Think of Proverbs as a guidebook to righteous living in 6 sections:
- Purpose of Proverbs (1:1–7)
- Preparation for the Student (1:8–9:18)
- Proverbs of King Solomon (10:1–24:34)
- Proverbs of Solomon Copied by Hezekiah (25:1–29:27)
- Words of Agur (30:1–33)
- Words of Lemuel (31:1–31)
The first chapter of Proverbs begins with clarity and focus: true wisdom is the fear of the Lord. This entails living every part of life under the lordship of God and walking before Him in humility and reverential awe.
The book goes on to instruct a youth, a student, in the ways of wisdom. These first nine chapters give the student a thirst for wisdom, teaching him to long for the Lord.
From there, Proverbs lists various sayings that give wisdom to those seeking the Lord. They range from Solomon’s Proverbs to collections from Agur and Lemuel, men whose identity is a mystery to us. All of the proverbs, though, focus on gaining insight that leads to practical living.
The more we immerse ourselves in the truth of God, the more clarity we will have. Thinking His thoughts after Him leads us into wise living, both in theoretical and practical matters. True wisdom means living out a life of practical righteousness. This is the most fundamental skill we can have.
Proverbs, then, teaches us the priorities we ought to have, guiding us as we try to trust in the Lord entirely (Proverbs 3:5–6).
Check out other videos from Ken’s Sunday Morning Class, especially parts 1, 2, and 3 of the Wisdom series.
The Proverbs transcripts used in this video are available online.
