WELCOME TO THE STUDY OF THE BOOK OF PROVERBS
The Book of Proverbs is a collection of articles about wisdom, they teach us that we must respect God. Proverbs is not merely an anthology but a ‘collection of collections’ relating to a pattern of life which lasted for more than a millennium.
It is an example of the Biblical wisdom, and raises questions of values, moral behaviour, the meaning of human life, and right conduct.
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FULL STUDY
There are three authors attributed to the Book of Proverbs, they are Agur, Lemuel and Solomon. We know nothing about Agur except what is recorded in his prayer, we know nothing about Lemuel except he was an unknown king, but we know a lot about Solomon. Complete Study Of The Book Of Proverbs
CHAPTER BY CHAPTER
Solomon says that there are three things that these proverbs are good for. 1. For attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight. 2. For acquiring a disciplined and sensible life, doing what is right and just and fair. 3. For giving cautiousness to the simple, knowledge and helping the young make good judgements. Proverbs 1
There’s nothing free in this world and if people understood that, then a lot of people wouldn’t be in debt to loan sharks and banks.
To understand what it means to fear the Lord and get knowledge, we have to do something. Proverbs 2
In today’s society scientists have come up with many miracle cures for all sorts of diseases.
Cloning is becoming very popular and it seems that the world is looking for immortality. People go on diets and exercise to try and prolong their lives, why? Proverbs 3
Here we find David’s words of wisdom to his son, Solomon. There is a great responsibility on Christian parents to teach their kids the ways of God from a very early age.
We all have a choice in life; there are only two choices of roads to go on, the wicked or the righteous. Proverbs 4
What is the cause of most marriage break-ups today?
Some would say lack of communication, falling ‘out’ of love with each other, but it appears the cause of most marriage break ups is because of adultery. Proverbs 5
Have ever promised to do something for someone but never got around to doing it? Have you ever promised something to someone and regretted promising it? We need to keep a balance between helping people and looking after our own families. Oh, and there’s more warnings against adultery. Proverbs 6
Have you ever heard of Sweeny Todd?
He was a fictional character who was a barber who murdered the people who came into his shop for a haircut.
The woman described in this is just like him. Proverbs 7
This chapter stands in contrast to what is said in the previous chapter.
In the previous chapter, we read about the woman standing on the street corners luring men into sin, but here we see wisdom standing on the street corners luring people into life. Proverbs 8
In this chapter, there is an invitation from two people.
1. A responsible woman who represents wisdom. 2. A prostitute who represents folly.
There’s a sense of loneliness in being foolish, whereas the wise grow wise together. Proverbs 9
In this chapter we see many great contrasts between the wise and the unwise, the righteous and the wicked. The wise man does not underestimate the power of wealth, it provides protection. Yet he needs to be careful this wealth does not become his god. The poor man must be careful or else he will use his poverty as an excuse and thus ruin himself Proverbs 10
The course of our life is determined by the nature of our inner self, what we are, this will determine what will happen to us.
God really does not care about how much we have accumulated but He will judge us based on how we live our lives. Proverbs 11
In this chapter Solomon reminds us that the stupid man lacks rational ability and acts by instinct and he condemns those who think more highly of those people who want to improve themselves.
Have you ever tried to pull or dig out a hedge? Proverbs 12
Have you ever met someone who is a complete know it all? Solomon tells us that a ‘know it all’ loses the value of useful and sometimes critical conversation with others.
We must be willing not only to listen to advice but put that advice into practice. Proverbs 13
Have you ever listened to someone’s worldly idea of wisdom? Most of the time it doesn’t make sense.
Solomon says it’s a waste of time to stay in the presence of a fool because they will never say anything worthwhile. Proverbs 14
In the last chapter Solomon finished by speaking about the dangers of anger, He continues this theme here in this chapter. In the world we’re living in it seems as though evil and evil intention is winning and those who practice evil look like they are going to get away with their actions. Proverbs 15
God should be at the centre of everything we do, every plan we make individually and as a church.
And if we’ve got any worries or concerns about our plans, we should take Peter’s advice, give them to God. Proverbs 16
We can find out the value of gold and silver, but only God can determine the true quality of our hearts.
What does it take to melt gold or silver? It takes intense heat to removes all the impurities. Proverbs 17
Most people who are unsociable care only about their own selfish concerns. They are against everything, even good, solid suggestions. A fool isn’t interested in trying to understand things. What they really want to do is tell you what they think. To understand takes more work than the fool is willing to invest. Proverbs 18
In a materialistic world, people want to be seen with other people with lots of other materialistic goods, it’s an attraction. Solomon was realistic about wealth.
This is not the way it ought to be, even though in reality it is the way it is. Proverbs 19
It is a characteristic of the sluggard that they don’t work when they are supposed to, but they look for a harvest of crops anyway.
They know what they want but lack the energy and planning in order to obtain it. Proverbs 20
We all do things because we think it is right at the time, but our motives are not always pure. The good news is that God knows what our real motives are.
Sacrifices are secondary to more essential qualities. Proverbs 21
In the ancient culture it was a terrible thing to bring shame upon the family name. Many today, couldn’t care less about their reputation as long as they have money.
Solomon begins his thirty sayings which all relate to the heart, they begin here and continue on to the next two chapters. Proverbs 22
Solomon continues with his thirty sayings of the wise, which all relate to the heart. Those who teach wisdom want their students to know that manners are logically linked to character, discipline, self-respect and upbringing. It appears that manners are not considered so important in our society today. How sad! Proverbs 23
Solomon finishes his thirty sayings of the wise, which all relate to the heart. We normally understand the folly as the sin, but here it’s related to merely thinking about it is the sin. Sin starts in your mind and then it grows and before you know it, it has caused a lot of devastation. Proverbs 24
Hezekiah is mentioned because he was one of the few kings who actually honoured God.
Once again, we’re reminded that we must obtain all of your information first before making any judgments on anyone else. We must understand all of the facts accurately. Proverbs 25
Solomon gives another ‘lame’ excuse for those who don’t want to work. He says that both a door and a sluggard move, but neither goes anywhere. Despite their laziness, the sluggard considers themselves wise, even wiser than a team of seven competent people who are trained to give answers to difficult questions. Proverbs 26
It’s better to have a friend whose honest confrontations leave their wounds, than kisses from those who hate us.
Real friendship cannot exist when a person must be constantly restrained and timed. Proverbs 27
We need to be careful that we practice what we preach, all us have choices, but some Christians have no choice.
Merely admitting we are sinful is not worth anything! There’s nothing wrong with admitting we have done something wrong as long as we learn from it. Proverbs 28
In what ways we do become stiff necked? We become stiff necked by making the same mistake over and over again. We refuse to learn or listen, those who harden their neck are stubborn. Christians should not take lightly the Lord’s discipline because if we harden ourselves to it, we will be broken on judgment day. Proverbs 29
We know nothing about Agur except what is recorded in this prayer, where he asked for deliverance from economic extremes. He is presumed to be a wise man of some reputation, but of unknown date. We know that whatever he was going through, he was struggling but his trust was in God to help him prevail. Proverbs 30
We have had the benefit from studying the ‘father to son’ proverbs, but here we have the benefit of studying some of the ‘mother to son’ proverbs.
We know nothing about Lemuel except he was an unknown king who wrote the words his mother taught him. Proverbs 31