Read the Bible in 2023 ◊ Week 23: Thursday

Thursday’s Bible reading is Proverbs 2–3. In his commentary, Derek Kidner calls Proverbs 1:8–9:18, A Father’s Praise of Wisdom.¹ In a later book written as an introduction to the wisdom literature of Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes, he gives Proverbs 1–9, the title of A fatherly approach: exhortations for the young.² Kidner comments on the help that these chapters give us in navigating through Proverbs:

“To be faced abruptly with the hundreds of individual sayings that make up the final two-thirds of this book, like a great stretch of pebble beach to make one’s way along, would be more than daunting: it could be disorienting. What kind of wisdom, at bottom, and what kind of folly, are pictured in these terse and often throw-away remarks? What overriding motives? — self-preservation, self-respect, the common good? And is godliness only a pious afterthought, or it basic?

“The answers are already there in the body of the book; but on their own they would take some finding, even some decoding. So we can be grateful to encounter this readable stretch of nine chapters before arriving at the ‘beach’ — glad not only of their smooth going as miniature essays, but also of their clear notices and signposts.”³

You’ll see the phrase, my son, repeated in these chapters (as well as in a few other places in Proverbs). Notice Proverbs 1 and 2 both begin with, My son.

Kidner describes “the preaching and appeals that launch the book on its way in these preliminary chapters.”⁴

“…the wisdom it speaks of is the kind that must engage the whole man: not only his power to think straight, but his management of his affairs, his sensitivity to people, his character and his morals; above all (or rather, at the root of all) his relationship to God. For ‘the fear of the LORD‘ — that filial reverence which the Old Testament expounds from first to last — is not a mere beginner’s step in wisdom, to be left behind, but the prerequisite of every right attitude. Only so will the world be seen right way up, and life begin to reveal its intended pattern.

“After the opening paragraph the first thing that may strike us is an unmistakable flavour of old-fashioned virtue and strong family life…appeal will be made to the teaching and discipline of both father and mother (1:8; 6:20), and at one point the grandparents come fondly into remem­brance (4:3). Not only in these chapters but in every section of the book it is assumed that truth is to be learnt first at home, instilled there with firmness and affection as lessons for the mind and training for the character.

“The family, of course, is not everything, even in this group of chapters. There will be other themes, especially in chapter 3 where one’s neighbor and his needs, rights and influence will be the subject of short sayings (3:27ff.), and in chapter 6 where pungent remarks are aimed at the person who in imprudent (1–5), idle (6–11) or a social pest (12–19). But the home remains the place from which this teaching emanates, and whatever threatens its integrity is viewed here with profound concern.

“Two such threats are given special treatment. First, in 1:10–19 (cf. 4:14–19), there is the fatal appeal of the gang to the restlessness of youth…

“Secondly there is the more subtle threat of sexual temptation. It dominates these chapters. Characteristically, it is put in vivid and dramatic terms, and the young man who is especially in mind is warned not against temptation in the abstract, but against the temptress in all her alluring actuality.”⁵

When you study the book of Proverbs with your children, you have to bite the bullet, grasp the nettle, and openly discuss these things with them in terms of what they face everyday and what they may face in the future. You have to be real and loving without any pious claptrap or self-righteousness, instead clearly talking over with them the reality of the world they live in, and underscoring the power and love of God to enable them to live righteous lives, helping them understand the fear of the LORD “is not a mere beginner’s step in wisdom, to be left behind, but the prerequisite of every right attitude.”

Proverbs 2 urges and exhorts the reader to seek wisdom “as treasure and safeguard.”⁶ Look for the if statements that tell you what to do, and the then  and other concluding statements that tell you the results and benefits of your actions.

In chapter 3, look at the connection between wisdom and your relationship with God. Kidner titles Proverbs 3, “The whole-hearted disciple.”⁷ The first twelve verses give general instructions and then verses 13–26 describe more benefits of wisdom. The chapter closes with specific commands and instructions for daily life and relationships, and contrasts the righteous and the wicked.

These two chapters also have familiar verses that you may want to memorize and have your children memorize. I also remember that when we were studying Proverbs together, to emphasize Proverbs 3: 3, I had us write Lovingkindness & Truth on a long card, punch holes in the top of both ends, run yarn through the holes, and then wear it for the rest of the day! God enables us to write them on our heart, but that served as a reminder that we were to ask Him to do so!

One teaching device in Proverbs is the constant use of contrasts throughout the book. Gleason Archer explains:

“The term for “proverb” is māšāl, which comes from the root idea meaning “parallel” or “similar” and hence signifies a “description by way of comparison.”⁸

“It should be noted that the characteristic type of māshāl or proverb in this book is the balanced antithesis which incisively contrasts the wise man and the fool, the good man and the wicked, true value and false, in such a way as to set forth the two sides of the truth in clearest opposition to each other and thus perform an incisive didactic function. The constant preoccupation of the book is with the elemental antagonisms of obedience versus rebellion, industry versus laziness, prudence versus presumption, and so on. These are so presented as to put before the reader a clear-cut choice, leaving him no ground for wretched compromise or vacillating indecision.”⁹

There are three Hebrew words frequently used throughout Proverbs. Dr. Archer writes:

“There are three major terms for wisdom employed throughout this work: hokhmah, bīnah, and tūshiyyah.

1. Hokhmah, “wisdom,” the term most frequently used, pertains not so much to the realm of theoretical knowledge or philosophy as to a proper grasp of the basic issues of life and of the relationship of God to man as a moral agent. This kind of “wisdom” involves a proper discernment between good and evil, between virtue and vice, between duty and self-indulgence. It also includes prudence in secular matters and a skill in the accomplishment of business affairs as well as in the handling of people. It implies an ability to apply consistently that which we know to that which we have to do.

2. Bīnah, understanding, connotes the ability to discern intelligently the difference between sham and reality, between truth and error, between the specious attraction of the moment and the long-range values that govern a truly successful life. The root idea of this term is found in the related preposition bên, meaning between; hence there is always an analytical or judgmental factor involved and the ability to distinguish between the valid and the invalid.

3. Tūshiyyah, or sound wisdom, efficient wisdom, or, in a derived sense, abiding success. This term conceives of wisdom as an authentic insight into, or intuition of, spiritual or psychological truth… It points to the activity of the believer’s mind by which he is able to deduce from what God has revealed the manner in which these principles are to be applied in everyday situations of life (cf. Pr. 3:21; 8:14; 18:1; and also in the sense of help or deliverance, Pr. 2:7).”¹⁰

Proverbs is a book that we all need to read and to heed. The Lord has given it to us to guide and guard us in the many troubles and problems we encounter in life, and to teach us discernment and the how-to of living for His glory and our good.

May the Lord richly bless you through His Word.

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For a brief overview of the main divisions of Proverbs see my post, The Book of Proverbs.
Silvesterzug Laterne: Bk muc. (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Father and son: Onkelbo~commonswiki. GFDL-1.2-or-later. (CC BY-SA 3.0).
^1,6,7Derek Kidner, Proverbs: An Introduction and Commentary (Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove IL: 1965) 57, 57, 57.
^2,3,4,5Derek Kidner, The Wisdom of Proverbs, Job & Ecclesiastes (Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove IL: 1985) 18, 18–19 I don’t think Kidner at all meant that any part of Scripture is “throw-away.” I think this has to do more with his “pebbles on the beach” analogy about the organization or rationale behind the groupings being difficult to grasp., 19, 19–20.
^8,9,10Gleason L. Archer, Jr., “The Books of Wisdom: Job and Proverbs,” A Survey of Old Testament Introduction (Moody Press, Chicago IL: 1974) 465, 468, 467–468.

I’m using Michael Coley’s Bible reading plan (one page PDF to print) to read through the Bible in 2023. Each day my posts are on different books because he divides Bible readings into seven categories, one for each day of the week: Epistles, The Law, History, Psalms, Poetry, Prophecy and Gospels. There’s more information on his plan and other ones at Read the Bible in 2023.

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