Proverbs 1:1, Getting Started in Proverbs – An Introduction

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January 1, Proverbs 1:1

Matthew 7:24-29 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom”

Getting Started in Proverbs – An Introduction

The Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, King of Israel

Liberal-Modernist scholars assert that the Proverbs began as ‘one-liners’ and later expanded to carry a ‘motive-clause’ as the result of an ‘evolutionary’ development! This view attributes to Solomon only a few of these Proverbs. Even some ‘conservative-scholars’ assert that Chapters 1-9 were written long after Solomon’s time. Proverbs 1:1 is a general heading and the rest added by Hezekiah’s men, who put the whole Book together.

Proverbs may be divided into five parts, like the books of Moses and Psalms, (1:10, 10:1, 22:17, 24:23, 25:1, 31:1). Some prefer a “topical” treatment of this Book, but there are hundreds of verses that present truth in a highly concentrated, “encapsulated” form that this approach must ignore. Therefore, single verses, for every grain is weighty, or verse-groups dealing with the same subject, will be treated throughout. Herein is “gold coin”, portable, rich, and always current. When compared with other proverb-types we discover,

  1. No evidence for the “evolution” theory;
  2. No valid reason to doubt the Solomonic origin of the majority if not all;
  3. Chapters 1-24 must be interpreted as a unit, conceived, composed and arranged by Solomon;
  4. Chapters 1-9 are the original Preface to help us understand the whole.

Bishop Wordsworth suggested that the names Agur and King Lemuel were probably symbolic titles of Solomon himself, but it is best not to speculate where God is silent. Hezekiah’s men were used to bring to light and put into its present form what the Holy Spirit had preserved for future generations and for us today.

This comparative study should strengthen our confidence in “the Scriptures of Truth.” Do not treat Proverbs as merely “pious advice” or “a survival code of moral behaviour.” Proverbs is solidly rooted in a “theology of Creation” (8:22-31) and the “Covenant” (8:32-36). An old work on Proverbs by William Arnot, calls it, “Laws from Heaven for Life on Earth,” a good title, don’t you think? Another says “It is not just a book of literature to be analysed, but a blueprint for life to be dramatised in the arena of daily living.” Still another calls it, “God’s Handbook on the art of living for young and old.” Here is “God’s transistorised wisdom.” Here is true Wisdom, not merely the search for truth, but its discovery, yea, more, it is truth grasped and proven in everyday life. It exudes the spirit of the little girl who was supposed to have prayed, “Lord, make the bad people good, and the good people nice.” Begin today to pursue this Wisdom and prove its power afresh in your own daily life.

Thought: Their purpose ‘is to make us less often foolish and more often wise’.

Prayer: Open my eyes and heart to lay hold of Thy Wisdom in Thy Words.