Exploring the Bible // Proverbs
The book of Proverbs is a collection of poetry and wise sayings. Its purpose is to teach wisdom and its contents are full of both spiritual and practical application to living. In fact, Proverbs 1:1-7 share a perfect summary for the purpose of the book:
“The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: For learning wisdom and discipline; for understanding insightful sayings; for receiving prudent instruction in righteousness, justice, and integrity; for teaching shrewdness to the inexperienced, knowledge and discretion to a young man—let a wise person listen and increase learning, and let a discerning person obtain guidance—for understanding a proverb or a parable,
the words of the wise, and their riddles.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.”
Most of the book was written by Solomon with Proverbs 1-29 penned by the king. The final two are written by Agur and Lemuel, although we don’t who they were exactly.
Because each proverb is sprinkled with wise sayings there is no clear way to break down the book. But we find clear declarations covering a variety of topics including wisdom, money, relationships, pride and humility, parenting, justice, giving, and so much more.
A practical way to approach this book is to read one each day. There are 31 proverbs and can be read on a daily basis. I find this incredibly valuable! If this is a book of wisdom, and wisdom is something we should desire, then reading it on a regular basis can prove quite beneficial.
