Bible in 90 Days - Day 46 (Proverbs 7:1-20:21)

Lord God,

help us turn our hearts to you

and hear what you will speak,

for you speak peace to your people

through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

—based on Psalm 85:8

One of the joys of reading a lot of Proverbs in one sitting is that it helps to get the big picture. Many of the proverbs are only understood properly in light of other proverbs. Overall they give wisdom for godly living. The ESV Study Bible notes say this: “A key term in Proverbs is of course “wisdom.” The word (Hb. khokmah) can have the nuance of “skill” (as it does in Ex. 28:3), particularly the skill of choosing the right course of action for the desired result. In the covenantal framework of Proverbs, it denotes “skill in the art of godly living.”

One of the big themes is the eternal nature of wisdom. 8:22 says, “The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works,^, before his deeds of old; I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began.” Some have even compared wisdom to Christ. I’m not necessarily going this way, but the big connections come in the first chapter of the Gospel of John. There Jesus is called the Word, and the Word in Greek culture was the personification of wisdom. We also here echoes of Jon 1:1-3 in Proverbs 8:30 “Then I was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence.”

One of the places where reading the proverbs in in their broader context helps is in the area of wealth. On the one hand, wealth seems to be the reward for doing what is right (i.e. I’m wealthy, I must be doing what is right - 10:4 “Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.”). But in the broader context, wisdom is worth far more than wealth itself. 8:9-10 “Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.” 16:16 “How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver.” Sometimes wealth appears to be a goal as in 18:11 (“The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it an unscalable wall.”), but in the context of 18:10 we see the folly of wealth (“The name of the Lord is a strong tower;

the righteous run to it and are safe.”)

There are other proverbs that sound good, but we can easily think of counter examples. One of these is 19:23 “The fear of the Lord leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble.” We know plenty of people who fear the Lord and experience trouble. Wisdom gives us general guidelines on the way of godly living, not hard and fast cause and effect.

In closing today I’d like to make a comment on a commonly quoted proverb. 13:24 states, “He who spares the rod hates his on, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.” This verse has been used to justify some harsh discipline. A few years ago a godly man pointed out to me that this rod comes up again in Psalm 23:4, “Even though I walk

through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” The rod that disciplines in a way that lacks the comfort and grace of the Shepherd is probably wielded inappropriately.