Page 115 - The Poetic Books - Student Text

following along verse after verse, each occurrence of a particular word is read. Usually the references are
then gathered together by themes and a discussion follows about each theme.

God is referred to by name almost 100x in Proverbs, usually by his personal name Yahweh. He is pictured
as creator and sovereign, someone who is watching over the lives of all humans. He is the one who
assures success or failure in any life project. He is emotionally involved in the events on earth, inviting
people to trust in him and being deeply offended when his invitation is rejected.

“By wisdom the LORD laid the earth’s foundations (3:19),” announces Solomon. In an extended passage,
this same wisdom is personified and placed at God’s side in creating the heavens and clouds and seas. “I
was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence (8:30).” The picture is of God
enjoying the creation of the world, taking delight in creating humans as well as springs of water. He has
created our ears and eyes. In a context that includes the use of weights and measures, the writer
challenges us to use them carefully not unlike scales (20:10-12). Our status in life does not affect our
origin. Neither a rich man nor a poor man can logically assume he was not created by God because of his
lot in life (22:1).

God as creator is fundamental to understanding Proverbs. He has used his thinking, his mind, in
designing how the world runs, not just the physical world in the sense of gravity or chemical equations
but also the ethical world of right and wrong, righteousness and wickedness. So it is important to know
the right God. “George Buttrick, former chaplain at Harvard, recalls that students would come into his
office, plop down on a chair and declare, ‘I don’t believe in God.’ Buttrick would give this disarming reply.
‘Sit down and tell me what kind of God you don’t believe in. I probably don’t believe in that God
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either.’”

This creator God is not distant. He is intimately involved in life. He examines our actions (5:21). He sees
everything, everyone (15:3). He weighs our motives (16:2) and tests our hearts (17:3; 21:2). He keeps
watch over knowledge, not allowing false words success (22:12). He takes the life of someone who
crushes the needy (22:23), for he disapproves of such choosing of wickedness over righteousness
(24:18).

This sovereign God’s word is final in any endeavor. We can plan, but he answers (16:1, 3, 4, 9). His
outcome is as small as the roll of the dice (16:33). His purpose stands (19:21), a great encouragement to
someone who has been harmed by another (20:22). We cannot understand our own steps without
understanding God’s nature (20:24) whether we are commoner or king (21:1). All the intelligence or
power in the world cannot change God’s plan (21:30-31). We might turn to human sources of help but
ultimately the end is from Yahweh (29:26). He is interested in our choices for good or evil, righteousness
or wickedness.

“Much confusion in the Christian life comes from ignoring the simple truth that God is
far more interested in building your character than he is anything else. We worry when
God seems silent on specific issues such as ‘What career should I choose?’ The truth is,

192 Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995), 264.
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