He’s 400-plus pounds of strength and dexterity. He can snap bamboo poles as if they were dry, rotted sticks from my back yard. He can hang effortlessly almost indefinitely from one arm, using the other to perform the most delicate of tasks. In a word, he is a silverback, the largest of gorillas. I, for one, am really glad that gorillas (the non-movie kind) are generally non-aggressive, unlike their temperamental friends the chimpanzees and the baboons, who can be uncomfortably - even dangerously - ill-tempered.
So what does the silverback have to do with the book of Proverbs? Well, when we study the book, there’s one sitting in the middle of the living room. By that, I mean that there’s a really big, potentially problematic, issue that we ignore to our own possible detriment. The issue is the primary author of Proverbs, Solomon. Don’t see what I mean?
Think about this: Proverbs is a book about wisdom: wise living, living skillfully, being a godly man/woman. The book, and by that I mean Solomon, spends a lot of time talking about living righteously, staying away from temptation, and remaining devoted to God. However, toward the end of his life, Solomon did practically none of it. He had over a thousand wives (if you count the concubines), he set up idols in his palace (supposedly for those pagan wives), and he indulged in every form of pleasure he could think of. He denied himself nothing. As a result, he died a morally bankrupt man. Moreover, the son to whom he gave the advice in the book was a foolish heir to the throne who caused a civil war and the permanent split of Israel into two states.
Honestly, would’t one be wiser to buy a get-rich book from a man who ended up in the poor house than to study the Proverbs of Solomon? To use the words of a famous sportscaster: "Not so fast, my friend!" There are two reasons I can think of. First, we should acknowledge that Solomon's advice was not the problem. The problem was that he abandoned the advice. In fact, he might have stayed out of trouble if he had remained faithful to it. Second, and more importantly, we need to realize that Proverbs is not Solomon's wisdom, it's GOD's wisdom, which He gave to Solomon, who then recorded it. We could say that Solomon's abandonment of the teachings of the book is irrelevant as to whether the book is wise, but I think it's more than that; I think it validates the book. Solomon's failure is a cautionary tale, reminding us that straying from God's guidance can have dire consequences.
So, those of us wanting to study Proverbs in hopes of gaining wisdom and improving our lives can do so with fear. We can embrace its truths and follow them knowing they will lead us to God Himself. All we have to do is stay on that path. If we do that, then we'll make nice with the silverback.
So what does the silverback have to do with the book of Proverbs? Well, when we study the book, there’s one sitting in the middle of the living room. By that, I mean that there’s a really big, potentially problematic, issue that we ignore to our own possible detriment. The issue is the primary author of Proverbs, Solomon. Don’t see what I mean?
Think about this: Proverbs is a book about wisdom: wise living, living skillfully, being a godly man/woman. The book, and by that I mean Solomon, spends a lot of time talking about living righteously, staying away from temptation, and remaining devoted to God. However, toward the end of his life, Solomon did practically none of it. He had over a thousand wives (if you count the concubines), he set up idols in his palace (supposedly for those pagan wives), and he indulged in every form of pleasure he could think of. He denied himself nothing. As a result, he died a morally bankrupt man. Moreover, the son to whom he gave the advice in the book was a foolish heir to the throne who caused a civil war and the permanent split of Israel into two states.
Honestly, would’t one be wiser to buy a get-rich book from a man who ended up in the poor house than to study the Proverbs of Solomon? To use the words of a famous sportscaster: "Not so fast, my friend!" There are two reasons I can think of. First, we should acknowledge that Solomon's advice was not the problem. The problem was that he abandoned the advice. In fact, he might have stayed out of trouble if he had remained faithful to it. Second, and more importantly, we need to realize that Proverbs is not Solomon's wisdom, it's GOD's wisdom, which He gave to Solomon, who then recorded it. We could say that Solomon's abandonment of the teachings of the book is irrelevant as to whether the book is wise, but I think it's more than that; I think it validates the book. Solomon's failure is a cautionary tale, reminding us that straying from God's guidance can have dire consequences.
So, those of us wanting to study Proverbs in hopes of gaining wisdom and improving our lives can do so with fear. We can embrace its truths and follow them knowing they will lead us to God Himself. All we have to do is stay on that path. If we do that, then we'll make nice with the silverback.