People love to quote proverbs, which often express truth about life in an elegant, witty kernel. You'll find more humor in Proverbs than anywhere else in the Bible.
Yet Proverbs may well be the most abused book in the Bible. People often quote the proverbs as though they were absolute promises from God or rigid rules for living. In fact, few of the proverbs should be read that way. And some proverbs, read by themselves would give you a distorted point of view.
To understand Proverbs, you should not hunt through it for proverbs you like. You should study the whole book to get its overall point of view. This takes time, for Proverbs covers dozens of subject in subtle detail.
Each of the more than 500 proverbs is a tough nut you have to crack before you get the inner meat. Read Proverbs slowly, but not for too long at one sitting. |
