Pay attention and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise;
    apply your heart to what I teach,
for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart
    and have all of them ready on your lips.
So that your trust may be in the Lord,
    I teach you today, even you.
Have I not written thirty sayings for you,
    sayings of counsel and knowledge,
teaching you to be honest and to speak the truth,
    so that you bring back truthful reports
    to those you serve?

Proverbs 22:17-21

At this point in our study of the Proverbs, we begin a new section that runs from 22:17 through the end of Chapter 24. This section contains 30 sayings of the wise. These sayings will usually be comprised by 2 or 3 sentences that become 2 or 3 verses. Interestingly, don’t expect to see the word “wisdom” again. In all the chapters of the last section, the word “not” was used all of 2 times. In this section, it is used frequently. I’ll be pointing out other structural and stylistic differences as we go.

Today’s saying is 3 sentences long, and is the introduction to the section. As you can see, the author is calling the young man to study these sayings and giving some reasons for him to bother with it. He should put time and effort into the study, for it will pay great dividends as time goes on. I might also note that for many of us, fatherly advice seems somewhat a thing of the past. In my case, I’m the grandfather these days…

Even so, I am also the “son” seeking to learn things that have eluded me in the past, and the author’s plea for the readers’ attention really should be heeded, don’t you agree?

For now, have a great weekend and I’ll see you next time!