finding a better route

A transformative 60-day exploration of how each of us can find a better way to live.

The purpose of this devotional guide, is to help prepare you to read the book of Proverbs. Proverbs is unlike any other book in the Bible it contains short pointed sayings that are meant to illuminate different parts of life in the ancient near east. This summer, Good News will be exploring the different themes of Proverbs over the a 12 week period. As you look through this devotional you'll notice that the reading plan is very short, rather than try and sprint through this book we are going to be on a more relaxed schedule. If you read 5 readings every week you'll be on track to read the entire book in 60 Days.

The book of Proverbs is a part of the what is called the "Wisdom Literature" of the Hebrew Old Testament, along with Job, Song of Solomon, Psalms, and Ecclesiastes. As the term suggests, these books are centered around imparting specific wisdom, in a variety of situations.

Wisdom is something not often specifically referenced in our society today, we are more often focused on pursuing knowledge over wisdom.

As we begin to study Proverbs, it's important to remember this fundamental difference between wisdom and knowledge. Knowledge is about having all the information in a given situation. While, Wisdom is about having the ability to make the right decision when presented with information. In a world filled with quick access to online information, knowledge can almost be taken for granted. Many of us have the ability to look for specific information on just about any topic, and find it quickly. Wisdom on the other hand is not so easy to come by. As we look at the book of Proverbs its important to remember that wisdom can be seen as the ability to process knowledge. This means it will often take hard work, and trial and error to come to understand wisdom. Its also important to remember that in the Proverbs themselves wisdom is something that is gained slowly over the course of someone's entire life.

Christ in the Proverbs

At the very end of his time on Earth, Jesus is walking and teaching his disciples about the Bible, and he begins to explain to them that the Entire Hebrew Bible (what we call the Old Testament) was written in such a way that is speaking about Jesus and is anticipating his ministry. Some parts of the Old Testament are easier to see how Jesus shows up, and other parts are harder. Proverbs can sometimes feel like one of the harder parts, but if we keep a few things in mind we can start to piece things together.

Here are a few things to keep in mind about Jesus and the book of Proverbs:

The ultimate goal of the proverbs is for us to have a better connection with Jesus.

The introduction of Proverbs tells us that the goal of the book is that we might know wisdom, and wisdom is rooted in a proper relationship with God, what the author calls, "the fear of the Lord." As we progress through the Bible we find the Apostle Paul refers to Jesus as "the Wisdom of God", who brings us back into a relationship with God.

Along the same lines, Proverbs 2:5 tells us that wisdom (the primary objective in the book) is meant to find the "knowledge of God", the Gospel of John tells us that the only way to truly know God the Father is through knowing Jesus, because Jesus and the father are one.

With this in mind, we can say that the goal of Proverbs is to live our lives in the best way we can, and that this only happens through Christ. After all, no matter how good our life is--without Christ--we are not living the life we were intended to live. Anyone can benefit from proverbs, but without rooting them in a relationship with Christ, we cannot expect them to produce the same results.

Jesus lived out the Proverbs

Jesus lived a life in perfect relationship with God the Father, and so we can say that his life was in perfect harmony with the Proverbs. Jesus is the wisdom of God, and he lived out his life in full submission to the patterns of life that God unpacks in Proverbs.

Jesus doesn't have to hide in every verse

While Jesus is the focus of our faith, in every book of the Bible, we don't have to allegorize the Proverbs. We can take the practical wisdom the book gives us and apply it to our life, knowing that as we do this, we begin to live a life, and we can make Jesus the center of the book without trying to force him into every line. Because Jesus perfectly lived out the Proverbs and because the Proverbs teach us about how we can live in harmony with God, as we seek to apply the principles that we get from the Proverbs, we are seeking to live a life more like Christ.

Characters in the Book of Proverbs

The Sons

In Proverbs we meet two sons, one who listens to his father and one who doesn't. The first ends up following a path towards wisdom while the other ends up a frustration both to himself and his parents. It is important to remember that Proverbs is written from the perspective of a father trying to teach his son how he can live the best life possible.

Father

Many of the Proverbs are written from the perspective of a father, who is trying to teach his son how to live in the world. While the father isn't the subject of many of the proverbs we hear his counsel throughout the book.

Sophia (Wisdom)

Sophia (the Greek word for wisdom) is the personification of the wise woman of Proverbs. Sophia is a blessing to all those who are around her, and all those who are willing to take her advice.

Folly

Folly is just the opposite of Sophia, she is the personification of foolishness. Folly preys on people who refuse to seek wisdom. Throughout the book, she is always looking for quick fixes and easy ways of escape anything that takes time in life.

Sluggard

In several proverbs we meet the sluggard, a person so lazy that he isn't even willing to feed himself. The Sluggard's presence in Proverbs shows us that part of being wise is knowing how to use that wisdom to work well in life.

Harlot

The Harlot could be seen as Folly's little sister. Throughout the book she is called by many names, the adulterous, the forbidden woman, the evil woman, and the prostitute. As we will come to see the harlot is a seductive and destructive character.

King

In several passages the Father tells his son how he should act when he comes into contact with the King. The King refers to an unnamed ruler, but he also is a stand-in for the authority of the government in the ancient near-east.

Foreigner

While not as prominent as some of the other characters, the Foreigner is an important character, as the Father uses him to teach the son how to interact with different types of people in life.

The Lord

In several chapters God himself shows up as the subject of the son's lesson. With a New Testament perspective it is fitting to come to these texts specifically seeing how they speak about Jesus Christ who God the Father gave him a name "that is above every name."

Youth

The youth in Proverbs are those young people who still have the decision of whether they are going to befriend Sophia or Folly. Several times the youth in Proverbs are seen at being at a crossroad, they are not seen as wicked characters like others, but they are shown as missing certain core traits.

Fool

The fool is one of the most referenced characters in the book of Proverbs, the father uses him as an example of the life he wants his son to avoid.

Scoffer

Worse off than the Fool is the Scoffer. A scoffer thinks he is wise and has no need to learn from anyone else, but in truth he is arrogant about his knowledge while knowing almost nothing.

Tips for your study

Pace yourself - Think about gaining wisdom more like a marathon than a sprint. You don't have to understand everything at once, wisdom is something that is gained over a lifetime.
Recognize the deeper meanings Sometimes you’ll read a proverb and think, “that isn’t true!” In those cases maybe there is a deeper truth that is trying to be communicated.
Don't look for progress look for understanding - Don't set a goal of saying "I've read the Proverbs", instead make your goal "I'm beginning to understand more Biblical wisdom"
Don't be afraid to read the book again (what if you did the same book twice as a devotion!?) - Some passage in Proverbs come at you so fast that it can make you feel like you're listening to a spiritual auctioneer, if you feel that you might have missed something go back and read it again.
Pray to the Spirit for wisdom when you hit parts that you don't understand - Some places in Proverbs will be very easy to understand, while others might leave you scratching your head. In those times take a few minutes to ask the Holy Spirit to give you guidance.
Consider picking up a small commentary - there are many helpful and readable commentaries available, such as Derek Kidner's Proverbs, or David Atkinson's Message of Proverbs.
Look for ways you can apply the Proverbs to your daily life - Try to find places where the principles of the Proverbs can fit into your modern life. Instead of kings think of mayors, instead of moving land markers think of honest contract, look for places of overlap and ask yourself: how does this affect my life?