Lesson 5, April 27-May 3
Sabbath Afternoon!
Read for This Week’s Study: Proverbs 5:3-14; Matthew 19:5; 1 Corinthians 7:3, 4; Proverbs 13:22; 14:26; 17:22; 23:13; 31:10-31.
Memory Text: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5, 6, NKJV).
Whatever phase of life we are in now, we all, of course, started out with a mother and a father, regardless of the kind of relationship, if any at all, that we had with them after our birth. On the other hand, some people, other than having siblings or other relatives, never have a family of their own, other than the one they grew up in.
Whatever our situation, whatever our phase of life, the book of Proverbs contains a combination of instructions, poems, questions, and wise sayings. Family relationships are directly addressed, and other words of wisdom can be applied to the home. Proverbs is, in fact, cast as a family document in which keys to a godly life are handed down from parent to child. Just as parents might write a letter of advice to a son or daughter going to college, setting up their separate dwelling, or taking a job away from home, so Proverbs is addressed from father to son: “My son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother” (Proverbs 1:8, NKJV). Deuteronomy directed parents to share their convictions with the next generation. This is what Proverbs does. In the father’s summons, we hear the voice of the heavenly Father calling us to learn.
