THE FIRST PART: A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
The Books of Poetry
Message Seven—Proverbs
Scripture Reading: Gen.1:26; Exo. 20:12; Prov. 1:7; 3:5-6; 5:5-6, 15-16; 9:10; Rom. 6:6; 2 Cor. 3:6; Gal. 2:20
I. Proverb,words of wisdom teaching people how to behave and how to build up their character in the human life—Prov. 1:1, footnote 1; Rom. 10:3; Eph. 4:17: (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 2)
A. What the book of Proverbs is to us and what the entire Bible is to us depend on what kind of person we are—John 5:39-40; Matt. 5:8; 6:22-24. (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 2)
B. Proverbs is a collection of the words of the wise; the main writers and collectors are Solomon and Hezekiah—1 King 4:32. (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 2)
C. Proverbs is a subsidiary part of the law, instructing people how to behave and how to build themselves up according to what God is—Prov. 1:1, footnote 1; Rom. 10:3. (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 2)
D. Proverbs stresses wisdom that man receives of God through his contacting of God and that teaches man how to behave in his human life—Eph. 4:17. (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 2)
E. We should read Proverbs by being filled with the fullness of God in our spirit—Eph. 5:18; 3:19. (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 2)
II. We will consider from Proverbs the principles for man to live a proper human life; each of these principles—revering God, needing wisdom, honoring one’s parents, and holding marriage in honor—is a nugget—Prov. 1:7; 9:10: (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 2)
A. The first principle for man to live a proper human life is revering God—Prov. 3:5-6; 9:10: (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 2)
1. To revere God is to consider and regard Him in everything, never forgetting that He is the wonderful God who has created us—Gen. 1:26. (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 2)
2. To revere God is to fear God; the fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding—Prov. 9:10; 15:33a. (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 2)
3. To revere God is also to trust in Him, trust in Jehovah with all our heart and not to rely on our own understanding, in all our ways we should acknowledge Him, and He will make our paths straight—3:5-6. (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 2)
B. The second principle, the second nugget, is needing wisdom; we are always in need of the wisdom of God—3:13-14, 21-22; 1 Cor. 1:24: (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 2)
1. Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, for her profit is better than the profit of silver, and her income is better than gold—Prov. 3:13-14. (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 2)
2. We should not let wisdom depart from our sight, but we should keep sound wisdom and discretion, the real beauty is wisdom and discretion—3:21-22. (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 2)
3. The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom; and in all your getting, get understanding, prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her, she will give a garland of grace for your head; a crown of beauty will she bestow on you—4:7-9. (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 2)
4. Jehovah by wisdom founded the earth; He established the heavens by understanding—3:19. (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 2)
5. The personified wisdom of God is Christ as its reality—1 Cor. 1:24. (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 2)
C. The third nugget, the third principle, is the honoring of one’s parents; after God, we should respect our parents, having regard for them, honoring them, and obeying them; honoring our parents will prolong our days—Exo. 20:12: (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 2)
1. Revering God and honoring one’s parents are mentioned together in Proverbs, if we revere God, we will honor our parents—Exo. 20:12. (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 2)
2. We should hear the instruction of our father and not reject the teaching of our mother; for they will be a wreath of grace for our head and ornaments for our neck—Prov. 1:8-9. (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 2)
3. We should receive our father’s words and treasure up his commandments within us, making our ear attentive to wisdom and inclining our heart to understanding—2:1-2. (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 2)
D. The fourth nugget is to hold marriage in honor; in order to live a proper human life, we must hold marriage in honor—5:5-6, 15-16: (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 2)
1. In holding marriage in honor man’s faithfulness is the base; they need to drink waters out of their own cistern (wife) and running water out of their own well—5:5-6. (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 2)
2. Whereas in holding marriage in honor man’s faithfulness is the base, woman’s virtues are the building up, a gracious woman lays hold of honor—11:16a. (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 2)
III. We need Proverbs to give us instructions in order to build up our new man—Prov. 8:9; 2 Cor. 3:6; Eph. 4:24: (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 8)
A. Our need to know the proper way to take the book of Proverbs; Proverbs gives us wisdom to be a proper person and to do the right things—Prov. 8:9. (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 8)
B. The word in Proverbs will become spirit and life to us, not to cultivate our natural man but to cultivate our regenerated new man—2 Cor. 3:6. (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 8)
C. In His redemption God’s eyes are always on the new man—Eph. 4:24. (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 8)
D. Second Corinthians 4 tells us that “though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day”, this indicates that it is not easy for God to renew us, this cannot be accomplished just by our prayer, God needs to use His “therapy” to renew us—2 Cor. 4:16. (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 8)
IV. To use the book of Proverbs properly, we must know God’s economy; according to His economy Proverbs should not be used to build up the old man; the big proverbs, like nuggets, and the small ones, like gems, are not for us to build up our old man, to cultivate our self and our natural man; rather, they are for us to build up our new man—Rom. 6:6; Gal. 2:20. (Life-study of Proverbs, msg. 8)