After Solomon rose to the throne, the LORD appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Ask! What shall I give you?’ Solomon responded, ‘…give to your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil’ (1 Kings 3:5, 9). It took a measure of wisdom to ask this…
Tag: Proverbs
Wisdom Regarding Debt
William J. Stewart | Lessons from the Book of Proverbs In our last article, we considered a few proverbs on financial matters, but it makes sense to devote a single article to the topic of debt. The fact is we have a debt problem in our nation. Reports indicate the average Canadian has $27,000+ in consumer…
Dollars & Sense
William J. Stewart | Lessons from the Book of Proverbs There is no shortage of confusion on what the Bible says about wealth. There are some who affirm that God’s plan for His people is to shower financial wealth upon them, while others speak of material prosperity as though it were a plague to be…
Thoughts on Authority
William J. Stewart | Lessons from the Book of Proverbs From the day we are born, we are subject to a host of authorities. Whether it parental, educational, community, occupational, spiritual—we are expected to give honour and obedience to those who are set over us. All of these will help us to learn respect for…
The Foolish
William J. Stewart | Lessons from the Book of Proverbs For a book focused on wisdom, the Proverbs looks at foolishness a lot. In fact, the word “fool” or some derivative of it appears over 80 times in the Proverbs. Have you ever considered why he discusses foolishness so much? It is likely no more…
The Fear of God
William J. Stewart | Lessons from the Book of Proverbs We will be changing our approach to the book this week. The rest of the book, except chapter 31, lends itself more to a topical than a textual study. Many of the topics we’ll look at have already been introduced in the first 9 chapters,…
Two Invitations – Wisdom & Folly
William J. Stewart | Lessons from the book of Proverbs Proverbs 9:1-18 Solomon has been contrasting wisdom and folly in the first several chapters of Proverbs. It culminates in our present text. Both wisdom and folly are personified in the text, and both make an appeal for the young man to follow after her.
Wisdom Explained
William J. Stewart | Lessons from the Book of Proverbs Proverbs 8:12-36 The latter portion of Proverbs 8 extols the value of wisdom. Solomon tells us of those who are governed by it, of the LORD’s use of it, and then makes a plea to his son (and us) that we also subscribe to wisdom’s…
Wisdom Calls Out
William J. Stewart | Lessons from the Book of Proverbs Proverbs 8:1-11 Several times in the first 7 chapters of the book, Solomon has warned about the immoral woman. Her way is the way of death. In chapter 8, Solomon points his son again to the “woman” he needs in his life; he personifies wisdom….
The Folly of Adultery, 2
William J. Stewart | Lessons from the Book of Proverbs Last week, we said that there are some things so vitally important that they are worth repeating. The wise king has now warned his son about sexual immorality in 2:16-19; 5:3-23; & 6:24-35. He is not done. Again in chapter 7, Solomon will extol the…