With the close of another year and the conclusion of my last Friday Focus on the importance of remembering, I found myself struggling to know where I would focus my thoughts this year. So many amazing topics have jumped out of God’s Word and captured my attention. Which one should I choose? In a noisy world where we are overwhelmed by fallible human wisdom, I could not help but share with you from my study in the book of Proverbs.
I started a verse-a-day study in 2024, and it took me almost two years to complete, but it was so worth the snail’s pace I chose to take. I’ve read the book of Proverbs many times, but never sat in it like this. I realized that I’d missed so much in the rush. So, as I read, as always, I found myself highlighting certain words or verses.
A verse-by-verse study is overwhelming, so I’ve chosen to pull out those verses that spoke the loudest to me. This Friday Focus may extend in 2027, but I pray that you’ll find it worth the slower pace in your own life and that it will encourage you to not only sit in these verses I’ve chosen but to read and meditate on all the others as well.
The Purpose of the Proverbs
Why do we have this book in the first place? The book of Proverbs is a collection of sayings or wisdom from King Solomon and others from the Hebrew Bible and was included in the future canon of Scripture used by Christians today. I believe it will be easy to see in these first few verses why we count it as inspired Scripture.
I’m choosing to use the English Standard Version for this study because it is the version from which I read, and I find it a readable and reliable translation.
The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel: To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth—Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:1-7)
What better person from whom to gain wisdom than he who asked and received wisdom from the Lord? Do you remember that request?
At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” (1 Kings 3:5-9)
Solomon could have asked for anything. The Lord, after all, opened the door for him. Recognizing his own weakness, Solomon asked for understanding and discernment—the two elements of wisdom. The Lord was pleased with Solomon’s request, knowing he could have asked for long life or riches. He responded:
“Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days. And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.” (1 Kings 3:12-14)
This is the wisdom we will be learning from in the book of Proverbs—the God-given wisdom of Solomon. He not only took this wisdom to rule effectively, but he also wanted to share it with others, writing first for his son, but also for the generations to follow. We are beneficiaries of that wisdom.
The question is: What will we do with it?
The Source of Wisdom
Solomon would not have been known as wise without having received his wisdom from God. That is why we must remember that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.” We have to keep wisdom in its proper perspective. Is what I’m hearing from God? Is what I’m hearing giving glory to God? Is what I’m hearing in line with the revealed Word of God?
When we look to the world for wisdom, we find that most of what we hear points back to self. The source of true wisdom is God.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. (Proverbs 9:10)
Lord, give us this insight.
Wisdom Requires Humility
Proverbs 1:7 not only tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom but it also tells us that fools will never seek the wisdom of this book. When a person has no desire to learn and grow, we can be sure that they also have no fear of God, no reverence for Him.
Fearing God puts us in a place of humility—we can only gain wisdom when pride is set aside. Think about Solomon. He was now a king. He could order and demand anything he wanted from his subjects. Instead, he subjected himself, in humility, to the True King and sought what only God could give—wisdom, understanding, and discernment.
Solomon was not perfect. He still made poor choices along the way and allowed the influence of other false gods into his kingdom as a result of political marriages. Yet, he did have a time of walking in the ways of the Lord God, and as a result, we have this priceless book of wisdom.
The Benefits of Wisdom
Finally, without going into much detail, because we’ll have many other verses in the coming weeks to help us dig deeper, there are great benefits in this God-given wisdom:
- Understanding words of insight – wisdom helps us understand others
- Wise dealing — wisdom guides us in our relationships with others
- In righteousness, justice, and equity — we deal with others according to God’s righteous ways, His justice, and without showing partiality
- Giving prudence to the simple — learning how to be careful instead of reckless
- Increase in learning — wisdom increases our knowledge as we learn to listen
- Obtain guidance — wisdom becomes a guide for living, especially as we gain it from God’s Word.
I pray that as we walk through these proverbs, we will enjoy these benefits as God increases our understanding and directs our paths to His glory.
Grace and Peace
If you missed the last Friday Focus post, click HERE, or start from the Beginning.