A Study in Proverbs Chapters 1-31

The book of Proverbs is about growing in faith. Soloman addresses his son with a pattern for growth from being a babe in faith to becoming mature. It is a narrative, not a chopped up mess of “wise” sayings. No verse can be applied out of its contex and order without missing its point and drawing false conclusions.

For instance, if you take Proverbs 16:16; 22:1-2; 23:4-5; 28:20; 30:7-9; 15:27; 21:6; 22:16;28:6, 8 and 24; 3:9010; 11:28 and 16:8 and conclude that they speak about general financial responsibility, you will being a disservice to the verses, the chapter they’re in, the book of Proverbs, the Old Testament, the Old Covenant and the Bible. Do you want to do such a disservice? All of those verses DO speak about financial matters, but they are neither designed nor intended to be dealt with apart from theit context.

Just because a Scripture verse contains a word that goes along with what the reader is trying to prove, does not mean that’s what the verse means. Without the flow of the narrative, not one single verse of Scripture can be properly understood, interpreted or applied.

Those verses are where they are because they are part of a narrative that reveals the stages of growth that occur when one fears the Lord: knowledge and Wisdom. Wisdom, in proverbs, is a picture (type) of Christ. The verses are where they are to be a part of the consecutive growth of a person’s walk of faith.

When you realize that the chapters used above (3, 11, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 28 and 29), you begin to understand that they are grouped in such a way as to show the growth stages of Solomon’s son.

Does that mean that Proverbs does NOT encourage us to exercise financial responsibility? Absolutely not!

But Proverbe does so much more than that. Proverbs gives us a PROGRESSIVE look at HOW a person grows in wisdom. Proverbs starts off with the way a young boy (or young Christian) would look at the various elements of his stage of life. Then it proceeds to cover the same topics the way an older boy (perhaps a Christian with some years of Sunday School under his belt) would deal with the same issues. After that, Proverbs reveals the development level a young man (growing Christian) would deal with the temptations and issues of life. It then shows the same things for a young adult, then a maturing adult and finally an elder (mature person).

There are five indications of Christ in Proverbs: 1. Proverbs is Wisdom personified in Christ.
2. Proverbs is Wisdom fulfilled in Christ. 3. Proverbs is Wisdom exemplified in Christ.
4. Proverbs is Wisdom provided in Christ.  5. Every verse in Proverbs is about wisdom and righteousness as revealed in the life of the Lord Jesus.

Proverbs progresses like this: How someone young in the faith starts out life in the home (church). How someone young in the faith begins to grow up and moves beyond the circle of the home(church). How someone young in the faith listens to God’s law of mercy and grace, as he turns to his family in the faith (church). How someone growing in the faith remembers  the instruction of his father (church family) How someone growing in the faith. is counseled to live a pure life for the sake of his home(church family). How someone growing in the faith deals with conflicting world view. The characteristics of someone maturing in the faith.

In chapter 30, we find an oracle by an unknown sage (not Solomon, Agur) who warns the person young in the faith to subscribe to sound doctrine and not to go to ridiculous extremes or to grow weary in the faith. He warns the growing young adult that the world will pull at him from all sides. He encourages the one growing in the faith to recognize God above all others.

Proverbs wraps up in chapter 31 with a mother counseling her son (a young adult in the faith) to choose a life partner after he has matured enough to recognize what’s important in choosing a mate. He does not really want her to tell him what to do (isn’t that just like us), but she persists. The mother lays out what he should look for in a wife. She also lays out the things he must do and be in order to demonstrate integrity.