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I am currently going through Proverbs and have a couple questions about them. From what I have heard from different theologians is that the Proverbs aren't absolutes but are general principles to live by. The problem I have is how is this the inspired word of God if these sayings are just generally good advice? If they only work most of the time, what separates these Proverbs from Chinese proverbs? They both are generally good advice. I'm almost discouraged because when God says something I want it to be absolute. Not good advice. It just seems to me that when God says something it happens. I want a promise that I can stand on as truth. If I can't stand on it as absolutley true then I can't stand on it. I guess I see the Bible as truth, and for something to be truth it needs to he absolutely true. Does that make sense? Anybody have any suggestions?

If God was entirely absolutes then that means we would be able to reduce him to a list of formulas and he would cease being the limitless, infinite dimensional, omnipotent God as we have defined him. Imagine if we could fully define his thoughts, behaviors, justify his actions, then I don't see any difference than God than it would a magical genie. There are some characteristics that he has revealed to us we are responsible to discover, while there are others that we just can't wrap our head around. It's that mystery component about God we have to wrestle with. So I see proverbs as a model of how God usually works, but he doesn't have to be limited by that.

Inspiration doesn't mean that everything written is true when taken at face value, take a look at Ecclesiastes 1:2 for example: certainly life isn't meaningless, but in the context of not following the Lord (as was the life of Solomon) from an eternal perspective there is no value. Rather, inspiration means "God breathed" - As the biblical authors were writing, the Holy Spirit also worked in their writing such to preserve the author's intentions (style, situation, emotions) while communication God's revelation of Jesus Christ. I would say Chinese proverbs have the possibility to contain biblical truths, but those writings/sayings were not inspired (in the perspective of the biblical canon).

Does that help clarify?

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Thanks for your response. How do we know which promises of God are absolutes and which ones are not? The way I approach It is this: I have recently discovered that faith and belief are the root of all we do. If I really believed something then I would act upon that belief. If I truly believed that when I pray I'm speaking to the God of the Universe them I would want to pray. Same thing with the Bible. Same thing with witnessing. If I truly believed Jesus came 2000 years ago and completely paid for my sins, then that would excite me and I would want to tell others. That's why Abraham was declared righteous. He believed in the promise of God so much that he would make a nation from Isaac, he was willing to sacrifice Isaac. Knowing that God would work it out somehow. He even told his servant they both would return.

So all of that to say, I have recently approached temptation this way: 1 cor. 10:13 says that te Lord will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can handle. So when I'm being tempted I can stand on this promise, in faith, that I can take it because he will not allow it. But if that promise were sometimes true, it wouldn't be a promise. So I feel like that with the Proverbs, if it's not always true how do I stand on this as a promise from God? I don't know if I'm reducing God to a formula. So the question again is how do I know which words of the Bible are absolute? Sorry for the wordy response, I just thought that might help you see where I'm coming from.

Proverbs 26:4 4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you yourself also be like him. Context (NET)

Proverbs 26:5 5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own estimation. Context (NET)

These two proverbs which happen to be specifically placed alongside of one another are key to recognizing the nature of proverbs (and I believe the nature of Scripture). The first says "Do not answer a fool according to his folly..." while the second says "Answer a fool according to his folly...". How should we understand this seemingly contradictory instruction? I believe that it is imperative to understand context and by "context" I do not simply mean the necessity to understand the biblical, religious, cultural, historical context of Scripture (as important as that is it is still only part of the context), but also our own personal context. This is where one must practice wisdom. Wisdom is not simply knowledge, but it is knowledge applied in the right time and the right way. This is the life lived in step with the Spirit.

The proverbs are not intended (at least most) as universal truth, but as teaching one to use discernment in all matters. One needs to recognize when it is the right time to help someone out financially (Prov. 3:28; 21:26; 25:21) and when and how one should not help someone out financially (Prov. 6:1-3; 11:15; but contrasted in Prov. 20:16). One needs to know when it is the right time to confront a fool (Prov. 26:5; compare Matt. 23:17) and when not to confront a fool (Prov. 26:4; Matt. 7:6).

Reflecting on Scripture outside of Proverbs one needs still to know when they should be in mourning and repentance (James 4:8), and when to stand firm on the promise of their sure salvation (Heb. 6:11). One needs to know when it is the right time and manner to confront the hypocrites (Matt. 23:13, 15, 23, etc.) and when it is the right time to "turn the other cheek" (Matt. 5:39).

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One aspect of rightly interpreting the scriptures is recognizing the various literary genres used in scripture. We must recognize the nature and purpose of poetry, historical narrative, prophecy, etc. when we encounter those literary forms in the Bible and not confuse them. This is the same principle we apply when approaching any body of literature. And remember, the Bible is a book of books written by numerous human authors for different purposes and over a great span of time. While there is unity to the Bible, we must not lose sight of the variety of literary forms and purposes that are also found there.

The introductory verses of the first chapter of Proverbs tell us the purpose for which the following material was written: to impart wisdom, instruction, insight, knowledge, understanding, prudence, and discretion. Proverbs is "wisdom literature." And to the ancient Hebrew, wisdom was understood as the art of living skillfully. So the purpose of Proverbs is to teach us how to live skillfully, and the aphorisms that fill the book must be understood in that light.

Wherever we may be reading in the Bible, we always want to consider the literary form (genre) that the human author employed and what his purpose was in writing. Of course we also want to consider the literary contexts, allowing scripture to interpret scripture, as well as the historical context. This is all part of hermeneutics--the art and science of interpreting scripture. Robert Plummer's very user-friendly 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible is the book I now recommend as an introductory hermeneutics text. Forty short chapters that can be read in any order you like are divided into four main parts:

(1) Getting Started: Text, Canon, and Translation
(2) Approaching the Bible Generally (including questions related to interpretation and to meaning)
(3) Approaching Specific Texts (including questions related to shared genres, primarily OT genres, & primarily NT genres)
(4) Issues in Recent Discussion (e.g. biblical criticism, speech act theory, & theological interpretation of scripture)

Part 3 addresses questions such as:

• How do we identify literary genre--and why does it matter?
• How do we interpret historical narrative?
• How do we interpret prophecy?
• How do we interpret apocalyptic literature?
• How do we interpret figures of speech?
• How do we interpret Proverbs?
• How do we interpret poetry?
• How do we interpret parables?

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