# Explaining the Proverbs to small kids



## Pergamum (Apr 15, 2011)

I am going through the Proverbs with Noah my 6 year old.


Anyone have good resources to make these little nuggests more easily understood?

Some are easy (go to the ant, sluggard), but other proverbs are a bit vague and hard for me to understand.


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## FCC (Apr 16, 2011)

Hello Pergamum,
My family just started using a study guide on Proverbs from Kevin Swanson, who is an OPC minister in Colorado. His web site, Generations With Vision, has the book for sale along with several other worthy resources. He does a very good job of explaining some of those hard to understand Proverbs and provides the family with an opportunity to discuss how to implement the godly practices held forth in the Proverbs themselves. Enjoy!

David


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## Hebrew Student (Apr 16, 2011)

Pergamum,

One of my areas of interest is in the Wisdom literature of the Hebrew Bible, so, I can at least offer you some help, even though I have never taught the book of Proverbs to children.

I think the best thing to do is to begin by understanding the Proverbs yourself. Bruce Waltke's two volume commentary and Tremper Longman are the two best commentaries on Proverbs written at a lay level. There is also a very interesting Commentary by Roland E. Murphy which brings a unique perspective on the subject. If you are really up to a challenge, Michael Fox's two volume commentary is very good, but very technical [also, he is a liberal, so you have to wade through some secularist ideology to get to the useful information].

Also, remember that there is an entire tradition of wisdom literature in the Hebrew Bible. Proverbs has interrelations between its various parts. Understanding the prologue is really key, because it helps to understand the rest of the book. Also, there are connections between the book of Proverbs and the other wisdom literature, such as the books of Job and Ecclesiastes. It creates a whole system of thought that helps you to deal with the more ambiguous Proverbs. Also, remember that the tradition of near eastern wisdom literature sometimes allows for more than one meaning intentionally.

After understanding the Proverbs yourself, you will then have to contextualize the Proverbs to your children's individual lives. For example, the literal application of texts about adultery are not going to be overly relevant, but the element of faithfulness to God, and being satisfied in him *is* going to be relevant to your children. Understanding your children and their struggles is extremely helpful in this, and as a Dad, you know more about this than anyone. It is a matter of looking at the meaning and logic of the Proverbs, and seeing how it relates to the logic of the circumstances of the lives of your children.

God Bless,
Adam


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