Objective

In this study, we’ll see that God’s wisdom is sufficient for every area of our lives.

Key Verse

Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Introduction

Proverbs may be the most practical book in the Bible. It gives us wisdom on how to live well in the world God has made. While other books teach us about history or prophecy, Proverbs focuses on everyday life—how to make good decisions, how to treat other people, and how to honor God in the ordinary moments of our days.

The book of Proverbs is sometimes called “the wisdom literature” of the Old Testament. But what exactly is wisdom? Wisdom is not just knowledge or information. You can know many facts and still make foolish choices. Wisdom is the ability to live life skillfully according to God’s design. It means knowing how to apply God’s truth to real situations. It means understanding how to make choices that honor God and bring blessing to our lives and the lives of others.

The book of Proverbs organizes this wisdom around three fundamental relationships that shape every human life. Each of us must learn how to relate properly to people, to things, and to God. When these relationships are in proper order, we experience the blessing and peace that God intends for us. When they are out of order, we face conflict, frustration, and pain.

• How we relate to people
• How we relate to things
• How we relate to God

How We Relate to People

Proverbs teaches us how to live wisely with all kinds of people. Whether we are dealing with family members who know us best, friends who share our lives, or strangers who may even oppose us, we need God’s wisdom to build relationships that honor Him.

➤ Relating to Family

God designed the family to be the first place where we learn wisdom, and the family relationships we build affect every other relationship in our lives.

Marriage requires wisdom and commitment. God’s design for marriage includes both joy and faithfulness:

Proverbs 5:18-19: May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer—may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love.

Wealth can bring many troubles to a family, but trusting in God brings true security:

Proverbs 11:28: Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.

Children need to honor and listen to their parents’ wisdom:

Proverbs 1:8-9: Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.

Parents have a responsibility to train their children in wisdom from an early age:

Proverbs 22:6: Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

Loving discipline is part of raising children wisely:

Proverbs 13:24: Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.

➤ Relating to Friends

True friendship is one of life’s greatest treasures, but it requires wisdom to build and maintain.

A real friend remains loyal through difficult times:

Proverbs 17:17: A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.

Sometimes old friends can be more reliable than family members who live far away:

Proverbs 27:10: Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family, and do not go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes you—better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.

Good friends are generous and helpful to one another:

Proverbs 3:28: Do not say to your neighbor, “Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you”—when you already have it with you.

Even good friendships need boundaries and respect:

Proverbs 25:17: Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house—too much of you, and they will hate you.

We must be careful about gossip, which destroys friendships:

Proverbs 18:8: The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.

➤ Relating to Strangers and Opponents

Proverbs also teaches us how to relate to people we do not know well, including those who may oppose or mistreat us. This is where wisdom becomes especially important, because our natural reactions are often unwise.

We need to control our anger and respond gently to others:

Proverbs 15:1: A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

God cares about honest business practices, even with strangers:

Proverbs 11:1: The Lord detests dishonest scales, but accurate weights find favor with him.

We must defend those who cannot defend themselves:

Proverbs 23:10-11: Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless, for their Defender is mighty; he will take up their case against you.

Greed corrupts our relationships with everyone around us:

Proverbs 15:27: The greedy bring ruin to their households, but the one who hates bribes will live.

All of these teachings about relationships point us to essential qualities that characterize a wise person. (Notebook Moment: Think about your closest relationships. Which of these wise qualities do you most need to develop—patience, generosity, loyalty, or honesty? How might practicing this quality change your relationships this week?) When we follow God’s wisdom in our relationships, we demonstrate patience instead of quick anger, we listen carefully before we speak, we show loyalty to our friends and family, we speak truthfully even when it costs us something, and we treat others with the same respect we want to receive. These are not just good ideas—they reflect God’s own character, and they create the kind of community that God desires for His people.

How We Relate to Things

Proverbs teaches us how to handle the things of life wisely. God has given us many good gifts—money, food, words, work, and even our emotions—but we need wisdom to use these gifts in ways that honor Him and bless others.

Money requires careful handling because it can either serve us or enslave us:

Proverbs 11:28: Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.

Food is a blessing from God, but even good things require moderation:

Proverbs 23:2: Put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.

Our speech has tremendous power to help or hurt others:

Proverbs 15:4: The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.

Hard work brings reward, while laziness leads to poverty:

Proverbs 12:24: Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.

We need wisdom to manage our possessions well. Everything we have belongs ultimately to God, and He expects us to be good stewards:

Proverbs 27:23-24: Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.

How We Relate to God

The most important thing is how we relate to God. We cannot relate rightly to other people or to things if our relationship to God is not right. Every other relationship in our lives flows from our relationship with our Creator.

Proverbs gives much spiritual counsel on our relationship to God. The key point that Proverbs makes is that we should pursue wisdom, and all true wisdom begins with reverence for God:

Proverbs 1:7: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

We must trust God’s wisdom rather than depending on our own understanding:

Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

God wants us to honor Him with our material blessings:

Proverbs 3:9-10: Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

When God corrects us, we should receive it as a sign of His love:

Proverbs 3:11-12: My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.

(Notebook Moment: God’s discipline can be difficult to accept. Think about a time when God corrected you through circumstances, other people, or His Word. How did you respond? What did you learn about God’s love through that experience?)

How Do We See Christ in Proverbs?

Proverbs points to Christ in several important ways. As we study this book, we discover that all the wisdom it contains finds its perfect fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

First, Jesus displayed the wisdom of God in His ministry. Jesus was a teacher of wisdom, and many of His teachings used the same style as the proverbs. The word for parable is actually another word for proverb—both are short, memorable teachings that help us understand spiritual truth:

[Note for revision: the following lengthy passage could be an Explore or Reflect section.]

Luke 2:41-50: Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

Jesus grew in wisdom throughout His earthly life:

Luke 2:52: And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

When Jesus taught, people recognized divine wisdom in His words:

Mark 1:21-22: They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.

Second, Jesus is the wisdom of God. Many of the qualities of wisdom that are described in Proverbs apply perfectly to Jesus Christ:

Proverbs 8:27-28: I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep.

Paul tells us directly that Christ is our wisdom:

1 Corinthians 1:30: It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

All the treasures of wisdom are found in Christ:

Colossians 2:3: In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Third, the Gospel presents wisdom to us. Wisdom is the right choice to follow God and turn away from the world. This is exactly what the message of the Gospel calls us to do:

Proverbs 14:12: There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.

Proverbs 16:25: There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.

God’s wisdom appears foolish to the world, but it is the only path to life:

1 Corinthians 2:6-8: We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Jesus taught that there are only two paths in life—the narrow way that leads to life, and the broad way that leads to destruction:

Matthew 7:13-14: Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Jesus is the only way to the Father:

John 14:6: Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Fourth, Jesus promised to be the source of our wisdom today. This promise was first fulfilled with the apostles, but Jesus continues to provide wisdom to the church today through His Spirit and His Word:

Luke 21:15: For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.

The early church chose leaders who were full of wisdom:

Acts 6:3: Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them.

Paul recognized that Peter’s letters contained wisdom from God:

2 Peter 3:15: Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.

God continues to give wisdom to believers today:

Ephesians 1:17: I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.

(Notebook Moment: In what area of your life do you most need God’s wisdom right now? How can you seek His guidance through prayer, Scripture, and wise counsel from other believers?)

Conclusion

Proverbs is a practical book that we should learn and live by. God has promised that we will be blessed as we follow the wisdom that He has provided. This wisdom is not just good advice from ancient times—it is timeless truth that applies to our lives today.

The book of James in the New Testament is often called “the Proverbs of the New Testament” because it shares the same practical, wisdom-focused approach to Christian living. James reminds us that there are two kinds of wisdom in the world:

James 3:17: But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

This “wisdom from above” that James describes is not merely a set of principles or guidelines—it is Christ Himself. When Jesus lives in our hearts through faith, we have access to all the riches of divine wisdom. We no longer have to rely on our own limited understanding or the confused wisdom of the world. We have Christ, and in Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge:

Colossians 2:2-3: My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

As we close our study of Proverbs, remember that God desires to give you wisdom for every situation you face. Whether you are making decisions about relationships, managing your resources, or seeking to know God more deeply, He has wisdom available for you. The starting point is always the same—the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Proverbs 8:10-11: Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.

Proverbs 3:13-18: Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed.

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