Proverbs

The book of Proverbs (known as the proverbs of Solomon) was in fact written by Solomon, However, some of the proverbs that have been collected by Solomon are included in the book. In his lifetime, Solomon wrote 3,000 proverbs and 1000 songs.

 Proverbs is different from other books of the Bible because it is filled with two or three line individual statements, not organized by topic. They teach wisdom through short points. They are not Biblical promises, but rather principals to guide us in our relationship with God and others. The word wisdom shows up 114 times in 31 chapters. The wise man is contrasted with the fool throughout the book.

 So what is wisdom? Or who is the wise person? Wisdom is seeing the world and all that goes on, as God sees it and basing our reactions to any situation from God's perspective. So a wise person is one who knows God, sees the world through His eyes, and acts accordingly.

 Provers 1:2 tells us "The purpose of proverbs is to teach people wisdom and discipline, and to help them understand wise sayings. And verse 3 says, Through these proverbs, people will receive instruction in discipline, good conduct, and doing what is right, just, and fair.

  We can't go through every proverb, so I will pick out 6 proverbs that I think you will learn from and enjoy the pictures. The first one is Proverbs 6:6-7.

       Take a lesson from the ants and be wise. Even though they have no
       leader,  still they work all summer to gather food for the winter.

 In other words, even when no one is in charge. Don't be lazy.... be smart.

 And here is another one. Proverbs 11:22

       A woman who is beautiful but lacks good sense is like a gold ring in a pig's snout.

 In other words, beauty may be on the outside..... but inner beauty is what God sees.

There are 31 one chapters in proverbs, just like days in the month. Some people read a chapter a day for a month because getting God's word past our brains and into our hearts takes repetition and diligence.

 Next time we will see the wisdom in 4 more proverbs.