Sermon Tone Analysis

Summary of the book

THE THREE KINDS OF HEBREW POETRY

lyric poetry, which was originally accompanied by music on the lyre (the Psalms)

didactic poetry, which, using maxims, was designed to communicate basic principles of life (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes)

dramatic poetry, which used dialog to communicate its message (Job and the Song of Solomon).

Did you ever remember poems for school?

Has it brought guidance to your life.

Try memorizing Proverbs.

They are always relevant.

Parallelism.

In contrast to English verse which manipulates sound and emphasizes rhyme and meter, Hebrew poetry repeats and rearranges thoughts rather than sounds.

Old Mother Hubbard

Old Mother Hubbard

Went to the cupboard,

To give the poor dog a bone;

When she came there

The cupboard was bare,

And so the poor dog had none.

1. Synonymous--the thought of the first line is basically repeated in different words in the second line.

Proverbs 18:7 “7 A fool’s mouth is his destruction, And his lips are the snare of his soul.”

2. Antithetical--the thought of the first line is emphasized by a contrasting thought in the second line.

They are often identified with “but.”Proverbs

18:23 “23 The poor useth intreaties; But the rich answereth roughly.”

3. Synthetic--the second line explains or further develops the idea of the first line Psalm 1:3 “3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That bringeth forth his fruit in his season; His leaf also shall not wither; And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”

4. Climactic--The second line repeats with the exception of the last terms (29:1).

Psalm 29:1 “1 Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty, Give unto the Lord glory and strength.”

5. Emblematic--One line conveys the main point, the other line illuminates it by an image.

Psalm 42:1 “1 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, So panteth my soul after thee, O God.”

Original Recipients

Solomon addressed his sayings to the “wise man” (1:5) and his son (1:8; 2:1)

Proverbs 1:5 “5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; And a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:”

Proverbs 1:8 “8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, And forsake not the law of thy mother:”

Authors

Several different authors wrote the Book of Proverbs.

The largest portion was written by Solomon, son of David

Many other proverbs were written by Solomon but not inspired and not preserved in the Canon (25:1).

Proverbs 25:1 “1 These are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.”

He “spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five” (1 Kings 4:32)

Note about the Canon of Scripture

Why are some proverbs in the Bible and others aren’t?

MESSAGE: Genuine wisdom is built upon the fear of the Lord and is at the disposal of those who seek Him and His ways.

Challenging book to divide.

Here is one way that I think we can get a good summary of the book by looking at the values that God loves in reverse by seeing what He hates.

Proverbs 6:16-19 “16 These six things doth the Lord hate: Yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, 18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, Feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19 A false witness that speaketh lies, And he that soweth discord among brethren.”

Eyes of Humility

A tongue of truth

Hands of honest work

A Good heart

Feet of caution

Creators of right relationships

Quick Review

Eyes of Humility

Proverbs 6:17 “17 A proud look, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood,”

We are given strong and clear wisdom about this.

We should not be wise in our own eyes.

Proverbs 3:5-7

It is called arrogancy.

Proverbs 8:13 “13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: Pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, And the froward mouth, do I hate.”

Pride makes a fool of those who live by it.

Proverbs 16:18-19

Eyes of humility give us a right view of God

Eyes of humility give us a right view of ourselves and others

This truth is repeated by the same author in James 4:6 “6 But he giveth more grace.

Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”

A tongue of truth

Proverbs 6:17 “17 A proud look, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood,”

Commitment that our mouth will speak truth.

Proverbs 8:7 “7 For my mouth shall speak truth; And wickedness is an abomination to my lips.”

People who slander are foolish.

Proverbs 10:18

Better to be poor and honest than lying and rich.

Proverbs 19:1 “1 Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, Than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.”

God hears all that comes from our tongues

We need to be aware of the power that is in our tongue

This truth is repeated by the same author in James 3:6 “6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.”

Hands of honest work

Proverbs 6:17 “17 A proud look, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood,”

“Hands that shed innocent blood” are hands full of rebellion against God. .

Wisdom tells us to work and not to spend energy on things that are of no value.

Proverbs 6:6

Rebellion towards God, shown in slothfulness, brings us under bondage.

Proverbs 12:24 “24 The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: But the slothful shall be under tribute.”

Slothfulness is the same as wasting opportunity.

Proverbs 18:9

survey shows that only 16 percent of the workers interviewed said they were doing the best job they could at work.

A proper view of God should give us a proper view of work.

What does our actions say about our trust in God’s Word concerning work.

Eyes of Humility

A tongue of truth

Hands of honest work

A Good heart

Feet of caution

Creators of right relationships

A Good Heart

Proverbs 6:18 “18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, Feet that be swift in running to mischief,”

God made our hearts for Himself.

Our reason for existence is to fear, to love, to honor, and to enjoy Him forever.

Our mission in life is to discover from the depths of our hearts the richness of His love for us and for others.

The book of Proverbs shows us the importance of the condition of our heart.

We should continually work at guarding it.