The Book of Proverbs unfolds the path of wisdom and the way of blessing, not for eternity, but for time, and not for a path leading to heaven, but a path of divine wisdom for this earth. It thus furnishes us with divine wisdom for the details of life in this world of confusion, corruption and violence, a path of life that is to be lived in the fear of the Lord.
We are not to look in the book of Proverbs for heavenly things for it was not until after the Lord Jesus had been rejected by His earthly people that heavenly things were first announced by Him in the Gospels of the New Testament. Then after the coming of the Holy Spirit, we have the heavenly things further opened out to us in the Acts in a practical way, and doctrinally expressed in the epistles. So we do not look here in the Proverbs, for the unfolding of anything relating to the Church, or even of Christian relationships, and in general we will not be able to find these things in the Old Testament. Solomon being the king of Israel, is outlining for his people a new unfolding of the life of faith in the fear of the Lord, (Jehovah), whose name, with a few exceptions, is used throughout.
The book of Proverbs is of special value to the Christian in giving him divine wisdom for his earthly path. It has been said that a man of the world escapes the snares of this world by knowing its crookedness. But the Proverbs, if read faithfully, would enable one to escape without knowing its evil — he is to be wise in that which is good and simple concerning that which is evil.
It would seem from the context I that the book of Proverbs was written early in Solomon’s reign, and that he has the life of the young people of his kingdom chiefly before him. We find a constant tenderness expressed in such terms as “my son,’, “thy father,” “thy mother,” or “children.” Thus it shows the path of happiness in these relationships can only be maintained through faithfulness in them, and applying this heavenly wisdom in the fear of the Lord.
The book divides itself into different parts. The first nine chapters give general principles, which show the path for those who would walk in wisdom here in this life. It is in contrast to walking in self-will.
Beginning with Chapter 10 and continuing through Chapter 24 we have the first set of the proverbs which the men of Hezekiah, King of Judah, copied out. This was about 250 years after they were written. The proverbs in this section have more to do with the application of these general principles to the details of daily life.
Then in chapters 25-29 are also proverbs which the men of Hezekiah copied out. They consist chiefly of brief pointed expressions of the general principles given earlier, in their application to the details of life.
Finally in the last chapters we have first (chapter 30)’, the words of Agur, which are rich in their moral applications. Next in chapter 31 we have the words of King Lemuel, describing the character of a good king; and then we have the character of a moral, faithful, God-fearing wife and mother.
ML 07/16/1961