The one who gets wisdom loves life;
the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper. (19:8)
This verse provides transition for the next several which are a collection of verses that identify things which are not proper or fitting for a wise person. We can look at this short section as a statement of a goal, in this case obtaining wisdom and understanding, and then showing what will not accomplish the goal.
To see this, consider verse 9…
A false witness will not go unpunished,
and whoever pours out lies will perish.
Solomon is trying to tell us that if we want to obtain wisdom and understanding, we will not succeed by telling lies all the time. In fact, sooner or later, we will get burned by our own lies.
Here’s another one, verse 12…
A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion,
but his favor is like dew on the grass.
If we really and truly desire to become wise, we mustn’t tick off the king. Consider: Back in the days when kings ruled their lands with absolute power, it required a very special kind of idiot to set about to anger the king. Rather, a person with anything even slightly resembling wisdom made it a project to please the king.
All right, I think you have the idea, but there are a couple of these that aren’t so easy, and I’d love to hear your take on them. See you next time!
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