God’s Wisdom in Proverbs by Dan Phillips is a great book. It’s well written, it’s well researched, it’s interesting, and it’s very thought provoking.
Phillips starts with background information: how to understand Proverbs, who wrote Proverbs (he gets into that more in Appendix One), and what the different types of proverbs are. He makes it very clear that proverbs are not promises or formulae guaranteeing success if you just follow the right steps. He says that “Proverbs are wonderful at being what they are: proverbs. They are not failed prophecies or systematic theologies…. Proverbs both teaches wisdom, and requires wisdom for its correct interpretation and application…. A proverb is not a magical formula, bringing wisdom and blessing by incantation.” (p. 21-23, emphasis in the original).
Having set the stage, he goes on to talk about the fear of Yahweh as the foundation of wisdom and how to gain wisdom. He is very clear that everything we need for wisdom comes from God and that He has told us everything we need to know in the Bible. It is there that we learn to know, trust, and worship Him.
There are three chapters on what Proverbs says about relationships with others as well. There is one on general relationships, including what makes a good friend and a bad friend; how to be a good friend; and who to avoid. Then there is one on marriage, and finally one on parenting.
Finally, 3 other pluses of the book…
- Footnotes. Sometimes they give references and other times they further explain things. The important thing is that they are not end notes (I once read a book with so many end notes that I had to keep a separate bookmark in them).
- The bibliography. I like going through bibliographies, first to see if I know any of the books, but also because I may want to study more. In this case, the bibliography is extra good since for some of the items Phillips has added notes on which ones are good, which ones are good for more advanced studies, and which ones are not as good. My personal favourite: “Museum-piece of unhinged liberalism.
- The language. Phillips has a wonderful grasp of the English language and uses it extremely well. From the first page of the preface: “Proverbs is a kaleidoscopic microcosm of the wisdom of God.” It starts well, it keeps going well, it ends well.
~ Miss Dorothy
