Proverbs

seek wisdom as a way of life

THE FINAL REWARD for seeking wisdom is good company, walking together on the paths of the righteous

God made with Israel, one cannot help but remember that when Israel broke its covenant with God, the prophets likened Israel to an unfaithful wife (Jer. 3:6; Hos. 2:1–13). The abandonment of marriage became a symbol for faithlessness of all kinds

The danger lies not in what the men will do to the young man but in their invitation to join them on their evil way

E FIRST OF the apodoses (beginning with “then” in v. 5 and followed by “for” in v. 6) presents the student with the first reward of such diligence. It is not wisdom, as we might expect, but God. The quest for wisdom, understanding, and insight (2:3) brings one to “the fear of the LORD” (2:5), the beginning of knowledge (cf. 1:7)—here set in parallel with “the knowledge of God

. Their rejection of Wisdom is now revealed for what it really is, a rejection of the Lord

The young man is to learn how to discern who is worthy of his trust and who is not.

tion? It asks us to think about the consequences that will come if we follow the urgings of those messages. Do they bring life to ourselves and our communities, or do they take it away

d. This first lesson in wisdom, then, asks each of us to think about the messages we hear. Can we tell the difference between truth and deception, between promise and seduction

the proverb is designed to make us aware of the trap of greed, the larger context of this passage also instructs us to learn wisdom by practicing discernment. Just as the young learner was urged to recognize the enticements of the gang for what they were, we are being taught to listen critically to persuasive messages that come at us daily