Because the book of Proverbs is full of practical wisdom, it has been a popular favorite through the ages. Even unbelievers attempt to pilfer its riches for self-help advice in business, finance, and influence. But for those who trust Jesus’ words—that the entire Old Testament was about him (Luke 24:44-47)—Proverbs presents quite a challenge. What does this book teach us about the Lord Jesus?
Here is an article from Nicholas Batzig that provides much help. Batzig discusses numerous strategies by which we may draw legitimate connections between the revelation in Proverbs and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Here is a taste:
When I was in seminary I read through a chapter of Proverbs every day. At some point I realized that many of the Proverbs were couched in the same language as the Ten Commandments. In fact, one could argue that the Proverbs are a commentary on how the Ten Commandments work themselves out in the lives of God’s people and the world at large. If we understand the different uses of the Law in redemptive-history, we begin to understand the relationship between the Proverbs and the believer’s need for Christ. While the Proverbs will function exclusively in a pedagogical manner for unbelievers (i.e. driving them to Christ for forgiveness), they will also continue to do so in the life of the believer.
I believe Batzig is sometimes a little hasty in going to Christ, without first explaining how the original Old Covenant audience would have understood the book. For example, I would not agree that whenever Proverbs speaks of “the righteous person,” it is speaking always and only about the Messiah Jesus (since none of us can be truly righteous). Scholar Bruce Waltke has helpfully shown that the concept of “the righteous” in the Proverbs simply refers to one who is willing to disadvantage themselves in order to advantage others; it did not originally refer to forensic righteousness in the sense that Paul uses the term.
But with that said, Batzig’s strategies and examples remain very helpful for drawing helpful and legitimate connections to the person and work of Christ. If you wish to read Proverbs like a Christian, I highly commend the article.
