SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). Name (chapter 1 verse 1).
(2). Authors (chapter 1 verse 1).
(3). Content:
(3a). Subjects & Statements.
(3b). People & Problems.
(3c). Counselling and Correction.
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• Here are some popular English proverbs.
• Can you complete them?
• ‘Actions speak louder… than words.’
• ‘Beggars can’t be…choosers.’
• ‘Don’t judge a book…by its cover.’
• ‘All good things must…come to an end.’
• ‘A watched pot…never boils.’
• ‘Beauty is in the eye…of the beholder.’
• ‘Absence makes the…heart grow fonder.’
• ‘Good things come…to those who wait.’
• ‘Birds of a feather…flock together.’
TRANSITION: Proverbs are also known as sayings.
• Proverbs give some form of life advice.
• Every language and culture have them,
• And many proverbs exist in more than one language.
• The Bible book called, ‘Proverbs,’
• Is a collection of pithy, brief sayings, or statements of truth.
Note:
• They are very different from the Psalms,
• The book of the Bible that precedes them.
• Note the contrast.
• Contrast #1:
• In the Psalms:
• We see fellowship with God on the upward (vertical) direction.
• In the Proverbs:
• We see fellowship with other people on an across ward (horizontal) direction.
• Contrast #2:
• In the Psalms we learn how to get along with God.
• In the Proverbs we learn how to get along with the other people.
• Contrast #3:
• In the Psalms we enrich our devotional life.
• In the Proverbs we enrich our practical life.
• Contrast #4:
• In the Psalms we find excellent preparation for worship on Sundays.
• In the Proverbs we find excellent preparation for work during the week.
• Contrast #5:
• In the Psalms the theme is worship.
• In the Proverbs the theme is wisdom.
Note:
• Proverbs is not about life in church,
• This is not a religious book,
• There are no priests in this book and no prophets.
• There are some kings but that’s all.
• We would say this book is about earthly life or day to day living!
• It is about life in the street, in the office, in the shop, or life at home.
• There are nine hundred proverbs in this book,
• They cover the whole of life!
• This book is about earthly life or day to day living!
• It is about life in the street, in the office, in the shop, or life at home.
• And it’s really saying godliness is worked out in real life,
• It’s not just something you do on Sundays in church.
• It’s how you live through the week in every other situation.
One Bible commentator called this book, ‘The Good Life.’
• If you talk about the ‘the good life’ what comes to mind.
• Most people will probably answer in material terms,
• The good life is having more than enough of things,
• And having the best quality or most expensive things.
• In contrast the Bible talks about it in moral terms not material terms,
• In the Bible foolishness is not a mental thing, it’s a moral thing,
• And wisdom is not mental, it’s moral.
• So, a person is not wise because of their education,
• They are wise because of the life choices they make!
Ill:
• Jesus and the wise and foolish builders.
• (Mathew chapter 7 verses 24–27)
• DVD CLIP: From The Miracle Maker: Youtube: https://youtu.be/ii8D45VJl_w
• TRANSITION:
• In the Bible foolishness is not a mental thing, it’s a moral thing,
• And wisdom is not mental, it’s moral.
• The book of Proverbs talks about,
• How to make the most of life and also about how to waste it!
• A wise man uses it well and a foolish man does not.
Ill:
• I love this book, ‘The One Yearbook of Psalms’ - 365 inspirational readings.
• By William J. Peterson & Randy Petersen.
• And try to use it most days.
• I guess to be balanced I ought to read a chapter of Proverbs each day,
• The book is 31 chapters long, and so you can have a chapter a day to gain wisdom!
(1). Name (chapter 1 verse 1).
“The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel.”
Ill:
• Sometimes we change or shorten names of books.
• e.g., Classis book, ‘Pilgrims Progress’ by John Bunyan.
• It’s full title: ‘The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come.’
• e.g., Agatha Christie novels,
• English publication, ‘After the Funeral’ USA edition, ‘Funerals are Fatal.’
• English publication, ‘The Thirteen Problems’ USA edition, ‘The Tuesday Club Murders’
• TRANSITION: This book has three titles, given by three different audiences.
• The Hebrew title, The Jewish Rabbi’s title & The Latin title.
• So, you can call it by whatever name you prefer!
• Name #1: The Hebrew title is, ‘Proverbs of Solomon,’ (Mishle Shelomoh)
• As found in chapter 1 verse 1.
Ill:
• The Hebrew Bible books (our Old Testament),
• Was originally known by the few words of each scroll,
• e.g., you unrolled the scroll and called it by the first few words you read,
• i.e., Genesis, “In the beginning” or in the Hebrew "Berishit" – that was its name!
• When the Septuagint was created.
• The Septuagint Bible arose in the 3rd century B.C.,
• Hebrew was a dead language (similar to what Latin to us), it was archaic,
• It was used by religious leaders and very few other people.
• Greek and Aramaic were the most widely spoken languages at the time of Jesus.
• Greek was the common language and the language of literature.
• So, the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament, was translated into Greek.
• And it was called The Septuagint (or The Translation of the Seventy).
• The Septuagint gave the Old Testament books new names,
• The first book of the Bible was called, ‘Genesis.’ meaning ‘origins.’
• Name #2: The Rabbi’s in their writings refer to it as,
• ‘The Book of Wisdom’ (Sepher Hokhmah).
• Because Proverbs is a collection of wise sayings,
• There are five books in the Old Testament (& Protestant Bibles),
• That are called wisdom literature.
• (They Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes & Song of Songs).
• Name #3: The Latin translation supplied the name, ‘The Book of Proverbs’,
• (Liber Proverbiorum).
• Which was shortened to, ‘Proverbs’.
• Remember the Latin Bible was the first Bible to arrive in Great Britain,
• And it was the only Bible (translation) available for a thousand years!
• Until John Wycliffe and others came along and translated it at great cost into English!
Note: this is the important bit!
• These proverbs are principles, they are not prophecies or promises!
• e.g., Proverbs chapter 22 verse 6.
“Train up a child in the way he should go.
even when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
• This is not a promise but a principle.
• Not every child will walk the straight & narrow,
• But in the majority of cases this principle will come true.
(2). Authors (chapter 1 verse 1).
“The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel.”
Verse 1 gives the impression that Solomon wrote the lot, but that would be wrong!
• Solomon may have written the bulk of this book,
• But other authors contributed to it as well.
• e.g., chapter 30 was written Agur the son of Jakeh.
• Should have the heading, ‘Sayings of Agur,’ above chapter number,
• e.g., chapter 31 was written by King Lemuel.
• Should have the heading, ‘Sayings of King Lemuel,’ above chapter number,
Note:
• We know from 1 Kings chapter 4 verses 29, 31-32,
• That Solomon wrote over 3,000 proverbs,
• Today in everyday language we still quote them.
Ill:
• At the start of my sermon, you guessed the ending to those popular English proverbs.
• Can you do the same again with a few Biblical ones from Solomon?
• ‘Spare the rod and spoil…the child.’
• ‘Pride goes… before a fall.’
• ‘Hope deferred makes…the heart sick.’
• ‘Iron sharpens…iron.’
• ‘A gentle answer…turns away wrath,
• ‘Stolen food is…sweet.’
• ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart…And do not lean on your own understanding.
• TRANSITION:
• So, Solomon wrote over 3,000 proverbs,
• But most of these have been erased by time.
• Except for those saved in the book of Proverbs.
• Nearly three hundred years after Solomon had died,
• King Hezekiah, Judah’s greatest reformer.
• Found more of Solomon’s sayings and added them to this collection of wisdom.
• See chapter 25 verse 1, which again bears a heading,
• “These are more proverbs of Solomon, compiled by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah:”
(3). Content
Ill:
• Saying,
• “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.”
• The proverbs are this book also pack a punch,
• Even though many of them are only two lines long.
• Now to grasp this comprehensive book,
• Let’s look at the book through three lenses,
(a). SUBJECTS & STATEMENTS.
Note:
• These Proverbs are bite-sized morsels of truth,
• That normally comes to us in in one of three kinds of couplets.
• #1: Some are contrastive,
• When reading look out for that small word, ‘but’ e.g., chapter 12 verse 22 & 23.
“The Lord detests lying lips,
BUT he delights in people who are trustworthy.”
“The prudent keep their knowledge to themselves,
BUT a fool’s heart blurts out folly.”
• #2: Some are completive,
• Look out for the words ‘and’ or ‘so’ e.g., chapter 16 verse 3 & 29.
“Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
AND he will establish your plans.”
“A violent person entices their neighbour
AND leads them down a path that is not good.”
• #3: Some are comparative,
• Look out for the words ‘better/than’ or ‘like/so’.
• e.g., chapter 15 verse 16-17 & chapter 25 verse 25.
“BETTER a little with the fear of the Lord
than great wealth with turmoil.
” BETTER a small serving of vegetables with love
than a fattened calf with hatred.”
“LIKE cold water to a weary soul
is good news from a distant land.”
• As you read the book of Proverbs,
• The subject matter encompasses the full range of life.
Quote Eugene Paterson.
• “Honouring our parents and raising children,
• Handling our money and conducting our sex lives,
• Going to work and exercising leadership,
• Using words well and treating friends kindly,
• Eating and drinking healthily,
• Cultivating emotions within ourselves and attitudes towards others that make for peace.
• Threaded through all these items is the insistence that the way we think of and respond to God is the most practical thing we do”.
(b). People & Problems.
Ill:
• If you think your family has problems,
• Consider the marriage mayhem created.
• When 76-year-old Bill Baker of London wed Edna Harvey.
• She happened to be his granddaughter’s husband’s mother.
• That’s where the confusion began, according to Baker’s granddaughter, Lynn.
• “My mother-in-law is now my step-grandmother.
• My grandfather is now my stepfather-in-law.
• My mom is my sister-in-law, and my brother is my nephew.
• But even crazier is that I’m now married to my uncle & my own children are my cousins.”
• TRANSITION: Wherever you have people you have problems!
• All of us, with no exceptions have problems, troubles, challenges, difficulties,
• That comes from being human in a ‘fallen’ world!
Ill:
• Whenever we experience a problem in life,
• We tend to react in a number of ways to react.
• We can try to avoid them.
• We can distract ourselves from them.
• We can hopelessly surrender to them.
• Or we can work through them to a healthy solution.
• The practical wisdom from the book of Proverbs,
• Helps work through them to a healthy solution.
When you read through the book of problems, prepare to meet a range of characters,
Ill:
• I mentioned the book, Pilgrim’s Progress earlier.
• Written in 1678 and translated into more than 200 languages,
• It has never been out of print! A must read for every Christian!
• The book is an allegory,
• Each character has a descriptive name.
• e.g., Christian
• e.g., Pliable
• e.g., Mr. Worldly Wiseman
• e.g., Watchful
• e.g., Giant Despair
• e.g., Faithful
• e.g., Mr. Great-Heart
• TRANSITION: maybe Bunyan got the idea from Solomon,
• Because he does something very similar in this book of Proverbs.
• We will meet again and again a number of recurring characters.
• e.g., The simple, e.g., the wise, e.g., the proud, e.g., the humble,
• e.g., The violent, e.g., the angry, e.g., the rich, e.g., the poor.
• e.g., The oppressor, e.g., the oppressed,
• Also, other reoccurring personalities are,
• Sluggards, liars, slanderers and these are compared and contrasted with,
• The diligent, the truthful, the peacemakers.
One of the most stand out contrasts is between the adulterous woman and Lady Wisdom.
• Wisdom is humanized as a woman in the book of Proverbs.
• The flesh-and-blood equivalent of Wisdom is the excellent wife of chapter 31.
(c). Counselling and Correction.
Ill:
• English word correction means:
• ‘a change made to something in order to correct or improve it, ‘
• Let me make a correction to last week’s sermon!
• Last week I said there were 31 Kings in Joshua chapter 12,
• 15 southern kings and fifteen northern kings.
• And some of you asked me afterwards,
• That makes thirty so who was the missing king.
• The answer is, I misread my notes, which actually read,
• Sixteen northern kings & fifteen southern kings.
• So, technically, although I was wrong, I was also right (LOL!)
• TRANSITION: How does Solomon in this book impart his wisdom?
• Answer: he does it differently in different sections of his book.
• We are in section 1, and so I will only mention how he does its ion this section.
• Section one of this book is chapters 1-9.
• In this section Solomon uses pictures of wisdom contrasted with folly, foolishness.
• So, he actually uses longer dialogues to make his point.
Note:
• In the seven verses we read from chapter 1,
• Solomon sets out five purposes for his proverbs.
• Purpose #1:
• Verse 2a: They are for gaining wisdom and instruction.
• We get godly wisdom for our lives.
• Quote TLB: “He wrote them to teach his people how to live....”
• Purpose #2:
• Verse 2b: They are for awareness - “…for understanding words of insight.”
• The idea is you can, read between the lines,
• You see stuff other people can never see.
• Purpose #3:
• Verse 3: They are for right living.
• “For receiving instruction in prudent behaviour, doing what is right and just and fair.”
• Quote: GNB: “They can teach you how to live intelligently & how to be honest, just, & fair.”
• Purpose #4:
• Verse 4: They are for establishing discretion and purpose in life.
• Quote: C.H. Toy defines discretion as, “The power of forming plans.”
“For giving prudence to those who are simple,
knowledge and discretion to the young”
• Purpose #5:
• Verse 5: They are for cultivating keenness of mind.
• The wise get wiser,
• And we get direction from God, something you can’t get from a good schooling.
“let the wise listen and add to their learning,
and let the discerning get guidance—”
Remember this:
• Knowledge is the act of KNOWING,
• And Wisdom is the act of DOING.
• Using one's wisdom must rely on one's knowledge.
• They are inseparable.
• Like the proverb says, 'two peas in a pod' kind of inseparable.
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=jX366GUc6Cqy4zJyHdiU2e6IpffXqXKC
SERMON VIDEO:
https://youtu.be/wOscd-LWlaA
