💪 Proverbs 16:32 | "Whoever is slow to anger.."

📧In today’s email…

• 🤓 Background context on Proverbs

• 🙏 A prayer and reading to set the tone for the week

• 🎵 A song to help you meditate this week

Let’s dig in…

🧠Memorize

Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty,

and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.

Proverbs 16:32

Book Context & Authorship: Proverbs 🧠

• Author: Solomon wrote Proverbs 1-22:16 (which includes our memory verse this week).

  • He is credited with compiling others, and a few other authors are cited as contributing the remaining Proverbs.

• Audience: Proverbs is wisdom literature originally composed in Hebrew for the education of Jewish readers.

  • These teachings were originally intended for instruction within the family and community.

  • They were designed to be passed down from generation to generation, ensuring the continuity of wisdom within the people of God.

• When: It was not collected in its final form until the time of King Hezekiah (726—697 BC) and was originally most likely compiled for the people of Judah during this time period.

• Purpose: To impart wisdom for daily living, grounded in an appropriate, reverent fear of God (Proverbs 1:7)

Modern day proverbs 💎

Most people don’t realize this but “proverbs” are not just a Christian thing.

Many cultures, even ours today has “proverbs” - which simply means:

a short pithy saying in general use, stating a general truth or piece of advice

Some examples of ones you know:

• Two heads are better than one

• An apple a day keeps the doctor away

• Actions speak louder than words

But Biblical Proverbs Are Unique 💎

Obviously, though, biblical proverbs are in a world of their own.

They don’t just convey worldly wisdom - they get at the heart of the true principles that underlie all of creation and the way God ordered the universe.

In the context of the Bible, the book of Proverbs is unique for a few reasons:

• It’s a series of wise sayings on a broad range of topics (rather than a narrative)

• Unlike other passages in the Bible, they can be understood when read alone

• Most Scripture is meant to be read in a continuous passage, while proverbs are meant to be short, independent, and general

I encourage you to spend time in the Proverbs this week (beyond just our memory verse).

There is so much wisdom packed into these short statements!

🧠 To learn more about the background and structure of Proverbs, check out this Bible Project video.

Apply & Respond: God wants to work on your heart 📖

The first thing to internalize as we read and memorize Proverbs 16:32 is the purpose of the book of Proverbs.

It’s called wisdom literature for a reason.

Wisdom is knowledge, applied.

Aka put into practice.

It’s one thing to know the steps involved in fishing.

It’s another to have the embodied skill required to do it.

Not head knowledge, but heart knowledge that becomes embodied in how you live.

As we memorize Proverbs 16:32 this week, let’s start with the assumption that God wants to change our hearts when it comes to anger.

And that he wants heart change to lead to change in our everyday life.

Pray 🙏

Lord, as we memorize Proverbs 16:32 this week, show me where anger is a problem in my life - with my children, my spouse, my enemies (online and offline).

Give me the courage to let you in so you can work on my heart. And let it become change that is visible in my everyday life.

Amen. 🙏

Read 📖

Read all of Proverbs 16 slowly today to get a feel for Proverbs. Pay special attention to Proverbs 16:32, preparing your heart for the week and inviting God to speak to you.

🍽️Bonus: Read it out loud at the dinner table with your friends or family.

Listen🎵

Occasionally, there are songs we find that can help us meditate on and memorize our verse for the week.

Here is one by Verses..

We’re praying that this song helps you not only memorize, but also internalize the wisdom contained in this proverb!

Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Music

LAUGH 😂