Are these scriptures contradicting themselves? Absolutely not! But you also absolutely cannot do both of these things at the same time. So what do you do? This shows that you need discernment in order to apply the Proverbs. Sometimes you need to answer a fool according to his folly, and sometimes you don’t. If we take an approach that sees every Proverb as a hands down promise or an absolute law for every circumstance, then we will be confused and will misinterpret or misapply the Scripture.

Reading the Proverbs is both encouraging and confusing at times. Often, I think the problem is that we just don’t know how to read them well. Should we read them in the same way that we read the Gospels or the Pentateuch? Are these promises in the same way the John 3:16 is a promise? Are they principles? I want to try to answer the question, generally speaking, how should we read the Proverbs?

The Purpose of the Proverbs

First, in Proverbs 1:2-6, we are given the purpose of the Proverbs:

“To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth– Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles.”

The introduction to the book tells us that we should read the book of Proverbs, not as a collection of promises, but as a guide for how to live wisely in God’s world. The book of Proverbs, by its own admission, is compiled in order to help us “know… understand… receive… hear… increase… obtain.” In other words, it exists to help us understand the way that God works in His world, equipping us to walk in the fear of God.

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