Jesus' Satisfaction—Proverbs 10:1-10
Solomon has made his case for choosing wisdom. Now, at last, he says that we are finally ready to hear some real proverbs, some of the punchy two-liners for which the book of Proverbs is famous. Read them. Memorize them. I know you have some proverbs from outside the Bible memorized - maybe "A penny saved is a penny earned" or "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Those are handy sayings, but Solomon's Proverbs are on another level, because they are God's word for our salvation.
But remember, even these Proverbs won't do you much good unless you have the fear of the Lord. That's the pre-req. What's ahead isn't so much a few hundred rules for a few hundred situations as it is one rule applied to hundreds of different situations. The one rule is: Fear the Lord.
Two Feasts—Proverbs 9
We come now to the end of the beginning. Proverbs 9 is the last chapter of the long introduction to Proverbs.
Solomon began by telling us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Prov. 1:7). Then he warned us about two key dangers to young men: violent companions (Prov. 1:10-19, Prov. 2:12-15, etc.) and loose women (Prov. 2:16-19, Prov. 5, Prov. 7, etc.). Along with these two main warnings, he sprinkled some other key principles: Love faithfully (3:3-4), honor the Lord with your wealth (3:9-10), accept the Lord's discipline (3:11-12), don't be lazy (6:6-11), and so on.
But the lesson he keeps hammering home is simply this: Choose wisdom.
Wise Maker, Wise Savior—Proverbs 8
Imagine you’re at the bottom of a deep, dark pit. It shouldn’t be too hard, because, spiritually, we’ve all been there. Maybe you’ve never been anywhere else.
Now imagine someone lets down a rope to you. “Just grab on and I’ll pull you out!” he yells. But when you are about to grab the rope, a thought hits you. What if the rope isn’t strong enough? What if it breaks when you’re almost out of the pit? The pit is very deep. You would break bones in the long fall back into darkness. But if you don’t grab the rope, you’ll never get out.
It’s a bit like that with Jesus Christ.
The Snare and the Cross—Proverbs 7
I suppose every sermon on the book of Proverbs could begin with an illustration of a man standing at a fork in the road, choosing between the way of life and the way of death. I hope that's what you want. The Bible isn't written just to help you choose between chocolate and vanilla ice cream, or between a Ford and a Toyota. Sure, things you learn from the Bible may help you make those decisions. The Bible touches on every area of our lives, but it does so because it strikes at the heart, at matters of life and death.
Compassionate and Jealous—Proverbs 6:20-35
Another theme has started to emerge in Proverbs. You may have noticed. Sexual temptation looms large. The wise father who teaches his son in these chapters is not blind to the main dangers that young men face.
Life-Giving Wisdom—Proverbs 4
The word "life" runs all through this chapter. "Keep my commandments, and live." "Guard her" (wisdom, that is), "for she is your life." "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life."
This word from God teaches us that wisdom is the source of life. Is that what you thought?
Six Rules, One Savior—Proverbs 3:1-12
Finally, we've gotten to some proverbs! After two chapters convincing his son to seek wisdom, the father starts to deliver some of those practical pieces of advice we all love. (He isn't done praising wisdom, though. We'll get more of that in the next section.)
This passage gives us six rules to live by. Here they are: (1) Remember these teachings,
Hidden Treasure—Proverbs 2:1-22
Once my dad and I were ordering lunch at the counter of a cafe, and he dropped what he thought was a nickel. It rolled under the counter, and we bent down to look for it, but we quickly gave up. We weren’t about to lie flat on the ground in the middle of a coffee shop to search for a nickel.
Only on the way to the airport did we realize that what he had dropped was his wedding ring. If we had known
Two Invitations—Proverbs 1:8-33
Proverbs is a book for young men. Young man, it says, listen to your mother and your father.
The King’s Wisdom—Proverbs 1:1-7
The King of Wisdom became a fool for us and is calling out “Listen to Me.”