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Proverbs Overview: Living Wisely in God's World

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Proverbs Overview: Living Wisely in God's World

Show Notes

In this introductory episode of their journey through the Book of Proverbs, hosts David and Seth explore the unique nature of biblical wisdom literature and how understanding what proverbs are—and what they are not—transforms the way we read this ancient collection of teachings. The conversation unpacks why Proverbs exists, how its literary form shapes its meaning, and why Jesus stands at the center of understanding wisdom itself.

What Is a Proverb and Why Does Its Form Matter?

Proverbs are far more than simple life advice or moral platitudes. They represent the collective wisdom of a community distilled over centuries into memorable, often riddled sayings designed to be chewed on rather than quickly consumed. Examples from various cultures illustrate this point: the Hungarian saying "If you want a perfect horse, start walking" requires reflection to understand its message about perfectionism; the Egyptian proverb "The one on the shore is the best swimmer" captures something true about those who offer criticism without participating; the African wisdom that "If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together" reveals a culture's value for community over individualism.

The poetic and sometimes puzzling nature of proverbs serves a specific purpose. Unlike straightforward instructions, proverbs are designed to be sticky—easy to memorize but requiring meditation to truly understand. Tim Mackie's analogy proves helpful here: proverbs are not like popcorn meant to be consumed quickly, but like hard candy that must be savored over time. This explains why reading three chapters of Proverbs in a daily Bible reading plan can feel arduous and unsatisfying. The genre itself resists rapid consumption and invites repeated return and reflection.

Proverbs Are Patterns, Not Promises

One of the most important paradigm shifts for reading Proverbs well involves understanding that these sayings describe patterns in how God made the world, not absolute promises that guarantee specific outcomes. When Proverbs describes the blessings of wisdom or the destruction that follows folly, it is identifying the general grain of the universe rather than making iron-clad guarantees about every individual situation.

This distinction matters deeply because God made the universe with wisdom, and therefore there is a discernible pattern to how things work when aligned with that wisdom. A man who faithfully pursues his wife tends to experience greater joy than one who commits adultery. Hard work generally leads to prosperity while laziness tends toward poverty. These are observable patterns that hold true across time and culture. However, exceptions exist. A faithful husband may be spurned by his wife. An honest worker may be exploited by corrupt employers. The proverbs describe how the world generally works when aligned with the wisdom God built into creation, but they do not eliminate the reality of sin, brokenness, and the fall that disrupts those patterns.

This understanding frees readers from treating Proverbs as a formula where specific behaviors automatically produce specific results, which leads either to disillusionment when life does not work that way or to judgmental conclusions about those who suffer despite living wisely.

The Opening Invitation: How Proverbs Teaches Us to Read Proverbs

The opening verses of Proverbs provide something rare in biblical literature—an explicit invitation into how the book should be approached. Solomon identifies his purpose: "To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity. To give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth." But he does not stop with the young and inexperienced. He continues: "Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who already understands, let him obtain guidance."

This preamble reveals that Proverbs envisions a lifelong journey rather than a one-time reading. The simple are invited to become discerning while the already wise are called to continue growing in wisdom. This framework explains the taxonomy of wisdom-related words throughout the book—wisdom, instruction, understanding, knowledge, prudence, discretion. While these terms carry nuance and are not mere synonyms, the book uses them flexibly rather than with rigid definitions. This very flexibility invites meditation on why a particular term appears in a specific context rather than mechanical categorization.

The book also contains more than just proverbs. The first nine chapters include extended poetic meditations, commands from father to son, and dramatic personifications of Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly. The short, pithy proverbs do not begin in earnest until chapter ten. Understanding this literary variety prevents the frustrating experience of treating the entire book as a list of disconnected sayings when significant portions are actually sustained reflection and narrative.

A Royal Father's Heart: Solomon, David, and the Lineage of Wisdom

The book's authorship carries tremendous theological weight. "The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, King of Israel" establishes both the author and the crucial context for reading. Solomon identifies himself first as a son—someone who has received wisdom from his father David and the generations before him. He then positions himself as king, the one responsible for leading God's people into flourishing.

The audience is equally significant: "my son." Throughout Proverbs, the reader is addressed not as a subject or citizen but as a beloved child receiving a father's instruction. This relational dynamic shapes everything. A father desperately wants to guard his son against destruction and folly. The teachings come with parental compassion, even when they are hard to hear. Reading Proverbs as impersonal life tips misses the emotional warmth and relational urgency that permeates the book.

The kingly context opens even deeper dimensions. Throughout biblical history, the hope persisted that a wise king from David's line would undo the curse of the fall—which happened precisely when wisdom failed in the Garden. Solomon initially seemed to fulfill this hope. When God offered him anything, he asked for wisdom rather than wealth or power. He did not grasp for forbidden fruit as Adam and Eve had done. The Kingdom experienced unprecedented peace and prosperity. Yet Solomon ultimately failed, and the book can be read either as the wisdom of Solomon at his height or as his chastened reflection after his fall, passing hope to the next generation: "My son, may you succeed where I failed."

Jesus as Wisdom Incarnate

The deepest key to reading Proverbs is recognizing that Jesus is wisdom made flesh. The invisible patterns that connect cause and effect, the hidden logic of how flourishing works, the mysterious grain of the universe—all of this becomes visible in the person of Jesus. When we see Jesus act, we see how perfect wisdom behaves in the real world.

This connection appears explicitly in Jesus's own teaching. At the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus uses unmistakable proverb language: two builders, one building on rock and one on sand; storms come to both; only the one built on rock stands. This is precisely how Lady Wisdom speaks in Proverbs—build your life on wisdom and you will stand; reject wisdom and calamity will overtake you. By using this framework, Jesus claims to be wisdom itself. His words are the rock. His teaching is the foundation. Following him is the path of wisdom.

This transforms how believers approach every proverb. Beyond asking what it means in a parent-child relationship or how it applies to daily decisions, disciples can ask: How did Jesus embody this wisdom? What does it look like to follow wisdom incarnate in this area of life? The Book of Proverbs becomes not merely ancient advice but an invitation into the way of Jesus.

Life and Death Are on the Line

Modern readers often approach proverbs as helpful suggestions—tips for living better that can be adopted or ignored based on personal preference. Biblical Proverbs operates with far higher stakes. Throughout the book, wisdom leads to life and folly leads to death. These are not metaphors for mild success or moderate failure but reflect the fundamental architecture of reality.

When God created the world with wisdom, he embedded a pattern that leads toward flourishing and life. Aligning with that pattern—even when it involves suffering, loss, or death—ultimately leads to resurrection and life. Jesus embodied this perfectly. He followed wisdom to the cross, and though he died, he rose again. Conversely, those who break the order God built into creation may appear to succeed temporarily, but they are moving toward destruction, bringing death to the world around them and ultimately upon themselves.

This life-and-death framework elevates Proverbs from merely useful advice to matters of ultimate significance. The book is not about optimization or life hacks. It concerns whether we will be people who bring more Eden or more wilderness into the world around us. As citizens of Jesus's Kingdom, equipped with his Spirit and walking in his wisdom, believers are invited to be Eden-bringers who cultivate flourishing wherever they go. The Book of Proverbs maps the terrain of that vocation, showing what wisdom looks like in the countless daily decisions that shape a life.

Transcript

David: [gentle music]... wisdom.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: Let me see if I can put them together, if I can-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... bring the invisible-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... wisdom into visibility through some proverbs. Jesus is the invisible wisdom incarnated and walking around, and so when we see Jesus do something, we're seeing how wisdom would act perfectly.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And so being a disciple is learning to live wisely as Jesus lived.

Seth: Yeah.

David: It's living his life after him.

Intro: Welcome to the Spoken Gospel podcast. Spoken Gospel is a ministry that's dedicated to speaking the gospel out of every corner of scripture. In Luke 24, Jesus told his disciples that every part of the Bible is about him. In each episode, hosts David and Seth work through a passage of scripture to see how it's all about Jesus and his good news. Let's jump in. [upbeat music]

David: Well, welcome, everyone, to the Spoken Gospel podcast. Thank you so much for joining us. We are starting our journey through the Book of Proverbs today, and as always, I've got my right-hand man, Seth, with me, ready to dive into the proverbial unknown.

Seth: Oh, wow!

David: Oh?

Seth: Wow, the b- the word Proverbs has already come up as a pun.

David: I did it.

Seth: Kind of. Eh, it wasn't really a pun, but-

David: Eh, you know.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Close enough.

Seth: We're working on it.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Yeah.

David: So, so we're, we're, we're going into Proverbs.

Seth: Yep.

David: Um, this is a, a unique book, um-

Seth: Yes

David: ... on several fronts, uh, and maybe that's what we can try to talk about today-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... is what are the unique contributions this book has, the unique style, the unique aim, what's it doing in the Bible?

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: Because it's a poetic book, which is already-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... you know, unique in a sense. We're gonna see it's not-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... entirely unique.

Seth: I mean, there's a lot of poetry in the Bible.

David: There's a, there's a lot of poetry in the Bible.

Seth: There's a lot of poetry in the Bible.

David: Uh, I actually have some stats here about-

Seth: Stats about poetry in the Bible?

David: I've got poetry stats-

Seth: Wow

David: ... which is two things [chuckles] that shouldn't go together-

Seth: [laughs] I was like, uh

David: ... poetry and statistics. [chuckles]

Seth: [chuckles]

David: But we're gonna talk about it.

Seth: Is it wise to... [chuckles]

David: You know, it might not be, but it, uh, it is perhaps-

Seth: Uh

David: ... knowledge and understanding, which-

Seth: Uh

David: ... the Book of Proverbs is about.

Seth: Great.

David: But yeah, like, oh, about a third of the Old Testament is poetry, so it's, it's a big thing.

Seth: Wow, that's wild.

David: Which as a poet, I can appreciate that, you know?

Seth: Yeah.

David: And sometimes it's, like, sprinkled into different narratives-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... like in Genesis.

Seth: Like, like, uh, in Tolkien, like in The Lord of the Rings-

David: Oh, yeah

Seth: ... he just, like, pops a song in-

David: Exactly

Seth: ... now and then.

David: Yeah, he's very biblically influenced.

Seth: Yes.

David: There you go. Or you have a whole book comprised of poetry-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... like in Psalms.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: And there's different kinds of poetry.

Seth: Mm.

David: There's, like, lyric poetry, which is poetry that's meant to be sung.

Seth: Like the Psalms.

David: Like the Psalms, exactly. There's prophetic poetry, which are oracles, like in-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... Isaiah, and things like that.

Seth: And I think my, my favorite theory about why prophecies are-

David: Poetic

Seth: ... poetic is because they're essentially rap battles-

David: Oh

Seth: ... between the false prophets-

David: Yes

Seth: ... and the true prophets of God.

David: That's right.

Seth: [laughs]

David: I cannot wait to read your, your dissertation about-

Seth: Dissertation [chuckles]

David: ... proving the rap battle origins of prophetic oracles. That dissertation, mwah, chef's kiss.

Seth: Raps Against the Gods. [laughing]

David: [chuckles] Yes! Please write that paper. I want to read it. Um, there's elegy poetry, which is, like, meant for mourning, like Lamentations.

Seth: Right, yeah.

David: Dramatic poetry, which is, like, lived out, um, meant to be in-

Seth: Like a performance

David: ... performance-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... like Job and Song of Songs.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: And then there's didactic poetry, which is poetry that teaches.

Seth: Okay.

David: And that's Proverbs.

Seth: Proverbs, okay.

David: So we've got this book of didactic poetry, and it's in the form of proverbs.

Seth: Okay.

David: So are you familiar... I'm sure you are.

Seth: I am.

David: What do you think of when you think of a proverb?

Seth: I mean, I think of... I've got, like, my own assumptions about what proverbs are based off of, like, the fact that I live as a human being in the world.

David: Yeah.

Seth: And I also have a whole bunch of other assumptions that I, l- I know from studying biblical proverbs-

David: Yes

Seth: ... sayings.

David: Right.

Seth: So, like, when I think about it, just, like, generally, I just think of, like, basic life advice-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... that is, like, pithy sayings.

David: Yes.

Seth: You know, um, so, uh, uh, a, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

David: That's right, yes.

Seth: Like, so like, like I've got all these, like, little sayings-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... around me that I know are wisdom or proverbial. They're proverbs.

David: That's right, yep.

Seth: That they... It's like, "Hey, you should count what you have. Don't put all your eggs in one basket," or-

David: Don't put all your eggs in one basket, that's a proverb.

Seth: It's like, oh, yeah, you're- I'm trying to live wisely in the world-

David: Yes

Seth: ... and it's wise not to put all your hopes and dreams in that one thing that might fail.

David: That's right.

Seth: That's right, and so okay.

David: Yes. So yeah, you're, you're putting, you're putting your finger on the pulse of it, like what a proverb is. You look at the world around you, and you kind of do some analysis.

Seth: I mean, I don't do it. Somebody else does it.

David: Somebody else, yeah, that's actually really helpful, yes.

Seth: And then I hear about it later.

David: That's right.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Yeah, that a proverb is something that the community around you has discerned through-

Seth: Mm

David: ... years of working in the world around them and going, "You know what? It's not wise to put all your hopes in one thing that might fail, so don't put all your eggs in one basket."

Seth: Yeah.

David: And those, those truths that people find out about the world around them end up getting distilled into these pithy sayings that are often put in riddles.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Um-

Seth: I wouldn't really call them a riddle, but yeah, I think you're right. It's like they're, like, they're not immediately clear what they're talking about, and it's like-

David: Yes

Seth: ... "What do you mean?"

David: So let- let's-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... look at a few more.

Seth: Yeah, yeah.

David: So, uh, so Christine, who, who's on staff with us here, she's Hungarian, so I had her share some Hungarian ones.

Seth: Okay, great.

David: And while she said she didn't grow up hearing this one, uh, she said it does make sense: "Uh, if you want a perfect horse, start walking." [laughing]

Seth: [chuckles]

David: Which is-

Seth: I love that one. [chuckles]

David: Which is really funny, but it is... That one's a bit of a riddle.

Seth: Yeah.

David: It's like, wait, what do you mean? Yeah, if you want a perfect horse, start walking. It's like, if you, if you wanna perfect this thing, and, and you're not gonna get on board-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... until it's absolutely perfect, then you just need to go off by yourself-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... and do it yourself.... and it's like, oh, that's really-

Seth: Yeah.

David: And it, it communicates a lot-

Seth: Yeah, it does

David: ... in one little saying.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Uh, there's another one here. This one's from Egypt.

Seth: Okay.

David: Okay, here's an Egyptian one: "The one on the shore is the best swimmer." So it's a bit of a riddle.

Seth: Yeah, I'm like, I don't quite know what that one means. Uh-

David: Yeah, so it, uh, in- for us and-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... we, we'd say, "That's easy for you to say." The one on the shore is the best swimmer.

Seth: Yes.

David: No, no, you gotta, you gotta kick your legs more!

Seth: Yeah, don't be a backseat driver.

David: Yeah, yeah, yeah-

Seth: Yeah, yeah

David: ... don't be a backseat driver.

Seth: Yeah, yeah.

David: It's like, yeah, sure, it all looks easy when you're not doing it.

Seth: Yeah.

David: The one on the shore is the best swimmer.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Like, class... And, like, you can almost, especially being in Egypt, you can, like, see someone standing-

Seth: Right

David: ... on the Nile. [laughs]

Seth: You're doing it wrong!

David: You're doing it wrong. [laughing]

Seth: [laughing]

David: Uh, uh, here's an African one: "The lone runner says he has legs." So to say you have legs means you run fast.

Seth: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

David: So the lone runner-

Seth: Yes

David: ... says he's fast.

Seth: Yes.

David: Because when you're by yourself, you don't know relatively with other people-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... how fast you are, so that's like someone saying, like, "Oh, I'm really good at that."

Seth: Yeah.

David: Well, in comparison to who?

Seth: Yeah.

David: Like, the lone runner says he has legs.

Seth: What's the, the one I'm thinking about in, I guess, in the West, it would be, uh, um, "If you wanna go fast, go alone."

David: Yes.

Seth: "If you wanna go far, go together."

David: Go together. I have that one here too.

Seth: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

David: Yes, exactly.

Seth: Uh-

David: And so that, that's helpful. So let, let... Well, let's lay in that plane, and then we'll-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... we'll get into something else that proverbs do. So proverbs take the collective wisdom-

Seth: Mm

David: ... of the society around you, and they're looking at the way the world works.

Seth: Human beings-

David: Yes

Seth: ... like nature, yeah.

David: Yeah, and they're just like, "Man, this is just shared wisdom", and over time, they get put in these pithy sayings that sometimes have riddles, but they're very vivid-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... and they're sticky.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And so that's another thing. They're easy to memorize. So why, why use poetry and riddles-

Seth: Mm

David: ... and imagery to share didactic teachings about how the world works?

Seth: You remember them when they're taught to you.

David: 'Cause you remember 'em.

Seth: Yeah.

David: They're sticky.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And so, y- I think you can kind of, especially as a Westerner-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... whose, our society's more about efficiency-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... it's like, "Just tell me what to do."

Seth: Right.

David: And it's like, well, no, I, I'm trying to get this into you, not just give you a self-help book.

Seth: Right. It's like, don't put all your eggs in one basket is good advice-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... unless you want to start a new business.

David: Right, then you kinda have to go all in.

Seth: And then you kinda have to go all in.

David: That's right.

Seth: Or it's like, don't put all your eggs in one basket, unless you're gonna get married. Then all your eggs- [chuckles]

David: All your eggs

Seth: ... are in that basket. [chuckles]

David: That's right.

Seth: [chuckles]

David: Don't put all your eggs in one basket, unless that basket is Jesus.

Seth: Yeah, right. [chuckles]

David: [chuckles]

Seth: Yeah.

David: Right. Um, but so they're easy to memorize, um, but then they also, um, just saying, like, "Hey, don't, don't go all in on one thing", doesn't quite have the multidimensional, meditative quality as, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket."

Seth: Okay.

David: Um, and so the proverbs, like all wisdom literature, um, are meant to be chewed on for a long time.

Seth: Mm.

David: They're meant to be savored, and they're meant to be explored. And riddles and poetry invite long-term meditation-

Seth: Well, this is-

David: ... instead of just a teaching.

Seth: This has always been my problem with the Book of Proverbs-

David: Uh-huh

Seth: ... is that whenever I, like, have it in my Bible reading plan, like, I have to read three chapters of Proverbs in a day, and I'm like, "This feels like, one, arduous, because I'm just reading a list of-

David: Yes

Seth: ... what seems like disconnected sayings as I get through them, but it's like... And I just lose the effect of it. It's kinda like, I don't know, I had these books as a kid, like joke books.

David: Oh, yes.

Seth: Like with 1,001-

David: Oh, I love those

Seth: ... best jokes about whatever.

David: Yes.

Seth: And, like, you are not meant to just read-

David: Read that

Seth: ... pages and pages-

David: No

Seth: ... because it's not funny anymore.

David: No, it's not funny.

Seth: Um, [chuckles] because, like, it's dumb.

David: Right.

Seth: Like, you don't want to do that.

David: Yes.

Seth: You just like, you're... It's, I don't know-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... how you're supposed to use that book.

David: Proverbs, stop. Read one-

Seth: Right

David: ... and sit with it.

Seth: And so that's kind of the way I've always had a problem with Proverbs, like, like, consuming it-

David: Yes

Seth: ... because the only way that I've approached it is in a Bible reading plan-

David: Yep

Seth: ... generally.

David: Yep.

Seth: Uh, or yeah, so-

David: I think it was, I think it was Tim Mackey who said, and I can't remember the other side of the quote, but it's like, it, you know, "Proverbs aren't like popcorn-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... you know, or chips that you eat really quick.

Seth: Yeah.

David: They're hard candy."

Seth: Mm.

David: And you don't go-

Seth: Yeah. [chuckles]

David: [chuckles] Yeah, crunch down on hard candy.

Seth: [chuckles] Yeah.

David: It's just not how you eat that type of treat.

Seth: Yeah.

David: You take one, and you suck on it for a while.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And it takes time to really enjoy it.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: And so that's, that's-

Seth: So-

David: ... another reason why it's poetic and riddled, is because it's, it's-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... it's engineered to make you slow down and think about it.

Seth: Is that a, a, a common thing for all wisdom literature, biblical wisdom literature?

David: It's... Yeah.

Seth: Because it's, like, I think when I hear, like, "A bird in the hand is two in the bush", it's like, "Okay, got it!" And I don't really process it beyond that. I was like, "Oh, I get it. It's general life advice. It's pretty good advice."

David: Yeah.

Seth: I don't really meditate on all the ways that may be true or may not be true.

David: Right.

Seth: Uh-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... this is the most I've ever thought about what it means to not put all your eggs in one basket, you know?

David: Sure, yeah.

Seth: So is it a unique thing about Biblical poetry or Biblical-

David: Mm, yeah

Seth: ... wisdom literature that we're meant-

David: I think there's a few things there.

Seth: Yeah.

David: I think, one, um, the, the, the proverbs we're familiar with, we've chewed on for a long time-

Seth: Mm

David: ... and are part of the water in which we swim.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And so, "A bird in the hand, two in the bush", I got it.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Yeah, it's better to have something small-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... than to not have something at all that's maybe bigger.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Okay, I get that. That's how I live my life.

Seth: Yeah.

David: But then when I say the Egyptian one, where it's like-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... "The best swimmer is the one on the shore", it's like, hold on, let me s- I gotta... I have to slow down-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... 'cause I'm not familiar with that one yet.

Seth: Yeah.

David: So I do think that-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... foreign proverbs-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... do force us to slow down and chew a second.

Seth: Mm.

David: So I, I do think, proverbially speaking-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... [chuckles] like they, they do by function of their literature, cause you to slow down.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Second, I think w- I think wisdom literature, like you said, in, you know, as is unique.

Seth: Right. Yeah.

David: That it is-... Jewish meditation literature. It's meant-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... to return to it over, and over, and over again.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Uh, and meditate on it, and the word for meditate in Hebrew, as you know-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... is hagah.

Seth: Yes, yeah, chewing.

David: It's like I get to chew, and it's like I gotta keep chewing on this-

Seth: Well-

David: and that's how it's built.

Seth: Well, it's making me think, like, every now and again, I'll tell a proverb to my kids.

David: Uh-huh.

Seth: Like, something that they've never heard of. So, "You know, you know, Sonny, uh, it's better not to put all your eggs in one basket."

David: Yeah.

Seth: We'll just keep going, too, and she's like, "What?"

David: Yes.

Seth: "I've never... What does that mean?" It's like, "Well, it, it mean- it means this." She's like, and then the first thing she does is, "Well, what about this?

David: Yes.

Seth: And what about this?" And she, like, is-

David: She's chewing on it

Seth: ... automatically interrogating the truth of it.

David: That's right.

Seth: And I was also remembering that the Book of Proverbs is written from the perspective of a father-

David: That's right

Seth: ... giving wisdom to his son. So like, oh, like, these are the things a dad said to his boy, and then his boy was like, "Wait a second."

David: Wait a second.

Seth: "Does, does that really work?

David: That's right.

Seth: Let me tell you more." No, that can't, that can't be the truth.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And so they're, they're meant to be grappled with.

Seth: Yeah.

David: They are. Yeah, just this morning, I was with, with Ezra, my-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... my oldest, and, uh, he was playing at, um, this little, like, kinetic sand table.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Um, or, or no, his l- younger brother, Eli, was.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And he wanted to come up and, like, take over and, like, play with him. And I, I was like: Buddy, just let him play alone there. And he was like, "Well, yesterday, I was playing at the kinetic sand table, and Eli came up and tried to take over."

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: "And I didn't like that, and so I'm doing it to him." And I was like, "You need to treat others the way you want to be treated."

Seth: Yes. This is what we've been going over in our house every day-

David: And-

Seth: ... for the last year. [chuckles]

David: It, it broke his brain.

Seth: [laughing]

David: He literally stopped what he was doing, furrowed his brow, and was like, "I don't understand that."

Seth: Yeah.

David: "Like, what do you mean?" I was like, "Well, come over here," and he came and sat at my feet, and we talked about it, and he literally ended up, like, welling up with tears as he started to think about it and sit with the truth.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And it was like, man-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... proverbs are hard to wrestle with when you actually integrate them into your life.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Yeah, it's like, as I've been teaching that to my kids, and that, maybe we should talk about, like, the difference between a proverb and a command.

David: Ooh, yeah.

Seth: Because, like, that particular one, "Do unto others-

David: That's a command, yeah

Seth: ... as you would have them do unto you," is like, oh, that-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... "Oh, you must do this thing."

David: Yeah.

Seth: Uh, but it also asks a whole bunch of questions, like, well, what if that person continually gaslights you, responds to your kindness with violence? What if that person, like, doesn't wanna be around you, bullies you in response? What if they turn you into a doormat? Like, there's a whole bunch of other questions that my kids have very quickly. "Well, yesterday, he did this to me-

David: Right

Seth: ... so why do I have to do it to him today?" Uh-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... "and you didn't punish him then?"

David: Right.

Seth: Right, right.

David: Yeah. No, what, what, what I think this does is it points out that proverbs... I don't wanna, I, let me say it really strongly.

Seth: Yeah, yeah.

David: The, the, the wisdom of proverbs and what seem like you could, l- let's, if you wanted to call them commands or-

Seth: Yeah, yeah, yeah

David: ... or rules of life or something-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... when they come into the real world, things get messy.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Or you could even say they break-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... or they break down.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And not always do these things happen as described in the Book of Proverbs.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: They're met with sin.

Seth: Mm.

David: They're met with loopholes. They're met with brokenness.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And so what is the basis of-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... the baseline of truth in these, and how do we grapple with them, I think is a big question-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... that the Book of Proverbs is asking us to ask.

Seth: That's right. Yeah, I th- I think that's right, and, I mean, proverbs are not... I think the biggest paradigm shift for me was, like, as I... Like, I grew up hearing proverbs as either commands or, like, promises-

David: Promises, yes

Seth: ... of, like, "This is the way-

David: That's right

Seth: ... you must behave, and if you behave this way-

David: These things will happen

Seth: ... this will happen."

David: That's right.

Seth: And so I always grew up with that understanding, without understanding what a proverb is and the way that we use proverbs. It's really... And when we believe the Bible is God's very words-

David: Right

Seth: ... it adds this, it i- it makes it easy to think that these things are like-

David: Promises

Seth: ... "Do this-

David: Right

Seth: ... then this will happen."

David: Yes.

Seth: Um, a command, and then a blessing attached to it.

David: A prom- yeah, totally.

Seth: A, a-

David: Yeah, yeah, command and blessing

Seth: ... attached to it.

David: Yeah.

Seth: And, um, it took... I think it's taken me a while to just wrestle with the fact that, like, that's not how I think of any other proverb in my life.

David: That's right. "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."

Seth: Right, or even-

David: Well, sometimes a little bit of risk is worthwhile to get the bigger thing.

Seth: Right, and what, even if it's not, like, proverbial, but just some- something a wise, older man says to me that applies really directly to my relationship with my wife, might not apply at all with my relationship with my youngest daughter. Like-

David: Right

Seth: ... and so it's like, "Oh, that was really good advice, but not in this context."

David: Not in this situation.

Seth: Right.

David: Yeah.

Seth: And so it's like I am familiar with the way that wisdom or pro- proverbial sayings function, but something kind of breaks when I come to the s- the Scriptures, [chuckles] uh, or has in the past.

David: Mm-hmm.

Seth: And it's taken me a while to, like, unlearn those assumptions about-

David: Totally

Seth: ... what a biblical proverb is.

David: That's right, and so it's e- it's important to stop here and say that, uh... and y- maybe-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... this is something like get in your brain, all listeners.

Seth: Yeah, yeah.

David: Uh, write it down.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Uh, proverbs are patterns, not promises.

Seth: Yeah.

David: It's a really, uh-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... it's a proverbial way-

Seth: [laughing] It's a proverbial-

David: ... to understand the Book of Proverbs. That-

Seth: Except for all the times it may or may not be. [laughing]

David: Except for whenever it is a promise. Um, but, yes, proverbs are patterns-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... not promises. They are the general warp and woof of the world.

Seth: Mm.

David: There's a grain to the universe, and we'll talk about why later, but basically, God made the universe with wisdom, and so-

Seth: Right

David: ... this, and so because He made the universe through and with wisdom, there's a grain to the universe, and it flows according to wisdom, and when we line up with the good and wise way God made the world, things tend to flow more easily and naturally-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... for our lives when we're acting wisely.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Um, and so it's like whenever you make destructive choices, destruction seems to come.

Seth: Yeah.

David: When you make constructive choices, construction seems to come.... Does that always happen? No!

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: But it often does.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And so throughout centuries, the Jewish people, the wise people like Solomon and, and others, looked at the world around them through the lens of an omnipotent, um, benevolent God-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... and said, "I think this is the pattern I see in the world."

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: "Whenever a man is faithful to his wife, he tends to be happier than the man who commits adultery against his wife."

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: "I, I've seen that again and again and again."

Seth: Mm.

David: "So I think it's wisdom to say-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... that you'll be happier in your life-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... when you're committed to your spouse."

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: I just think that's wisdom.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Uh, are there some times that you have a, a man who pursues his wife with utter faith- faithfulness?

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: And she rejects him and spurns him and hates him and ruins his life? Yes, that can happen.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: But is it the normal thing? No. That's the exception, not the rule. There's a pattern that a faithful husband pursuing his wife tends to get-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... more joy than a faithless husband pursuing an adulterer.

Seth: Yeah.

David: That just brings destruction into your life. And so the wisdom of the universe says, [gasps] like, faithful, monogamous marriages lead to happiness.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Is that always the case? No.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Is it usually the case? I think so.

Seth: Yeah.

David: There's a pattern, not a promise. "I've pursued my wife faithfully-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... why aren't we happy yet?"

Seth: Just like all-

David: Right

Seth: ... other proverbs, biblical proverbs are observations about God's world-

David: Yes

Seth: ... and, like, naming them and telling us to, like, embody that, or, like, to accept that wisdom as good and true, and embody it to the best of our ability.

David: That's right.

Seth: Can I ask a... Like, this is, like, a, a genuine question. It's like, okay, I understand how proverbs work in my own life in America, in Africa, in Egypt-

David: Mm

Seth: ... specifically, or, you know, the West, and is- does the Bible tell us to treat wisdom literature this way?

David: Mm.

Seth: Like, does it tell us, like, "Hey, understand that these are general principles," or is that an assumption that we just have to... Is that, is that a genre assumption-

David: Mm

Seth: ... that we have to make? Or because it's like, I'm just so used to when the Bible says something, I take it as authoritatively true [chuckles] you know, in a, in a very, like, wooden way-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... uh, or like a, like, a literal way or something. But it's like, does the Bible teach us to absorb the wisdom, like, to treat this book that way?

David: That's good. Um, I think that there... I think there's an answer to that-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... that might be yes.

Seth: Okay.

David: And I've not thought of it before-

Seth: Okay

David: ... but I'm gonna pursue that.

Seth: Okay, okay.

David: But before I do, I also want to point out that we might be creating a false dichotomy-

Seth: Okay

David: ... with that question.

Seth: Yes?

David: Uh, that like... Like, does a cooking book, like, a, like-

Seth: Mm

David: ... tell you h- like, how to read it? Like, "Hey, make sure-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... you know-

Seth: Right

David: ... that this is not a fiction book."

Seth: Right.

David: And it's like, no, you know what it is, and therefore-

Seth: That's right

David: ... its literary genre is communicating-

Seth: That's right

David: ... a way to approach it.

Seth: That's right.

David: Um, now we're farther removed from this literary genre culturally, and so we don't have the assumptions that-

Seth: Right

David: ... the original culture brought to them, so we need to learn them.

Seth: Yeah, and we have our own set of modern assumptions about proverbs.

David: That's right.

Seth: And I think I'm just wondering, can I just accept and adopt all my modern assumptions about proverbs-

David: Mm

Seth: ... and apply them to Bible?

David: I see.

Seth: Or does the Bible give me better direction-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... about how to approach the Book of Proverbs than my own-

David: That's good

Seth: ... assumptions?

David: Yeah, it's a good question. I think that, no, you can't just import- [laughs]

Seth: Yeah [laughing]

David: ... your modern literary assumptions-

Seth: Yes

David: ... you know, 2,000 years-

Seth: Yes

David: ... or 3,000 years earlier. Of course not. Um, I think we have to do the cultural study of-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... well, how did they read the... Let's look at Midrash and let's-

Seth: Yeah, yeah, yeah

David: ... look at, uh, comparative, uh, linguistic studies, and let's look at other cultures and how they wrote these things. Uh, and then we can start to understand how they were understood and how they were applied. That's just, like, and you know this-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... this is just- this is how we do exegesis.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Um, but, uh, I, I do think that we do have a s- a similar framework. You know, I, like, I think-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... as we understand-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... how they viewed proverbs, we're like, "Oh, we kind of view them the same way," and that's kind of a grace.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Um, but let, let me, let me read the opening of Proverbs.

Seth: Okay.

David: And let's, let's just think about how the book is inviting us didactically to read itself. So Proverbs 1:1, "The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel." Super important heading. We'll come back to this later.

Seth: Okay, okay.

David: Uh, and here's his thesis statement of why is- does this book exist? "To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity. To give prudence to the simple..." We're gonna spend the entire third episode talking about that word-

Seth: Oh

David: ... simple.

Seth: Okay.

David: Uh, "Knowledge and discretion to the youth." So he's kind of talked about, okay, the simple and the youth-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... I want to give you, uh, instruction in wise dealing, how to live just and equitable lives.

Seth: I wanna give you the, the accumulated wisdom of the generations before you-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... as you come into existence in the world.

David: Yep.

Seth: Like, you're young in the world.

David: That's right.

Seth: Here's what everybody else has observed over the last hundreds-

David: That's right

Seth: ... of their whole lives.

David: Yep.

Seth: Yeah, yeah.

David: And, and you are simple and, and, and young. You don't know right from wrong right now.

Seth: Yeah.

David: So let me tell you what's right from wrong. But also, let me talk to a different group in, in verse five: "Let the wise..." So we're not talking to the young and the simple now, we're talking to the wise, those who have explored these truths for decades, probably. But l- I also have stuff for them in, in here. Verse five, "Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who already understands, let him obtain guidance. To understand a proverbs and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles."

Seth: You know, it's interesting, I a- I asked, like, "Does the Bible tell us how to read-"

David: To approach proverbs.

Seth: Yeah. I'm like, man, this is actually a fascinating preamble to a book that I don't think exists anywhere else.

David: Right.

Seth: Genesis doesn't start, [laughing] "I want to tell you-

David: [laughing] That would be really helpful!

Seth: ... that, about this l- literary genre and what you should do with it, and the different audiences that may read it, and what their-

David: Yep

Seth: ... expected outcome should be.

David: That's right.

Seth: Uh, maybe the, the Paul's letters-

David: Yes

Seth: ... get close to that.

David: That's true.

Seth: But it's like, I don't know if any book is quite as clear about how we should approach it [chuckles] as Proverbs. [chuckles]

David: Yes. And so he, he's, he's telling us a few things here, obviously, and I think we're gonna spend a couple of episodes digging into the nuances and the story of these. But basically, what he's showing us is, if you're going to do these things, if you're going to know wisdom and instruction, and understand words of insight, if you're going to get prudence and discretion, if you're going to increase in learning, even though you're already wise, you're returning to this book for the 100th time, he's saying that this is a journey. Like, you don't just, "Okay, hear this and do it."

Seth: Mm.

David: Right?

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: That's not what he says.

Seth: Right.

David: He's like, "This is a journey you're on." Uh, we want to m- see the simple move into the discerning, and we wanna see the wise increase in learning as they return to this book again, and again, and again. So I do think it is telling us to read this meditatively, repeatedly-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... and with great consideration, like hard candy.

Seth: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

David: It's asking us to chew on it for a while. So-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... I think it's interesting. It does kind of tell us to do-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... that work.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And then so does the genre.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Yeah, and, uh, the other thing, too, is, even in the Book of Proverbs, there are not just proverbs.

Seth: Right.

David: There are also s- like, stories, and-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... uh, metaphors, and elongated, kind of dramatized pictures of Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly-

Seth: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

David: And he's world building and giving us a way to see the world around us.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Um, he's a- there's also commands. In the first, uh-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... like, chapters 1 to 8, there are actually very few proverbs.

Seth: Mm.

David: The proverbs really kick off in chapter 9 or 10.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: Yeah, they really kick off in chapter 10, and, uh, before that, he's really saying, "Hey, my son, bind these words around your neck like a garland. Like, guard your heart with these things."

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: And he is commanding his son to do these things.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And so, uh, the proverbs, at least when it comes to the command of, "Get wisdom-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... obtain knowledge and understanding"-

Seth: Yeah, yeah, yeah

David: ... that is a command.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And the, like, that's something to do.

Seth: That's right.

David: And so there are, even within Proverbs, multiple genres that we're grappling with.

Seth: Yeah, that's interesting, and even as I'm just, like r- like, browsing through the first couple of chapters, uh, it does seem like... It's like, "Oh, these are... This is, like, not simply wise sayings, but, like, good commands to follow."

David: Yes, that's right.

Seth: Uh, d- uh, like, chapter 3, verse 30: "Do not fight with a man for no reason when he has done you no harm."

David: Yep.

Seth: Like, don't do that.

David: Right.

Seth: It's like, okay! I... It's like, not, that's not just... It's like, hey, that's not gonna get you very far.

David: Right.

Seth: It's like, isn't it... "It's better not to fight with a snake when" [chuckles]-

David: [chuckles]

Seth: ... "it will bite you." Um-

David: Sure, yeah.

Seth: But it's like-

David: Yep

Seth: ... don't do that, son.

David: Don't do that, yeah.

Seth: Uh, it's, it's poi- it's not, not just pointless.

David: Yeah.

Seth: This is me, as a father, saying, "I expect you not to-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... fight with men."

David: Right, and there's a lesson-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... to be learned in the command.

Seth: Yeah.

David: It's like, well, why not?

Seth: Right.

David: Uh, and so he's inviting more than just blind obedience.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: Every command, even in Proverbs, is leading us to, well, why?

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: And to what end, and for what purpose?

Seth: Yeah.

David: And it's asking us to get discernment, and discretion, and understanding, and knowledge-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... to ultimately be men and women of wisdom.

Seth: And my... That was my next question, is, are all those synonyms?

David: They're not. They are not synonyms. Um, the taxonomy of words in Proverbs-

Seth: Taxonomy meaning, like-

David: Like, to go, let- let's, let's list every single word-

Seth: Yeah, yeah, yeah

David: ... that has to do with this theme of wisdom.

Seth: Oh.

David: Understanding, discretion-

Seth: Yeah, yeah.

David: Um, shrewdness, um, underst- the knowledge-

Seth: Yeah, yeah, yeah

David: ... wisdom. Um, we, you could list all of them, and then try to give a, a discrete definition to each of them, showing how they are similar and different.

Seth: Yes.

David: That would be a taxonomy.

Seth: Okay.

David: To create a taxonomy of terms-

Seth: Yeah, yeah, yeah

David: ... for these. Um, we're not gonna do that work here-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... because a- a lot of people have, have done work on this, and basically shown that that's not the ultimate end for, um-

Seth: I'm supposed to read them-

David: the Book of Proverbs

Seth: ... like synonyms.

David: I don't know about that, either-

Seth: Okay

David: ... but I don't think the discreteness of their definitions has yielded much fruit in understanding Proverbs.

Seth: Like, there might be some nuance-

David: There's nuance

Seth: ... between wisdom and instruction.

David: There's definitely nuance, yes.

Seth: There might be a difference between instruction and prudence-

David: Yes

Seth: ... and prudence and wisdom.

David: Yes.

Seth: But the difference between them might not be so great that you'll get a ton of benefit out of the study.

David: That's right.

Seth: Okay.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Okay, okay.

David: I think so. And it's like, I think you can... The, the, our, our, our English glosses are, are pretty good.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And so I think you can kind of take them.

Seth: Right.

David: And, "Oh, I want to have knowledge." Okay, this is something you need to know-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... about the way the world works.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: Here's knowledge for you.

Seth: Yes.

David: This information. Um, I want you to have understanding about that. I want you to internalize that knowledge.

Seth: Yeah.

David: I want you to know this thing that's, that should be known.

Seth: Right. I guess, then, maybe that's a clarifying question. 'Cause when I hear wisdom-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... I have a certain set of n- ideas in my head about-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... what wisdom is. When I hear instruction, I have a very s- different set of ideas-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... of what that means. When I hear wisdom, I'm like, general principles to live by. When I hear instruction, I think something more like a recipe-

David: Like a r- or, or like a rule

Seth: ... or a blueprint-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... or a rule.

David: Yeah.

Seth: And so when I read that, am I supposed to have those categories?

David: Mm.

Seth: Or should I be reading them more as synonyms?

David: I see.

Seth: Like, right, right?

David: Yeah, I don't know. I, I've heard, I've heard people talk about it from both sides.

Seth: Yeah.

David: This is funny.

Seth: Yeah.

David: You're asking me to have wisdom right now. [chuckles]

Seth: [chuckles]

David: Because I h- I have the knowledge-

Seth: Yes

David: ... right, that I've, I've heard different people talk about this taxonomy of terms in different ways.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And you're like, "Okay, what's the wise way to understand them?" [chuckles]

Seth: Well, yeah. [chuckles]

David: And I'm like, "I don't really know."

Seth: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

David: I, I really don't know. I think that there, there, there's work to be done there for each individual.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Like, they are different words.

Seth: Yeah.

David: That's good to know. They're different words.... how you understand them, my, is wisdom. [laughs]

Seth: Is wisdom. [laughs]

David: That's funny. So it's a journey to go on. Um, I don't have anything super helpful to just put them in-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... neat categories, 'cause the, the book-

Seth: Right

David: ... tends to resist that.

Seth: They, like-

David: Uh, it-

Seth: The book tends to use them synonymously in a way.

David: Or it just uses them flexibly.

Seth: Okay.

David: I just, I don't wanna use the word synon- synonyms-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... 'cause they're not synonyms.

Seth: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

David: They do have differences-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... in their semantic range and meaning, but it uses them so flexibly-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... that I think it's inviting you to-

Seth: Mm

David: ... meditate on why did it choose that word-

Seth: Right

David: ... and not go, "When it says understanding, it means this."

Seth: Right.

David: I think that is betraying the genre-

Seth: Uh-huh

David: ... and going, "I wonder why he's telling me to be discerning here instead of wise?"

Seth: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

David: Or i- and, and always, if you can, use, um, a, like, a, a Bible dictionary-

Seth: Yeah, yeah, yeah

David: ... or something to be like, "What, what is the word actually?"

Seth: Right.

David: 'Cause the glosses can vary-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... as well, so.

Seth: Can I ask another question about it?

David: You may.

Seth: Like, instruction, is that the word Torah?

David: I don't know. We can check real quick.

Seth: Yeah. [gentle music] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

David: Yeah, uh, so like-

Seth: Like, how the Torah is applied-

David: Right

Seth: ... in daily life.

David: So I'm just looking it up here. Uh, it is, and I think you know this word, wisdom is chokmah.

Seth: Yes.

David: Uh, but then instruction is musar.

Seth: Okay.

David: Which is not Torah.

Seth: Fascinating.

David: And it is... Looking at it, it is a-- It's very heavily used in Proverbs, about 30 times.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And then only once is it used in the Torah-

Seth: Fascinating

David: ... in Deuteronomy. So it's not really a Torah word, at least-

Seth: Yeah, yeah, yeah

David: ... in, in literature. It's a very Proverbs word.

Seth: That's fascinating.

David: Um, and yeah, it can mean, like, correction, warning, chastisement, punishment.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Um, yeah.

Seth: Well, and it just kind of goes back to, like, this w- this functions differently than the laws of God. Like, this isn't-

David: Yes.

Seth: It, it, it functions... It's not even using the same set of words to describe how we should, we should absorb them into our life. Uh, is Torah used at all in the book of Proverbs?

David: So looking down here at verse eight, I believe, is the first time it occurs in chapter one, and you have the word we just looked at, musar.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Uh, "Hear, my son, your father's instruction-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... his discipline, his-

Seth: Yeah, yeah

David: ... his warnings."

Seth: Yes.

David: "And forsake not your mother's teaching, her Torah."

Seth: Huh.

David: A- and that word occurs about 13 times in the book.

Seth: Okay.

David: Um, and yeah, so it does occur, uh, and maybe it's this word teaching.

Seth: Mm, mm.

David: The, the, the teachings of the Torah, uh-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... i- isn't it? So-

Seth: Interesting

David: ... Proverbs isn't unfamiliar-

Seth: Right

David: ... linguistically with the Torah.

Seth: Right, and I think back on our Exodus podcast when we talked about what is the t- what are the Ten Commandments?

David: Mm.

Seth: Or why are... Like, they are a distillation of the way that God has designed the world to work.

David: That's right.

Seth: And-

David: They are wisdom.

Seth: They are wisdom-

David: That's right

Seth: ... in that general sense, but they are also commands.

David: Yeah.

Seth: And there's even, there's an overlap there.

David: There's an overlap there.

Seth: But-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... interesting.

David: Two sides of the same coin, maybe.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Looking at, looking through the same window from two different ways.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: Yeah, interesting.

Seth: Okay.

David: Okay. Um, some other things to point out here. Um, proverbs also communicate the values of a culture. So, uh, for-

Seth: Like proverbs in general.

David: Proverbs in general-

Seth: Yes

David: ... the, the genre of proverbs-

Seth: Uh-huh

David: ... communicate the value of a culture because not only is it giving you the collective wisdom of how they've distilled the data of the world around them, how they describe it also talks about the things they value.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: So you mentioned one earlier, the African proverb, "If you want to go far... Or if you want to go fast, go alone-

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: ... if you want to go far, go together."

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: And it shows the value of community.

Seth: Yes.

David: And that if we really want to sustain for a long journey, we need community. Whereas I think in the West, we can, we can go like, "Oh, you know, the maverick is the one who's gonna-

Seth: Mm

David: ... ride up and go as far as he wants," and-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... you know, it, it's just different things. And if you wanna go, like, this, if you go on a long run-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... you know, it even embodies this culture, uh, in Africa, these, like, these, these long-distance runners-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... these messengers on feet, you know? So you kind of get a picture of the culture.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: You can look also at, uh, I think one that's funny for us is, uh, kill two birds with one stone.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: There's... I think there's some interesting things-

Seth: Yeah, yeah, yeah

David: ... happening in that for our culture. Kill two birds with one stone.

Seth: Mm.

David: We value efficiency.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: I can, I can-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... solve two problems in one action.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And, and then the way we embody that proverb is through efficiency over... like, through death.

Seth: Mm. Yeah.

David: Like, I can kill two birds-

Seth: Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like-

David: ... with one stone.

Seth: It's a very direct way to solve-

David: Very direct

Seth: ... way to solve a problem.

David: Very efficient at what... So efficiency over the value of life even.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: It's not... The proverb's not saying that, but the-

Seth: Metaphor

David: ... the metaphor is.

Seth: Yeah.

David: So that's interesting, and so as we think about, um, how, how culture and its values are revealed through proverbs, what we can see in the book of Proverbs is the values of the culture of the kingdom of God.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Like, we can kind of get to a sense of-

Seth: Mm

David: ... what does the kingdom of God value?

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: I think that's just interesting way-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... to read it.

Seth: That is interesting.

David: As what is- what are these proverbs and the way they're framed, how do they help me see kind of behind the curtain of the kingdom of God?

Seth: Of God, yeah.

David: So I just think that's fun.

Seth: Yeah, I'm, I'm thinking now of a, a Japanese proverb our friend Kelsey has told us many times.

David: Yeah.

Seth: It's like, "The nail that stands up-

David: Gets hammered down.

Seth: ... gets hammered down." Uh, and I'm like, man, that tells me a l- a... I mean, normally it's told in the context of understanding Japanese culture.

David: That's right.

Seth: That, that is a common phrase used.

David: Mm-hmm.

Seth: Like, fascinating.

David: Yep.

Seth: Uh, I don't know if we have, like, a stereotypical American one. We've got, like, images made.

David: Pull yourself up by your bootstraps.

Seth: Yeah, that's... Yeah.

David: Very American.

Seth: A very American one.

David: Yeah.

Seth: And, like, that's like... I feel like I hear-

David: Which is impossible, which is so funny.

Seth: Which is so funny. It's like, [chuckles] it's like, c- [laughs]... [chuckles] I've tr- I've tried my [chuckles] I've did this as a kid. I was like, I tried to pull my shoes and jump in the air, and I'm like, "It doesn't- [laughing]

David: [laughing]

Seth: ... this is not an efficient way to, to do things."

David: We, uh, so we've looked a lot at, like, what Proverbs are, things like that. Let's, let's talk about the author, 'cause you brought it up-

Seth: Okay

David: ... and I think it's really important here, um, and the audience. And so we're told at the very beginning, the Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, King of Israel.

Seth: Okay.

David: And then in verse eight, we hear the audience, "My son."

Seth: Mm.

David: So here we have the words of a kingly father written to his royal son. That's the, that's the language, and the, the author, and audience here, and that's doing a lot of work.

Seth: Okay.

David: Because first off, this- like you, like you said earlier, like, when you're sharing Proverbs with your kids-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... this is, this is a fatherly compassion of a father to his son.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: "Son, I, I, I desperately wanna guard your life [chuckles] against destruction-

Seth: Mm

David: ... and folly."

Seth: Mm, mm.

David: "So please hear my heart for you. I have, I have some really-

Seth: Mm

David: ... encouraging things to say to you, but maybe some hard things to say. But the heart-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... it's coming from is a father's heart."

Seth: Yeah.

David: Um, and that's how we should read it-

Seth: Mm, mm-hmm

David: ... is this father who just loves us, and wants to protect us, and wants to mold us-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... into something good.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And that's the relationship that's happening-

Seth: Mm, mm-hmm

David: ... here on a basic human level.

Seth: Yeah. I, I ac- I have so many thoughts, actually, a- about that. It's like, well, one, I'm like, I'm interested in the fact that Solomon's first designation of himself is as a son-

David: Mm

Seth: ... of David, as in someone who has received wisdom.

David: That's right.

Seth: Um, which I, I think is a fact- like, "I am a man who has received wisdom from somebody greater than me-

David: Yes

Seth: ... and I'm passing it along to you." And then the, the king thing is interesting to me.

David: Yes.

Seth: So, like, I know that throughout the biblical narrative, kings are, re- kind of refer to themselves as the father of the people, or, like, the, the ki- the chi- like, the, the city can be a daughter, or the people can be his sons. And so are those... Are, is there, like, a relationship or a hierarchy between the ways-

David: Mm

Seth: ... that I should be reading? It's like, no, these are just two images, or is there a hierarchy between them? Like, yeah.

David: Yeah, it's interesting. So the, the, bringing up the king thing is wildly important-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... and I think it will continue to unpack that because it's just a humongous theme, especially when we try to see how is Proverbs all about Jesus.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: Um, but it is interesting that I'm not referred to as my people or my-

Seth: Mm

David: ... my, my subjects or my citizens, you know? I'm-

Seth: Yeah, yeah, yeah

David: ... I'm a son.

Seth: The audience is never-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... my nation.

David: Yeah, I'm, I'm-

Seth: It is always my son, yeah

David: ... I'm the son. And so I think that relational dynamic-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... um, is familial, and the father heart continues throughout that.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: Um, and, and yet the kingliness of it is remarkable because I think what it's, it's inviting us to do is, there is this story that's being told throughout the Bible of a wise king that would unwork the curse of the fall, which was hap, which happened whenever-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... wisdom failed.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And, um, that from the line of Adam and Eve, a seed, a son, would come, who would rule in such a way that we would go back into the Garden of Eden.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: And Solomon was supposed to be that king.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Uh, he was-

Seth: That's right. Yeah.

David: He was the son of David. The promises were his. He-

Seth: The kingdom-

David: God said, God, God said-

Seth: Peace on every side.

David: Yeah, God said, "Ask me for anything." He asked for wisdom. He did not reach out and grab the other fruit.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: He asked for the right thing. Okay.

Seth: Mm, mm-hmm.

David: We're rocking and rolling.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: Uh, we know he failed, but now it's like there's this extension to us now-

Seth: Mm

David: ... when we read Proverbs, to say, "Be the Eden-bringing king and queen-

Seth: Mm

David: ... son and daughter."

Seth: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

David: "I'm inviting you into the royal purpose that God has-

Seth: Right

David: ... for human beings made in His image-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... to be Eden creators."

Seth: Yeah.

David: "So be wise-

Seth: Right

David: ... and build Eden around you, so that the kingdom of God can inhabit the world."

Seth: Yeah, it's, like, it's so fascinating. You can read this as, like, Solomon, the, the Adam who should have been.

David: Yes.

Seth: And you could read, maybe read this book, like, as if it was written right after he asked for wisdom.

David: Yes.

Seth: So Solomon at his height, the everyone's at peace, the kingdom is wealthy. It's like, this is the wisdom that he had for that brief moment of glory.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Or you could read it as Solomon, re-

David: After everything's bad-

Seth: Everything

David: ... be like, "Don't do what I did."

Seth: And it's like, hey, what was the promise? That a seed of Eve-

David: Right

Seth: ... would restore us.

David: So my son-

Seth: So my son

David: ... the hope is in you. [chuckles]

Seth: The hope is in, is in you.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Uh...

David: What's, what's, what's fascinating is that Solomon is not the only king in the book.

Seth: That's right. He's not, isn't he?

David: We have other, we have other kings.

Seth: That's right.

David: We have the men of Hezekiah.

Seth: Okay.

David: Hezekiah's men. We have Lemuel and Agur.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: And-

Seth: Those were foreign kings, right?

David: Um, I'm not sure.

Seth: I'm pretty sure A- Agur was. Agur was-

David: Okay

Seth: ... a foreign king.

David: I know that it's highly debated-

Seth: Oh

David: ... that even, even Agur could just be a, um, a metaphor-

Seth: Oh

David: ... uh, of a type of king.

Seth: Interesting.

David: So it's hard to place him in history. Uh, so there's debate around it. The thing that's important to know-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... is that it's not just Solomon.

Seth: Mm.

David: This is the collective centuries-long wisdom of Israel's kings, taking Torah, taking the fear of God-

Seth: Mm

David: ... taking the data of the world around them, taking the communal wisdom of life-

Seth: Mm, mm

David: ... with the Kingdom of God, and saying, "Okay, I think this is wisdom. I think this is how the world works." And so king after king received the teaching of their former kings as the-

Seth: Yes

David: ... son-

Seth: Yes

David: ... and continued to try to unpack and learn wisdom. And we are in that lineage, but ultimately, Jesus is the Son.

Seth: He's the Son.

David: Jesus is the seed, right, of, yes, Solomon, yes, David, yes, Adam-... who finally and fully-

Seth: Yeah

David: -lived into the wisdom that would bring Eden, that would heal the world-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... that would reconcile all things to himself, and then he gives that wisdom to us by giving us the mind of Christ through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, so that we can live wisely in the world-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... now.

Seth: So one of the ways that you kind of suck on the hard candy of a proverb, at the end of the day, would be that, how did this proverb play out in Jesus's life?

David: Nailed it.

Seth: Yeah?

David: Yes.

Seth: Okay.

David: Because Jesus is wisdom in the flesh.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Jesus is wisdom walking around.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: And so we don't have to look at the data of the world around us and try to see the invisible tissue that connects it. That's, you know, that's wisdom.

Seth: Right.

David: That happened, this happened. I have, I have ind- I have understanding, and instruction, and teaching, but what connects them? Wisdom.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: Let me see if I can put them together, if I can-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... bring the invisible-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... wisdom into visibility through some proverbs.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: Jesus is the invisible wisdom incarnated and walking around, and so when we see Jesus do something, we're seeing how wisdom would act perfectly.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And so being a disciple is learning to live wisely as Jesus lived.

Seth: Yeah.

David: It's living his life after him.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Exactly.

Seth: I'm thinking about, okay, I wanna read the Book of Proverbs-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... now.

David: Yep.

Seth: Let's do it. I have one other question before I'm like, "Okay, so what do I do with all these proverbs?" But just going to the hard candy metaphor-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... it's like, I should be thinking about this for on a number... Any singular proverb, I could process on a number of levels.

David: That's right.

Seth: Okay, if I was imagining my dad saying this to me-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... or me saying it to my child-

David: Yes

Seth: ... that's one level.

David: Father, son.

Seth: Father, son; son, father; mother, daughter.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Yeah. The, the other layer is like, what if my king told me this?

David: Yeah.

Seth: And what if the hope was that we could be a people-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... that might be like Eden?

David: That's right. What if I was about to be a prince? And, yeah-

Seth: What if my prince is perfect, and I'm part of his perfect kingdom?

David: Right, what a citizen-

Seth: What-

David: Yeah.

Seth: What if my king has failed?

David: Yeah.

Seth: And what does it mean to make up for the-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... for the, uh, uh, for the failures of my king?

David: Yeah.

Seth: And then what if my king is Jesus?

David: Yes-

Seth: How would-

David: ... and he's asking me to live after him?

Seth: Yeah, or how did he do that thing?

David: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Seth: And then how do I live as if his perfect kingdom has come?

David: Yeah. It's so good.

Seth: So there's like fi- there's like five levels for-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... every proverb [chuckles] you could meditate on.

David: It is. It helps you kind of-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... look at it from different vantage points. Um, what's fascinating, and I, and I wasn't sure whe- when to share this, but I've just been stuck on this idea, and I'll probably bring it up again.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: But at the end of the Sermon on the Mount-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... which I think is a really fair place to go for-

Seth: Mm

David: ... a distillation of Jesus's Torah.

Seth: Yes.

David: What is his teaching?

Seth: Jesus.

David: What is his wisdom?

Seth: Yeah.

David: At the end of it, he uses proverb language, language-

Seth: That's right, he does

David: ... uh, to, to basically say, "I am wisdom. Build your life on me."

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: He says, "You, you have two builders-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... one builds his life on the rock, one builds his life on the sand."

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: "And the storms come, and the one who built his life on the rock stands firm, and the one who built his life on the sand washes away."

Seth: Yeah.

David: And what he-

Seth: He casts his whole Sermon on the Mount in wis- in, in that wisdom-

David: Exactly right

Seth: ... idea.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And so he's saying, "If you listen to my teachings and do them-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... you're the one building your house on the rock."

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: That is just fascinating that Jesus is saying... Uh, 'cause that's the claim Lady Wisdom makes-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... and we'll talk about her later.

Seth: Yeah.

David: But Lady Wisdom makes this claim, that if you don't listen to Lady Wisdom and build your life on what she's taught, then the storms will come, and calamity will befall you.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: Jesus says that exact same thing about the person-

Seth: Mm

David: ... who does not hear his words-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... and listen to his teaching. The storm will come, calamity will befall. So what he's saying is, "I'm wisdom"-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... which is a-

Seth: Right

David: ... huge claim.

Seth: Yeah.

David: "I'm wisdom. What I say and do is wisdom. If you-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... obey, and listen, and follow, you will be wise, too."

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: And it's, it's all based on, like you said, what did Jesus do? Like-

Seth: Yeah, yeah.

David: He is wisdom.

Seth: Yeah, and it makes... And we kind of started talking about the differences between command-

David: Mm

Seth: ... and wisdom. Wisdom was like the recognition of patterns versus-

David: Yep

Seth: ... but it's like, even that line is a little bit blurred in Jesus. Like, when Jesus is giving authoritative declarations about the way life's- lives are best lived-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... in accordance with his pattern, it's like, man, there's something dangerous, uh, about falling afoul of the wisdom that God has i- put in the world.

David: Yes.

Seth: It's not just good advice.

David: That's right.

Seth: Right? And, and I think that's-

David: Yes

Seth: ... maybe what I was like-

David: Yes.

Seth: My, my assumption about wisdom literature is that it's advice.

David: Mm.

Seth: What I... And I think a lot of my questions at the beginning are like, "Is this just a book of advice-

David: Mm

Seth: ... that we can gen- like, that's generally true, but some ca- times can ignore?" But I think what, what's helpful is like, oh, Jesus describes his commands in the Sermon on the Mount as wisdom. I'm like, "Oh-

David: Yep

Seth: ... that's not advice in the way that, [chuckles]-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... in the way that I think about advice, other adv- types of advice."

David: Yeah. It is literally, even using proverbs in Jesus' language, it's literally a matter of life and death. There, i- in a very similar way, he talks about there's two roads. One is a broad road that leads to death, and one's a narrow road that leads back into the Garden of Eden, into life.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: Which one will you choose?

Seth: Right.

David: If you listen to my instruction, you're on the way back to Eden.

Seth: Is that life and death thing throughout Proverbs? Like, that, that theme-

David: Mm

Seth: ... of like, we are... Like, 'cause I think what I think of adv- what I think of Proverbs normally, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. I'm not thinking about eternal destinies. I'm talking- uh, we're talking boots on the ground-

David: Wow

Seth: ... how do I make decisions today? But is there this, like, eternal, like-... like, is, uh, are we dealing with like an, like, "Hey, this is wisdom-

David: Mm.

Seth: -advice, but the consequences-

David: Last-

Seth: -stretch to eternity."

David: I mean, that's a loaded question. [laughs]

Seth: [laughs]

David: Um, I, I, I don't think that Proverbs is dealing with... When you say eternal things, like, are we talking about eternal salvation?

Seth: Yeah, yeah.

David: Uh, li- eternal life, eternal death? Um, I don't think that's what's-

Seth: Maybe just those categories of death

David: ... on the line, but the categories can be helpful, death and life.

Seth: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

David: Uh, and yes, Lady Wisdom talks that way.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: But what I think we need to see, and we can get into eternity through the lens-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... but I wanna make sure we get there through the right door, is that there is a way that the w- that the Lord built the world, and it was life. It was Eden, it was paradise.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: And when we line up with the way He built the world, life comes, even when we die, right? Jesus aligned Himself with the wisdom of God. He is wisdom incarnate, and yet he went to the cross, he died, and yet he was raised from the dead.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: Like, following the way of God and the wisdom of God always leads to life, even when you suffer, even when you lose, even when you're taken advantage of, even when you die, you still live.

Seth: Yeah.

David: The opposite is also true. Um, when you follow the ways of death and destruction-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... and you, you, you break the order that the world has, that God made the world-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... although it might look like you're winning, and you-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... it looks like you're-

Seth: Yeah, yeah, yeah

David: ... you're succeeding, and it looks like you're living, and it looks like you're thriving, you are tending towards death.

Seth: Yeah.

David: You're bringing death to the world around you-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... and you'll ultimately bring death upon yourself. Um, and so Lady Wisdom will often talk about falling into the trap you set for yourself.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And-

Seth: Yeah, life and death are on the line in Proverbs.

David: They are.

Seth: And that's not a category I have from my modern cons- like, west- like, my modern, like, my, like, just default assumptions-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... about Proverbs, like wisdom, like-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... I hear, is not that life and death are on the line.

David: Right.

Seth: And that, that... So that's a really helpful distinction for me.

David: That's right, because wisdom brings more life into the world-

Seth: It's-

David: ... more flourishing, more goodness

Seth: ... it either brings in Eden, or it brings in the opposite.

David: The fall. That's right-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... the wilderness.

Seth: Well-

David: And we're gonna talk about that at length next episode-

Seth: Uh

David: ... 'cause that is exactly what's on the line.

Seth: Okay.

David: So we can get there.

Seth: We can get there.

David: I think we can say for now-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... Jesus is the king who shows us wisdom, and when we are citizens and followers of His-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... we bring more Eden than wilderness. [chuckles]

Seth: That's great.

David: So that's good.

Seth: I love that.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Can I end with one of my favorite proverbial wi- riddles- [chuckles]

David: Let's go

Seth: ... that I've heard about Jesus and wisdom literature?

David: Ooh, okay.

Seth: It's from a song-

David: Okay

Seth: ... by Andy Squires. Uh, and I love this song. It's ca- uh, I believe it's called God the Fool.

David: Okay.

Seth: And it's about how God doesn't seem to follow His own wisdom.

David: Mm.

Seth: And he s- and so one line is, "You said, 'Be wise and gentle like the serpent and the dove, but following only half of your own advice is your foolishness, oh, God."

David: Mm.

Seth: And I was like, "Whoa, what did I just hear? God followed only half of His own advice is his foolishness," and yet, a- and the point of the song is that it leads to resurrection.

David: That's right, yeah.

Seth: Uh, so he was wise, and he was gentle, but it did not bring life. It brought death.

David: Right.

Seth: And in moments when he should have been violent, he was gentle.

David: That's right.

Seth: And yet that was... And that was foolish-

David: Yes

Seth: ... by some standards.

David: Yes.

Seth: But it was a foolishness that brought life, and I'm like, I still, whenever I hear that lyric, I'm still like, "Wait a second-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... what is he saying?"

David: Yeah.

Seth: But it is.

David: That's-

Seth: Anyway.

David: That's a great segue. That and the Eden stuff is a great segue to the next episode, 'cause we're gonna talk about what the fear of the Lord is.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And the fear of the Lord is beginning of wisdom. We'll talk about that-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... and how to understand that when the commands don't make sense. [chuckles]

Seth: Okay.

David: All right. Well, thank you all for joining us on our beginning of this journey through the Book of Proverbs, and we will see you next time. [upbeat music]

Outro: Thank you for listening to the Spoken Gospel podcast. Spoken Gospel creates short films, devotionals, and podcasts like this one. Everything we make is free because of generous supporters like you. To see our resources, visit spokengospel.com or subscribe to our YouTube channel. Thanks for listening. See you next time. [upbeat music]

Related Resources

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Proverbs Overview: Living Wisely in God's World

Show Notes

What Is a Proverb and Why Does Its Form Matter?

Proverbs Are Patterns, Not Promises

The Opening Invitation: How Proverbs Teaches Us to Read Proverbs

A Royal Father's Heart: Solomon, David, and the Lineage of Wisdom

Jesus as Wisdom Incarnate

Life and Death Are on the Line

Related Resources

Introduction to Proverbs

View our devotional on Proverbs 1:1-7

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