Welcome to Proverbs

An Introduction to the Book of Proverbs

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Let’s start by saying that Proverbs is undoubtedly one of the most practical books in the entire Bible. Why? Mainly because it deals with simple everyday living. Oddly enough, little if any mention is made in the book about heaven or the afterlife. Strange, isn’t it? The reason is that it’s consumed with information about life in the here and now. It’s what I’d call a today kind of book.”

The very intention of the book is focused and clear. It leaves you with no gray areas, no questions or confusion, it’s either black or white. The main gist of the book is this, the righteous will ultimately succeed in life, and the unrighteous will ultimately fail. Period, no questions asked.

Its topics range from relationships, the power of your tongue, virtuous women, strange women, wise men, foolish men, drunkenness, immorality, laziness and of course, wisdom. It’s basically a manual for daily living.

How many of you would like to get a hold of an operator’s manual that tells us how to succeed in this life? Look no further than the Book of Proverbs.

Embracing the book for what it is

The opening verse of the book wastes no time introducing us to the author. It reads, “The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel.” (Proverbs. 1:1 NIV) Solomon wrote most of the book, with a few other writers sprinkled among its pages.

It’s important to give thought to the magnitude of this man’s influence and wisdom. I Kg. 4:29-30 states that Solomon was the wisest man to ever live on the face of the earth. Of course, outside of Christ. The Proverbs tell us that he wrote over 3,000 proverbs. (Prov.1:31 NIV) He was interested in botany, zoology and many other areas of life. Scriptures share that he wrote over 1,500 songs. Wow!

There are many other things that could be spoken of him. For instance, he was an architect beyond his days, a statesman to nations, an ambassador, an orator, a poet, judge and counselor. Many think he was an expert on marriage. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines! (I Kgs. 11:3) I’m not sure that qualified him as an expert. We’ll leave it there, you can decide!

How great was this man? The queen of Sheba put it this way after she had viewed the city, his riches, his palace, and the Temple of the Lord, “… indeed not even half was told me.” (I Kg. 10:7b NIV) The book was not written by a novice! Keep in mind his part of the book was written before his heart turned away from God.

Conclusion

The history of Solomon’s greatness begs a question, are you reading the book regularly? If not, why? Do you need wisdom in your current situation? Now would be a great time to start reading it regularly. After all there are 31 chapters in Proverbs, that’s one for every day of the month (extra for some months)!

Why not start today…it could change your life! There is more to learn, stay with us! More next week!