The primary purpose for the book of Proverbs is to help people become wise through fearing the Lord. This fear is a reverence for God that determines how we live. And this reverence for God should occur because of our relationship with Him. The phrase, "the fear of the Lord," occurs more times in Proverbs than anywhere else in the Old Testament. Through its major parts, through its sections and subsections and through its various authors, Proverbs carries this common theme. We can learn a great deal about human nature from Proverbs. But the observations we read are not intended to provide information alone. They are intended to produce a wise response. Much of Proverbs promises retribution; but the book also reminds us that things are not as simple as they appear, and that life is full of mysteries.
Out of his knowledge of Scriptures, author Stephen J. Lennox presents to us the helpful principles for living found in Proverbs. He shows us that God wants us to meet him in these pages. How can we learn about God? By understanding how he designed this world to operate—both in nature and human interaction—we learn something about the Designer. As we understand God, we find an unchanging moral compass to guide us.
