More than Just Wisdom: How Proverbs Can Actually Transform Our Lives

Posted on Jun 15, 2023 Topic : Inspirational/Devotional, Men's Christian Living, Women's Christian Living
Posted by : Jean E. Jones, Pam Farrel, Karla Dornacher

My then boyfriend and now husband, Clay, gave me (Jean) a white faux leather Bible for my seventeenth birthday—my first Bible that included the Old Testament. Then he suggested we read a chapter of Proverbs each day according to the day of the month along with whatever else we were reading in our Bibles. That was easy because Proverbs contains 31 chapters.

Proverbs changed our lives.

Clay accepted Jesus as Lord just two days before he turned 13. I did likewise around my fifteenth birthday. But neither of us had been raised in a Christian home, and we discovered we had numerous habits that godly wisdom exhorted us to change.

Being teenagers, the instructions on sexual temptation jumped out as relevant. The relationship advice compelled both of us to alter how we treated people, especially each other. And the guidance about conversations transformed our speech.

I pray Proverbs will do the same for you.

What Is a Proverb?

As a child, I loved Aesop’s Fables. The delightful animal tales concluded with a life lesson in the form of a proverb. For example, “The Fox & the Grapes” ended with “There are many who pretend to despise and belittle that which is beyond their reach.” And who can forget the moral of “The Hare & the Tortoise”: “The race is not always to the swift” (which, incidentally, comes from Ecclesiastes 9:11)?

Additionally, we’ve all heard proverbs like “The early bird catches the worm” and “A penny saved is a penny earned.” These short, memorable sayings make it easy to recall important principles.

The book of Proverbs contains pithy adages like those above. They, too, teach valuable lessons. Unlike folk wisdom, however, the love of God and his truth undergird the proverbs in the Bible.

Who Wrote Proverbs?

When we want wisdom, we need to know whether the person from whom we’re seeking advice is wise, right? So let’s check out the author of Proverbs. It’s easy to do because the book begins with a title that includes the author’s name.

Titles show that Solomon wrote three of the seven collections in the book and may have collected the proverbs in two others. Others authored the final two collections.

Solomon was the son of King David and Bathsheba. At God’s command, David bypassed his older sons and crowned young Solomon to co-reign with him.

After David died, God appeared to Solomon in a dream and told him to ask for whatever he wanted.

God was pleased with Solomon’s request. Here’s his reply in 2 Chronicles 1:11-12:

Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth, possessions or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, possessions and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have.

That tells us something important: Asking God for wisdom pleases him.

God granted Solomon so much wisdom that the queen of Sheba heard about it and traveled many miles to test him. So yes, Solomon is a worthy wisdom teacher.

Ready to get wise and dive deeper? Check out Discovering Wisdom in Proverbs below to learn more.