Proverbs 16-31

PROVERBS 16-31

As most of the Proverbs in 16-31 are basically “1 liner” tidbits of wisdom, we could take forever going through each one and trying to interpret and observe. For this week’s notes I just wanted to ask a macro level question (big picture gospel), dig a little at the micro level (ch. 20:27), give some additional general info, and have us spend some time letting the wisdom of the proverbs speak to us.

1. Macro: Since the Proverbs “proper” that we encounter in 16-31 are intended to be extremely and immediately practical, one of the challenges that we run into is seeing them in relation to the greater salvation narrative of scripture and history. What do these Proverbs have to do with Theology, who God is, and how He relates to us? Spend some time thinking on your own to see what you come up with. I posted a quote from the ESV Study Bible introduction to Proverbs on my blog which I thought had some good insight on this. http://ayoungvoice.blogspot.com/2010/09/proverbs-and-big-picture.html

2. Micro: Many of the Proverbs are somewhat unique in scripture in that they have the ability to stand apart from context. A single verse is worth singling out, pondering, and applying on its own. The homework for this week will be to find two proverbs that speak to you and come prepared to share (see Application note 3 below).

I spent some time on Proverbs 20:27 this week and here are some of my observations and correlations. I’ll save the interpretation and application for our discussion on Wed, but I just wanted to give an example on the kinds of things you could look for in a particular proverb.

a. “The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all his innermost parts.”

b. The word used for spirit here is the Hebrew word ‘nsmh’ (neshamah) meaning “breath” or “spirit”.

c. This particular word for “spirit” is somewhat rare; the more commonly used word is ‘rwh’ (ruah). The word used in this verse is the same word used in Genesis 2:7

d. The Greek word for spirit/breath which is used in the New Testament is ‘pneuma’. I thought an interesting correlation was 1 Cor 2:11.

e. The word for lamp used is ‘nr’ (ner) – Correlates to Exodus 27:20

3. Application – let the wisdom of the proverbs speak to you. There is something in the proverbs for anyone at any place in life. Homework: find 2 proverbs that speak to you, spend some time pondering them, observe, interpret, correlate (if possible) and apply. Share the proverbs and your thoughts on them with your wife. Be prepared to share with the group on Wednesday.