Purpose of the Proverbs

The Book of Proverbs Chapter 1

Author: Solomon (with Agur and Lemuel contributing some later sections)
Setting: this is a book of wise sayings for teaching people how to lead godly lives through the repetition of wise thoughts. This book features poems, parables, questions and couplets as well as comparison, antithesis and personification.

The purpose of the proverbs is to teach people wisdom, discipline and to help them understand wise sayings. Through them, the people will receive good instruction and do what is right, just, and fair. Let those who are wise listen to these proverbs and become wiser. Let those who understand, receive guidance by exploring the depth of meaning. "Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Only fools despise wisdom and discipline."

Listen to what your father teaches you and don't neglect your mother's teaching. What you learn from them will crown you with grace and clothe you with honor. If sinners entice you, turn your back on them. Don't go along with their schemes to commit crimes, but stay far away from their paths. These kinds of people booby trap their own lives and such fate ends up robbing them of their own lives.

Wisdom is a female, shouting in the streets and telling everyone to stop being simpleminded. How long will you fools fight the facts, she says. Come to me and I will pour out the spirit of wisdom upon you and make you wise.
You didn't come when I called, so I reached out to you, but you paid no attention and ignored my advice. So I will laugh when you are in trouble and mock you when disaster overtakes you and you are anguished and distressed.

Wisdom continues to say, she will not answer when people cry for help, for they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the Lord. And they rejected her advice so they must eat bitter fruit of living in their own way. They must experience the full terror of the path they chose. But those who listened to her will live in peace and safety.

BIBLE NOTES SHOW: Remember that Solomon, son of King David, asked God for an understanding mind. God was pleased with his request and made him rich and powerful in a time of peace. Solomon calls a person who refuses to learn - a fool. Sin is enticing because it offers a quick route to prosperity and makes us feel like one of the crowd. But soon our appetites become our masters and we will do anything to satisfy them. We must learn to make choices based on long-range effects and steer clear of people who entice us into things that are wrong.

The visual picture of Wisdom as a woman calling out in the streets is called personification, a literary device to make wisdom come alive for us.

HOW DOES THIS CHAPTER RELATE TO US TODAY? Actions speak louder than words and this is true in our homes. Children learn values, morals and priorities by observing how their parents act and react. If we have a deep reverence for God and depend on God, the children will catch this attitude. Faith in God should be the controlling principle for your understanding of the world, your attitudes and actions. Trust in God and he will make you wise!

Yours in Christ,
Mary

Prayer Requests are needed for:
HEALTH:
Update on my niece Suzanne, she is out of rehab after many months for a crushed leg and doing well and being cared for by her ex. Pray for Gabe and Wanda. Pray for Janice Long’s parents, especially her mother who faces another round of chemotherapy and her father with Alzheimer’s and now her mother in law also with Alzheimer’s. Their family is feeling the strain both emotionally and financially. Pray for them. Update on this family: Her mother-in-law is being taken to Oklahoma to live with an aunt who will care for her.
Pray for Arlene’s nephew David and for my neighbor Al who is nearing the end of his life.
Pray for Carolyn’s brother Ronald who has cancer.
Pray for our friend Michelle who was diagnosed with MS.
Update on my cousin Diane who had total mastectomy surgery for breast cancer. She is doing fine and will not need chemo because hers was not an aggressive type of cancer. We will remove her from the prayer list. Thanks to all who prayed for her – prayers do work!
UPDATE on Barb who went in for back surgery and had a heart attack and stroke, she has her speech back and is home , but continues to have a problem with one arm and hand. Thanks to your prayers, she is able to hobble without a cane and has been granted disability. She still has surgery scheduled on her hand, but I saw her recently and her attitude is fantastic.
Pray for Robert Sargent who is quite ill with lung cancer.
Pray for Judy’s husband who was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. Pray for her too, that she can deal with the side effects of his illness.
Pray too for Charly’s husband Robert who is undergoing chemo for his prostate cancer. Update on Robert: he has one more treatment and then three months of waiting for his psat test to come back clean.
Pray for John’s recovery from a heart attack and for the doctors who have difficulty diagnosing his other symptoms.
Pray for James’s sister Cynthia whose chemo has lost its effect as the cancer grows powerful.
Pray for another friend named Carolyn whose faith remains strong, but is lost and confused about where and how to spend her elder years.
SPIRITUAL UPLIFTING: Gail, Mary
RESTORATION OF FAITH: Al, John
LOVE AND SUPPORT: Claire, Hunter, Brian
SUPPORT: Haiti, Chile, survivors of Japan’s earthquake, survivors of the devastating tornadoes in our southernmost states and Joplin, Missouri. Pray too, for our country’s leaders and our military people who die each day for our freedom.