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.
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