The Way of Wisdom - Our lesson contains a series of instructions addressed to "my son." The instructions, which form the first section (1:1-9:18), take the same form: a call to take to heart the teaching given; mention of the motive for heeding the instruction; counsel to choose wisdom and avoid folly; and a prediction of the consequences that will follow one’s choice. [1]

Everywhere But in the Pulpit - According to Alyce McKenzie, while proclaimers avoid biblical proverbs, the rest of us "walk and drive by them on billboards, T-shirts, coffee mugs, cartoons, magazine ads, bumper stickers, and posters." [2] She argues for Proverbs as preaching fodder, reminding us that "contemporary cultural proverbs show us the shape we are currently in and the shape of things to come, while biblical proverbs are capable of shaping the identity of the people of God." [3]

The Fear of the Lord - The theme, "the fear of the Lord," which is at the core of Proverbs 1, recurs throughout Proverbs. It is the beginning of knowledge (1:7) and wisdom (9:10). The phrase describes a person’s overall attitude or character. Sometimes to fear the Lord means to hate evil (8:13); at other times it leads to an instructive attitude (15:33) or to the knowledge of God (2:5) or to humility (15:33; 22:4) or to loyalty and faithfulness (16:6), and fear of the king (24:21). In the end, possession of the fear of the Lord results in riches, long life, and honor. [4]

Recall the memorable proverbs that you’ve grown to value over the years. Why have these more than others, stayed with you?

What makes proverbs difficult to proclaim is the fact that they are contextual-less sayings that could be true or false based on a given context. Look up several proverbs and supply ancient/modern contexts that would make those proverbs true and then supply contexts that would make the same proverbs false.

Please refer to the DPS archives for an earlier homily based on the them of Wisdom in the book of Proverbs called "Go for it" (based on Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31)

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[1] Dianne Bergant Israel’s Wisdom Literature (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1997), p. 80.
[2] Alyce M. McKenzie, Preaching Proverbs (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996), p. xiv.
[3] Ibid., page xiv.
[4] The New Interpreter’s Study Bible (Abingdon Press, 2003), page 897.