What the book of Proverbs is to us and what the entire Bible is to us depend on what kind of person we are. For the apostle Paul every book of the Old Testament was Spirit and life. But for many of today's Christians the Bible, including the New Testament, is mainly a book of proverbs. Such Christians do not understand a verse like Ephesians 3:8, which speaks of the unsearchable riches of Christ for the producing of the church to fulfill God's economy. They may have no interest in these matters. However, they may be very interested in what Ephesians 5 says about husbands loving their wives and about wives submitting to their husbands. This illustrates the strong tendency among Christians to try to understand the New Testament according to their ethical mind. They are not interested in anything that cannot be understood in an ethical way. In particular, they do not understand the New Jerusalem and do not seek to understand it. From this we see that the kind of person we are determines what the Bible will be to us.
In this message we will consider from Proverbs the principles for man to live a proper human life. Each of these principles—revering God, needing wisdom, honoring one's parents, and holding marriage in honor—is a nugget.
The first principle for man to live a proper human life is revering God. We should not only worship God but also revere Him. To revere God is to consider and regard Him in everything, never forgetting that He is the wonderful God who has created us. When we are about to lose our temper, we should revere God. Revering God stops us from doing evil. Revering God also causes us to be touched by the sufferings of others and to show mercy and compassion to them.
Even though I was born into Christianity, before I believed in the Lord Jesus I never revered God. But from the day I got saved, I began to revere God. In everything I respected and regarded God. That caused a great change in my life.
To revere God is to fear God. The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding (1:7; 9:10; 15:33a). Knowledge, wisdom, and understanding come from God. If we fear Him, revering Him, these will be our possession. If we seek wisdom like silver and search for her like hidden treasures, then we will understand the fear of Jehovah and find the knowledge of God (2:4-5). The fear of Jehovah is to hate evil (8:13). The fear of Jehovah prolongs days, but the years of the wicked will be shortened (10:27). He who walks in his uprightness fears Jehovah, but he who is perverse in his ways despises Him (14:2). In the fear of Jehovah is strong confidence, and his children will have a place of refuge. The fear of Jehovah is a fountain of life, that one may turn aside from the snares of death (vv. 26-27). Better is a little with the fear of Jehovah, than great treasure and turmoil with it (15:16). If we are rich in the fear of Jehovah, we will have peace.