You need imagination for reading the book of Proverbs. And a lot of patience. The content cannot be read quickly. Every phrase, every sentence, packs a punch. Each individual proverb is an artfully constructed picture.
So take that image. Hold it in your hand. Examine it. Turn it. Look at it again. Look at it under different lighting. Squint your eyes. Have patience.
Here’s an interesting take on the book of Proverbs: It’s not about getting along in this world for the next of making it to the next world. Perhaps it’s about getting along in this world for the sake of this world. Proverbs makes life in this world better. It makes family life better. It makes work life better. It makes school life better. It makes relationships better. Proverbs is about here and now.
Now, our guiding questions as we read Scripture start with: What does this say about God? And what does this say about humanity? Proverbs has a lot to say about both. In fact, each and every saying communicates something about one of the two, if not both.
The LORD is only named a couple of times in chapter 28. There’s verse 5: Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it completely. Justice is a buzzword today, and it’s a huge theme in the Bible. If this verse is true, then there is no justice outside of God. It is God who defines what justice means to us.
There’s verse 14: Blessed is the one who fears the LORD always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity. This saying connects the ideas of fearing God and have a soft and sensitive heart. To fear God is to have a sensitive hear towards God.
And there’s verse 25: A greedy man stirs up strife, but the one who trusts in the LORD will be enriched. This saying puts in stark contrast sparking conflict and resting secure in God. They are two incompatible practices.
Where else do you see God in these proverbs?
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