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Preaching Proverbs
In the presence of God and of Christ
Jesus, who will judge the living and the
dead, and in view of his appearing and
his kingdom, I give you this charge:
Preach the Word; be prepared in
season and out of season; correct,
rebuke, and encourage—with great
patience and careful instruction.
The Genre of Proverbs:
Sub-genre of larger genre called
“Wisdom Literature”
“For the precept is a lamp and the teaching a light” Prov. 6.23a.
Wisdom is found in every book of the
Bible, but there is a specific genre called
Wisdom Literature.
This includes Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, Job
and the Song of Songs/Solomon.
The goal is to provide the reader/listener
the ability to make godly choices.
Fee & Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, P. 206.
Eugene Rice
“Wisdom was an ideal of twenty-two
centuries. It described the highest
knowledge men were capable of and
the most desirable patterns of human
behavior. It mirrored man’s
conception of himself, of the world,
and of God.”
Wisdom Literature
“For the precept is a lamp and the teaching a light” Prov. 6.23a.
There are two main types of wisdom:
stable (or conservative) and subversive (or
radical).
Proverbs belong to the stable class. They
uphold order and teach how to get along in
this world (under the fear of God) with
teaching often phrased as observations in
the third person.
Wisdom Forms
Proverb
 Admonition (command or prohibition)
 Numerical Saying
 Rhetorical Question
 Parental Exhortation

Wisdom Forms (continued)
Controversy Speech or Disputation
 Example Story
 Confession or Reflection
 Riddle
 Allegory
 Didactic Narrative

Garret, Duane The New American Commentary: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes & Song of Songs
(Nashville, Broadman Press, 1993) 29-32.
Didactic Wisdom –
Proverbs
The plans of the righteous are just,
but the advice of the wicked is deceitful. Prov. 12.5
Proverbs give guidance to the challenges
we face:
•How to get along with people.
•How to make the right choices in personal
and business affairs.
•How to win God’s favor and avoid disaster
•Proverbs concern all areas of life no
matter how great or small.
Fox, Michael V., Proverbs 1-9 The Anchor Bible (New York, Doubleday, 2000) 7.
“Proverbs are high points of human
insight. To use a literary term, a
proverb is a moment of epiphany
(insight, revelation).”
Ryken, Leland How to Read the Bible as Literature (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1984), 124.
Proverbs are a universal literary form:
Chinese: Talk does not cook rice.
Sumerian: A donkey eats its own bedding.
Spanish: He who knows little soon repeats it.
French: All are not hunters who blow the
horn.
English: Call a man a thief and he will steal.
Nigerian: A single partridge flying through the
bush leaves no path.
Modern American: “Time is money.” “No pain,
no gain.” “Different strokes for different
folks.”
Proverbs Quiz
(identify the reference)
•Lazy people are soon poor; hard
workers get rich.
•Proverbs 10:4.
•The lover of money will not be
satisfied with money; nor the
lover of wealth, with gain.
•Eccles. 5:10.
•“Physician, heal yourself!”
•Luke 4:23.
Proverbs are a universal literary form:
What makes Proverbs used so
universally?
Literary/Rhetorical Characteristics:

Short.


Therefore, the rhetorical effect is . . .
Poetry.
Poetic Devices
 Repetition
 Alliteration
 Assonance
 Simile
 Metaphor
 Rhyme
 Compare and contrast
Garret, Duane The New American Commentary: Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes & Song of Songs (Nashville, Broadman Press, 1993) 38.
Literary/rhetorical Characteristics:

Short.


Poetry.


Therefore, the rhetorical effect is . . .
Therefore, the rhetorical effect is . . .
Specific yet general. They are
miniature “case studies.”

Therefore, the rhetorical effect is . . .
“The essence of a proverbial saying is that
it is based on observations of how things
are in the world. It is a flash of insight into
the repeatable situations of life on the
world, and its aphoristic form not only
represents insight but compels it . . . .
Naturally, in the context of firm belief in
God, the proverb comes to express insight
into the way things are, or should be, in
the world ordered by God and a challenge
to behavior that God will reward.”
Norman Perrin, The New Testament: An Introduction, 296.
Train children in the right way, and when
old, they will not stray. Prov. 22.6 (NRS)
Theology of Proverbs
1.What is the main theme of Proverbs that
separates it from other ancient wisdom
literature?
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
Wisdom (Prov. 1.7).
“Reverence for God determines progress in
wisdom, and this reverence includes the
moral dimensions of obedience and the
spiritual dimensions of worship.”
Murphy, R, “Religious Dimensions of Israelite Wisdom,” Ancient Israelite Wisdom
(Philadelphia, Fortress, 1987), 452-456.
Theology of Proverbs
2.How do Proverbs relate to the rest of the
Old Testament?
OT brings people together with God (now and
forever). Covenant Theology
Proverbs instruct how to live daily in this
covenant.
Through these proverbs, people will receive
instruction in discipline, good conduct, and
doing what is right, just, and fair. Prov. 1.3
(NLT)
Theology of Proverbs
3.Do Proverbs teach a theology that the
rich are favored by God and that the
poor are sinners who are under His
punishment?
Those who fear God and live with
diligence and integrity will have lives
that are prosperous and peaceful, but
those who don’t won’t.
(Garret, paraphrase, p. 56.)
Theology of Proverbs
4. What is the message of Proverbs
concerning education and learning?
My child, if you accept my words and treasure
up my commandments within you, making
your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining
your heart to understanding; if you indeed
cry out for insight, and raise your voice for
understanding; if you seek it like silver, and
search for it as for hidden treasures—then
then you will understand the fear of the
LORD and find the knowledge of God.
(Prov. 2:1-5)
How to Preach Proverbs





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Preach observations, not promises.
Do not preach selfish behavior,
humanism, or materialism.
Preach thought units.
Use your imagination.
Show as well as tell.
Use case studies.
Arthurs, Jeffrey Preaching with Variety, Chapter 7.
How to Preach Proverbs


Case Studies that Reinforce Order:
- “The Roving Spotlight”
- “The Double Take”
Case Studies that Subvert Order
- “Dueling Proverbs”
-“Sometimes, but Not Always”
Alyce McKenzie, Preaching Proverbs: Wisdom for the Pulpit
(Westminster John Knox, 1996) 103-128; 134-135; 142143.
How to Preach Proverbs




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Make your big idea “proverbial.”
Borrow the proverb’s movement.
Feature women.
Use some humor.
Be down-to-earth in your language.
Arthurs, Jeffrey Preaching with Variety Chapter 7.
In the presence of God and of Christ
Jesus, who will judge the living and the
dead, and in view of his appearing and
his kingdom, I give you this charge:
Preach the Word; be prepared in
season and out of season; correct,
rebuke, and encourage—with great
patience and careful instruction.