the essential factor – faith (

Consider faith closely. The fool has faith – belief and trust – in himself and his other fellow fools. It takes more faith to believe man came from chaotic gases and baboons than it does to believe man came from an intelligent Creator. The fool has faith, but it is faith in man’s hallucinations. The fool has faith in lies, which is self-deception. The believer has faith in God and His word (

How did man originate? The fool says a big bang of chaotic gases formed order, design, beauty, life, and the ability and laws to reproduce and preserve them. The man who fears God knows the fool is a fool, because only an idiot could imagine such nonsense, and only the insane would say it. As a humble child trusting God, he cries, “The Emperor has no clothes!” He knows God made man from dust and breathed into him the breath of life.

Evolution is the result of God-hating and sin-loving minds given over to the devil, and it is God Himself Who blinds these fools to worship baboons as their ancestors (

). Their “think tanks” today are to smoke hallucinogenic substances and see who can win the day by coming up with the most outlandish explanation for a thing. Do you doubt this accusation? How do you think they say the big bang was 14 billion years ago? They do not even know what men were doing on earth 4 thousand years ago!

The blessed God blinds men who are not thankful to Him for what they are and have (

). When they give more glory to the creature than to the Creator, He gives them over to a reprobate mind to do very inconvenient things like sodomy, abortion, child rebellion, bestiality, Picasso, and same-sex marriages (

). Jehovah, the LORD God, has committed Himself to destroy such men (

How did the seven-day week originate? Did Neanderthal man decide he was tired after working six days and needed the seventh for rest? The movements of the sun teach seasons and years and days, and the moon teaches months, just as God declared (

). Where did the week originate? By God’s revelation (

How did morality originate? Is adultery wrong? If not, why is polygamy wrong? If not, why is prostitution wrong? If not, why is pornography wrong? If not, why is bestiality wrong? If not, why is pedophilia wrong? How do you reason, fool? Did the caveman of your theories want to protect the woman and give her a loving and secure life in a monogamous relationship of two adults? Or did the blessed God ordain marriage?

Consider how an evolutionist reasons. He laughs at sexual abstinence and virginity, while pulling very small infants apart limb by limb with a suction abortion. He sues farmers for housing chickens in safe cages with constant food, water, and vitamins, but he viciously defends the so-called right to rip an unborn child to pieces. And they call this knowledge!

Fearing God is the beginning of knowledge – about religion. If it were not for God and His Bible, men would still be sacrificing their wives and children in fire to make peace with their idols, as is still done in India today. They would still be cutting and painting themselves to make peace with the Great Spirit to go to the Happy Hunting Ground.

Fearing God is the beginning of knowledge – about government. If it were not for God and His Bible, men would still worship their emperor as god, like the Egyptians of old and the Japanese of yesterday. Benevolent government was ordained in the Bible, and it is only widely enjoyed in nations that have been havens for Bible preaching. In all other nations, the peasants are used to satisfy the appetite for luxury of the ruler.

Fearing God is the beginning of knowledge – about history. Most historians today write history to further a social agenda, and those that write honestly have little data anyway. As foolish man discovers that the Bible accounts of ancient civilizations are true, the same men outlaw the Bible in schools, lest the children have truth at their disposal. Consider the recent discovery of the Hittites that the Bible had described for 3,000 years.

The Bible has all the answers from the origin of the universe to what to do with your foolish child, from the origin of death to the cure for it, from perfect rules for marriage to the eternal state of the wicked. Fearing God means that you believe and trust His word, which gives you insight and answers for all the questions of life, while the evolutionist fool can only speculate about new estimates for the age of the big bang.

Fearing God means you do not fear man, which brings pressure to compromise (

). Peer pressure of elementary school students or academicians in your professional field cause men to accept traditional ideas or politically-correct theories. It is time for the child to cry again, “But the Emperor has no clothes!” The fear of God saves a man from this bondage, for such a man despises human opinions (

Where does wisdom originate? In the fear of the Lord! God opens men’s eyes, ears, and hearts to truth and wisdom (

). Wisdom cannot be found anywhere in the universe, but in the fear of God (

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Children! Your future depends on obeying your parents. After introducing Proverbs (

), Solomon’s second proverb is to children about obeying their parents (

). A father’s instruction and a mother’s law can bring prosperity to your life. But rejecting their training will bring pain and trouble and an early death (

The first proverb exalted the fear of the Lord (

). Of course, this is the foundation for every life, knowing and obeying your Creator (

). But the very next rule for a successful life is to obey the parents the Creator God specially chose for you from the entire human race (

Not every father gives good instruction; not every mother gives godly laws. But Solomon and his wife were wise. Solomon had great parents, and he wanted his son to pay attention (

). If you have Christian parents that desire God’s best for you, there is every reason to fully obey them. And if you do not, God wants you to obey them anyway.

After fearing the Lord, the simplest way for children to be wise and avoid life’s pitfalls is to obey the hard-earned knowledge and affectionate wisdom of parents. What a fantastic thing! God has appointed an experienced man and woman with deep emotional ties as the personal guardians for every child. Why would a child ever disobey his father or mother?

But many fathers have said, “Why did he do that? I clearly taught him to avoid that problem.” Though the caring and experienced father warned his son about the danger of a choice, the son did not hear or remember the advice. He did not comprehend or retain the lesson, and he fell into the very pain and trouble his father tried to save him from.

Many mothers have said, “Why did she do that? I gave her a rule to never do that!” Though the godly and loving mother laid down a law to protect her daughter, the foolish girl chose her own way and reaped the bitter consequences. She forsook the law of her mother by neglecting the warning and choosing to do things her own way.

What causes children to be so foolish? They have only a fraction of the knowledge and experience their parents have. They are unable to identify or analyze the nature and causes of the dysfunctional lives around them. They are shortsighted, thinking only about the present, while their parents are focused on the future. They are emotionally captivated by peer pressure and childish foolishness. Their parents know them better than anyone else, including themselves, yet they persist in doing things their way. How foolish!

It is the sins of pride, rebellion, and self-deception. The child, though barely trained to use a toilet and drink from a cup, believes it knows more than its parents. It wants to experiment with sex, though its parents have slept together every night for at least 10 years before it could even conceive of sex. What presumption! It wants to spend all income rather than save, even though it has not provided one dollar for its own support.

Is obeying parents as important as the Bible makes it? Is disobedience worthy of the death penalty (

)? Definitely! Even if violating a parent’s laws does not bring severe direct consequences, God Himself demands strict obedience to uphold His ordained representatives, to provide for parental tranquility, and to introduce the child to authority for future prosperity. God Himself will destroy rebels.

Child! You have been warned about rejecting your parents. But God has also offered an incentive, if you will obey and honor them. He will give you a long life and bless it with good success (

)! Can you believe your good fortune? Two loving parents to teach you wisdom, severe judgment if you rebel, but supernatural blessings if you obey! It is all up to you. You can have everything in the way of peace and success by obeying.

Father! Are you giving your children the instruction they need to succeed in life and grow in favor with God and men? Your Creator has given you this duty (

). Mother! Are you laying down the law for your children to save them from the horrible troubles of this perverse generation? You are responsible along with your husband (

). Do not content yourself with raising children. Make sure you prepare them to please God in life.

Though the present generation thinks fathers and mothers are outdated – emphasizing instead one-parent homes, same-sex marriages, test tube cloning, and public zoo instruction, the word of God still stands as the always relevant and infinitely wise manual from your Creator (

). Any efforts to compromise, despise, or overthrow its laws will bring confusion and destruction (

Reader! Have you submitted yourself to the instruction and laws of your Father in heaven? If you neglect the preaching of His word, even your prayers become an abomination to Him (

). If you are not a prepared and focused hearer, He will strip you of any wisdom you think you have (

). The blessing and reward of hearing the truth preached is only for those who obey what they hear (

My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

A young man can be like a glorious prince with a crown on his head and chains on his neck. There are two conditions – parents to teach him God’s wisdom, and his obedience to that instruction. If either is missing, a young man will grow up dysfunctional and disgraceful. The only remedies in such a case are the powerful grace of God, intervention of other teachers, and/or his devoted diligence to overcome such a handicap to success.

This proverb is a powerful metaphor. Instead of using “as” or “like” to indicate a simile, Solomon made a stronger point by teaching that obedience to parental instruction would give a young man the visible honor usually due a prince (

). While obedience will not literally obtain jewelry for a young man’s public appearance, it will give him the grace and wisdom that gloriously adorn a young man in the eyes of God and men.

Solomon introduced the purpose of Proverbs (

), laid the foundation of wisdom in the fear of the Lord (

), and identified the importance of young men obeying their parents (

). He went on to warn against companionship with wicked men (

), and he described the terrible consequences of rejecting offered wisdom (

). Here in the first chapter of the book are the foundation stones for success in life.

Wise parental instruction is essential for a young man’s success. Without it, he enters the world as an ignorant infant, and he makes little progress beyond that without parental experience and wisdom poured into his heart and mind. He never truly grows up! He remains deformed and stunted in proportion to the neglect of his parents. He responds to life in most cases like a spoiled child. Character is formed in childhood and youth (

). Woe to the young man with foolish, lazy, or wicked parents.

A young man learns the important things in life by watching and obeying a godly father. He learns to balance authority and affection, maximize a marriage, obtain professional success, lead a home, respect authority, manage money, avoid whores and drunkenness, walk with God, pray, apply the Bible, and forgive others’ offences. Without this training, he lacks graciousness, humility, perseverance, mercy, and ruling his spirit and tongue. He never achieves the princely grace and glory of a man with the approval of God and men.

What are the lessons this far? A young man’s success depends on the wise instruction of godly parents. Parents have an obligation from God to train their children in the fear of the Lord (

). And children are bound to repay their parents for that great kindness and service shown to them when helpless (

But wise parental instruction is only half of the equation. A young man must obey the rules and warnings of his parents in order to benefit from their efforts. A foolish and stubborn child is doomed to failure and misery. The only way he can grow and prosper before God and men is to take his parents’ advice to heart and obey it in his life (

). The goal of being a prince before God and men is only achieved by careful obedience to good parents.

Father! Do you train your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, like David, Abraham, and others (

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