Provoking Proverbs: Wisdom and the Ten Commandments

 

Published by Concordia, who kindly sent me a copy to review, Provoking Proverbs by David Lawrence Coe takes the unique approach of linking biblical wisdom with the Ten Commandments.  

 

This study guide, which can be adapted for personal use and/or group discussion, displays bars and side bars laid out nicely, so readers can readily find what they’re looking for in a font that’s easy on the eyes.

 

In 160 pages, the paperback connects scriptures, quotes from Martin Luther, thought-provoking questions, and suggestions for applying biblical truths. Anyone interested in biblical wisdom in general and God’s guidance in particular will likely come to new insights as study progresses.

 

To give you an idea, Chapter 3 of Provoking Proverbs focuses on The Third Commandment, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” The author then asks, “What does this mean?” and offers a response in a subsequent paragraph:

 

“If keeping the First Commandment is fearing, loving, and trusting in God with your heart, and keeping the Second Commandment is fear, loving, and trusting in God with your lips, then keeping the Third Commandment is fearing, loving, and trusting in God with your ears. Luther teaches that the Third Commandment is a gift of time given by God (1) for rest and refreshment after a week of work and (2) for hearing and learning God’s Word. In this chapter, we’ll learn that the Third Commandment pairs labor with leisure, vocation with vacation, and responsibility with recreation. God wants us to work hard and play hard.”

 

The chapter continues with relevant proverbs from the book of Proverbs, but also from other wisdom books in the Old Testament and the New. You’ll even find commonly accepted social proverbs often quoted by one’s parents or culture!

 

Then as with each chapter, a pertinent prayer concludes the discussion as does this one from Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation:

 

“We thank You, kind Father, that You give us time to hear Your Holy Word. Grant that fearing and loving You, we may set aside our work to receive Your Son’s words, which are spirit and life, and so, refreshed and renewed by the preaching of Your Gospel, we might live in the peace and quietness that come through faith alone; we ask it for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.”

 

May the Lord give us ample wisdom in the days to come.

 

Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2020, poet-writer, reviewer

 

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God’s Book of Proverbs

God’s Book of Proverbs, which LifeWay Christian Resources kindly sent me to review, provides “Biblical Wisdom Arranged by Topic” in order to “give you God’s guidance in matters related to everyday life.”

Using biblical text from the Christian Standard Bible (CSB) published by Holman, the book groups topics alphabetically in the Table of Contents followed by headings ranging from “Anger,” “Beauty,” “Calamity” to “Wealth,” “Wickedness,” “Wisdom,” and “Wonder.”

Slightly larger than a typical paperback, this cloth-covered hardback edition makes an attractive, nicely sized book to give as a gift and/or keep in a purse or side pocket of a car, which is where my copy will most likely reside after this review, so I’ll have insightful, meditative-type reading material handy whenever I’ll be in a waiting room or any waiting mode.

To give you a few examples, I turned to “Discernment,” which lists 16 Proverbs such as:

“The one who understands a matter finds success,
and the one who trusts in the LORD will be happy.”
Proverbs 16:20

“Counsel in a person’s heart is deep water,
but a person of understanding draws it out.”
Proverbs 20:5

Under “Guidance,” you’ll find 43 Proverbs to guide your decisions, while “Happiness” has a couple of pages with such insights as:

“Bright eyes cheer the heart;
good new strengthens the bones.”
Proverbs 15:30

"The one who understands a matter finds success,
and the one who trusts in the LORD will be happy.”
Proverbs 16:20

“A joyful heart is good medicine,
but a broken spirit dries up the bones.”
Proverbs 17:22

Those verses might especially speak to people with achy joints, arthritis, or aging bones! However, all of us can deepen our trust in the LORD with prayer, praise, regular Bible study, and these faith-building Proverbs that not only show us how God can be trusted, but that God knows our human nature and our spiritual needs.

Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2018, poet-writer, reviewer

God’s Book of Proverbs, hardback



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