Proverbs - Lessons about wisdom

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From Oprah Winfrey to Jerry Springer - people are constantly debating on our televisions what is the RIGHT thing to do. But they dispense all this "wisdom" without any real thought as to what is real wisdom. They apply to their own emotions for guidance: "What feels right?" Or to the selected advice of psychologists: "Think about how all this trouble started." It may be great entertainment; but it is hardly helpful to the person who REALLY wants to know what they should do.

Solomon - considered the wisest man of all in his time - gave great thought to what wisdom is. He even collected wise sayings and wise advice. And his crucial discovery was that true wisdom begins with God (Proverbs 2:5-6).

In his first 9 chapters, Solomon explores what wisdom really is. He shows how false wisdom (folly) can seem deceptively similar to the real thing (see chapter 9). But he urges people to search for real wisdom, to respect it as something really wonderful, to make it a subject for lifelong study, and to teach it to even little children. At times he sounds like a father teaching his child. At other times, he becomes a great poet with extended passages of great beauty. And at times he turns to serious warnings: there is great danger for the person who neglects wisdom.

The book then enters into its heart: a collection of several chapters of detailed, informative, and sometimes humorous advice. Each proverb - usually just one verse in length - is a condensed and well-observed comment on human life and behaviour. The constant theme is that God, who knows all wisdom, will reward the wise. But a foolish person neglects wisdom at his peril.

By the end of chapter 22, the book enters its final phase. A series of proverbs (sometimes extended into several lines), sayings, and careful observations will intrigue the reader and provide plenty of ideas for thought and for learning.

Proverbs is a book to study SLOWLY. And it is a book that we should never depart from, even as we should never depart from true wisdom.

I was greatly aided by our senior theologian, Norman Hillyer, in the vast number of comments and suggestions for improvement that he provided during the writing of this book.