Introduction: Solomon had the reputation of being the wisest man on earth. Though he made some foolish decisions, his wisdom was definitely not man-given but God-given. At the end of many years living outside God's perfect will, Solomon gave his listeners some conclusions to his time away. Solomon was one who had "been there" and "done that." Now, he desired that his family, friends, and servants would take a different path than he took.
Verse 9 says that, because the preacher was wise, he taught the people knowledge. Because he was wise, he taught them and set in order many proverbs. The Bible even says that he sought to find out "acceptable words." These acceptable words were words that would be beneficial to the hearers. These acceptable words were words that were delightful, not necessarily to the hearing but to the results of obedience to them. Sometimes the worst tasting medicine is the best medicine for you. Solomon sought to give his people words that would help, whether or not they felt good. According to verse 10, the words he gave to them were upright and good. They were called "words of truth."
This brings us to verse 11 where Solomon begins with five important words, "The words of the wise." The word "words" here refers to words that have been set in order, either by writing or in public speech. I believe Solomon is referring to both, but what are the words of the wise that have been set in order? The phrase itself is only found three times in Scripture.
- Proverbs 1:6, "To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings."
- Proverbs 22:17, "Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge."
- Ecclesiastes 12:11, "The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd."
The first mention of "the words of the wise" is in Proverbs 1:6; the last mention is in Ecclesiastes 12:11. It is my belief that, whatever the "words of the wise" are, they are contained within these boundaries. The "words of the wise" mainly have to do with the fear of the Lord and wisdom, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction." (Proverbs 1:7) Paying heed to the words of the wise distinguishes a wise man from a foolish man. Everyone can hear the words of the wise, but only the wise will pay heed and become wiser. I believe the words of the wise are prefaced with the phrase "my son," which is found 23 times throughout the book of Proverbs and only once in Ecclesiastes. Here are the words of the wise (read and explain):
- Proverbs 1:8, "My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother."
- Proverbs 1:10, "My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not."
- Proverbs 1:15, "My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path."
- Proverbs 2:1-5, "My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God."
- Proverbs 3:1, "My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments."
- Proverbs 3:11, "My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction."
- Proverbs 3:21, "My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion." (Them = Proverbs 3:3-4, "Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.")
- Proverbs 4:10, "Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many."
- Proverbs 4:20, "My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings."
- Proverbs 5:1, "My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding."
- Proverbs 5:20, "And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?"
- Proverbs 6:1-2, "My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth."
- Proverbs 6:3, "Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend."
- Proverbs 6:20, "My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother."
- Proverbs 7:1, "My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee."
- Proverbs 19:27, "Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge."
- Proverbs 23:15, "My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine."
- Proverbs 23:19, "Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way."
- Proverbs 23:26, "My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways."
- Proverbs 24:13-14, "My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste: So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off."
- Proverbs 24:21, "My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change."
- Proverbs 27:11, "My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me."
- Proverbs 31:2-5, "What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows? Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted."
Solomon, having admonished his people to pay heed to the words of the wise, then compares those words to two specific things.
- Goads. These goads were used in ploughing. These goads were eight feet long and approximately six inches around at the thicker end. At the smaller end, these goads had a sharp iron tip used for driving the cattle. At the other end was a little shovel or paddle which was strong and heavy and was used for cleaning the plough. In Judges 3:31, Shamgar slew 600 Philistines with an ox goad, "And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel." In the New Testament, Jesus used this terminology to describe Saul of Tarsus' rebellion against the Lord, "And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." (Acts 9:5) These goads also had another use when not being used with cattle. They were used for cutting up weeds.
- Nails fastened. These were not nails driven into a wall, because walls in this part of the world were either too hard or too soft for nails to be hammered in. These nails were fastened, i.e. planted, meaning they were built into the wall. These nails were very secure and were found to be trustworthy in construction, as well as, decoration.
Now, why would Solomon compare these teachings to goads and nails? The answer is fairly obvious.
1. As goads, they encourage you to keep moving.
- Cattle get tired, and sometimes they get lazy. The goad was used to encourage them to keep moving.
2. As goads, the words encourage you to go in the right direction.
- Cattle can wander while they work; so can Christians, and goads are a pointed reminder for when we veer off course.
3. As goads, they encourage you not to go in the wrong direction.
- Not only do they remind you that you've turned the wrong way, but they also point us back to the right direction.
4. As goads, they remind us when we do wrong.
- If there is no retribution for wrong doing, there is no need to change. The sharp end of a goad always brought pain thereby encouraging cattle to stay in the right direction.
- If you, as a Christian, find pain every time you turn in a certain direction, you will eventually stop turning in that direction. "Doctor, doctor, it hurts when I do this!" "Well, then, don't do that!"
5. As nails, they aid in building.
- I can think of no better building materials than to use the words of the wise.
- One thing's for certain, the words of the foolish are not good building materials!
6. As nails, they hold things together.
- When we were studying Proverbs, we learned that the word "proverb" itself meant "governor." A governor keeps things from flying apart. A governor helps hold things together, and so do nails. The words of the wise will hold things together for you.
7. As nails, they bring security.
- You never want to hang something on a loose nail, nor do you want to trust something built with the nails left hanging.
- Just as securely fastened nails bring security to a building's structure, so the words of the wise bring security to a life being built.
8. As nails, one can hang anything on them.
- In other words, the words of the wise are things you can bank on. You never have to worry about the words of the wise failing in service.
Conclusion: These words of the wise are as goads and nails fastened by the "masters of assemblies." These masters are simply lords and rulers. The words of the wise are given by one Shepherd, which is the Lord. Solomon knew that he could trust this great Shepherd. He is referred to in:
- Genesis 48:15, "And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day."
- Genesis 49:24, "But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)"
- Psalm 23:1, "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want."
The words of the wise were given by the great Shepherd to give guidance, direction, and nourishment to the sheep of His pasture. Pay heed to the words of the wise.