40 Weeks of Your Life: Proverbs
09-30-2006
by Vicky Beeching

Proverbs is one of the three "Poetic Books" in the Old Testament, together with Psalms and Ecclesiastes.

It is a rich well of wisdom - every verse has much to teach us! These proverbs are sayings handed down the Jewish generations, and are greatly prized by Judaism and Christianity. It is believed that Proverbs was written by Solomon, who is named in Jewish history as the wisest man who ever lived.

One thing I love about this book is how the wisdom of former generations and believers is valued and cherished. Sometimes in today's society I feel like elders are no longer respected, and we are simply on a quest to 'do things our own way' finding our own path and learning from our own bumps and bruises along the way. I think God's way is that we learn from our predecessors and show them much respect and gratitude. So in Proverbs, it's like a wise old follower of God sitting us down over a coffee to share how we can best live out our lives.

The key theme of the Book is found in Proverbs 1:7 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge". There is much specific advice given in the pages, but the overall call is to walk in loving respect and obedience with God. "Fear" may have negative connotations when you hear it - but I believe the meaning is a loving respect; not a timid terror. It is the healthy respect, alongside the intimacy..like being the friend of a King.

Many people like to take a chapter of Proverbs and read it each day, as there are 31 chapters and usually 31 days per month. See if that works for you!

Solomon, the author, was David's second son with Bathsheba. So his origins were somewhat "dodgy" was we say in England! (let me translate… "dodgy" meaning 'shady, less than awesome'…!) I love that although Solomon came from a somewhat shady patrt of David's life story, God chose to make him the wisest man who ever lives and enable him to author much of the Book of Proverbs. How ever much you may have made unwise decisions so far in life, or whatever your family situation, ask God to give you the wisdom that He alone can bestow, and believe that He will do great things through your life as he did with Solomon! Solomon was the first person to build a Temple for the Lord in Jerusalem.. It was a huge project and a major defining event in the history of Israel. So lets commit ourselves to God, ask for His wisdom and dream big!