Our church started a summer study of the book of Proverbs this week. It’s one of my favorite books of the Bible. I read it every day. This book is worth a lifetime of study and reading. It’s a lot like hard candy. Takes a while to digest. Many people have suggested reading one chapter a day. With 31 chapters, you can finish the book in one month. Billy Graham suggested reading five chapters of Psalms and one chapter of Proverbs daily. He said Psalms will help you prepare to relate with God. Proverbs will help you prepare to relate to man.

Three things I love about Proverbs:

1) Wisdom Literature

Proverbs is part of a genre in scripture we call Wisdom Literature. The books of the Bible in this category are Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. These books call us to righteousness, justice, godliness, and true worship of God, and give us tons of wise sayings to live by.

A proverb is defined as a general observation about how things are or how to live in God’s will. Wisdom literature and especially the book of Proverbs are full of wise, memorable sayings. They are worth memorizing and meditating on every day.

2) A Letter from Dad

Two words started jumping off the pages at me when reading Proverbs as an adult – “My son…” This book is a letter from a Dad to his sons. Knowing this makes it a very personal book. It can serve as an important tool in the toolbox for any parents seeking to raise wise and godly children.

3) Listening to the Wisest Wealthiest Man Who Ever Lived

What would you get if you crossed a Saudi Arabian prince, the President of the United States, Socrates, and Mickey Mouse? The wealthiest, most politically powerful, wisest, and most famous person in the world. That describes King Solomon. Proverbs and Ecclesiastes allow us to listen to this God-given wisdom as he seeks to guide his future generations and share lessons learned from a life building the greatest kingdom on earth in his time.

Unfortunately, Solomon didn’t always live wisely. He pursued pleasure, treasure, selfishness, and other things. His life serves as a parable as well as provides the wisdom of Proverbs. Get to know Solomon through 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes.

Follow along with Bridge Church’s trek through Proverbs this summer HERE.