We need to remind ourselves every week of two important things in the study of Proverbs: First, these are the instructions from a father to a son about the son’s eventual role in leadership.  They are not simply rules for a happy life.  They are part of his training for responsibility and we should not read them without our own increased responsibility in mind.  Again, all of this life is an apprenticeship for what is to come.  We are being prepared. Second, these are principles and not promises. The author is not a prosperity preacher telling us how to avoid hardship or the normal circumstances of life.  They will not…

We need to be careful when we read Proverbs out of context and pick only the verses that promise us wealth, success, and a blessed life.  That is the trap of the prosperity gospel.  They lift Proverbs out of context and do not preach the whole Gospel. Too often we have turned Scripture into something that reads more like Ben Franklin’s “Poor Richard’s Almanac.” Remember when Paul encountered the believers in Ephesus and they had only heard the gospel of John and repentance but not the gospel of the resurrection?  They had ethics but not spiritual power.  They had a church that valued the benefits of John’s example and stern…

1.What is the purpose of the book?  It is not a list of sayings or quotes to be turned into bumper stickers or quoted as magic phrases to be repeated that will guarantee success in business, raising children, marriage and life. It is a father passing on the character traits and disciplines required to rule. It is a manual for learning how to bear responsibility for other people – not just individual development.  It is a father personally teaching sons and not simply handing them a book of wise sayings.  What are the proverbs you remember from your father and mother? My guess is they have stuck with you far…