When our daughter started high school, I was overwhelmed with all I wanted her to remember. Friends coached me on what I “shouldn’t” do as a mom of a teenager… Much to my teenager’s relief, I resisted the urge to hang my head out of the window and shout as I drove away from the curb, “forsake not your mother’s teaching… if sinners entice you, do not consent!” (1:8,10) :) Instead, I began to write a letter to her each week, highlighting and reinforcing God’s truth in practical ways, so she would remember how to live it out in her personal behavior. The letters became treasures for her, and her wise choices became treasures for me. God’s truth is meant to transform our day to day lives.
God has written us letters of wisdom as treasures to take with us into our ordinary days. As we kick off a Scripture Dig study in the book of Proverbs, we find its theme in the first seven verse of the book (1:1-7); the goal is to explain and plant wisdom into God’s people, so they would show the world what restored life looks like. The book begins with letter like mine, from a father to a son. These words of wisdom literature were written first to a Hebrew audience, but extended to all mankind. The “simple,” the young, the wise and the “one who understands” are specifically addressed to give “skill in the art of godly living.”
Like letters I’ve written for my own daughter, Proverbs is a collection of writings, an anthology. They make comparisons and illustrate consequences of choosing wise or foolish pathways. As a parent longs for a child to cling to wisdom, so the writers of Proverbs call readers to choose the virtuous life among the ordinary, with the hope that extreme examples will clearly show how obedience brings blessing. The characters of the “wise,” “fool” and “simple” are used to impress the point of the joy of the wise and the folly of the fool.
While Solomon was the primary author or collector of these scriptures, he was not the only writer. Authors called “the wise,” “Hezekiah’s men,” Agur, and Lemuel penned some of the collection’s words. The words of the well known Proverbs 31are ascribed to King Lemuel, taught to him by his mother. The Book of Proverbs is part of Jewish Wisdom Literature, along with books like Job, Song of Solomon, and the wisdom Psalms. The ESV Study Bible identifies three characteristics in the Proverbs:
- A virtue is commended.
- A vice is held up for disapproval.
- A value is affirmed
Proverbs puts truth to the test in our regular, everyday lives.
Oh, I’m excited about the days ahead as we open up God’s letters of wisdom and enjoy the treasures He has for us there! While preparing and studying, I could almost hear the Lord with His head out of the “heavenly window” shouting about wisdom of Proverbs …
“if you seek it like silver and search for it as hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God” (2:4,5).
I’m so glad He didn’t hold back! Will you join us as we dig into these treasured letters from our Heavenly Father?
Love the new look! Julie thank you so much for the tip to write our children letters of encouragement and advice. I think I will be trying that with my oldest.
Mary, I hope the letters will be treasures for you and your oldest, like they are for us. I was really encouraged when we were approaching this new school year and, despite the fact that she’s almost 17 and “independent,” she told me that she really hoped she would still get letters this year and that they meant so much to her. That was motivation for me to keep writing to her! Blessings to you as you share sacred words with your little “disciples,” friend.
The site looks absolutely great! And I am so ready for this study of Proverbs. I was just going to read the book of Proverbs one ch at a time each month and now I can do a study with you. Thanks so much! You guys have been such a blessing to me!
Thanks, Karen! You are a blessing to us as well. Looking forward to studying Proverbs with you.
We love to have you with us, Karen. We’re so ready for this study too. It seems like there’s never a shortage of things in life to remind us of our need for wisdom in our everyday things. We’re excited for the practical things God is going to show us!
Excited to get back to digging into God’s Word with the Scripture Dig team! Thanks Julie, for leading our study of Proverbs.
Julie ~ Thanks for the great start in our study of Proverbs! So glad to get diggin’ together again! :-)
The letter writing idea is fantastic. How did you manage to stick with it? I’d love to do it with my daughter, now entering middle school.
Blessings,
Lisa
I think that setting a realistic goal is the key. I didn’t ever attempt to do one every day, and I told my daughter that they wouldn’t come at the same time, etc. A couple of times I was slow in getting another one to her, and she would say … I really missed getting a letter ;) I aimed to write one per week. If I was slow, I didn’t let that make me give up; I just started back as soon as I could. A couple of times I wrote an extra and kept it to give to her. I would usually just leave it on her bed or nightstand to be “found,” and that was really special. She would discover it, read it on her own, and then we would usually talk about it when she went to bed. Another thing that helped me stay with it is that I type fast :). Sometimes the letters are handwritten, but they’re often typed, and that just made it easier for me to stay with it. I’m really glad for each one I took the time to write, and I would do it again. Middle School is the perfect time to start. Write one and see what happens. :) Blessings to you as you speak words of wisdom into your daughters life, Lisa!
I am going to do this! What a great way to encourage my girl as she faces this new challenge of Middle School. Julie, I love this post … and your heart. Thank you for being so real and inspiring.
This is going to be great study. Wish I would have had it about 17 years ago!!! ;-)
Looking forward to studying and gaining wisdom and discernment.
Love you all.