In this book of Proverbs, we get a glimpse into what is described in 1 Kings 4:29-34 : God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore… He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five…. From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.

For a broader view of this book of the Bible, we encourage you to watch this video:

Bible Journaling Tip:

When you read a passage and it really strikes you, write down the date next to the verse and try to take environmental memorabilia to place in your Bible on that page… 

coffee shop: sugar packet  

nature:  a leaf from a tree 

church: a pamphlet

LOOK UP: (information)  -  encounter God through the Scripture 

Author:

The majority of this book was written by King Solomon, but some parts had other authors. See if  you can find who wrote which parts in your Bible. Solomon received great wisdom from God and this book contains some of it for us to read. What are other sources that you turn to for wisdom every day? (E.g. Google, a wise person in your life, learning through books, etc.) 

Audience:

The intent of this book is to provide wisdom: wisdom that is not just head knowledge, but rather applied skills for how to live in God’s world. See if you can mark places in your Bible where the Proverbs give you direct instruction, like what to do in order to succeed. Now, take a different color and mark places where you find indirect instruction, like what kind of person to be.

History:

The proverbs can be read as a manual for how to live godly and well in the world of God. The other wisdom books, like Job and Ecclesiastes, focus on the opposite. They ask questions about the exceptions to the ‘rules’ of living in God’s kingdom. After reading the historical books about God and the Israelites, we are now busy journeying through the wisdom books. Can you find traces of the historical books hidden within the Proverbs? 
For example: Proverbs 2:21 “For the upright will live in the land and the blameless will remain in it” - What could this land be that the author is speaking about? This could be the Promised Land, and the Kingdom of God.

Genre:

This is a poetical book that forms part of the Wisdom Literature in the Bible. Read about the different techniques used by the Hebrew poets to write the Proverbs : Hebrew poetry. See if you can identify the different kinds of poetry by writing the style next to the proverb. In our writing prompt for this book, we will explore writing our own poems according to these Hebrew poetry styles. 

LOOK IN: (revelation)  -  contemplate / reflect on our own lives

Key verse:

Proverbs 1:7 NIV

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Inspiration:

When we hear ‘fear of the Lord’, not many of us will jump with excitement. ‘Fear’ as it is used in the book of Proverbs has a different connotation than how we understand the word today. To fear God meant to humbly submit to God’s wisdom and ways of living and not cling to your own. What do you feel when you hear ‘fear of the Lord’? Talk to God about it and ask Him to give you a revelation of what this really means. 

LOOK OUT: (transformation)  -  respond with creative worship action  

Drawing prompt:

Read the four poems about lady wisdom which can be found in the following chapters and verses:  1:20-33; 3:13-20; 8; & 9. Using these poems as inspiration, paint or draw lady wisdom. How is she described? See if you can bring  as much of the poems into your image as possible. You can do this by writing words next to her, or by symbolising what she says by adding certain visual elements. For example, she says about the foolish: “they shall eat the fruit of their way” - I can either write this down, or I could add some fruits to the painting in the background.

Bible Journey with JournalOwl:

Here are some questions / prompts provided by the JournalOwl community. 

• List the 7 abominations of 6:16-19, and explain the meaning of each in your own words. For each of these 7 abominations, list a scripture elsewhere that discusses it.
• Where does Solomon say a lazy person should go to learn important lessons – 6:6-8?

Follow this link to dive into this book with an online Bible Study group.

 Writing prompt:

In the same way that poetry today has different tools that can be used to bring about certain messages, there are different Hebrew poetry styles that were used by the authors of the Proverbs. These include many different styles, but we will focus on two here:

2. Synonymous parallelism is used when a line is repeated in different words.

For example, (Proverbs 19:5)

A false witness will not go unpunished,

And he who speaks lies will not escape 

Here, a ‘false witness’ is rewritten as ‘he who speaks lies’; and ‘will not go unpunished’ is rewritten as ‘will not escape’. It is almost as if the author could say “in other words” before writing the second line. This is a great tool to communicate clearly and to explain something well.

Use this style to write your own proverb about: Living in the Kingdom of heaven.

Living in the Kingdom is …,
And it is … to live in heaven

2. Metaphor is used when a comparison is made without using ‘like’ or ‘as’.

For example, (Proverbs 15:4)
A wholesome tongue is a tree of life,

But perverseness in it breaks the spirit

Here, a wholesome tongue is directly called a tree of life. The author did not say it is like a tree of life. It is almost as if the author could have written: A tree of life can be found in a wholesome tongue. The second line does not employ this same poetic style, but it does continue to explain the point. 

Use this style to write your own proverb about: Being thankful for the Bible.

The Bible is a …,
When I read it … 

Prayer:

God, I want to thank you for the book of Proverbs. Would you fill me with wisdom and understanding to remember to come to the Bible when I need answers. Your Word is enough to speak to my problems. Let my response to this text be worship unto you!