Proverbs 1:5

The Explanation

King Solomon was very wise. He wrote these words to teach his son, and to teach you too. Listen to verse 5: "that the wise man may hear, and increase in learning; that the man of understanding may attain to sound counsel."

Picture a young man walking through a city. Two voices call to him. One voice comes from a gang of rough men. "Come with us," they say. "Let's hide and wait, let's take what is not ours." Their words sound exciting, like an adventure. But Solomon warns, "don't walk on the path with them."

The other voice comes from Wisdom herself. She stands in the busy square and calls out loud, where everyone can hear. "How long will you love foolish things?" she cries. She is not hiding in a corner. She shouts where the noise is, at the city gates, so nobody can say they never heard her.

Now here is the young man, caught between two calls. Which voice will he listen to? A wise person stops. He listens. He thinks. And because he listens, Solomon says, he will "increase in learning." He gets wiser every single day, like a tree growing taller.

What Does This Mean?

This verse is not about being wise once and being done. It is about staying humble enough to keep listening. The wise man in this proverb is not a man who already knows everything. He is a man who still wants to learn more. That is surprising, isn't it? You might think a wise person stops needing advice. But Solomon says the opposite. The wiser you are, the more you want to hear good counsel.

Think about the gang of sinners again. They never listened to anyone. They only listened to themselves, and their own greedy plans. Solomon says their own trap would catch them, "like a bird" caught in a net it saw spread out. Foolish people silence every voice except their own. Wise people open their ears.

Would you have dared to walk away from that loud, exciting gang, and go stand quietly by Wisdom instead? It takes courage to choose the voice that is right over the voice that is loud.

The Common Thread

Wisdom calling in the streets is not a strange idea. All through the Bible, God calls out to people the same way, not hiding, not whispering only to a few. He speaks so that anyone willing to listen can hear him.

Later, Jesus walked through streets and markets too. He taught in the open, by the sea, on hillsides, anyone could come close and listen. Jesus was wisdom itself, walking on two feet. When people listened to him, they learned. When people turned away, like the fools in Proverbs, they missed what he wanted to give them: life, safety, and peace. Proverbs 1 even promises that whoever listens "will dwell securely, and will be at ease, without fear of harm."

For You

This week, try to be a listener like the wise man in the story. When your mom or dad corrects you, don't argue right away. Stop. Listen first. When someone at school gives good advice, don't roll your eyes, think about it. Ask God to help you hear him too, in the Bible, in prayer, in the wise people around you. A wise child is not the child who already knows it all. It is the child who still wants to learn.

Talk About It

If you were that young man in the city, which voice do you think would be harder to resist, the loud gang or quiet Wisdom? Why?

Can you think of someone wise in your life whose advice you could listen to more this week?

Praying Together

Dear God, thank you that you call out to us and want us to listen. Give me ears that want to learn more about you every day. Help me choose your voice, even when other voices seem louder or more exciting. Amen.