The man who is most associated with wisdom in the Bible is the man who wrote the Book of Proverbs. He asked for wisdom from the Lord to govern others and was told in 1 Kings 3:12-14: “…I will give you a wise and discerning heart… if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands...”
He wrote the Book of Song of Songs, when he was at a young age, and now the book of Proverbs was written when the middle aged King Solomon is also a father. Ecclesiastes is also attributed to him, written in his old age and as an elderly philosopher.
Suggestion on How to Read?
- Prologue (1:1-7)
- Why the Proverbs were collected.
- Advice to a youth (1:8-9:18)
- From a father
- Solomon’s Proverbs (10:1-22:16)
- Collected by himself
- Wise words (22:17-24:34)
- From ancient kingdoms
- Solomon’s Proverbs (25:1-30)
- Copied by Hezekiah
- Advice to youth (31:1-31)
- From a mother
Why Read it?
Proverbs may seem a strange book to be included in the Bible, but upon a closer look, its place is thoroughly justified.
- It deals with some of the major themes in Scripture.
- It is an important “weapon” to fight against foolish living.
Reflection
Proverbs contains humorous observations and pithy sayings that seem to be little more than common sense. It doesn’t seem very spiritual. It says little about private or public devotions.
The book of proverbs describes life as it really is – not life in church, but life in the streets, the office, the shop, the home. It covers all aspect of life, not just what you do on a Sunday (or Friday or Saturday depending which state you are in). It considers how one should live throughout the week in every situation.
So Proverbs is interested in where most of our waking life is lived. This book tells us how we can make the most of life and warns us that many people waste it. It is about ‘good life’.
Care must be taken in reading it as many of its lessons will find us out.