Chapter One
Donât Just Make a Living, Make a Life!
(Introduction to the Book of Proverbs)
My wife, Betty, is the navigator in our household. For more than forty years, Iâve depended on her to plan our ministry trips and our occasional holidays and to direct me when Iâm driving. She knows that I donât have a good sense of direction and have even been known to get lost just a few miles from home. But the Lord gave her built-in radar, and Iâve learned to trust her, whether weâre in the big city, the African bush, or the English countryside.
I need a similar âspiritual radarâ to guide me when Iâm embarking on a âstudy journeyâ through a book of the Bible. That radar is provided by the Holy Spirit, who guides us into Godâs truth (John 16:13) and, if we let Him, keeps us from going on unprofitable detours. But if I begin my journey by answering some basic questions about the book Iâm studying, the Holy Spirit will find me better prepared for His teaching ministry. The questions I ask myself are âŠ
(1) What is the major theme of the book?
(2) Who wrote the book and how is it written?
(3) What is the key verse that helps âunlockâ the message of the book?
(4) What does this book say about Jesus Christ?
(5) What must I do to get the most out of this book?
Letâs get prepared for our pilgrimage through Proverbs by answering these five questions.
1. What Is the Major Theme of the Book of Proverbs?
One word answers the question: wisdom. In Proverbs, the words wise and wisdom are used at least 125 times, because the aim of the book is to help us acquire and apply Godâs wisdom to the decisions and activities of daily life.
The book of Proverbs belongs to what scholars call the âwisdom literatureâ of the Old Testament, which also includes Job and Ecclesiastes.1 The writers of these books wrestled with some of the most difficult questions of life as they sought to understand lifeâs problems from Godâs point of view. After all, just because youâre a believer and you walk by faith, it doesnât mean you put your mind on the shelf and stop thinking. The Lord expects us to apply ourselves intellectually and do some serious thinking as we study His Word. We should love the Lord with our minds as well as with our hearts and souls (Matt. 22:37).
Wisdom was an important commodity in the ancient Near East; every ruler had his council of âwise menâ whom he consulted when making important decisions. Joseph was considered a wise man in Egypt, and Daniel and his friends were honored for their wisdom while serving in Babylon. God wants His children today to âwalk circumspectly [carefully], not as fools but as wiseâ (Eph. 5:15 NKJV). Understanding the book of Proverbs can help us do that. It isnât enough simply to be educated and have knowledge, as important as education is. We also need wisdom, which is the ability to use knowledge. Wise men and women have the competence to grasp the meaning of a situation and understand what to do and how to do it in the right way at the right time.
To the ancient Jew, wisdom was much more than simply good advice or successful planning. I like Dr. Roy Zuckâs definition: âWisdom means being skillful and successful in oneâs relationships and responsibilities ⊠observing and following the Creatorâs principles of order in the moral universe.â2 In that definition you find most of the important elements of biblical wisdom, the kind of wisdom we can learn from the book of Proverbs.
Biblical wisdom begins with a right relationship with the Lord. The wise person believes that there is a God, that He is the Creator and Ruler of all things, and that He has put within His creation a divine order that, if obeyed, leads ultimately to success. Wise people also assert that there is a moral law operating in this world, a principle of divine justice that makes sure that eventually the wicked are judged and the righteous are rewarded. Biblical wisdom has little if any relationship to a personâs IQ or education, because it is a matter of moral and spiritual understanding. It has to do with character and values; it means looking at the world through the grid of Godâs truth.
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for âwiseâ (hakam) is used to describe people skillful in working with their hands, such as the artisans who helped build the tabernacle (Ex. 28:3; 35:30â36:2) and Solomonâs temple (1 Chron. 22:15). Wisdom isnât something theoretical, itâs something very practical that affects every area of life. It gives order and purpose to life; it gives discernment in making decisions; and it provides a sense of fulfillment in life to the glory of God.
Wisdom keeps us in harmony with the principles and purposes that the Lord has built into His world so that as we obey God, everything works for us and not against us. This doesnât mean we donât experience trials and difficulties, because trials and difficulties are a normal part of life. But it means we have the ability to deal with these adversities successfully so that we grow spiritually and the Lord is glorified.
People with wisdom have the skill to face life honestly and courageously, and to manage it successfully so that Godâs purposes are fulfilled in their lives. Thatâs why I called the original âBEâ series book on Proverbs Be Skillful, because weâre seeking to learn from Proverbs the divine principles that can make us skillful, not in making a living, but in making a life. The pages of history are filled with the names of brilliant and gifted people who were smart enough to become rich and famous but not wise enough to make a successful and satisfying life. Before his death, one of the worldâs richest men said that he would have given all his wealth to make one of his six marriages succeed. Itâs one thing to make a living, but quite something else to make a life.
2. Who Wrote the Book of Proverbs and How Is It Written?
Author. In 1:1, 10:1, and 25:1, weâre told that King Solomon is the author of the proverbs in this book. God gave Solomon great wisdom (1 Kings 3:5â15), so that people came from the ends of the earth to listen to him and returned home amazed (4:29â34; Matt. 12:42). He spoke three thousand proverbs, most of which are not included in this book. The Holy Spirit selected only those proverbs that the people of God should understand and obey in every age.3
But other servants, guided by Godâs Spirit, were also involved in producing this book. âThe men of Hezekiahâ (Prov. 25:1) were a group of scholars in King Hezekiahâs day (700 BC) who compiled the material recorded in chapters 25â29, and in Proverbs 30 and 31, you meet âAgur the son of Jakehâ and âKing Lemuel,â although many scholars think âLemuelâ was another name for Solomon. Most of the material in this book came from King Solomon, so itâs rightly called âthe proverbs of Solomonâ (1:1).
As every Bible reader knows, Solomon began his reign as a man of wisdom but ended his life practicing the greatest folly (1 Kings 11; Deut. 17:14â20). In order to achieve his political goals and keep the kingdom in peace, Solomon allied himself to other nations by marrying hundreds of women, and these heathen princesses gradually turned his heart away from loyalty to the Lord. How tragic that Solomon didnât even obey the precepts he wrote in his own book!
Approach. âAlways do rightâthis will gratify some and astonish the rest.â Mark Twain said that, and President Harry S. Truman liked the quotation so much he had it framed and placed on the wall behind his desk in the Oval Office.
Whether or not they tell the whole truth, clever sayings like Twainâs are like burrs that stick in your mind. You find yourself recalling them and quoting them. This is especially true of proverbs, some of which are now so ancient theyâve become clichĂ©s. I once had to tell a pastor that my schedule wouldnât allow me to accept his kind invitation to speak at hi...