Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline, to help them understand the insights of the wise. Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair. These proverbs will give insight to the simple, knowledge and discernment to the young. [Proverbs 1:2-4 (NLT)]
When claiming God’s promises, we must be cautious of thinking the words of Proverbs come with the same guarantee as do God’s promises. Rather than promises or fool-proof formulas, Proverbs are general life principles telling us how to live honorably, constructively, and successfully in the world. While they prove true far more often than not, they do not ensure success. For example, in spite of directing our children on a godly path and teaching them to seek God’s wisdom [Proverbs 22:6], they still may walk away from the faith and righteous living. Nevertheless, there’s a far better chance for that child to walk the right path, or return to it after straying, if his parents taught him God’s ways.
Proverbs 1:1 credits the wise King Solomon with its words but we know he wasn’t the only author. Although chapters 1 through 24 probably were written around 950 BC. during his reign, Proverbs 22:17 introduces a nameless sage whose thirty wisdom sayings continue though Proverbs 24:22 where we find “further sayings of the wise” similar in style to the previous section. The thirty proverbs in those chapters are markedly similar to sayings found in The Instructions of Amenemope, a book of Egyptian wisdom believed to have been written prior to Solomon’s time. Since Solomon made a successful alliance with Egypt and married one of Pharaoh’s daughters, it is likely that he was familiar with Egyptian wisdom. The king who wrote, “Intelligent people are always ready to learn. Their ears are open for knowledge,” [18:15] may well have read Amenemope’s words and modified the Egyptian advice by adding references to the God of the Israelites. On the other hand, the Egyptian texts could be misdated or two wise men penned remarkably similar texts independently; we don’t know.
Proverbs 25 credits King Hezekiah (716-687 BC) with compiling the next collection of Solomon’s proverbs. This was a time of spiritual renewal and, with over 3,000 of Solomon’s pithy sayings from which to choose, Hezekiah’s scribes may have gathered, edited, and added these to the previous collection. The dates of the last two chapters of Proverbs are unknown and they are attributed to men not mentioned elsewhere. Chapter 30 is credited to Agur, son of Jakeh and Chapter 31 to King Lemuel. While Agur clearly knew that God’s wisdom was greater than his own, Lemuel ascribes his wise instruction to his mother’s sage advice. Although Jewish tradition often attributes this last chapter to Solomon, several Aramaic spellings indicate non-Israelite schooling. Regardless of who laid pen to parchment, the voice of God is heard in all of Proverbs’ words. God’s wisdom has no boundaries and He may have inspired different people with His words.
The wisdom that starts with fear of the Lord is found in Proverbs. Noting that Jesus’ prayer said, “On earth as it is in heaven,” Eugene Peterson calls wisdom “the biblical term for this on-earth-as-it-is-in-heaven everyday living.” Like a handbook for righteous living, Proverbs’ wisdom gives us a guide for our daily lives. When taken to heart, its words can shape our thinking, attitude, and moral character so that we are better able to live according to God’s ideal. They may not be promises, but they are wise advice!
Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment. [Proverbs 9:10 (NLT)]
Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser. Let those with understanding receive guidance by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables, the words of the wise and their riddles. Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. [Proverbs 1:-7 (NLT)]
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As the economy tanks and COVID-19 spreads, we hear economists and politicians speak of making a cost-benefit analysis to determine the cost of a prolonged shutdown of business and industry with millions out of work versus the cost of hundreds of thousands (or millions) of people dying. How do we put a price tag on life, especially if the life is ours or that of someone we know and love?
While I learned about international finance and Brexit at a women-only seminar, I also learned something more important by my reaction to two of the attendees. Their plumped up lips, wrinkle free faces, and curvaceous shapes indicated the work of a plastic surgeon and their perfect coifs and make-up caused me to wonder if they’d been professionally done that morning. Dressed from head-to toe in designer wear, it was obvious they shop at stores like Louis Vuitton, Ferragamo, and Fendi rather than Kohl’s, T.J Maxx, or Old Navy. One woman’s long cardigan sported Gucci’s trademark red and green stripes and her purse, belt and shoes all displayed the designer’s gold double G logo. The other woman, with her very blond hair, heavy make-up, lavender rabbit fur vest, matching silk blouse, swanky jewelry, and glittery Lucite heels, looked like she belonged in an episode of The Real Housewives of New Jersey. 
By the end of the phone call, tears were rolling down my cheeks; yet another loved one is seriously ill. Given my age and that of my friends, I shouldn’t be surprised; we are nearing our expiration dates so receiving news of someone’s illness or death is becoming my new normal.
While summer is hurricane season here in Florida, early spring is “sinkhole season.” For most property owners, a sinkhole is little more than a headache but, for some, it means the loss of their homes and possibly their lives. Seven weeks ago, two families north of here lost their homes and belongings as the earth collapsed beneath them, leaving a chasm at least 40-feet wide and 60-feet long. Back in 2013, a man went to sleep and literally disappeared as he, his bed and then his entire bedroom vanished into the earth; his body was never recovered.
A man down the street has surrounded his home with security cameras pointed in every direction. I’m told that he’s an unpleasant old coot but I wouldn’t know; in all the years we’ve lived here, I’ve never seen him. He has, however, managed to irk one neighbor enough that she salutes his cameras with her middle finger every time she passes by his house.
Devotions of the Heart 