Proverbs 1:4

The simple person

Today, we should not call someone ‘simple’. We might offend him. He would think that we supposed him to be stupid.

In the Book of Proverbs, a simple person is someone who is not wise. By the word ‘simple’, Solomon means more than this. A simple person has not learned to be wise. So he is in danger. Evil people can easily lead simple people to do evil actions. But nobody is really good. ‘Everyone does evil things. Everyone fails when you use God’s standards’ (Romans 3:23). We are all simple people by God’s standards.

God wants the simple person to learn his wisdom. This begins when we invite God into our lives. Then God will help us to become wise. We must grow in wisdom, and we must grow in our knowledge of God.

Young people

The Book of Proverbs is poetry. Some poems are very short and other poems are longer.

The style of the poems may seem unusual. Sometimes, one line has the same meaning as the next. Sometimes lines contrast with each other. In other places, the meaning develops from line to line. Watch out for these different styles.

These poems help us to remember the proverbs.

The people believed that they should remember proverbs (wise words). Fathers taught proverbs to their sons. Mothers taught them to their daughters. Grandchildren learned them from their grandparents. Children had to use their memories. The adults tested the children’s memories.

In this way, children learned to be wise. In the future, when problems came, they would know the right thing to do.

For the same reason, we should learn Bible verses today. We should teach them to our children. In this way, we shall learn true wisdom.

Many things in the world change. There are new inventions, for example television. There are new illnesses, for example AIDS. There are revolutions and new governments.

Wisdom does not change. Solomon gave advice that is still good. He wrote wise words and they are still wise today.

Today’s young people will grow old. Wisdom that we teach them now will remain with them.