Proverbs is an amazing book. Its self confessed purpose is to make wise the simple, and to make the already wise even wiser. The book is largely a result of the work of Solomon. One thing that puzzles me is how this man could produce such timeless wisdom then made such a pig's ear of his own life. One seriously has to question the "wisdom" of any man who takes 700 wives and 300 concubines (and helpful comments on this would be greatly appreciated).
The early part deals with two prime temptations: (i) to make money by exploiting others rather than by honest hard work; and (ii) the dangers of sex outside marriage. Our own society would do well to pay heed to these instructions. The whole of the West is still suffering from the banking crisis, partly as a result of pursuing the false god of money; and the results of sexual sin and all the suffering it causes all too evident.
There are two keys to gaining wisdom given in the first 7 verses. The first is to listen. We need to listen to God, and we need to listen to others. The other is that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. When we put God first instead of our own cleverness we are making a good start. When we become proud we are on the road to foolishness.
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