JULY 3 PROBERBS 10-13

Proverbs 10-13

With Proverbs 10, we begin a new section this book of wisdom, one that lends itself especially well to a devotional exercise we used for many years with our family devotions. It’s called a “Wisdom Search,” and was first taught to us through the Institute of Basic Life Principles. 

Here’s how it works: There are 30-31 days in most months and, coincidentally, 31 chapters in Proverbs. Make sure everyone in the family has the same translation of the Bible and a pencil to mark it with. Then agree on a question/issue on which the family needs God’s wisdom. Pray and ask the Lord for insight. Then read the chapter that matches the day of the month ONE VERSE AT A TIME, each family member reading one verse in turn. Read slowly, allowing time to process what is heard. As you go, each family member makes a mark by a verse that seems to speak to the question or issue at hand. When the reading is complete, the family shares the verses they marked, one at a time, beginning with the youngest member of the family who can read. God used this time wonderfully with our family as a catalyst for good conversation and a pathway to wisdom. We sought wisdom on a variety of topics: allowances, owing money, TV watching, responding to unkindness, and many more. I’d love to hear from any of you that try this with your children or grandchildren.

The reason why this works best from the 10th of a month on, is because each chapter from Proverbs 10 to 31 covers a variety of topics. You can almost always find something in one of those chapters that is germane to your question or issue.

For example, I read the four chapters for today looking for wisdom concerning my words, both in preaching/teaching and in everyday conversation. Eight or nine proverbs just leapt off the page into my heart. Along the way, I noticed other verses that apply to my life, such as “He who gathers in summer is a prudent son” (10:5a). This reminds me that summer is a season of opportunity. Proverbs about wives, children and grandchildren, also stood out to me: (11:21; 12:4; 13:22), along with the warning: “Whoever troubles his own household will inherit the wind.” (11:29). Does anyone remember the play and film, “Inherit the Wind?”

Tomorrow, we continue in these rich pages of wisdom!

Your fellow traveler through the Word,

Pastor Gary