The Book of Proverbs includes many practical and down-to-earth sayings. Yet for many the Book of Proverbs apparently seems like “nothing more than a deserted stretch of highway between Psalms and Ecclesiastes” — a highway that appears “dry and barren” (Thomas Long, Preaching and the Literary Forms of the Bible). John Collins (Proverbs, Knox Preaching Guides) asserts that “the crisis of relevance” is particularly acute for the Book of Proverbs since it offers little excitement.
Is this why, although Proverbs is a rich source of practical instruction, teachers normally don’t bother with it?
Why is it that some proverbs seem either to conflict with human experience (Prov. 10:27; 22:4), or to contradict one another (Prov. 26:4,5; cp. Prov. 6:6–11 with Prov. 15:16)?
Why do many proverbs appear to be merely practical, commonsense sayings, with little spiritual relevance?
Why do some proverbs seem to be totally amoral observations of society (Prov. 14:20; 17:8)? They appear to say, ‘This is the way things are!’ but they apparently offer no solutions.
How can the Bible student deal with such obstacles to his understanding of the Book of Proverbs? Are there any guidelines to assist him in negotiating this “obstacle course”?
Drawing on the writings of other scholars, Greg Parsons (Biblotheca Sacra, 150:598:152-171) offers several guidelines for understanding and interpreting Proverbs, which (with some modifications and additions) are summarized below.
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Guideline One: Interpret individual passages in light of the stated purpose of Proverbs, and according to its “motto”.
- Purpose
In contrast to many books of the Bible, the purpose of Proverbs is clearly stated (Prov. 1:2–6). As a primer of right conduct and proper attitudes, Proverbs gives the inexperienced youth (Prov. 1:4) — or even the older immature person — wisdom and instruction necessary to conform to God’s will. A twofold emphasis is indicated:
- to give moral prudence and skill for righteous living (Prov. 1:2a,3–5); and
- to give mental discernment (Prov. 1:2b,6), including discerning the meaning of various kinds of wisdom sayings such as proverbs, riddles, and figurative expressions (v. 6).
The evidence seems to indicate that the Book of Proverbs was an instructional manual designed for use by the young men of Israel’s society who were being groomed for positions of leadership. Beginning in Solomon’s day there may have been a schooling system such as in Egypt, Assyria, and Babylonia. Hezekiah may also have had a similar system (Prov. 25:1).
However, the individual sayings reflect the family (or clan) wisdom of past centuries, handed down from father to son throughout the generations (cf. Prov. 4:1–4). The Book of Proverbs is “the boiled-down summation of many generations of experience in living” (L.D. Johnson, Israel’s Wisdom).
- Motto
The motto of the book is found in Proverbs 1:7; 9:10. These two verses (“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, or wisdom”) bracket, more or less, the first major section of the Book. This motto serves as the compass — or a touchstone — for all of Proverbs 1 through 9, and corrects the view that Proverbs is no more than practical wisdom. Proverbs is designed to teach people how to steer their lives properly (cf. Prov. 1:5) under the command of Yahweh.
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Guideline Two: Beware of the false assumption that proverbs are unconditional promises.
Because proverbs are wise observations based on experience, they must not be understood as unconditional promises but as rules for life. In other words, “they work” — most of the time!
But the proverbs are not “legal guarantees from God”; rather, they are “poetic guidelines for good behavior” (Fee and Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth). The proverbs tell what generally takes place without making an absolute rule that fits all circumstances. This is a key to understanding problematic proverbs such as Proverbs 22:6 (“Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old he will not turn from it”). This verse should not be considered a promise but a general principle having to do with education and commitment.
Furthermore, certain proverbs that make amoral observations (e.g., Prov. 14:20; 17:8) must not be seen as condoning or encouraging evil. A distinction must be made between what is described as ordinary, on the one hand, and what is encouraged as right and proper, on the other. (The Old Testament does this sort of thing elsewhere, for example in regulating some of the abuses of polygamy and slavery, but not prohibiting their practice altogether.)
The proverbs are limited by the characteristics of brevity and catchiness. On the surface some proverbs read almost like a mathematical equation or law of physics: “Humility and the fear of the LORD bring wealth and honor and life” (Prov. 22:4). The verse seems to say, ‘Obedience plus reverence ALWAYS EQUALS riches, honor, and life.’ However, to suit their purpose, proverbs are worded to be memorable, but not necessarily technically precise. The very literary form necessitates that they overstate the case and oversimplify without including “fine print” or “footnotes”. So one must be alert to the following limitations implied from an overall study of the context of Proverbs:
- Proverbs 26:4,5 demonstrate limitations to certain circumstances. These side-by-side, seemingly opposite proverbs should not be considered as inconsistent or contradictory; instead, they define specific situations noted in the Bible text. Complementary proverbs imply that the application of a specific maxim must be tempered by certain conditions. Proverbs 15:22 praises careful planning with the use of human counselors; however, human counselors can only do so much: this is balanced with the warning that while ‘man proposes, God disposes’ (Prov. 16:9; cf. Prov. 20:24; 21:30,31).
- Proverbs may be limited to the tendency of certain actions to cause certain effects. See, for example, Proverbs 15:1: A gentle answer may turn away wrath, but at times such an answer may have no positive effect on stubborn individuals.
We cannot use proverbs like subway tokens or coins dropped in a coke machine. They are not guaranteed to achieve the desired result every time. They are guidelines, not mechanical formulas. We heed them as best we can, try to gain the wisdom that experience can teach, and then leave a lot of room for God to surprise us with outcomes different from what we expect.
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Guideline Three: Realize that some proverbs ARE unconditionally true.
The recognition that the proverbs have limitations does not nullify the fact that some proverbs are always true. Frequently these are connected to an attribute or action of God (Prov. 11:1; 12:22; 15:3; 16:2,33; 22:2). However, this does not mean that, because the name of the LORD is used in the proverb, it is a “blank check” to use in an unconditional fashion. For instance, Proverbs 15:25 (“The LORD tears down the proud man’s house, but he keeps the widow’s boundaries intact”) must not be forced to apply to all situations. The experience of mankind, and other Bible teachings, will remind us that such proverbs may have exceptions.
For instance, the promises of long life, peace, riches, and honor to those who obey the commandments of parents or teachers (Prov. 3, esp. vv. 1,2,16) can be clarified by considering Jesus’ life. Though he embodied wisdom and fulfilled all the requirements of Proverbs 3, he did not have a long life, riches, or much honor while on earth (in seeming contradiction to the text). This does not mean that these proverbs are inaccurate or uninspired; rather this illustrates that they are general precepts but are not without exception. Ephesians 6:1–4 includes a “promise” of blessing and long life on earth. Though the commandment to obey and honor parents must be considered as absolute (Exod. 20:12), we must not think that the reward for keeping the commandment is an unconditional promise in this life. God in His sovereignty may make an exception, for some higher purpose, as in the case of Jesus.
On the other hand, certain promises — as above — ARE in fact unconditionally true, IF one expands the horizon for their fulfillments to the Kingdom Age and beyond. Then every promise of God, about long life and prosperity and honor, WILL be true — even for those who die in faith, though young, or for those who suffer poverty or terrible persecution, or are reviled and hated in this life. Such promises WILL BE absolutely true, if we only get our perspective right, and take the long view of things: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Cor. 4:16-18).
When our son was very young, and listening to and then reading Proverbs with us, he asked the same question several times: ‘But that verse isn’t always true, is it?’ Good people suffer. Righteous people die young. The godly sometimes must beg for their food. And he was right!
And so, in answer to his general question, we coined a term: “Adam, you have to remember: here we are talking about… PROVERBS TIME. In ‘Proverbs time’ something may never be true, so long as this world continues, but in the Kingdom Age, when Christ comes, then it will be true forever after.” And so, to this day, “Proverbs time” has, for us, become an acceptable way of classifying all those possible “promises” that never seem to work out as one might hope in this life. And of course, such promises are not limited to Proverbs: for example — as any good Christadelphian will have learned as a matter of course — God’s covenant promise that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would live forever in the Land of Promise was not true in the past, and is not true even now, but will be absolutely true — “in PROVERBS TIME”!
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How can the student make the Book of Proverbs more relevant? (1) By comparing Scripture with Scripture…
One necessity is to make sure that any particular proverb is “validated” by other portions of Scriptures. Be on guard against taking any proverb out of context and thus misapplying it in a too literal way. For instance, Proverbs 10:22 speaks of God’s blessing of wealth; it is sometimes used to “prove” that God wants all believers to prosper materially. However, the immediate context is a contrast between the righteous, who work diligently, and the wicked, who are negligent (Prov. 10:3–5), both of whom the LORD will pay accordingly (Prov. 10:16). And the application must be tempered by the larger context of other verses that clearly imply that godly individuals may be poor (see Prov. 15:16; 16:8; 19:1; 28:6).
Doing topical studies in Proverbs with the help of a good concordance provides an initial safeguard against using any single proverb as a “proof text”. Neither Proverbs, nor the Bible as a whole, can prove that poverty is always a result of God’s judgment. Though many have become poor through laziness (Prov. 10:4,5; 12:24; 20:13), ignoring discipline (Prov. 13:18), or through gluttony and drunkenness (Prov. 23:20,21), others are poor only because of the providential will of God (Prov. 29:13). Therefore the poor must not be mocked or scorned or abused (Prov. 17:5).
…And (2) By noting the overall Biblical context
Though the Book of Proverbs does not mention the history of Israel as do the Pentateuch and the Prophets, the reader must not ignore the implicit covenant context of the book. The apparently materialistic motivations of Proverbs (‘Do this and you will be blessed, don’t and you will suffer’) may be explained by God’s promises to Israel in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. Proverbs’ ground rules for life are not a prescription for salvation. Salvation comes by and through the grace of God. But the Book of Proverbs helps us live righteously and well in the meantime.
Thus the student of Proverbs must consider the impact of Christ and the New Covenant in seeking to understand and apply the wisdom of the Book. The New Testament portrays Christ as the true Wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:24,30). Therefore the invitations of Lady Wisdom (Prov. 8:32–36) should be set alongside those of Christ (e.g., Matt. 11:28–30). One must also note carefully any New Testament quotations, allusions, or parallels to the Proverbs (especially in the parables of Christ). Finally, the practical exhortations of James and Paul’s letters should also be explored.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One