Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 120 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

Proverbs – The Purpose

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 120 of our Trek. Yesterday we started a commentary on the book of Proverbs with a background introduction of the book.

We won’t go straight through the book of Proverbs all at once, but we will intermix the commentary with other daily wisdom nuggets. Today we will look at why studying the book of Proverbs is so important for wisdom and lay out the six sections within the book.

Before we get started, I want to remind you of the drawing in celebration of the 100^th day of our Wisdom-Trek. We will have a drawing on October 5^th when we will be giving away 7 Wisdom-Trek t-shirts. There are only three more days to register, and you can register once per day.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio.  Today we drove to New Castle, Pennsylvania, to see our newest grandchild Evelyn Grace. She is the cutest little girl and her proud parents Barnabas and Leesha are doing well.

Today our campfire is burning brightly, and as we listen to the crackling of the wood, it almost sounds as if is part of our conversation, sharing in the nuggets of wisdom that we are consuming.  As we continue to share more introduction to the book of wisdom, you contemplate “What is the purpose of the Book of Proverbs?” As your mentor and your guide, I strongly believe if you desire to gain wisdom and desire a life built on wisdom, then Proverbs must be the foundation for your life.

I am going to keep our discussion of Proverbs more conversational as if we were literally sitting next to each other. Through the magic of our modern technology I am right there beside you. If you have any comments or questions, please share them in the comment section of our daily journal pages.

As I share the wisdom of Proverbs, I will also weave some related scriptures into our lessons as they apply. So, let’s get started.

1. How do we gain wisdom in our lives?

Since you are on our Wisdom-Trek with us, you have already taken proactive steps to gain wisdom. Congratulations and thank you for trekking with me. If you feel that you are lacking wisdom, as I do in so many areas of life, then all you need to do is ask God for wisdom as instructed by James, the half-brother of Jesus in his letter written to the dipersed believers in the 1^st century AD.

James 1:5-8, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. ⁶ But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.”

2. Why is Proverbs so important?

Proverbs accomplishes something no other biblical book does. It simply compiles numerous short instructions for living an effective life on earth. While other books articulate profound theological truths, lengthy narratives of triumph and failure, or prophetic preaching to a disobedient people, Proverbs concerns itself completely with instructing people in the path of wisdom. The writers of the book recognized the varied circumstances of a person’s life and provided principles to apply in a variety of situations rather than instructions to follow in only a few specific instances.

3. What’s the big idea of Proverbs?

Proverbs states its theme explicitly very early in the book, “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline,” Proverbs 1:7. The fear of the Lord refers to our viewing Him with the respect He deserves. It means living our lives in light of what we know of Him, holding Him in the highest estimation, and depending on Him with humble trust. Only then, Proverbs teaches, will we discover knowledge and wisdom as is repeated in Proverbs 9:10, “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.”

In writing the Proverbs, Solomon hoped that his readers would attain practical righteousness in all things and that we would do this by living our lives under the authority and direction of God. He specifically explained the book’s purpose, we will look at in Chapter 1:2–6, which is focused on imparting understanding that will impact every facet of our lives. Much of the book emphasizes listening to others so that we might learn from them and apply the combined knowledge of those who have gone before us — such as parents and elders — to the unique circumstances of our own lives (1:5, 8).

Wisdom then involves appropriating a measure of humility first before God and then before others. If instead, we decide to speak rashly rather than listen attentively…Well, Proverbs deals with that too such as in Proverbs 12:15, “Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others,” and 13:3 “Those who control their tongue will have a long life;  opening your mouth can ruin everything.”

4. How do I apply the book of Proverbs?

Read it! Then live it! Proverbs contains some of the most applicable nuggets of truth in all of the Bible. Most of the proverbs are pithy statements brimming over with imagery from the real world. This approach allows us to see very clearly how any particular proverb might be applied to any number of everyday situations we encounter — from getting out of bed in the morning to building a strong foundation in our relationships with others. Proverbs reminds us that God concerns Himself not just with the big, cataclysmic events of life but even those mundane, “invisible” moments in our lives as well.

Are you following God, even in those seemingly “small” circumstances? Allow Proverbs to refocus your attention on all the hidden moments of your life.

5. How is the book of Proverbs organized?

The Book of Proverbs has 6 main sections:

1. Solomon’s wise lessons (Proverbs 1:1 to Proverbs [9:18])
2. The proverbs or wise words of Solomon (Proverbs 10:1 to Proverbs [22:16])
3. 30 wise lessons (Proverbs [22:17] to Proverbs [24:34])
4. More of Solomon’s proverbs (Proverbs 25:1 to Proverbs [29:27])
5. The puzzles of Agur and Lemuel (Proverbs 30:1 to Proverbs 31:9)
6. A poem about a perfect wife (Proverbs [31:10]-31)

Allow Proverbs to refocus your attention on all the hidden moments of your life.

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Today we now know why the book of Proverbs is important, what its purpose is, and how it is organized.  We also learned how we can gain wisdom, so join us tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy. Tomorrow we will begin our trek along the trail of Proverbs 1.

That will finish our podcast for today. Remember to listen to your daily dose of wisdom on Wisdom-Trek.com, iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud, Spreaker, or YouTube. Please share Wisdom-Trek with your family and friends so they can come along with us each day.

The journal for today’s Trek can be found at Wisdom-Trek.com. Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day. 

As we take this Trek together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!