Proverbs

What do you see in this book that tells you about the Original Reader?

      It's hard to say exactly who the original reader was, but it seems to have been the young people. My child is used many times in the book starting in 1:8. We know the kingdom was not split yet because of 23:10 that talks about not moving boundary markers. The boundary markers were something that would have existed more in the united kingdom rather than the split kingdom. Of course, the readers were the Israelites, and maybe specifically Solomon's children. It seems this could have been the things he learned over time that he wanted to pass down to his children.

What do you see in this book that tells you about the author?

     Solomon is given credit for this book in 1:1. Agur and King Lemuel's mother also contributed to the wise sayings in this book. I Kings 4:32 says that Solomon wrote 3,000 proverbs. The book of Proverbs would be just a small compilation of the 3,000 proverbs he wrote. We know he has a lot of wisdom and that God blessed him with wisdom in I Kings 4:29. We learn a lot about Solomon is I & II Kings, and we see that he may have learned from his mistakes in some of the proverbs given. For example Prov 2:16, 5:3, 20, & 6:24 all talk about the traps of an immoral woman. Solomon fell under many of those traps and seems to be warning others about the mistakes he made.

What are the main themes, and repeated ideas in this book, and what is a one sentence summary of the main idea?

      Solomon uses the phrase “my child” a number of times in this book, giving us a clue as to who he was writing to (Prov 1:8, 10, 15, 2:1, 3:1, 11, 21,). Obviously wisdom is the main theme in the book as it is a book dedicated to wisdom. Immoral woman is a main theme in the book as well. I have verse references in the last question all about immoral women. Foolishness and wisdom is contrasted many times Proverbs (Prov 1:7, 3:35, 10:8, 10:14, 13:6, 24:7, 29:9). There are a few other contrasting sides found in Proverbs. There are the righteous vs. the unrighteous, and the prosperous vs. the poor. Laziness is mentioned a few times and it always describes the poor (Prov 10:4). The whole book is about the consequences of doing what is right opposed to doing what is wrong (Prov 13:21). There are so many repeated ideas in Proverbs. A few more would include the words of the wise and the words of fools, long life, the fear of God, and money.

Summary: Proverbs is a simple layout of wisdom and how it will help us live a righteous life.

What is the primary reason this book is written?

      The primary reason for this book can be found in verse 2. It says the “purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline, to help them understand the insights of the wise.” Verses 3-6 give even more explanation as to why this book was written. Basically it is to help us understand what wisdom is and how to apply it to our lives. It's not about learning things, but applying these principles and disciplines into our daily life. The purpose is to raise up godly people. The original purpose for Solomon may have been to teach his children how to have the same wisdom that he had gained in his life without making all the same mistakes.

What does this book show about the character and nature of God?

      God promises that He will show us which path to take if we trust in Him with all of our hearts in Prov 3:5-6. God is trustworthy and has the best plans for our life. God corrects us because we are His beloved children (Prov 3:12). God is our security and protects us because He loves us (Prov 3:26). God offers us friendship if we are godly people (Prov 3:32). God says that He is the one who puts rulers in their positions and they lead with His help making good decisions because He helps them. The Lord is the creator, the one who formed us (Prov 8:22). Proverbs 8 goes on to explain that He formed us before the beginning of the world (Prov 8:23-30). God explains his sovereignty in Prov 16:9 when Solomon says, “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps”. Basically God is the one who is in control of our very lives. He is our helper and the one who guides our steps. God is a just God (Prov 16:11). God is our protector and all who are godly can run to Him and will be safe (Prov 18:10). The Lord is not concerned about our sacrifices, but with our hearts and our obedience (Prov 21:3). God's character and nature can be found among all these proverbs, but these were a few direct links to his character and nature that I found in the text.

What does this book show about God's redemptive plan for mankind?

      I think what this book shows about God's redemptive plan is that He is not so concerned with the law. God is more concerned about the hearts of His people. He desires people to be wise and not babbling fools. He desires to have a people who follow Him, not ones who are good at obeying laws. The laws were a guideline to God's heart for them, they were never meant to be the end goal. It when people see God's laws as a burden that they forget who God is and what He has in store for us. This book helps bring us closer to understanding God's heart and how He is one day bringing a new covenant.

Personal Application

      Which one do I pick? The whole book is application, but as I read this book I just asked how many of these does my life reflect. I love the proverbs about helping our neighbors and the poor. I don't know if my life truly reflects that. It's challenging when there are so many about helping the poor, or loving the poor. Am I one who is quick to give, quick to serve, and quick to love those in need or are they a burden? Am I okay with neglecting some of these tougher to obey proverbs because my culture doesn't pay much attention to them? Who do I look at more, God or man? These are questions that arose as read Proverbs. A lot of my processing comes with just asking these simple questions. At the end of the day am I actually obeying all that I've heard from scripture, or do I allow myself to be passive about it because of the culture around me.

Point of Passion: Bronx, NYC

     The power of the tongue. Its the mightiest instruments we have in our body. It has the power to bring death and to bring life. How often do you use it to bring life? How often do you use it to build community and to build up your family? How often are you bringing life to those you say you love? Prov 15:4 says, “Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.” It seems to me that we've made it the cool thing to do to crush someone's spirit. We try to bring down everyone around us so that we can puff ourselves up. The bible has a lot to say about such things. There is judgment for those who try to build themselves up instead of building those around us up. You were given a tongue to glorify God and to love Him by loving those around you. Your tongue is a powerful tool for good, but when mixed with a evil heart it produces death to everyone around. Your tongue will tell you exactly where your heart is. What you speak out is who you are. We can make lots of excuses about what comes out of our mouth. That we were just angry, or tired, or it was just a joke, but in reality your mouth only produces what is inside your heart.