Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - What's a Proverb? | The Writings | Proverbs 1

Episode Date: September 18, 2024

Should I think of proverbs as promises? Who was Proverbs written to? What does it mean to fear the LORD? In today's episode, Jensen explains how Proverbs 1 gives us a way of living that produces flourishing. Read the Bible with us in 2024! This year, we’re tackling a group of Old Testament books traditionally known as “The Writings”— Psalms, Chronicles, Proverbs, Daniel, Ruth and more! Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Proverbs 1

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. I'm Jensen Holt McNair. If I asked you what a proverb was, you'd probably have an answer. Yes, Proverbs is the book of the Bible, but a proverb is not strictly a biblical thing. The dictionary definition is that a proverb is a short pithy saying in general use, stating a general truth or piece of advice. Now with that definition in mind, you might assume that the book of Proverbs in the Bible is just full of a bunch of Proverbs telling you general truths and pieces of advice from God. But like all books of the Bible, there's so much more going on. In like all books of the Bible, it's vital that we understand the themes, direction, and key components to the book of Proverbs before we ever

start reading it. See, the Book of Proverbs is not merely a compilation of a bunch of of pieces of advice from God. There is a large section of the book dedicated to a large collection of Proverbs, but there are also sections of a father giving advice to his son, sections where wisdom herself personified as a woman teaches us about wisdom. You see, more than just a compilation, the book of Proverbs works as a whole to give us a guide to living well in God's kingdom. It's a book formed by the ancient wisdom of Israel, the truths and advice that they held as a people of how to live as God's people under His covenant. The entire book as a whole is helping us get a better picture of what the life of a believer should look like, should be guided by if they are striving to live by God's ways

and not the worlds. Now, one thing that the dictionary definition does help us out with is understanding what the book of Proverbs is not. And this is going to be very, very important to us as we read proverbs together and as you go out and understand the book of Proverbs in your own life and hear others teaching and preaching about Proverbs. A proverb is not a promise. It is not a prophecy from God about your life. It is not a guarantee. I have personally seen too many people really burned by Proverbs because they've heard someone or they themselves have read a proverb. They've taken its advice, but it didn't turn out the way the Proverbs said it would. I personally have seen too many people really burned by Proverbs because they've heard someone tell them to follow a Proverbs rule

for it to come true in their life. Or they themselves have read a proverb and then they've taken that advice, but it didn't turn out the way the Proverbs said it would. Now, this is when we need to understand the definition of a proverb. It is advice. It's urging you to live in God's ways, and in doing so, things will go well for you. It's good to live in the way God created you to live. A proverb is a general rule, but you will not find the exceptions to the rule in this book, though they certainly exist. Bad things happen to good people. Children raised in good, loving biblical homes leave the faith. Living a wise life does not guarantee a long life.

But in general, but in general, living by the wisdom found in Proverbs will benefit you. And even if you are, the exception to every rule, we learn from the Book of Job, a man who lived by wisdom, a man who honored the Lord, and his life still fell into shambles. At the end of the day, he still had God. His blessings may not have been in the promise of a good life or a peaceful life, but it was found in his unwavering loyalty and relationship he had with God. So, as we jump into the Book of Proverbs, we have to, we have to remember what the book of proverbs is and what it is not. Too many people have come to mistrust Scripture because

they have forgotten that every book of the Bible has a genre, a literary style that guides its writing, and therefore it's understanding. Proverbs is not prophecy. It is not a covenant God is making with his people. It is not a promise. It is a part of the wisdom literature, and its main goal is to show the people of God how to live life well in God's kingdom. Now with that, we are going to begin looking at chapter one of today. The book opens with an introductory section. It's seven verses long and it's where we're going to focus in on today. So let's take it apart bit by bit. Verse one. The Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel. So first verse and we know the author of Proverbs. It's Solomon, David's son,

the king of Israel is our author. Now if you aren't familiar with Solomon, the Bible tells us that God offered to give Solomon anything he asked for. And instead of riches, or success, Solomon asked for wisdom from God. And in this book, we find much of that wisdom, wisdom directly from God. Verse 2. For gaining wisdom and instruction, for understanding, words of insight. So Solomon is telling us the purpose of this book. It's for gaining wisdom and instruction. It's for understanding. So this book isn't just about head knowledge. It is in a textbook to know it's a book to understand and to instruct. The wisdom that comes from this book is a kind of wisdom that instructs your life. As you understand it, your life becomes guided by wisdom. Again,

remember the point of Proverbs. This book will show you how to live well in God's kingdom. It's giving you knowledge that must be applied to your life. To know this wisdom and not live by it would be foolish. True wisdom is knowledge and understanding that leads to the skill of living by wisdom. Verse three, for receiving instruction in prudent behavior for doing what is right and just and fair. So he continues on, and in verse three, he is describing what the wise life will be characterized by. Prudent behavior, doing what is right, just and fair. There's a morality tied to wisdom. So again, we're not just wise because we know a lot of math, but we're wise as we live by wisdom, as it shapes our morality, and it urges us to live lives shaped by righteousness, justice, and fairness.

Verses four and five will give us insight into who this book is for. For giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young, let the wise listen and add to their learning. and let the discerning get guidance. The book of Proverbs is for the simple and the wise. The book is versatile. It can be understood by the young to help them begin to gain knowledge and wisdom, and it's still instructive and useful for those who are already wise and discerning, to add to their understanding. Solomon is saying this isn't wisdom for dummies and it isn't a PhD-level textbook on wisdom. The simple can't use the excuse that.

that wisdom is for the old people with PhDs, and the wise can't use the excuse that this isn't for them because they already have wisdom. We all need instruction in how to live well in God's kingdom. We all, no matter how old, young, wise or simple, need encouragement and better understanding of what it means to live in light of who we were created to be, to live by God's covenant,

to live as his people. So is this book for you? Yes, whoever and wherever you are. It's for you. Verse 6. For understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. This book will help us understand the world, to understand and uncover wisdom the more and more we read it. We'll never be finished with it. The more we study, the more we will unpack and uncover and understand about what a life lived well really looks like. And then finally, finally we have verse 7, the verse that rounds out this introductory section and lays out Solomon's guiding theme that we will find woven throughout the rest of the book. Let's read it and then we'll unpack it. Verse 7. The fear of the Lord is the beginning

of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. The fear of the Lord is the beginning. of knowledge. This is the guiding piece of wisdom for this entire book. If you want to live a life of wisdom, if you want to have knowledge, it has to stem from a fear of the Lord. And this isn't a shaking in your boots, turn on the lights, hide under your bed kind of fear. It's a reverence, an awe of the Lord, an understanding of who the Lord is and how much more holy, power of wise and great he is than you are. The beginning of knowledge, of wisdom is understanding that God's way is the best way for you to live your life. That by living your life well in the kingdom of God, you're actually living in the best way a human can possibly live. God created you. His advice,

his wisdom, his knowledge, his understanding of the world is the only, good and right and true one, the only one that will bring true human flourishing. And to contrast that understanding of the world, he finishes by describing the fool. This is something that we will see throughout the book of Proverbs, the wise and the foolish. The fool does not fear the Lord. He does not believe that the Lord's ways are good. No, he despises the wisdom and instruction that is found in this book. He believes he knows what is good and right and true for himself, and he doesn't just disregard God's wisdom and instruction. He despises it. And with seven verses, Solomon has set the stage for this book. We know who it is for. We know its aim. And so as we read on, we need to keep

these things in mind. This book is not a promise for how your life will turn out. It does not, tell Christians what to expect of their lives that they follow God faithfully. But what it does do is it lays out a guide. It lays out a way of living that produces human flourishing. That way is not built on our own version of right and wrong. It's not built on what we think is good and right and true. It's not built on our understanding of the way that things should be. It is built on the fear of the Lord. It is built on the understanding that our Creator, our God, Yahweh, the Lord, knows what is good and right and true. And our greatest good, the best possible thing for us, is to live our lives guided and shaped by His wisdom. Lord God, as we read through and study the Proverbs, I ask that you

would open our hearts and our minds to your wisdom, that that wisdom would not just be a head knowledge, but something that transforms our lives. That as we recognize your power and might and wisdom for what it is, that our lives would fall in line with the values and goodness of your kingdom. God, equip us to live in wisdom so that our lives, our actions, and our choices would expand the boundaries of your kingdom in this world today. Amen.