As you may have noticed from the reading schedule, tomorrow we’ll detour away from the Psalms for a bit and dive into the Book of Proverbs, perhaps the central book of Old Testament “wisdom literature”. The first verse is a bit misleading as it appears to attribute the entire book to King Solomon, but Solomon was not the sole author, as later chapters clearly indicate other authors. (See Prov. 24:23; 30:1; 31:1.) Solomon is nevertheless a driving force for much of this book, and rightly so, as Solomon was famous for his wisdom. (See I Kings 3;4:29-34.)
The majority of the Book of Proverbs consists of, well, proverbs; that is, adages, aphorisms, axioms, maxims — short sayings that present general truth, advice, or life observations. It is important to note that such proverbs should not be taken as prophecies or divine promises. Instead, they provide practical advice for living well — otherwise known as wisdom. For example, take Prov. 22:6, Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. That is not a promise that if you do a good job as a parent then your child is guaranteed to grow up to be an upstanding citizen. (I am sure we can all find examples of “rogue” offspring.) But it is a call to teach your children well and to set a good example — with the recognition that, for the most part, things will work out better that way. Of course, the other side of the coin is likewise generally true; that is, if a child is neglected or is encouraged toward bad behavior, then he is more likely to become a “ne’er-do-well” as an adult. (Yet we can likely point to exceptions to that, too.)
This month we’ll start on Proverbs with just the first nine chapters, which ironically do not contain many proverbs per se. 🙂 These early chapters instead contain longer passages that extol wisdom in contrast to folly (personifying both as women) and urge the reader (“my son”) to pay attention, to listen to instruction, and to gain wisdom that derives from the fear of the LORD.
Finally, as we read through Proverbs, bear in mind James 1:5: If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
For a more thorough introduction, see the following (among any number of other resources on the web):