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July 7, 2025

Bible Survey: Proverbs

by Jason Neill

Scripture reading: Proverbs 1-2

The GPS for Godly Living: Navigating Life with the Book of Proverbs

When I was a high school student, the Bible was a closed book to me. I honestly couldn’t make heads or tails out of it. I remember one day after eating lunch in the cafeteria, I didn’t want to return to my class (since it was a type of study hall anyway). With my teacher’s permission, I visited the library and walked straight to the religious section. I pulled off the shelf a unique Bible I had never seen before. It was hardback, green, and on the front, it read The Living Bible. Little did I know that this paraphrase of the scriptures would, in fact, change my life and encourage my spiritual walk.

I opened the book of Proverbs, read a few verses, and for the first time, I understood what I was reading. Granted, I was brought up on the King James Version, which I had a difficult time understanding as a 14-year-old kid. It wasn’t anyone’s fault; I was never introduced to paraphrases, much less different translations such as the New International Version.

The next day, after lunch, I asked my teacher if I could go back to the library like I did the day before. She granted me permission. I went right for The Living Bible, found a comfortable chair, and read a portion of Proverbs for the rest of my class period. The next day, I did it again. This went on for the rest of the semester. My teacher became so accustomed to my request to visit the library that it became a mutual understanding: I'd attend the beginning of her class, go to lunch, and then complete the remainder of the period reading in the library. Again, I couldn’t get enough. Every day I read from the book of Proverbs. I thought the advice I read in that ancient book was so practical. As a young man, I wanted to be wise; I saw the value in it, so I read it until I finished the entire book. To put it in modern terms, Proverbs was a GPS for me; it guided me toward wisdom.

Some of my favorite sayings from the book are as follows:

  • “When a good man speaks, he is worth listening to, but the words of fools are a dime a dozen” (Proverbs 10:20, TLB).
  • “To learn, you must want to be taught. To refuse reproof is stupid” (Proverbs 12:1, TLB).
  • “Despise God’s Word and find yourself in trouble. Obey it and succeed” (Proverbs 13:13, TLB).
  • “Be with wise men and become wise. Be with evil men and become evil” (Proverbs 13:20, TLB).
  • “A wise man restrains his anger and overlooks insults. This is to his credit” (Proverbs 19:11, TLB).
  • “Keep your mouth closed and you’ll stay out of trouble” (Proverbs 21:23, TLB).

Authorship and Date: Solomon is recognized as one of the authors of the book (see 1:1; 10:1; 25:1), along with Agur (chapter 30) and Lemuel (chapter 31). It is recorded that Solomon spoke 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs (see 1 Kings 4:32). Unfortunately, there is no biblical information regarding the identity of Agur and Lemuel. Prior to assuming the throne as king of Israel, Solomon, intimidated by the responsibility, asked God for wisdom, which he granted (see 1 Kings 3).

The proverbs penned by Solomon were written around 931 B.C. King Hezekiah later collected additional sayings by Solomon and compiled them into this book during his reign, approximately 230 years after Solomon's time (see chapters 25-29, particularly 25:1).

Jesus in Proverbs: According to Colossians 2:3, speaking of Christ, “In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (NLT). Jesus is the personification of wisdom (see 1 Corinthians 1:24-30). Similarly, just as wisdom is personified in chapter 8 and calls out to anyone who will listen, Jesus calls out to all who will hear Him and thereby believe in Him for eternal life (see John 3:16; 5:24; 6:47; 11:25-26). To believe in Jesus for eternal life is the foundational step in a person's spiritual journey toward wisdom, for it is always wise to listen to Christ and obey Him.

Application: Wisdom, biblically speaking, is more than just knowledge; it means to possess "skill"—skill in living life well. While there's everything right about possessing knowledge, it takes skill to know how to apply it to life's circumstances and make good choices. The Bible, on several occasions, encourages us to pursue wisdom (see Proverbs 2:1-9, 13:1, 16:16; James 1:2-8). God isn't stingy; he's willing to grant wisdom to those who ask and diligently seek it. Fools, on the other hand, are those who refuse to learn (Proverbs 1:7). We ultimately have two choices: we can glean wisdom from reading the scriptures, asking God for it, and surrounding ourselves with wise counselors, or we can ignore the scriptures and find ourselves "in trouble," as stated in Proverbs 13:13 (TLB). So, which path will you choose to walk?