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I KNOW WHAT GEOREGE LUCAS KNOWS. 

I watched a documentary series not long ago on Disney+ called “Light & Magic”. It’s a six-part deep dive into Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), George Lucas’ think tank of creative geniuses that put Star Wars on the map for its revolutionary special effects long before the digital age. In the episode that chronicled the 1976 production phase leading up to the official movie release in 1977, there was one clip I’ll never forget. It’s Lucas in the editing room with reel after reel of footage… and a chaotic pile of cut film on the floor at his feet. Scene after scene of well-rehearsed, beautifully shot, perfectly timed nuggets of cinematic history… Chopped. Pulled. Removed. Never to end up on the big screen. 

George expressed the difficulty in cutting up such gems. “It has to be done to make the final product as good as it can be. It hurts. But it has to be done.”

I have to say, and I believe most preachers of God’s Word would agree, that we’re with you, George. We’re with you. We know how you feel. 

In the realm of sermon preparation, study, prayer, writing, revising, more prayer, more editing, rehearsing, editing, more study, and more prayer… there ends up being a lot of content on the “cutting room floor” that never makes it into the final version of a 30-minute message. This was absolutely the case this past week when I preached Wisdom, Proverbs chapter 8. I very much wish I could share one of those cuts with you… and so…

THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT I’M GOING TO DO NOW. 

The following outline had to be removed from the message due to length, and that it had more to do with reading Proverbs overall, and less to do with Chapter 8 specifically. That said, my prayer is that this piece from the cutting room floor will bless your reading of Proverbs this month and shed light on some of the more interesting passages you may encounter in the weeks ahead. Here are… “4 Keys to Understanding Proverbs”:

Key #1 – The PURPOSE of Proverbs.

  • [Proverbs 1:1] – “The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel”. While it’s assumed that many of these proverbs come from Solomon’s own mind and lips, it may be better to understand the book of Proverbs as a collection of wise sayings, that Solomon ‘curated’ or ‘collected’ or ‘vouched for’ as being truly wise in God’s eyes. Read back through Solomon’s story and his encounter with God sometime this month if you get the chance. 
  • [Proverbs 1:2] – “To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight.” That’s the purpose for you today. Verses 3-7 explain more but do not miss verse 2 as the overarching hope, that you would cling to the reality of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.  
  • Therefore, all reading, interpretation, study, and application, should be filtered through this lens.  

Key #2 – Proverbs teach PRINCIPLES not Promises.

  • Individual proverbs are not promises or prophecy. These are not conditional covenant statements that ensure a specific output if you perform the correct input.
  • Rather – proverbs should be viewed in terms of their principle or main idea, the main image of God represented in their words, and with consideration given to how this principle could be applied to your life today and lived out.  
  • A common example of this is [Proverbs 22:6] “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Yes, being a good and Christlike parent COULD make all the difference in the life of your child. So you absolutely SHOULD model your maker to your kids. That’s the principle at play here. But this is no prophesy to be fulfilled so long as you work hard enough as a mom or dad. 

Key #3 – The use of PARALLELISM.

  • Many verses of Proverbs have multiple sayings that go together. But the literary tool of parallelism here is not to put the spotlight on one clause OR the other. Rather, parallelism intensifies both… either drawing both together to a higher point (complementing) or shoving both apart to extreme contrasting points (opposing). 
  • [Proverbs 4:27]: “Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.” This does a “level-up” of both clauses to one higher concept as a sum total and the correct meaning of the passage… is the sum total… not the individual parts.
  • Even better is to look at that proverb in its parallel context which goes all the way up to 4:20, where you can see that this section is all about being attentive to the words of the Father and the desire to be aligned with Him. It’s not just about foot placement. 
  • Resist the urge to extract a bumper-sticker PHRASE from Proverbs. Instead, look for patterns of parallelism to see the common thread woven through it all. 

Key #4 – The use of PERSONIFICATION.

  • This is when personal nature or human characteristics are imprinted on something nonhuman. The two big examples here are The Lady of Folly > she’s the Adulteress, the Prostitute. She is the opposite of Lady Wisdom. She is truth. She is life. She is total goodness.
  • The purpose of personification in Wisdom Literature is to allow the reader to connect to concepts, emotion, and imagery that we would otherwise have a hard time grasping. But don’t forget key #1 above.
  • This is not to say that Lady Wisdom is the 4th person of the Trinity. This is not to say that Wisdom is a person-form that the triune God created outside of themselves. Likewise Lady Folly is not a co-equal with Satan, some demon, or some villain literally on the prowl at the corner of 67 and Shattalon.  
  • Personification points to greater, sometimes supernatural ideas that the author is trying to convey in a relatable way.

So there you have it. Four simple keys to remember when you’re reading or studying the book of Proverbs. Purpose > Principle > Parallelism > Personification. I hope this helps in your reading as we all seek to discover and deploy wisdom in our lives. 

PS – Empire Strikes Back was, and still is, the best of them all. :)

If you have any questions about the book of Proverbs, or other study guides, tips, or suggestions, please reach out to us at info@bridgeschurch.net or come find us Sunday. We’d love to dig into the Word with you help any way we can to see you become more like Jesus.