Lecture 4: The Book of Proverbs: Introduction Cont...

Lecture 4: The Book of Proverbs: An Introduction CONT…

THE AUTHORSHIP AND STRUCTURE OF PROVERBS

PURPOSE (1:1-6)

Proverbs 1:1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; 2 To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; 3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; 4 To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. 5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: 6 To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

Verse four implies it is for the young, inexperienced, naïve..

Verse five implies it is for the veteran, the seasoned,

No age limit to this. One would think a wise man didn’t need to learn anymore since he was already wise.

That’s why he is wise. He’s never reached a place he felt he didn’t need to learn anymore.

PURPOSE: To teach people how to attain wisdom, discipline, and a prudent life, and how to do what is right, just, and fair (see 1:2, 3)—in short, to apply divine wisdom to daily life and to provide moral instruction

AUTHOR:

Solomon wrote most of this book, with Agur and Lemuel contributing some of the later sections.

original audience:

The people of Israel

DATE WRITTEN:

Solomon wrote and compiled most of these proverbs early in his reign.

SETTING: This is a book of wise sayings, a textbook for teaching people how to live godly lives through the repetition of wise thoughts.

KEY VERSE: Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

SPECIAL FEATURES: The book uses varied literary forms: poems, brief parables, pointed questions, and couplets. Other literary devices include antithesis, comparison, and personification.

Knowledge is good, but a vast difference stands between "knowledge" (having the facts) and "wisdom" (applying those facts to life). We may amass knowledge, but without wisdom our knowledge is useless. We must learn how to live out what we know.

THE BLUEPRINT

A. WISDOM FOR YOUNG PEOPLE (1:1—9:18)

Solomon instructed the young people of his day like a father giving advice to his child. While many of these proverbs are directed toward young people, the principles supporting them are helpful to all believers, male and female, young and old. Anyone beginning his or her journey to discover more of wisdom will benefit greatly from these wise sayings.

THE BLUEPRINT

B. WISDOM FOR ALL PEOPLE (10:1—24:34)

Solomon wanted to impart wisdom to all people, regardless of their age, sex, or position in society. These short, wise sayings give us practical wisdom for daily living. We should study them diligently and integrate them into our lives.

THE BLUEPRINT

C. WISDOM FOR THE LEADERS (25:1—31:31)

In addition to the proverbs that Solomon collected, the advisers of Hezekiah collected many proverbs that Solomon and others wrote. While most of these are general in nature, many are directed specifically to the king and those who dealt with the king. These are particularly useful for leaders or those who aspire to be leaders.

MEGATHEMES

THEME

Wisdom

EXPLANATION - God wants his people to be wise. Two kinds of people portray two contrasting paths of life. The fool is the wicked, stubborn person who hates or ignores God. The wise person seeks to know and love God.

IMPORTANCE - When we choose God's way, he grants us wisdom. His Word, the Bible, leads us to live right, have right relationships, and make right decisions.

Relationships

EXPLANATION - Proverbs gives us advice for developing our personal relationships with friends, family members, and coworkers. In every relationship, we must show love, dedication, and high moral standards.

IMPORTANCE - To relate to people, we need consistency, tact, and discipline to use the wisdom God gives us. If we don't treat others according to the wisdom God gives, our relationships will suffer.

Speech

EXPLANATION - What we say shows our real attitude toward others. How we talk reveals what we're really like. Our speech is a test of how wise we have become.

IMPORTANCE - To be wise in our speech we need to use self-control. Our words should be honest and well chosen.

Work

EXPLANATION - God controls the final outcome of all we do. We are accountable to carry out our work with diligence and discipline, not laziness.

IMPORTANCE - Because God evaluates how we live, we should work purposefully. We must never be lax or self-satisfied in using our skills.

Success

EXPLANATION - Although people work very hard for money and fame, God views success as having a good reputation, moral character, and the spiritual devotion to obey him.

IMPORTANCE - A successful relationship with God counts for eternity. Everything else is perishable. All our resources, time, and talents come from God. We should strive to use them wisely.

THE NATURE OF THE PROVERB

Proverbs are figures of speech expressing…

· Practical rules and regulations that can be employed for successful, responsible living. These are made from observations of life.

· Advisory pithy statement for a parent to guide the growth of a child in his char acter: So the child is acceptable to himself and society So the child is successful

· Brief, particular expressions of truth, not absolute expressions of truth.

· Generalizations about life not Absolute laws about life.

· Observations not promises.

o Ill) Haste makes waste; always?

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 3:9 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

There are those who give liberally and consistently yet they do not ever seem to get ahead financially. They barely make it.

There are others who give nothing to God and yet are filthy rich.

Is the Scripture wrong?

Proverbs are general truths. That means these things are the way things generally happen, but other things must be taken into account.

EXAMPLE: Proverbs 3:9-10 9 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

There are some who pay their tithes that do not materially prosper: Why? Another principle is at work.

1. Unwise spending habits.

2. Sickness.

3. Discipline.

4. God knows they cannot handle it.

5. They’re giving or caring for others.

6. They’re suffering because of the choices of others.

7. God is teaching faith and trust.

8. Don’t know.

Without God fail miserably or succeed even more miserably.

God showed blessing chiefly in a materially way in these times. Since Christ, God blesses also in a spiritual way. Riches of Christ.

There are people who have held on to every penny, never given a lead cent to the church, and are wealthy, who are miserable. Their children don’t serve God.

There are people who have tithed faithfully and don’t have much materially. But, they have the joy of the Lord. Their children serve God. They have a happy marriage.

The prosperity may be accumulating in heaven instead of on earth.

Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth…

Truths metaphorically expressed:

Ill) A stitch in time saves nine

Really nine?

A penny saved is a penny earned.

Who cares about a penny?

Just weights

Truths phrased to be learnable

ill) In Adam’s fall we sin all

We weren’t there. We weren’t made to sin

Illustration: Look before you leap

V.s.

Before committing yourself to a certain course of action be sure to consider carefully your circumstances, options, and the probable outcome of such.

THE CHARACTERISTIC OF PROVERBS

They contrast the life of wisdom with a life of folly

Life of Folly?

Crime (1:19-19; 4:14-19)

Reckless Vows (6:1-5)

Dishonesty (6:12-15)

Sexual Impurity (2:16-19; 5:3-20; 6:23-35; 7:4-27)

Life of Wise?

Care for Poor (22:22,27)

Respect for Governmental Leaders (23:1-3; 24:21-22)

Discipline of Children (23:13, 14)

Moderation in Consumption (23:19-21)

Obedience to Parents (23:22-25) Laziness (6:6-11)

They make little use of religious language

Not everything must be religious to be godly and moral.

Proverbs are for practical living not theological teaching.

They are the shortest way of saying all that could be said.

THE USE OF PROVERBS

 Realize they are not meant to state universal truths

Their meaning isn’t in their literal but their metaphorical meaning

They point to a truth, illustrate a truth, rather than sate the total truth with all

its aspects.

They must be qualified with other spiritual truth.

They are no promises but observations about the generalizations of life.

 Realize they are written in figurative language

Pro 9:13-18

 Realize that they are to be read as a collection and have context in that collection.

Pro. 9:17

 Realize that they must be applied to modern culture.

Ill) Proverbs 11:1 A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.

Question: HOW CAN WE APPLY THIS BIBLICAL TRUTH TO MODERN TIMES?

CLASS DISCUSSION:

Proverbs 25:24 It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house.