As he (a man) thinks in his heart, so is he. Proverbs 23:7 A. P. Gibbs used to say, “You are not what you think you are, but what you think–you are.” This means that the mind is the spring from which behavior flows. Control the source and you control the stream that flows from […]
Solomon, the wisest human king, wrote most of the book of Proverbs. To whom was this book given? First to his son, and then to any who would read it and apply its truths. God’s purpose for man is first mentioned in Genesis 1:26, “And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after […]
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Prov. 1:7) The royal preacher begins his sermon at the beginning. He intends to discourse largely on knowledge and wisdom in all their aspects, and he lays his foundation deep in “the fear of the Lord.” This brief announcement […]
Why are young people drawn to the book of the Proverbs? We thought they didn’t want to be lectured, to be preached at. Still, Proverbs is a young man’s favorite. Why? Because it is so genuine, so honest, so straightforward, so up front. Here we learn the way life is. The very tone of the […]
Solomon was a great man. He inherited the throne of his father David, king of Israel. The Lord promised to answer his prayer, and was pleased when Solomon asked for wisdom. God gave him a wise and understanding heart, to be the wisest man in all history (1 Ki. 3:12; 4:30-31). In Solomon’s fourth year, […]
A proverb is a truth encapsulated in a succinct way. As such it is portable. You may not readily remember great passages of Scripture, but you can always pack a few proverbs in your emergency kit to be used at a moment’s notice. Almost all of the proverbs that are quoted in the New Testament […]
The book of Proverbs has a deep historical interest, as well as a moral, social, industrial, and pious one. Solomon doubtless did not compose all the proverbs contained in it. Many of them he selected, digested, and arranged. But the mass of the book passed through his hands, or at least his mind; therefore it […]
Broadly speaking, the wisdom of the Hebrews covers the whole domain of what we should call science and philosophy. It is the consistent effort of the human mind to know, to understand, and to explain all that exists. It is, to use the modern phrase, the search for truth. The “wise men” were not, like […]
It is not an easy thing to write a final testimonial to one’s own father. He would be embarrassed to hear himself praised when he lived his whole Christian life praising the Lord and encouraging others to do so. But it is a good thing, a right thing, I believe, to give “honor to whom […]