Wednesday, October 25, 2006

PROVERBS

With a basic understanding of what the Bible means by "rod" I headed to the book of Proverbs.

A few thoughts to keep in mind when reading Proverbs. This information was gleaned from *The Hayford Bible Handbook*, *The New Inductive Study Bible*, and the *Spirit-Filled Life Bible*. All I learned matched up with what I knew from previous studies and from Bible School, so I did not take this part of the study further. If you remain unconvinced, I suggest you do some more study. Find a commentary or Bible handbook that you trust and see what they have to say about the book of Proverbs as a whole. This type of information is most often found in the introductary notes of commentaries, handbooks or study Bibles. Check more than one source - my rule of thumb is three sources. BUT at least check two. {G}

Written - 971-686 BC mostly by Solomon and Hezekiah but multiple authorship

The book is not prophetic or doctrinal. It is not a book that tells a story or recounts history. It is poetic. It is wisdom literature. In other words it is a compilation of short maxims and teachings on wisdom. It is compiled of wise and clever sayings of general truth.

These are maxims NOT commands. You cannot take the observations and turn them into absolute commands. You also cannot directly claim all promises implied in the writings. They weren't written, in other words, to be absolute doctrinal truth. They are meant for us to meditate on, to learn from, to apply but many are figurative and many do not translate to absoulutes - principles rather than absolutes!

For instance: "A man's enemies will be at peace with him when his ways please the Lord" - Jesus' enemies were not at peace with Him though He pleased God in all that He did.

"He who finds a wife finds a good thing" cannot be changed to be a command that one MUST find a wife.

Figurative example: "Put a knife to your throat if you are a man of great appetite".

*Side note - the last chapter Pr 31 is UNIQUE in ancient literature as it reveals a high and noble view of women that was not common in ancient civilizations.

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