What are the Proverbs?
The canonical Book of Proverbs presents a catechism of wisdom for royal persons, for kings and queens to teach their children to think and behave after the manner and custom of Solomon the wise, son of David, king of Israel. As that Solomon were "wiser than all men," according to the Word, he remained uniquely a type of the Lord Jesus Christ, Son of David, King of Israel. Thus, this makes all children so catechised (and those parents so catechising them) just like those who went up to hear Solomon's wisdom, and just like those being taught afterward by their royal fathers and mothers "when they were tender and in their in youth." For just so Solomon did learn much of them from his parents, and kings Agur and Lemuel also. Thus are all this book's devout students properly called "Lemu-el," or, "Corban," meaning in both cases, "devoted to God."
The wisdom specified in this book is that wisdom "by which the Lord laid the foundations of the earth," "In the beginning," as the Proverbs plainly tell. This is called in our day, "natural revelation, or else "general revelation." It is wisdom from above, called "the Word who was with God in the beginning" by John the apostle, and is written down in the form of proverbs, for future kings, who will reign on earth as priests and kings -- both Jew and Gentile - after the order of Melchizedek, in the resurrection.
This means it is for Christians generally, and those raised up to life in power more particularly, as they are more particularly suited to wisdom. This gives the Proverbs the unique trait that they specify both special and general revelation's content simultaneously, for both Jew and Gentile kings alike. And thus, this proves that the word of God in both forms sweetly comport one with another, though by itself, natural revelation remains competent only to condemn men, and not to save. As the Bible remains like a seamless garment, with the mutual consent of all its parts, this doctrine must be viewed for its proper understanding and balance, in light of that doctrine also, which is called the priesthood and kingship of every believer in Jesus.
Revelation 1 (vv. 5-6) says it thus:
"And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."
1 Peter 2:9 adds, "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light ... "
Yet do the light and wisdom of nature most clearly teach the sinfulness of all men, condemned under the law, without excuse or any merit whatsoever, or any cause for any boast before God whatsoever, and thus also the consequent need of a Savior, who saves from the wrath of God revealed by nature's testimony against us, against all the ungodliness and lawlessness of men, as the apostle Pauls plainly teaches in Romans 1.
Who Wrote the Proverbs?
First they are the product of the immediate inspiration of the Holy Spirit of Wisdom, then also came they by the hand of certain prophets, who were also kings. Each prophet-king having written down his oracle, penned Holy Scripture, as each was "carried along by the Holy Spirit." We know these were kings because the Proverbs tell us so in two cases, and imply it in the third (that of king Agur). These three kings of the oriental world, are here named Solomon, Agur and Lemuel, the last two in the list being Gentile kings, and most likely among those who had gone up to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all over the world (the "Queen of the South" being among such persons), as First Kings 4: 26-34 delineates. It reads:
And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. And those officers provided victual for king Solomon, and for all that came unto king Solomon's table, every man in his month: they lacked nothing. Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge.
And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about.
And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.
What do the Proverbs of Kings principally teach?
The proverbs of Solomon, Agur and Lemuel principally teach that all kings everywhere, Jew and Gentile alike, must do as Solomon did, teaching and warning every man, that he must by God's command seek wisdom with the whole heart, not turning from it to the right or to the left, nor from all mercy, justice, and humility according to the law and Gospel presented in all that holy Scripture available to them, all that wisdom of the light of nature revealed to all men, and according to all those virtues presented in the proverbs themselves.
For it is written, "He hath shown thee, O Adam, what is good and what the Lord require of thee; to do mercy and justice, and to walk humbly with thy God."
How do the Proverbs, presenting the content of general revelation, preach and teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Lord?
The proverbs, being that Eternal wisdom and Word which was with God, before the foundation of the earth, just as Genesis describes all things of the creation week, are uniquely suited to serve not only as an exposition of the natural order's incipient wisdom generally to given to men, but also as special revelation, written down and included by God's Spirit as part of the entire canon of Scripture, which books together with One Voice, tell all the goodness, wisdom and honor of the Christ, that he must first suffer and then enter his Glory as the "light of men," "The Word which was in the beginning with God," and Wisdom incarnate forever.
Moreover, the human authors of the Proverbs, each himself a prophet, shows forth by types and pictures, the glory of Christ and his Church, and declare there also the malice, cunning, shame and punishment of His and our enemies, by way of using the content of nature's light for its portrayals thereof.
The book's final chapter shows forth the hope of the gospel in the resurrection, that of the saints corporately, which body is called also the international Church of Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. This is that Woman of virtue, modeled after a human woman of that time then, namely the mother of king Lemu-el, Queen of the southern empire of Ethiopia, also called "Candace" by title in that ancient empire, or else "Queen of the South" in the Word itself. Thus is proverbs 31 both poetic biography regarding the Queen of the South, and ecclesiastical prophecy regarding Christ and His Church.
And although the many godly women of old, and those the good women among the saints of the Newer Testament, do alike share in those virtues of this woman, to greater or lesser degree, yet does no one of them fulfill all these perfectly, such that Eve, Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Miriam sister of Moses, Deborah, Rahab, Jael, Abigail, Bathsheba, Ruth, Esther, Hannah, nor Mary of Nazareth, Elizabeth, or Lydia, nor any other like mortal saint of God, can possibly fulfill all the godly traits of this virtuous woman, save only in the resurrection, according to the hope of the holy Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory.
How Did Solomon and the Other Kings Make the Proverbs?
The kings of the Proverbs took great care in observing their societies and those of others, of searching out for study godly and ungodly behaviors and habits among those around them, and in noting the ethical qualities of each, and in noting also the spiritual, social and economic effects which ensue upon those behaviors and habits. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they then put these into writing, in the form of maxims, exhortations, personal accounts, and brief moral lessons, construed poetically with all those comparisons and contrasts best suited to the didactic purpose of the book, to the rest of the canon of holy Scripture, and to the glory and unsearchable wisdom of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, King of Israel.
Did these human authors borrow some of their sources from other cultures for use in the making of the Proverbs of Kings as some allege?
It is evident from history that many ancient cultures, and notably Egypt, produced like manner of maxims and writings in the ancient world, some closely matching even the wordings of the particular sayings in the Proverbs of Kings. This occurred for several reasons, namely, that the light of nature by the common kindness of God shines upon all men, showing forth to them the wisdom of the lower creation -- of the insect and animal kingdoms, of the astonishing glory of gemstones and beauty of precious metals, and of all that goodness of those other elements which the Lord hath wrought, the wind, trees, rivers and the like -- so that they might live wisely and well.
Second, it is well to note that the proverbs of Amenhotep II of Egypt, often compared to those of King Solomon, were written at a time that fell within a few generations following the presence of Joseph the Jewish prophet in Egypt, second to pharaoh in his time, according to the Word. And his reign, if Manetho be any trustworthy guide, straddles the biblically-stated time of the Exodus, according to first Kings, which was 480 years from the fourth year of the beginning of the reign of king Solomon, making the Exodus an event transpiring in 1445/6 B.C. This is also the traditional, or conservative dating for it. This means that the question of just who borrowed source material from whom remains open-ended. It is possible that Solomon borrowed proverbs from Amenhotep, which he got from Joseph, or from the later Hebrews, who he got them from God.
Third, even if Solomon had borrowed source material for use in the Proverbs of Kings from other nations, since the light of nature therein described accurately (else Solomon would not have used it) comes from God alone, the man from whom Solomon received this source material himself obtained it from none other but the living God, as all men are duty bound to do. Though hypothetical -- since no such borrowing has been proven conclusively -- even if true, this would no way impinge upon the biblical doctrines of general revelation or special, nor upon the doctrine of the inspiration or inscripturation of the holy Scripture as it has been understood by the Church of Jesus Christ for ages. Only the final written product of the apostles and prophets, not their sources, rough drafts, pens (styluses), paper (papyrus or vellum), or dictation secretaries (amanuensises) are therein said to be inspired of God according to biblical doctrine.
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