Topic: Proverbs
Read a Proverb a day and in a month, you will have read through the entire book. No better way to begin the year than to read Proverbs.
God came to King Solomon in a dream with a golden opportunity: “Ask what you wish Me to give you” (1 Kings 3:5). He could have asked for long life, riches, or the deaths of his adversaries, but instead, he asked for wisdom (1 Kings 3:9). God was pleased with Solomon’s answer. It showed that the young king desired to lead His people with justice. The Lord granted Solomon’s request, and heaped upon him riches and honor to boot. Solomon ruled with wisdom and justice, and all of Israel prospers (1 Kings 4:20, 25). The writer of 1 Kings gives us an idea of just how wise Solomon was:
“Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt… He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005. He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows on the wall; he spoke also of animals and birds and creeping things and fish. Men came from all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.” (1 Kings 4:30, 32–34)
The Book of Proverbs is principles from heaven for life on earth. Proverbs is practical learning you’ll need for life. In fact, much of the book is designed for a father to teach his son. As you read it, you can imagine a son around twenty years old who’s just about to step across the threshold of adulthood. In front of him are the great themes of Proverbs: wisdom and folly, life and death, right versus wrong.
One trait that makes Proverbs an interesting book of the Bible is that not all of its text is given as absolute truth. Many of the sayings in Proverbs are best interpreted as principles, not hard-and-fast laws about how God and the world work. After all, not all righteous men are delivered from trouble (Proverbs 11:8), and not all who abuse their wealth come to poverty (Proverbs 22:16). These are observations that Solomon made, and they steer us toward godly living, which is the fear of God (Proverbs 1:7).
See you Sunday!
Dr. Scott Kallem