Week 50: Proverbs 10-21
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Monday, August 23 Proverbs 10-11 Read & Listen Online (Click “Audio” link to listen)
1. For many years the sign-off line of a news commentator was “That’s the way it is.” Many of the proverbs in Proverbs 10-11 are like that. Choose a few proverbs and discuss how what is said is just how it works out in life, for good or ill. Select your own proverbs to discuss, but try these also: Proverbs 10:7, 32; Proverbs 11:10, 12. Now look at a few proverbs that specifically talk about God. For example, look at Proverbs 10:22, 29; Proverbs 11:1, 20–21. How would you summarize the messages of these proverbs concerning God? What might the Apostle Paul say concerning Proverbs 11:21? See Romans 3:10–12, 21–24; 6:18; Galatians 5:1.
Tuesday, August 24 Proverbs 12-13 Read & Listen Online (Click “Audio” link to listen)
2. “The Lord …delights in men who are truthful” (Proverbs 12:22). In the light of passages like Psalm 14:3 and 1 John 1:8, how can Solomon make such a statement? Look at other similar statements: Proverbs 11:1, 20; Proverbs 8:31. What is the function of these statements? When does the Lord delight in us?
Wednesday, August 25 Proverbs 14-15 Read & Listen Online (Click “Audio” link to listen)
3. Review Proverbs 14–15. What makes a person righteous? See Romans 10:1–13. Find and discuss several of the descriptions of the righteous in these chapters of Proverbs. How does Solomon describe a righteous person? How does Paul describe the redeemed person? See Galatians 5:1, 13, 22, 23. The joy of our redemption shows itself in how we live. That’s just the way Christians are. Thank God for this kind of joy and life.
Thursday, August 26 Proverbs 16-17 Read & Listen Online (Click “Audio” link to listen)
4. There are several “sad but true” statements in this section of Proverbs. Discuss a few of these, such as Proverbs 16:28; 17:28; 18:2; 19:7. The fate of the perverse person, the fool, and those who shun the poor will be the same as that of the false witness (Proverbs 19:5). What is the most significant fact about this? See Psalm 14:3 and Isaiah 64:6. Where is our protection from this situation (Proverbs 18:10; Galatians 3:13)? What is the comfort that the coming Savior brings? See LW 28:1–2.
Friday, August 27 Proverbs 18-19 Read & Listen Online (Click “Audio” link to listen)
5. What warning do you read for your own personal life in Proverbs 19:27? How might God use each of you in this group to encourage the others to avoid this danger?
Saturday, August 28 Proverbs 20-21 Read & Listen Online (Click “Audio” link to listen)
6. “He’s making a list and checking it twice.” These are familiar lyrics for this season of the year. This warning is the same as that of Proverbs 20:11. What is the warning? What information do these verses add to this warning: Proverbs 20:9, 27. Unfortunately, we can’t improve our lot with the Lord by being good or nice. Now read Proverbs 20:30 and respond by saying, “Christ did this for me!” Many of our sins and their consequences are mentioned in the verses of Proverbs 20 and 21. Discuss a few of them. Only through the Lord’s Christ and his power can our sin be overcome. Now read the last words of Proverbs 21:31 and thank the Lord for His gift of a Savior.
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