Looking at Proverbs from the Side

I've been studying the Bible for over 20 years but never done a study on the whole book of Proverbs. It's one of those books that we've all heard snippets from here and there even if we've never been to church. The wisdom it contains is, quite literally, timeless (1 Pet 1:25) and applicable in countless ways. After spending 12 weeks in it I was able to go deeper and appreciate it more fully because I wasn't reading it isolated from its context.

Reading the book of Proverbs without understanding the context is like looking through the top of a fish tank but not the side. It's so much deeper than what it appears from the surface and the things contained within take on new meaning when you see it from a different angle. 

A key feature of the book is the contrast between wisdom and folly. In the first 9 chapters, the narrator is a king writing advice to his son and uses the literary device of personification. He describes these two options as women: Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly. In portraying them as women he creates a picture to help his son see the sometime subtle difference between the two with hopes it will help him avoid the temporary appeal of unwise choices. The way of folly will lead towards death, while the often more difficult path to wisdom will lead to life. Lady Wisdom is described as the true and faithful wife while Lady Folly is the tempting adulterous woman.

Why is it important to understand this concept when reading Proverbs?

Well, you get to passages like Proverbs 7 and see the heading 'Warning against the Adulterous Woman.' I remember my friends and I reading this passage in college and one older student used it to discuss what kinds of clothing we should wear or not and cautioned us to beware of 'leading guys like an ox to the slaughter.' 

Wow. That's not what that is about at all, but I can see where someone steeped in 90s purity culture could easily read into those verses and come to that conclusion, warning other women not to be like her. If you take those verses in that simplistic way you miss the warning to the reader that shortcuts to wise living are appealing in the moment, but they can have disastrous effects. Context, context, context!! 

Then there's Proverbs 31. Ah, that woman we all love to hate because we will never feel like a good enough wife to measure up to her. She's doing everything right and probably looks amazing doing it. If we take this passage at face value with no understanding of the rest of the book, then it's easy to make it just about how to be an excellent wife.

What does it look like to read Proverbs 31 from the surface? Well, look at verse 14: "She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar." In our discussion this week a friend commented that she'd been taught that verse could be applied to mean she could also be like the Proverbs 31 woman and travel to several different grocery stores looking for the best price and using coupons. 

Wow.

Do we think that these timeless verses are here just so we can save .50 on toilet paper?

Perhaps a better application is choosing Wisdom, even though it takes a longer time to benefit from is of more value than taking the simple and easy to find way.

To be sure, Proverbs 31 certainly has application for wives to consider. However, if we make it about how to be a godly woman and care for our home, we run the risk of making an idol out of our family by centering our efforts on them instead of on the Lord. At its heart, this passage points us to how we should fear the Lord and seek wisdom from Him.

And what about men who read these verses? Certainly, it's not just about finding a wife who will manage your household well, but a call for everyone to value wisdom from above instead of the wisdom of this world (James 3). To love and honor the true giver of wisdom and 

I'd heard 100 devotionals, spring brunches, ladies’ tea times and books about how to be a Proverbs 31 woman but never one about how to value Lady Wisdom. I was focused on becoming the Proverbs 31 woman instead of learning how to value her. Do I still want to be a woman 'clothed with strength and dignity?' Absolutely! Now, with the context in mind, I know that looks like making hard choices, disappointing people and shedding naïve understanding in order to seek the Lord and go deeper with Him. The way to become a godly woman is to fear the Lord and he will grant wisdom and discernment.

Heard some surface applications of Proverbs like the examples above? Leave a comment below!

And check out The Village Church's Bible study resources HERE!