Solomon was king David's son. He became the king of Israel
when David died. When God asked Solomon, "What shall I give thee", Solomon
answered, "An understanding heart to judge (rule
fairly) thy people, that I may discern
(understand the difference) between good and bad." God was so pleased that
Solomon asked for something that would be good for God's people, instead of
asking for something for himself, that God made Solomon the wisest man to ever
live. Solomon built a house for the Lord in Jerusalem. There was peace on the
earth through the years that Solomon was king. God also gave Solomon riches and
honour. Solomon spoke 3,000 proverbs (wise, true
sayings) and wrote 1005 songs.
If you like The Book of Psalms, you’re sure to like
the book of Proverbs. As you may know, the Psalms were written by king David,
but did you know that the Proverbs were written by the wisest man to ever
live? King David’s son, named Solomon wrote the Proverbs. You can read all
about the life of Solomon in the first half of The First Book of Kings.
Let’s share a
little Daily Bread Stick, shall we? What is a proverb? In Latin, two words
are combined, the words pro or “for” and verba or “words”. In the Proverbs
of Solomon, many words are concentrated into few, and these easily
remembered phrases are called Proverbs.
The key element of
Proverbs is wisdom. Solomon, being the wisest man ever, extends his wisdom
(from God) to us in many short adages. You’ll want to read them slowly, and
pause between each line to let it sink in before you read the next one,
because in most of them, he switches from one subject to another with no
You may think of
Proverbs as God’s fortune cookies. As a matter of fact, you could write them
on little pieces of paper, fold them up and put them in a box, then select
one each morning to read and to try and apply to your life.
addition, there are 31 chapters in the Book of Proverbs, making it easy to
keep track of reading one chapter each day, along with five Psalms, and
cover both books each month. When you do something over and over again, it
becomes a habit, and the Psalms and Proverbs will become a part of you.
Wisdom is something that nobody can have enough of.
There are a vast
amount of topics that are taught in The Book of Proverbs and some are
repeated frequently with slightly different wording. Some people can go from
being completely lost, to understanding something perfectly with the change
of a single word. You’re gonna love the TRUTH in each and every one of the
You can think of
them as guidelines of living a godly life in an ungodly world. Ever wonder
how to relate better with God, your parents, your children, your friends,
neighbors, teachers, co-workers, government? Solomon has answers for you,
some in parables, some in short stories, but most in single lines of common
sense that were meant to help you through . . . life!