All Articles For An Introduction to Proverbs

Rev. Hanko is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Lynden, Washington. Previous article in this series: February 15, 2009, p. 226. Wisdom as “She” That wisdom in Proverbs is identified with Christ is something not at all difficult to prove. One objection to that identification might be that wisdom is also repeatedly described as “she” or “her” in the book (Prov. 1:20, 21; Prov. 2:4; Prov. 3:15, 16, 17, 18; Prov. 4:6, 8, 9; Prov. 8:1, 2, 3;Prov. 9:1, 2, 3, 4, etc.), and is even referred to as a sister and a kinswoman (Prov. 7:4). There are several reasons for this, and...

Rev. Hanko is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Lynden, Washington. Previous article in this series: December 15, 2008, p. 127. Wisdom’s Doctrine The most important parts of the book of Proverbs are Wisdom’s three speeches, found in Prov. 1:20-33,Prov. 8:1-36, and Prov. 9:1-18. In those three speeches Wisdom identifies Himself as the Son of God and demands a hearing of all who come within the range of His voice. In those speeches is found the principal doctrinal content of Proverbs, the doctrine applied in all the wise sayings of the book. The doctrines taught in these discourses are especially two:...

Rev. Hanko is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Lynden, Washington. Previous article in this series: November 15, 2008, p. 90. Wisdom and Solomon Wisdom is the most important word in Proverbs and is used 119 times in the book, almost as many times as in the rest of the Old Testament. There are a number of synonyms used for wisdom as well, including discretion, prudence, subtlety, and understanding. All these words tell us something about wisdom as a necessary spiritual virtue. The outstanding thing in the book of Proverbs, however, is that wisdom appears in the book not...

Rev. Hanko is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Lynden, Washington.