Seeing Proverbs in a New Light

Written by W2W Bible Study Facilitator, Debbie Hill 

“How has the book of Proverbs shaped your Christian life?” 

This question in our Bible study guide made me pause. At first, I drew a blank. I've been a follower of Jesus for more decades than I’d want to disclose. I’ve read the Bible several times and studied most of it…. except Proverbs. Why was that? What was it that made me so standoffish with this book of the Bible? 

A little more digging into my memories gave me a partial answer: memories of older Christians quoting Proverbs as if it were a charm that guaranteed "the good life" for them and their children; Christians using Proverbs to rebuke others, usually about their speech, but somehow never applying the text to themselves. And then, of course, there was that woman. You know the one, the Virtuous Woman, the ideal woman that we were all to aspire to and emulate. 

I actually liked caring for my husband and children and turning a house into a home, cooking, baking, occasional sewing and gardening. But the Virtuous Woman was so much more. Buying vineyards, caring for the poor, spinning and making clothes, importing, exporting, never idle. Did this woman ever sleep?! Always a blessing to her husband, and always a kind word for everyone. Who wouldn’t feel inadequate reading the litany of her accomplishments and, well, virtues? 

No, the book of Proverbs and I were not friends. No wonder I had no answer to the question of how it had shaped my Christian life. It hadn’t, or at least not in a good way. But I was willing and open for that to change. The FAC Deerfoot W2W bible study group was studying Proverbs, using a study guide written in part, by three women I greatly admired (Jenn Wilkin, Kelly Mintner, and Elizabeth Woodson).  

Right off the bat, it was a relief for me to learn what Proverbs was not. It is not a list of promises, nor was it a book of rules, as an addition to the 10 commandments, so to speak. It was not a random collection of pithy sayings and good advice. I learned instead that it was a collection of wise sayings, gathered from many cultures, but presented in Proverbs with a specific spiritual foundation. The “fear of the Lord”, it said, was the very beginning of wisdom. 

The fear of the Lord. As far back as I can remember, I knew that God was love and that He loved me. One of the earliest, if not the earliest, Bible verse I memorized (pre-kindergarten) was 1 John 4:16c - “God is love”. Unlike others, I did not hold an image of an angry, disapproving God ready to punish me at every turn. I understood the fear of the Lord as reverence and respect.  

The study of Proverbs helped me to see it as something more. Reverent obedience. Reverence, respect, honour, awe for who God is, coupled with a willing surrender to His ways, that we demonstrate in joyful obedience. It is choosing to cooperate with God in His work of transformation in the world and in me. Not ticking boxes or following rules; instead, aligning my actions and my attitude with God’s way to live in God’s world. That was the beginning of wisdom. And that is the foundation on which the Proverbs rests. 

I met a lot of characters in the book of Proverbs: the fool, the simple, the scoffer, the sluggard, the righteous, and the one with understanding. The one I found most compelling and mysterious was Lady Wisdom. Lady Wisdom existed before the world was created, and was present at Creation. In Proverbs chapters 1-9, we see her standing, as it were, at a crossroads, offering a choice. There she is, in the busyness of life, persistently calling, crying out, giving warning, reaching out to anyone who would listen and accept her invitation and offer of understanding, knowledge, and life. 

Day after day, week after week, Proverbs began to shape how I thought about my interaction with my family, my neighbours, former co-workers and the poor. The practicality of it drew me in. Micah 6:8 tells us to “...seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly before God.” Jesus said the two great commandments are to love God and love each other. Proverbs helps us take this to the streets, living it out in our relationships at home, at work, in the neighbourhood. It reads, in part, like a guide on how to live the Christian life, every day, everywhere, with everyone. One Old Testament scholar has described it as “...putting godliness in work clothes. “*  

I like that. But there was still that woman, and it seemed that she had remained just out of reach for a long time.  

Years ago, I developed an interest in cross-stitch, and in 1995, I decided to do a large piece. Since it would take some time, I wanted it to be more than something trite and sentimental. In the end, I chose Proverbs 31, The Virtuous Woman, 10” x 15”. It was colourful and country cute, all the text was scripture, and there were little pictures, like quilt squares, of “you know who”. What was I thinking? Not sure; other than that, the options were somewhat limited, back then. 

In 6 months, the cross stitch was 3 quarters finished, at which point I rolled it up and put it in a drawer. Life, I guess, had gotten the better of me. Years passed, 10 in fact, before I took it out and finished it. I had already put so much work into it; it seemed a shame not to finish it. But I was at a different stage of life than when I started it, (and did I really want “cute” hanging on the wall?).

Instead, I had it dry cleaned and hung it in a closet. More time passed. Every now and then I’d notice the cross stitch in the back of the closet. “I’m still here,” it seemed to say. I’d shut the closet door and walk away. I was moving further and further away from that Proverbs 31 woman, whoever she was. But I kept the cross stitch. 

And then the study happened, Proverbs - The Way of Wisdom, and I began to think differently about “that woman.” Yes, she has many admirable qualities, but she is far more than an example of “the perfect wife.” She is the embodiment of Lady Wisdom, that intriguing character that I met in the early chapters of Proverbs, who herself is a picture of ‘...Christ…the Wisdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:30).

Lady Wisdom continues to beckon to us, offering understanding and insight into how to walk God’s way in God’s world, and, more importantly, what life looks like when we invite Christ, to “...dwell in our hearts by faith.” (Ephesians 3:17) 

Halfway through the study of Proverbs, I had the cross-stitch matted and framed. It now hangs in my kitchen, not as an example of “Wonder Woman”, but as a reminder of what is offered to us when we embrace the Fear of the Lord, following the Lord Jesus in reverent obedience. Through the Holy Spirit's empowering, we can walk in alignment with the Wisdom of God. That‘s what I want, no matter what stage of life I find myself in.  

As I work in my kitchen, sometimes, out of the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of my Proverbs 31 cross stitch. It no longer intimidates me. Instead, I see it as an invitation. And each time, my heart quietly whispers, “Come Lord Jesus, be our guest….”.  

* “[Proverbs] seldom takes you to church…it calls across the street about some everyday matter or points things out home. Its function in Scripture is to put godliness in working clothes and to name business and society as spheres in which we acquit ourselves with credit to our Lord…” Kidner, Derek, Proverbs, page 35, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, (IVP, 1964).