Chapter Six
What situation is Solomon addressing in 6:1-5? Why does he think it’s so dangerous?
Proverbs directs us to “consider the ant, and be wise…” (6:6-8) Why do you think Proverbs uses this sort of “animal example”? Is it merely an illustration point, or is there something deeper…something more profound that Proverbs is attempting to say about Creation? (Consider this question in light of 3:19-20; 8:22-31)
Good article on bestiaries
Chapter Seven
What is the seventh chapter about? Why do you think so?
· You’ll notice a lot of talk in Proverbs centering upon sexual relationships. Proverbs repeatedly calls its readers (whom it presumes to be young men) to avoid the immoral woman and instead remain faithful to the wives of their youth. While on one level these passages are to be taken literally (at least I think so), there is also a symbolic level at work. The overall message of Proverbs seems to be that there are two paths to choose from: the path of wisdom, or that of folly. These “two ways” are personified by women. Scholars typically refer to these personas as Lady Wisdom and Dame Folly. (Notice the comparison between 8:11 and 31:10)
Assuming this is accurate, why do you suppose God would have chosen to use women as the personification of the two ways?
Chapter Eight and Nine
Lady Wisdom and Dame Folly make their respective pleas to men. Do you notice anything about how Wisdom & Folly make their pleas? (9:3, 14)? Also, notice the difference in the length of Wisdom’s cry versus Folly’s (8:1-9:12; 9:13-18) Do you suppose there could be any significance to this?
Chapter Ten
How true do you think 10:3-4 are? Is this a message that our culture reinforces, or one that it challenges? Why do you say so?
How do we reconcile these verses with the biblical commands to care for the poor?
What is the meaning of 10:15 and 16?
What do you suppose is the relationship between the people in 10:17 and those in 10:4, 16?
How does 10:19-21 impact your understanding of 10:18? Does all this talk about the power of words remind you of anything in the New Testament?
· Bring in James 1:26; 3:1-12. Also, have you ever considered how God created the world in the first place? Or how when Isaac was tricked into offering his blessing to Jacob, he could offer no blessing for Esau? (Gen. 27:1-37)
Do you think that our society respects the power of words? Why or why not?
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Proverbs: Words to Live By: Chapters 1 - 5
Proverbs: Words to Live By
Review
What do you remember from last week?
Did anything in the first five chapters seem especially important/puzzling to you?
Chapter One
1:1-7 The book’s introduction talks about giving insight to “the simple” (1:4). What does that word mean? Who are “the simple”?
No one believes they’re simple. We hear “stupid” when we read this passage. Maybe this is so difficult because we’ve been trained to take pride in our knowledge…or competence…our doctrinal purity. Strangely enough, it seems to me that many Christians are much more comfortable admitting moral failings than intellectual ones. It’s acceptable to say, “I am a sinner,” but not to say “I am simple…I don’t understand…I don’t know what I’m doing.” Perhaps we need a bit more breaking of the will.
1:8-19 What is the format for this passage? In other words, who is speaking to whom?
The passion and desperation of the father’s pleading with his son comes through…if you let it. Why is he so desperate? Why such anxiety for his son to heed? Because of death…both the death that may cut short the son’s life through folly (2:17-19) and the fear that death may steal the father and mother away before the son decides to start listening. What a tragedy should he fail to heed their counsel while living. Once dead, he will have access to it no longer—regardless of how repentant and curious he may be. This is the wisdom of the Latin proverb: Carpe diem! (Seize the day!) or the American: Strike while the iron is hot. Opportunities are not eternal. They have lifespans just like us, and can be cut off just as quickly and unexpectedly.
It’s ironic that the very ones who wish to “lie in wait and ambush the innocent” (1:11) out of greed promise to live communally among themselves once the deed is done (i.e., “we’ll all share the loot” 1:14). Maybe this is just what they tell people gullible enough to believe the wicked can be trusted?
1:20-33 Why do you think Wisdom’s words are so…blunt? Is this the way you expect God to speak to people?
Chapter Two
2:1-6 Why does the father think acquiring wisdom is so important?
2:3-4 What significance might these verses have for our discussion last week about “the fear of the LORD”?
2:10 What does the passage suggest is a result of acquiring wisdom? (see also 3:13)
2:11 What does it mean to say, “wise choices will watch over you?”
Perhaps it suggests that wise decisions made early will pay long-term dividends.
2:20 instructs us to follow the steps of good men. Why use this phrase? Why not say, “follow the instructions (or teachings) of wise men”?
The word mentor comes to us from the story the Odyssey. In it, the hero Odysseus is about to take off on a long voyage so he leave his son in the care of a trusted older friend named “Mentor.” In recent years, “mentoring” has become the rage in business and education. People are realizing the importance of people…of copying behaviors to good development. Have you ever seen, for example, a father and son who walk exactly alike…but they don’t realize it? See, much of what we learn is “caught not taught.” We just absorb it from our surroundings. That’s why Jesus wanted His apostles to live with Him and walk with Him for three years. He was trying to teach using more than words. He wanted to teach using life as well.
Chapter Three
Proverbs talks a lot about wisdom being stored in the heart (3:1; 4:4, 21, 23, et al.) Why do you think that is?
3:5 How important is faith to the development of wisdom?
A long time ago, a guy named Augustine said: Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. What do you think he meant? Is he saying that irrational belief is good? NO! Augustine meant that faith is necessary because it gives us the lens through which we look at everything else and understand it. He felt that trying to understand life without the right faith would be like trying to put a 10,000 piece jigsaw puzzle together with no picture to look at—you won’t know what the point is…what you’re trying to “create”! A good historical example was Galileo’s theory of the heliocentric universe. Everyone was “sure” that the earth was center of everything. They produced text books that taught that and “proved” the same. The problem was, when you really started crunching the numbers it never worked. Finally, Galileo had the breakthrough to realize the numbers weren’t working because the big picture was wrong. They were trying to construct the wrong puzzle with the pieces they had.
What is a paradox? Is the recognition of paradox important in acquiring wisdom? Why or why not?
How about 3:9-10? Does this make “common sense”—if you want to get more stuff, give the first and the best of your stuff away!? What do you think this means? (See also, Matt. 19:16-30)
3:14-20 Is wisdom really better than gold, silver, jewels, etc.? If so, how?
On some level, wisdom is a basic building block of Creation. God laid it into the foundation of everything around you. Therefore, when you get wisdom…you “get” life.
3:27-32 What does any of this Good Samaritan stuff (3:27-28) have to do with developing wisdom?
What is “violence”? Why would people have a problem envying the violent? (3:31)
Perhaps because the violent get results…and they get them fast. The path of violence frequently allows us to preserve one of our most precious possessions—our pride.
Chapter Four
Why is getting wisdom the wisest thing you can do (4:7)?
What does 4:18 mean? How are the righteous like the development of the day?
4:24 Why is God so concerned about us maintaining pure speech?
It goes back to the idea of the power of words. God spoke Creation into existence. Sadly, we live in a day when the words someone writes about another person on Facebook can cause them to commit suicide.
How much of what I say in any given day would qualify as “perverse and corrupt speech”?
Chapter Five
5:1-2 Notice the progression: watch…listen…learn…THEN, speak.
The “immoral woman” isn’t necessarily a woman. She represents anyone or anything that tempts people into the foolish path of self-destruction. Quite frequently, the immoral woman may not think of herself as “immoral” at all…merely misunderstood. Never forget that we humans have a truly breath-taking capacity for self-deception.
Review
What do you remember from last week?
Did anything in the first five chapters seem especially important/puzzling to you?
Chapter One
1:1-7 The book’s introduction talks about giving insight to “the simple” (1:4). What does that word mean? Who are “the simple”?
No one believes they’re simple. We hear “stupid” when we read this passage. Maybe this is so difficult because we’ve been trained to take pride in our knowledge…or competence…our doctrinal purity. Strangely enough, it seems to me that many Christians are much more comfortable admitting moral failings than intellectual ones. It’s acceptable to say, “I am a sinner,” but not to say “I am simple…I don’t understand…I don’t know what I’m doing.” Perhaps we need a bit more breaking of the will.
1:8-19 What is the format for this passage? In other words, who is speaking to whom?
The passion and desperation of the father’s pleading with his son comes through…if you let it. Why is he so desperate? Why such anxiety for his son to heed? Because of death…both the death that may cut short the son’s life through folly (2:17-19) and the fear that death may steal the father and mother away before the son decides to start listening. What a tragedy should he fail to heed their counsel while living. Once dead, he will have access to it no longer—regardless of how repentant and curious he may be. This is the wisdom of the Latin proverb: Carpe diem! (Seize the day!) or the American: Strike while the iron is hot. Opportunities are not eternal. They have lifespans just like us, and can be cut off just as quickly and unexpectedly.
It’s ironic that the very ones who wish to “lie in wait and ambush the innocent” (1:11) out of greed promise to live communally among themselves once the deed is done (i.e., “we’ll all share the loot” 1:14). Maybe this is just what they tell people gullible enough to believe the wicked can be trusted?
1:20-33 Why do you think Wisdom’s words are so…blunt? Is this the way you expect God to speak to people?
Chapter Two
2:1-6 Why does the father think acquiring wisdom is so important?
2:3-4 What significance might these verses have for our discussion last week about “the fear of the LORD”?
2:10 What does the passage suggest is a result of acquiring wisdom? (see also 3:13)
2:11 What does it mean to say, “wise choices will watch over you?”
Perhaps it suggests that wise decisions made early will pay long-term dividends.
2:20 instructs us to follow the steps of good men. Why use this phrase? Why not say, “follow the instructions (or teachings) of wise men”?
The word mentor comes to us from the story the Odyssey. In it, the hero Odysseus is about to take off on a long voyage so he leave his son in the care of a trusted older friend named “Mentor.” In recent years, “mentoring” has become the rage in business and education. People are realizing the importance of people…of copying behaviors to good development. Have you ever seen, for example, a father and son who walk exactly alike…but they don’t realize it? See, much of what we learn is “caught not taught.” We just absorb it from our surroundings. That’s why Jesus wanted His apostles to live with Him and walk with Him for three years. He was trying to teach using more than words. He wanted to teach using life as well.
Chapter Three
Proverbs talks a lot about wisdom being stored in the heart (3:1; 4:4, 21, 23, et al.) Why do you think that is?
3:5 How important is faith to the development of wisdom?
A long time ago, a guy named Augustine said: Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. What do you think he meant? Is he saying that irrational belief is good? NO! Augustine meant that faith is necessary because it gives us the lens through which we look at everything else and understand it. He felt that trying to understand life without the right faith would be like trying to put a 10,000 piece jigsaw puzzle together with no picture to look at—you won’t know what the point is…what you’re trying to “create”! A good historical example was Galileo’s theory of the heliocentric universe. Everyone was “sure” that the earth was center of everything. They produced text books that taught that and “proved” the same. The problem was, when you really started crunching the numbers it never worked. Finally, Galileo had the breakthrough to realize the numbers weren’t working because the big picture was wrong. They were trying to construct the wrong puzzle with the pieces they had.
What is a paradox? Is the recognition of paradox important in acquiring wisdom? Why or why not?
How about 3:9-10? Does this make “common sense”—if you want to get more stuff, give the first and the best of your stuff away!? What do you think this means? (See also, Matt. 19:16-30)
3:14-20 Is wisdom really better than gold, silver, jewels, etc.? If so, how?
On some level, wisdom is a basic building block of Creation. God laid it into the foundation of everything around you. Therefore, when you get wisdom…you “get” life.
3:27-32 What does any of this Good Samaritan stuff (3:27-28) have to do with developing wisdom?
What is “violence”? Why would people have a problem envying the violent? (3:31)
Perhaps because the violent get results…and they get them fast. The path of violence frequently allows us to preserve one of our most precious possessions—our pride.
Chapter Four
Why is getting wisdom the wisest thing you can do (4:7)?
What does 4:18 mean? How are the righteous like the development of the day?
4:24 Why is God so concerned about us maintaining pure speech?
It goes back to the idea of the power of words. God spoke Creation into existence. Sadly, we live in a day when the words someone writes about another person on Facebook can cause them to commit suicide.
How much of what I say in any given day would qualify as “perverse and corrupt speech”?
Chapter Five
5:1-2 Notice the progression: watch…listen…learn…THEN, speak.
The “immoral woman” isn’t necessarily a woman. She represents anyone or anything that tempts people into the foolish path of self-destruction. Quite frequently, the immoral woman may not think of herself as “immoral” at all…merely misunderstood. Never forget that we humans have a truly breath-taking capacity for self-deception.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Proverbs: Words to Live By: introductory notes
In an effort to simplify life and keep some fresh content on this blog, I'm going to begin posting material from the college class I'm teaching on the book of Proverbs This material was originally written for a teenage audience when I worked as a youth minister, but I'm attempting to revise and update it to make it more applicable to a college crowd. What you will have access to here are the revised lessons. I hope they can be a blessing to you.
Proverbs: Words to Live By
Introduction:
Proverbs is one of the “Wisdom Books” Some scholars feel that Proverbs was originally written as a textbook for young men who were being trained to work in the royal court of Israel. If this view is right (and I tend to believe it is) then these words were originally meant to teach young people how to make their way in the world with the minimum amount of trouble and the maximum amount of blessing
Wisdom Books are a little different from the rest of the Bible. They tend to be very “general.”
Ø Not much about things specific to Jews (e.g., Law, Covenant, etc.)
Ø Mostly about the everyday stuff of life (e.g., money, marriage, raising kids, getting along at your job, etc.)
Ø “Proverbs is a floodlight, not a spotlight.” What does this expression mean? Important to recognize that because it’s “general wisdom” the things Proverbs says are usually—but not always—true. (e.g., 22:6; 26:4-5)
A Note on Biblical “Wisdom”
What does the word “wisdom” mean to you? How do you know if someone is “wise” or not?
What if I had you read a book on mechanical engineering and then handed you a live bomb and said “Okay, this thing is on a five minute countdown. You’ve got all the necessary information…deactivate the bomb before it blows up.” How would you feel…confident or terrified?
This example helps explain what “wisdom” means in the Bible. It’s not the same thing as knowledge, intellect, or “book smarts.” When Proverbs talks about “wisdom,” it’s translating the Hebrew word – hokmah.
Exodus 31:1-6 talks about two men—Oholiab and Bezalel—who are supposed to help make stuff for the tabernacle. Though most English Bibles translate God as saying: “I have given skill to Oholiab to make….” He actually says He has given them hokmah.
This illustrates that when Proverbs speaks of acquiring “wisdom” it is talking about more than just intellectual knowledge. It’s about learning the necessary skills to live life well.
It’s my observation that all skills take time to develop. These are things you have to learn by doing. You can read a book on football fundamentals, but you probably won’t understand how to break down and make a tackle, block, etc. until you get out on the field and start getting knocked around a bit. It’s the same way with developing the skills for life.
Generally-speaking, life skills come with age. That’s why the Wisdom Books (and the Bible-in-general) has so much to say about respecting people who are older than you.
You’ll notice there is a poetic flair to Proverbs. One of the most important is the way it stylizes women. Most people see Proverbs as laying out a theology of the “two ways” (i.e., the way of wisdom and the way of folly) Throughout the book these two ways are represented by women. Wisdom is personified as a woman who will be a faithful spouse and good mother…one who will take care of you and bless your life. Often, scholars refer to this character as “Dame Wisdom.” The other woman of Proverbs is often referred to as “Madame Folly.” The Madame Folly character is usually depicted as an adulteress or a prostitute in Proverbs. Why do you think Proverbs might use women to personify these two ways?
Proverbs: Words to Live By
Introduction:
Proverbs is one of the “Wisdom Books” Some scholars feel that Proverbs was originally written as a textbook for young men who were being trained to work in the royal court of Israel. If this view is right (and I tend to believe it is) then these words were originally meant to teach young people how to make their way in the world with the minimum amount of trouble and the maximum amount of blessing
Wisdom Books are a little different from the rest of the Bible. They tend to be very “general.”
Ø Not much about things specific to Jews (e.g., Law, Covenant, etc.)
Ø Mostly about the everyday stuff of life (e.g., money, marriage, raising kids, getting along at your job, etc.)
Ø “Proverbs is a floodlight, not a spotlight.” What does this expression mean? Important to recognize that because it’s “general wisdom” the things Proverbs says are usually—but not always—true. (e.g., 22:6; 26:4-5)
A Note on Biblical “Wisdom”
What does the word “wisdom” mean to you? How do you know if someone is “wise” or not?
What if I had you read a book on mechanical engineering and then handed you a live bomb and said “Okay, this thing is on a five minute countdown. You’ve got all the necessary information…deactivate the bomb before it blows up.” How would you feel…confident or terrified?
This example helps explain what “wisdom” means in the Bible. It’s not the same thing as knowledge, intellect, or “book smarts.” When Proverbs talks about “wisdom,” it’s translating the Hebrew word – hokmah.
Exodus 31:1-6 talks about two men—Oholiab and Bezalel—who are supposed to help make stuff for the tabernacle. Though most English Bibles translate God as saying: “I have given skill to Oholiab to make….” He actually says He has given them hokmah.
This illustrates that when Proverbs speaks of acquiring “wisdom” it is talking about more than just intellectual knowledge. It’s about learning the necessary skills to live life well.
It’s my observation that all skills take time to develop. These are things you have to learn by doing. You can read a book on football fundamentals, but you probably won’t understand how to break down and make a tackle, block, etc. until you get out on the field and start getting knocked around a bit. It’s the same way with developing the skills for life.
Generally-speaking, life skills come with age. That’s why the Wisdom Books (and the Bible-in-general) has so much to say about respecting people who are older than you.
You’ll notice there is a poetic flair to Proverbs. One of the most important is the way it stylizes women. Most people see Proverbs as laying out a theology of the “two ways” (i.e., the way of wisdom and the way of folly) Throughout the book these two ways are represented by women. Wisdom is personified as a woman who will be a faithful spouse and good mother…one who will take care of you and bless your life. Often, scholars refer to this character as “Dame Wisdom.” The other woman of Proverbs is often referred to as “Madame Folly.” The Madame Folly character is usually depicted as an adulteress or a prostitute in Proverbs. Why do you think Proverbs might use women to personify these two ways?
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