Proverbs Simplified
Old Testament Simplified • Sermon • Submitted
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Title Of Proverbs
Title Of Proverbs
The First Verse Tells Us Why the Book has the Title “Proverbs” and Who Wrote the Proverbs
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:
A proverb is a simple, concrete, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience.
The Purpose Of Proverbs
The Purpose Of Proverbs
The Purpose of the Book is Given to Us in the First 7 Verses
To know wisdom and instruction,
To discern the sayings of understanding,
To receive instruction in wise behavior,
Righteousness, justice and equity;
To give prudence to the naive,
To the youth knowledge and discretion,
A wise man will hear and increase in learning,
And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,
To understand a proverb and a figure,
The words of the wise and their riddles.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
They are to Help a Person Become Wise
But There is a Starting Point to Wisdom, and Without it, One Cannot Become Wise
The Fear of Yahweh is the Beginning of Knowledge
Wisdom Stems from Fearing God
The Wisdom of the World is Foolishness because the World Completely Leaves God Out of the Equation
Key Themes Of Proverbs
Key Themes Of Proverbs
The Overarching Theme: Attaining Wisdom
The Book Offers Advice on How to Think, Talk, and Live Wisely in Everyday Situations and Relationships
The Wisdom of Proverbs Covers a Wide Range of Topics from Daily Life:
Diligence and Laziness
Friendship
Speech
Marriage
Child Rearing
Domestic Peace
Work
Good Manners
Eternity
Business
Wealth
Debt
Charity
Ambition
Discipline/Self-Control
Alcohol
Politics
Revenge
Godliness
And On and On
Anyone can Read the Book of Proverbs and Find Things that Apply to Their Current Situation
And in Reading the Proverbs, We can Find Wise Answers and Solutions to Our Situations
There are 2 Ways of Listening to and Applying the Proverbs
We can Apply the Proverbs and Live Wisely for the Sake of Receiving a Better, Happier Life
We can Apply the Proverbs and Live Wisely because We Fear God and Want to Please Him
Both can Lead to a Blessed Life, but Only One is Done Out of Love and Respect for God
The Other will Eventually Fail
Key Proverbs
Key Proverbs
My son, do not forget my teaching,
But let your heart keep my commandments;
For length of days and years of life
And peace they will add to you.
Do not let kindness and truth leave you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
So you will find favor and good repute
In the sight of God and man.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
It will be healing to your body
And refreshment to your bones.
Honor the Lord from your wealth
And from the first of all your produce;
So your barns will be filled with plenty
And your vats will overflow with new wine.
Go to the ant, O sluggard,
Observe her ways and be wise,
Which, having no chief,
Officer or ruler,
Prepares her food in the summer
And gathers her provision in the harvest.
How long will you lie down, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?
“A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest”—
Your poverty will come in like a vagabond
And your need like an armed man.
“The fear of the Lord is to hate evil;
Pride and arrogance and the evil way
And the perverted mouth, I hate.
“Counsel is mine and sound wisdom;
I am understanding, power is mine.
The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
The wages of the righteous is life,
The income of the wicked, punishment.
He is on the path of life who heeds instruction,
But he who ignores reproof goes astray.
He who despises his neighbor lacks sense,
But a man of understanding keeps silent.
He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets,
But he who is trustworthy conceals a matter.
A gracious woman attains honor,
And ruthless men attain riches.
The merciful man does himself good,
But the cruel man does himself harm.
Assuredly, the evil man will not go unpunished,
But the descendants of the righteous will be delivered.
He who trusts in his riches will fall,
But the righteous will flourish like the green leaf.
Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
But he who hates reproof is stupid.
A fool’s anger is known at once,
But a prudent man conceals dishonor.
He who walks with wise men will be wise,
But the companion of fools will suffer harm.
He who withholds his rod hates his son,
But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.
There is a way which seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death.
Righteousness exalts a nation,
But sin is a disgrace to any people.
A gentle answer turns away wrath,
But a harsh word stirs up anger.
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,
But the prayer of the upright is His delight.
The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,
But He loves one who pursues righteousness.
Better is a little with the fear of the Lord
Than great treasure and turmoil with it.
Better is a dish of vegetables where love is
Than a fattened ox served with hatred.
Commit your works to the Lord
And your plans will be established.
The highway of the upright is to depart from evil;
He who watches his way preserves his life.
Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before stumbling.
Before destruction the heart of man is haughty,
But humility goes before honor.
He who gives an answer before he hears,
It is folly and shame to him.
The spirit of a man can endure his sickness,
But as for a broken spirit who can bear it?
With the fruit of a man’s mouth his stomach will be satisfied;
He will be satisfied with the product of his lips.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.
Many plans are in a man’s heart,
But the counsel of the Lord will stand.
Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler,
And whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise.
Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart,
I am pure from my sin”?
He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor
Will also cry himself and not be answered.
A good name is to be more desired than great wealth,
Favor is better than silver and gold.
Train up a child in the way he should go,
Even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;
The rod of discipline will remove it far from him.
Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has redness of eyes?
Those who linger long over wine,
Those who go to taste mixed wine.
Do not look on the wine when it is red,
When it sparkles in the cup,
When it goes down smoothly;
At the last it bites like a serpent
And stings like a viper.
Your eyes will see strange things
And your mind will utter perverse things.
And you will be like one who lies down in the middle of the sea,
Or like one who lies down on the top of a mast.
“They struck me, but I did not become ill;
They beat me, but I did not know it.
When shall I awake?
I will seek another drink.”
Do not fret because of evildoers
Or be envious of the wicked;
For there will be no future for the evil man;
The lamp of the wicked will be put out.
If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;
And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;
For you will heap burning coals on his head,
And the Lord will reward you.
Like cold water to a weary soul,
So is good news from a distant land.
Like a trampled spring and a polluted well
Is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.
Like a dog that returns to its vomit
Is a fool who repeats his folly.
The wicked flee when no one is pursuing,
But the righteous are bold as a lion.
He who turns away his ear from listening to the law,
Even his prayer is an abomination.
He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper,
But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.
Open your mouth for the mute,
For the rights of all the unfortunate.
Open your mouth, judge righteously,
And defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.
Why We Need Proverbs
Why We Need Proverbs
It Shows Us the Wisdom of God that is Opposite of the Wisdom of the World
When a Person Applies These Wise Principles, They will Generally Have a More Blessed Life
Jesus In Proverbs
Jesus In Proverbs
Jesus is the Wisdom of God
In Proverbs 8, God’s Wisdom is Personified as a Woman
Lady Wisdom Starts a Monologue in Verse 12 and Runs Through the Whole Chapter
Notice What She Says in Verses 22-31
“The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way,
Before His works of old.
“From everlasting I was established,
From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth.
“When there were no depths I was brought forth,
When there were no springs abounding with water.
“Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills I was brought forth;
While He had not yet made the earth and the fields,
Nor the first dust of the world.
“When He established the heavens, I was there,
When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,
When He made firm the skies above,
When the springs of the deep became fixed,
When He set for the sea its boundary
So that the water would not transgress His command,
When He marked out the foundations of the earth;
Then I was beside Him, as a master workman;
And I was daily His delight,
Rejoicing always before Him,
Rejoicing in the world, His earth,
And having my delight in the sons of men.
Since Before Creation, God Possessed Wisdom
God’s Wisdom was There as a Witness to All of the Creation
Then in Verse 30, Wisdom Said, “Then I was beside Him (God), as a master workman”
Master Workman = ʾā·mônʹ = A Trained/Master Architect
Wisdom was Beside God as the Master Architect of Creation
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
Paul, in His Discussion of the Difference Between the Wisdom of the World and the Wisdom of God Says this...
but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Throughout the Book, We See the Life of Christ Through the Wise Proverbs
The Principles of Proverbs are Before Their Time
These Principles Were Not Fully Understood Until the New Covenant Under Christ
The Old Law Dealt with the Actions, Behavior, and Conduct of Humans
The New Law Dealt with the Thoughts and Heart of Humans
“Heart” can be Found in 69 Verses in Proverbs
Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.
My son, keep my words
And treasure my commandments within you.
Keep my commandments and live,
And my teaching as the apple of your eye.
Bind them on your fingers;
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
Jesus Applied These Principles of the Heart in the Sermon on the Mount
And These are the Principles that We Live by in Christ’s Kingdom
If Our Hearts are Right, Our Actions, Behaviour, and Lives will be Right
If Our Hearts are Filled with Wickedness, Our Actions, Behavior, and Live will be Filled with Wickedness