The Wiersbe Bible Study Series: Proverbs: God's Guidebook to Wise Living
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About this ebook
Life is about choices. How should we lead our families? How should we manage our finances? How should we handle relationships? God's Word provides the answers. The book of Proverbs contains the greatest collection of wisdom ever recorded, written by one of the wisest men who ever lived. This study takes a fresh look at Proverbs and offers practical insights for making sound choices in every area of life.
The Wiersbe Bible Study Series explores timeless wisdom found in God's Word. Based on Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe's popular "BE" series, each study provides topical, relevant insights from selected books of the Bible. Designed for small groups, this ten-week study features excerpted commentary from Be Skillful, engaging questions, and practical applications, all designed to help you connect God's Word with your life.
Warren W. Wiersbe
Warren W. Wiersbe, former pastor of the Moody Church and general director of Back to the Bible, has traveled widely as a Bible teacher and conference speaker. Because of his encouragement to those in ministry, Dr. Wiersbe is often referred to as "the pastor’s pastor." He has ministered in churches and conferences throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Central and South America, and Europe. Dr. Wiersbe has written over 150 books, including the popular BE series of commentaries on every book of the Bible, which has sold more than four million copies. At the 2002 Christian Booksellers Convention, he was awarded the Gold Medallion Lifetime Achievement Award by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. Dr. Wiersbe and his wife, Betty, live in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Read more from Warren W. Wiersbe
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Book preview
The Wiersbe Bible Study Series - Warren W. Wiersbe
THE WIERSBE BIBLE STUDY SERIES: PROVERBS
Published by David C. Cook
4050 Lee Vance View
Colorado Springs, CO 80918 U.S.A.
David C. Cook Distribution Canada
55 Woodslee Avenue, Paris, Ontario, Canada N3L 3E5
David C. Cook U.K., Kingsway Communications
Eastbourne, East Sussex BN23 6NT, England
David C. Cook and the graphic circle C logo
are registered trademarks of Cook Communications Ministries.
All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes,
no part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form
without written permission from the publisher.
All Scripture quotations in this study are taken from the New International
Version of the Bible®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International
Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
In the Be Skillful excerpts, all Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are
taken from the King James Version of the Bible. (Public Domain.) Scripture
quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright
© 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved;
and NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © Copyright
1960, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
All excerpts taken from Be Skillful, second edition, published by David C.
Cook in 2009 © 1995 Warren W. Wiersbe, ISBN 978-1-4347-6733-2
ISBN 978-1-4347-6511-6
eISBN 978-0-7814-0378-8
© 2010 Warren W. Wiersbe
The Team: Steve Parolini, Karen Lee-Thorp, Amy Kiechlin,
Sarah Schultz, Jack Campbell, and Karen Athen
Series Cover Design: John Hamilton Design
Cover Photo: Veer Inc.
First Edition 2010
Contents
M
Introduction to Proverbs
How to Use This Study
Lesson 1
Listen Carefully (Proverbs 1:7–33; 8—9)
Lesson 2
Wisdom and Life (Proverbs 2—4)
Lesson 3
Folly and Death (Proverbs 5—7)
Lesson 4
People, Wise and Otherwise (Key Verses from Proverbs)
Lesson 5
Rich Man, Poor Man (Key Verses from Proverbs)
Lesson 6
Family, Friends, and Neighbors (Key Verses from Proverbs)
Lesson 7
Speaking of Life and Death (Key Verses from Proverbs)
Lesson 8
God’s Guidance (Key Verses from Proverbs)
Lesson 9
Familiar Sins (Key Verses from Proverbs)
Lesson 10
Our God (Key Verses from Proverbs)
Bonus Lesson
Summary and Review
Introduction to Proverbs
One Word: Wisdom
What is the major theme of the book of Proverbs? One word answers the question: wisdom. In Proverbs, the words wise and wisdom are used at least 125 times, because the aim of the book is to help us acquire and apply God’s wisdom to the decisions and activities of daily life.
The book of Proverbs belongs to what scholars call the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament, which also includes Job and Ecclesiastes. The writers of these books wrestled with some of the most difficult questions of life as they sought to understand life’s problems from God’s point of view.
Wisdom was an important commodity in the ancient Near East; every ruler had his council of wise men
whom he consulted when making important decisions. We also need wisdom in order to smartly use our knowledge as well as to listen to others and, of course, to God.
What Wisdom Does
Biblical wisdom begins with a right relationship with the Lord. The wise person believes that there is a God, that He is the Creator and Ruler of all things, and that He has put within His creation a divine order that, if obeyed, leads ultimately to success.
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for wise (hakam) is used to describe people skillful in working with their hands, such as the artisans who helped build the tabernacle. Wisdom isn’t something theoretical; it’s something very practical that affects every area of life. It gives order and purpose to life, it gives discernment in making decisions, and it provides a sense of fulfillment in life to the glory of God. Wisdom keeps us in harmony with the principles and purposes that the Lord has built into His world so that as we obey God, everything works for us and not against us.
The Author
In Proverbs 1:1; 10:1; and 25:1, we’re told that King Solomon is the author of the proverbs in this book. God gave Solomon great wisdom (1 Kings 3:5–15) so that people came from the ends of the earth to listen to him and returned home amazed (1 Kings 4:29–34; Matt. 12:42). He spoke three thousand proverbs, most of which are not included in this book. The Holy Spirit selected only those proverbs that the people of God should understand and obey in every age.
A Note about How This Study Is Arranged
The first nine chapters of Proverbs form a unit in which the emphasis is on wisdom
and folly,
personified as two women. Chapters 10—15 form the next unit and present a series of contrasts between the life of wisdom and the life of folly. The closing chapters of the book (16—31) contain a variety of proverbs that gives us counsel about many important areas of life.
In the first three lessons of this study, we’ll look at specific sections of Proverbs from the first nine chapters of the book—largely treating the passages in order. However, in the seven lessons that follow, we’ll examine a variety of passages in Proverbs arranged by topic.
It will be helpful for you to read through the entire book of Proverbs before beginning this study.
—Warren W. Wiersbe
How to Use This Study
This study is designed for both individual and small-group use. We’ve divided it into eleven lessons—each references one or more chapters in Warren W. Wiersbe’s commentary Be Skillful (second edition, David C. Cook, 2009). While reading Be Skillful is not a prerequisite for going through this study, the additional insights and background Wiersbe offers can greatly enhance your study experience.
The Getting Started questions at the beginning of each lesson offer you an opportunity to record your first thoughts and reactions to the study text. This is an important step in the study process as those first impressions
often include clues about what it is your heart is longing to discover.
The bulk of the study is found in the Going Deeper questions. These dive into the Bible text and, along with helpful excerpts from Wiersbe’s commentary, help you examine not only the original context and meaning of the verses but also modern application.
Looking Inward narrows the focus down to your personal story. These intimate questions can be a bit uncomfortable at times, but don’t shy away from honesty here. This is where you are asked to stand before the mirror of God’s Word and look closely at what you see. It’s the place to take a good look at yourself in light of the lesson and search for ways in which you can grow in faith.
Going Forward is the place where you can commit to paper those things you want or need to do in order to better live out the discoveries you made in the Looking Inward