Abstract
In the Proverbs, Solomon is using an interesting phrase “ḥă·sar- lêḇ” to describe as well to mitigate the foolish condition of a men. This term would be translated as “lacks of judgment” or as “short sighted”, describing a person which has no ability to see overreaching consequences of his choices. In order to mitigate this problem, Solomon is giving heed to the wisdom, which can give you far reaching sight into life’s causalities. This solution is derived from our proper relationship toward God’s law and His commandments.
Word Study
Wisdom’s Call
- Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars:
- She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table.
- She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the highest places of the city,
- Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding [ḥă·sar- lêḇ;], she saith to him,
The wisdom hath builded her house, and calls out all the people which lack judgment [ḥă·sar- lêḇ;] to join her banquet. And she calls:
- Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding [ḥă·sar- lêḇ;], she saith to him,
- Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled.
- Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.
This call to the banquet of wisdom is called to everybody! The nourishment of wisdom is available to everybody for free!
She summarized her banquet as follows:
- The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
Wisdom boldly claims that there is no wisdom without the fear of the LORD. The wisdom the one which gives the understanding of God’s law, because it knows the Holy One. It knows the character of God.
By studying Proverbs 8 we recognize Jesus as personifying wisdom (for more information see Proverbs 8. and Jesus). For this reason, when we are exploring the wisdom in Proverbs, let’s keep the perspective that it is Christ who is teaching us depth of God’s law.
Let’s explore this phrase [ḥă·sar- lêḇ;] in Proverbs. We see in particular the wisdom is expanding the understanding of the 10th commandment.
10th commandment
- Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.
The 10th commandment is very peculiar. It deals with the inner man, or with lêḇ; - the heart, the feelings, the will, the intellect. The man which is [ḥă·sar- lêḇ;] is in violation of the 10th commandment. When Jesus was asked by rich young ruler, what good thing shall he do, that he may have eternal life? Jesus answered to keep the commandments.
- He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
- Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
It seems intentional that Jesus omitted the 10th commandment, since the rich young ruler’s issue was precisely tied to covetousness or his attachment to wealth and possessions.
The 10th commandment introduces whole another level or perspective toward the law, because it addresses the inner man, or lêḇ; - the heart, the feelings, the will, the intellect.
Let’s explore the phrase [ḥă·sar- lêḇ;] within Proverbs.
Coveting the Neighbor’s Wife
- But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding [ḥă·sar- lêḇ;]: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.
The one who commits adultery, cannot see over reaching consequences of his decision. He does not see, that he is destroying his own soul. Jesus is trying to reason out with an adulterer as follows:
- Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
- Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?
- So he that goeth in to his neighbour’s wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.
It is not possible to remain innocent for the adulterer.
Jesus pleads with men:
- My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:
- That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.
- For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:
- But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.
- Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.
Jesus has a foresight over the luring of a strange woman. To short sighted man, she looks sweet, yet her end is bitter one. Her feet go down to death. The man who goes after her, destroyeth his own soul.
In order to mitigate this error, the Jesus advices to keep the commandments of the law.
- My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
- Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.
- When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
- For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
- To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
Jesus teaches me that in order to keep the commandments of His Father’s law, it must be continually bind upon my heart. In such case the commandments of the law will keep me from that strange woman. How? Because they will give me the far-reaching sight.
- For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
Therefore Jesus calls us to ponder.
tə·p̄al·lês - to ponder
palas: To weigh, to make level, to ponder
- For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:
- But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.
- Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.
- Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.
Jesus is pleading with us to ponder, to judge, to recognize her moveable path of life. What are the consequences of adultery, save destruction of our soul, already spoken of in Proverbs 6:32?
- Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:
- Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:
- Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;
- And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,
…- Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.
- Let thy fountains be [not - mistakenly missing in KJV] dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.
- Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’ with thee.
- Let thy fountain be blessed: …
Simply spoken, if you go after a strange woman, you will give all your wealth to strangers.
Why should one do that to himself? It is short sighted. Christ’s loving advice is as follows:
- Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.
- Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.
- And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?
Unless we ponder upon the consequences of our actions, certainly God will ponder upon our ways. The cause and effect will produce its outcome.
- For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.
- His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.
- He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
Hasar leb
- And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding [ḥă·sar- lêḇ;],
- My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.
- Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.
- Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.
- Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:
- That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.
This woman is luring this young man void of understanding to commit adultery.
The consequance:
- With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.
- He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;
- Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.
reasoning:
- Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.
- Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.
- For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.
- Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.
- In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding [ḥă·sar- lêḇ;].
- For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
The wisdom is understanding. The rod is a disciplinary measure to gain wisdom:
- The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
By sin we became partakes of the knowledge of good and evil. It is not wise to participate in evil, and have experiential knowledge of it. For this reason God as a parent disciplines with rod.
- Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
For this reason the rod has its place in education. See Proverbs 13:34; 22:15; 23:13-14.
hasar leb
- He that is void of wisdom [ḥă·sar- lêḇ;] despiseth his neighbour: but a man of understanding holdeth his peace.
In other words, the man of understanding is silent. What does it means to despise your neighbor? Verse 13 is follow up verse, conveying the same thought, just with a different words:
- A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.
He that is void of wisdom is a talebearer, he speaks and reveals the secrets. But a man of understanding is of a faithful spirit concealing the matter, he is silent.
- He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool.
- In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.
- The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth.
- The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.
- He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding [ḥă·sar- lêḇ;].
Different translation renders the point in slightly better way. Anyone who pursues fantasies lacks sense.
- Whoever tills his soil will have a lot to eat, but anyone who pursues fantasies lacks sense [ḥă·sar- lêḇ;].
The short sighted man, the man who lacks wisdom, is the one which pursues fantasies. He does not till his soil, rather it full of weed and thorns.
- I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding [ḥă·sar- lêḇ;];
- And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.
- Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.
- Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
- So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.
Hasar leb
- Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom [ḥă·sar- lêḇ;]: but a man of understanding walketh uprightly.
Hasar leb
- A man void of understanding [ḥă·sar- lêḇ;] striketh hands, and becometh surety in the presence of his friend.
Did Jews keep the law of God? Let’s examine Paul.
- Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
- Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
Was he blameless? He thought he was, until he understood the 10th commandment.
- What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
- But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.
- For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
- And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
- For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
- Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
- Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
- For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Blue Ribband is representing the Law of God. This is the connection with Matthew 5:27-28.
- And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
- Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue:
- And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring:
**