Q8. Proverbs

[Pastor Ralph]

Q8. How have the writings attributed to Solomon affected your understanding, perspective, and way of life? In what ways? Which proverbs have you committed to memory? Which of these is most dear to you?

[Nicolaas A.P. Mostert]

Q8.

How have the writings attributed to Solomon affected your understanding, perspective, and way of life?

That GODLY wisdom open up the door to success. No matter what the profession maybe, it is applicable. In case of Solomon who interact with people on daily bases, who has to make important decisions has to know how to use his words.

In what ways?

Most of the writings are based on daily happenings that make it worth to apply or if not attend to it.

Which proverbs have you committed to memory?

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:5--6)

Which of these is most dear to you?

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:5--6)

[Clelie]

King Solomon has been gifted in a special way to understand how to walk in the ways  of God who put him as king over Israel.So all his teachings which he has passed from generations to generations  are to enlighten us on  his understanding of life, purposes, meaningful living and obedience to wisdom which he was  richly endowed with. 

when I was in the world, I walked according to the wisdom of the world, but when I came to Christ I left  the world wisdom to embrace the wisdom of heaven. From there I left the ways of worldly  life and adopt the  ways of heaven.

Proverbs I’ve committed to memory:Prov  3: 5-8. 9:10. 11:25 19:17.  Proverb 3: 5-8 is the most used and quoted.. 

[Krissi]

I tend to skip over the proverbs which is one of the reasons why corrective learning about Solomon is important.

The proverbs seem a bit like folk wisdom -- it is difficult to know what to do with them. Often, a proverb stands alone as an isolated sentence without context or development. In a way, the proverbs contradict how we've been taught to think in the West, that we are to dig, dig, dig downward to get to the pithy core of a statement, and then rebuild it in its historical and cultural context. Down than up. But a proverb seems to be the core meaning of a wise statement, (as far down as one can go) without the secondary development (the upward rebuilding). So, I'm not sure what to do with a proverb. Take it as it appears?  If so, how?

"Trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding." Hah!  That's a proverb I often tell myself. It tells me to stop the process of understanding and just take God's teachings "as is", but ... in practice, what does this mean? God doesn't want us to turn off our minds but rather He is telling us to not lean on our minds, to not overemphasize thinking and reasoning. I take this to mean that when the limit of thinking has been reached, I am to stop scrubbing at the problem and just trust God to give understanding. His understanding. 

Easier said than done. 

So much in the Bible is difficult to understand. I reach my limit of understand both often and early and have to rely on God to help me stop worrying about being so dumb and ignorant. Important concepts such as the resurrection or the humanity of God in Jesus ... floor me. I simply don't understand them deeply enough so that this knowledge can be "applied." 

--

i wonder if God looks at us as I look at my dog. Right now, my dog is barking at something he sees outside the window. Probably another dog. I tried to reason with him, "What does this do for you ..." but he didn't listen. So, I said, "Good Dog No Bark." He understood this but the temptation to bark was too overwhelming so he didn't care.  Solomon tries to tell us what to do/not do by reducing His directives down to pithy statements, "Bad Woman Think Too Much." I understand this, and truly care, but, well, am still barking ...

 

[hanks]

Q8. 
How have the writings attributed to Solomon affected your understanding, perspective, and way of life? In what ways? Which proverbs have you committed to memory? Which of these is most dear to you? 
As we read and study his writings, the Holy Spirit works actively in us giving us the proper understanding/discernment needed to make the right decisions using the knowledge we have built up in life. How to handle whatever situation we might find ourselves in. Also keeping us on the straight and narrow as we go through life serving our Lord. The Proverbs I have committed to memory are:
Prov 1:7: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.  
Prov 3:5-6: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. 
Prov 15:1: A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. 
They all are most dear to me but 3:5-6 has always been one of my favourite verses in the Bible. It has been an anchor in my life. It’s all about our total dedication to our Heavenly Father. We trust Him with our whole heart and acknowledge Him in all our ways, and He promises to make our paths straight. 
God willing, I will be 86 next month, and He has always been there for both my wife and me, (in March we celebrated our 62nd wedding anniversary) without His loving care and grace and more grace, we would never have made it. All glory and praise to Him!