The book of Proverbs is (mostly) attributed to Solomon (Proverbs 1:1), although toward the end of the book we’ll find material attributed to several other people. The main theme of the book is wisdom: which includes a certain amount of knowledge and a certain amount of common sense, but especially means having an attitude of dependence, trust, and worship toward God (3:5-6; 9:10).

The basic idea behind wisdom is this. You can’t memorize enough answers for every arithmetic question in the world; instead, you learn arithmetic itself, and that prepares you for the actual and unpredictable arithmetic problems you’ll encounter. In the same way, you can’t memorize a rule to cover every single situation in the world; instead, you learn wisdom, to prepare yourself for the actual and unpredictable situations you’ll encounter. That’s the theme of Proverbs: making “your ear attentive to wisdom, and inclining your heart to understanding” (Proverbs 2:2).

It will take some diligence; you need to “seek it like silver, and search for it as for hidden treasures” (2:4). Yet God does not withhold it from those who seek it: “the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding” (2:6).

Part of our lack of wisdom comes from the way we imagine we can be self-sufficient, when we suppose we can generate whatever answers we need from inside ourselves. And so the book urges us to the way of wisdom: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (3:5-6).

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We need your wisdom, O Lord: our own is not enough, as we have proven over and over. Grant us the diligence to grow in wisdom day by day, so that we may perceive the right path, and have the courage to follow that path, even when it looks like folly according to the way the world thinks.

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