Day 561 – The Beginning of Wisdom – Proverbs, An Introduction

Wisdom-Trek

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy Welcome to Day 561 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. I am Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom The Beginning of Wisdom - Proverbs, An Introduction Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. Today is Day 561 of our trek, and it is Wisdom Wednesday. Every Wednesday along life’s trails we dig for the nuggets of wisdom that are found within the book of Proverbs. Today we will restart our exploration of Proverbs with a new introduction. We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. Last week was a busy, but productive week. For one client we are preparing information for their bi-annual audit, which requires assembling data from the past two years. Fortunately, most of this information is stored electronically and is organized. We are also still working on company and personal tax returns for clients, family members, and ourselves. Since I am creating this podcast before the weekend, if all goes according to plan, we will be investing in a heavy-duty chain saw and will have begun cleaning up the four large trees that we had a tree service cut down for us. The weather is turning cold for this weekend, so we will see how much we are able to accomplish. Another exciting announcement is that Paula has decided to begin her own podcast called A Quilter’s Life where she will be interviewing people who quilt and allowing them to share their lives as quilters with listeners. We have received very positive feedback from those that we have mentioned it to, so we feel that it will be well received. We have been working together in preparation of that and hope that she will be able to release her initial interviews within the next 2-3 months. Since Wisdom-Trek is not an interview-based podcast, we have both been learning the additional aspects of what is required to setup and interview others. At this time Paula plans on having weekly episodes for A Quilter’s Life. I will let you know when it is released. This podcast is a new beginning for her, and as we look at our topic for Wisdom Wednesday, I have decided to start back through the book of Proverbs with a little bit of a different twist. Today we will look at a brief introduction of the book of Proverbs. Starting next Wednesday, I will read a short synopsis of each chapter and then read the chapter using a newer translation called The Voice, which is slightly more conversational in nature and will give us a difference perspective on the book of Wisdom. Each month as I personally restart reading the book of Proverbs, I look forward to it with a new anticipation. So today let’s begin with our introduction to Proverbs entitled… The Beginning of Wisdom The Book of Proverbs is part of the Bible’s wisdom literature. The Bible’s wisdom literature explores the question, “What does it mean to live well in God’s world?” You can think of it as “The Good Life for Dummies.” Wisdom literature comes in all forms: songs, story, reflection and romance. This book is primarily one form of writing called a proverb. A proverb is a short, pithy statement that contains a powerhouse of wisdom. A proverb is a type of poetry. However, the structure of Hebrew poetry is different than English poems. In most simple modern poetry, like what we find in greeting cards, two lines are made to rhyme with each other through their final words. Hebrew poetry, on the other hand, contains two lines that don’t rhyme words but rather rhyme ideas. The second line in a Hebrew poem will reinforce the same thought as the first line, but in different words. Most of this book is a collection of these short, poetic pieces of wisdom called proverbs. The Book of Proverbs is interested in how to architect the best life possible on God’s earth. The proverbs themselves are compact in nature, but they are not trite! The proverbs cover important life lessons,