Inspiration, as to scripture, is the understanding that the Holy Spirit used humans to write the words, but He superintended it such that every word in the original documents (called the autographs) is exactly what He intended. There is not a single autograph of any part of scripture that exists today, and yet we have so many ancient copies from so many places in the world that there is not a single place we cannot have confidence that we have God’s Word. Entire books are written on this subject. The Proverbs offer a special look, as they are about life flow.
Verses 1-2 – John 14:21-24, Eph 6:1-3, 1 Tim 4:8, Romans 11:25, 14:17. Perhaps discuss the Apostle Paul and Timothy.
Verses 3-4 – The Hebrew word here translated “kindness” (steadfast kindness in the ESV) is Hesed. It would be good to do a more complete study of that word, as it is central to God’s work with Israel (and us!). Eph 5:1-2, 2 Cor 3:3, Heb 10:16.
Verses 5-8 –1 Cor 3:18-20, 8:1-2, 10:31, Rom 12:16, Phil 4:6, Col 3:17, 23
Verses 9-10 – Matt 10:42, John 15:8, Luke 18:27-30, 2 Cor 9:6-13, Php 13-19, Titus 3:14, 1 John 3:17-18
Verses 11-12 – Heb 12:5-11
Verses 13-15 – Matt 13:44-46, 16:24-26, Php 3:8-9
Verses 16-18 – Mark 10:28-30, 1 Tim 4:8
Verses 19-20 – John 1:1-3. Logos (the word) was thought, by Greeks, to be Wisdom. John was likely appealing to both Jewish and Greek speakers when he wrote his gospel.
Verses 21-22 – 1 Jn 2:24, John 12:50
Verses 23-26 – Matt 8:24-26, Luke 12:4-5, John 14:1, 1 Pet 3:14
Verses 27-28 – Gal 6:10, James 2:15-16, 1 Tim 6:17-19
Verses 29-30 – Romans 12:18-21, Matt 5:39-41, 2 Tim 2:24
Verses 31-35 – Gal 5:19-23, John 14:21-24, James 4:6, 1 Pet 5:5-6
Three Ways to Absorb Wisdom – Modern studies have found that children whose fathers regularly attend church with them, tend to keep their faith into adulthood. How does this relate to absorbing wisdom?
Words to clarify.
Sections/proverbs to discuss. (11-12, 24, 27, 35)
How would your father, or some fathers you know, compare to Solomon?
What would it have been like to have Solomon as a father?
What will wise living cause in most people’s lives?
The woman that Solomon uses as his picture of wisdom – what do you get from her?
Which of these proverbs did you like best? Why?
Talk about the three ways you can learn wisdom.
How is this working in your life?
Copyright Rick Henderson, Th.M. 2026, SouthBeachHope@gmail.com