James starts his little epistle by telling us that we should “count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations (testings) knowing . . . ” that through these we will become complete and mature. However, that presupposes we know how to deal with, and learn from, these tests. It also presupposes that we will grow and not be stumbled by them. James goes on to tell us that if we lack wisdom (and who among us doesn’t?), we have a source of wisdom that will not fail us. He points us to the Word of God which, like a mirror, will show us what to do and encourages us to not be forgetful, but obedient to what we learn from the Word.
Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians that the Lord Jesus Christ is made unto us wisdom. Thus we find the Source of wisdom. As we look at His life, we can learn from Him. He, with all His wisdom, has made Himself available to us.
After giving us the life of the Lord Himself to look at (as well as the historical and prophetic books from which to learn much of God’s wisdom), He knew we still needed a special book to help us. That special book is called the Proverbs. In short, pithy sayings and short essays on certain topics, the wisdom of God is put at the disposal of man. What a God we have! He who is infinitely wise brings His wisdom down to the level of man so we can grasp some of it in a form we can easily memorize and use in our day-to-day struggles.
I would like to suggest some books that will help you digest the contents of the book of Proverbs, meditating all the while on its precepts. One of the recently published helps is really a booklet, published by Spread the Word ministry and put together by Steve Hulshizer. With the aid of modern computer technology, he has listed alphabetically over 350 subjects mentioned in Proverbs, with over 3,000 references. These are keyed to Strong’s Concordance for help in the further study of these words. So if you want to know what Proverbs has to say about “justice,” you can see at a glance its nineteen references in Proverbs and realize there are four different Hebrew words used to translate the English word justice. You will have a good time discovering what God has to say in a very practical way about this subject.
If you would like a verse-by-verse commentary on this book, you will not go wrong picking up Mr. Ironside’s commentary on Proverbs. Unlike some of his books which are homiletic in nature, this provides a verse-by-verse look at the book. His style is clear and nontechnical, and will give you a good, basic understanding of the text. Loizeaux Brothers publishes Mr. Ironside’s works.
For the analytical mind, there is a brief but excellent book by Mr. Irving Jensen on Proverbs. This is not a commentary, but an analysis of the book. Charts abound. The structure of the book, the setting, and background of the book are discussed. A very helpful volume, it will introduce you to fruitful studies of the book itself. Moody Press is the publisher of this one.
Last, but not least, is one that has been around a long time. Mr. William Arnot, a Scot of the past century, wrote a book on the Proverbs called Laws from Heaven for Life On Earth. That seems to really put in condensed form the heart of the book. Kregel Publishers has reprinted it and called it “Studies in Proverbs,” thus catching the reality of the book’s contents. In short chapters, Mr. Arnot picks some of the Proverbs (131 of them, to be exact) and comments on them. These proverbs are not picked at random, but are the ones that contain the truths that pervade the entire book. His comments are rich, full, devotional, and practical. They will stir you to richer devotion to the Lord as well as practical living.
As you study this book and apply its precepts, may you discover the Lord Jesus Christ and His wisdom, and be empowered by His Spirit to live in His light.