Proverbs is a collection of short sayings based on long experience. Fortunately, Solomon decided to condense his long experience into these short sayings so thousands of generations after him could learn from them.

The riches of wisdom in Proverbs become ours when we collect them up over and over. Think of it as digging through wisdom’s mine and searching for gold and precious gems that apply to your life.

“If you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” Proverbs 2:3-5

How to Mine Proverbs

One way to work your claim in this book of wisdom is by reading one chapter each day for a month. There are thirty-one chapters in Proverbs and there are seven months each year that have thirty-one days. You could read all of Proverbs at least seven times each year.

You can make Proverbs your own by making notes as you read. Write down the verses that stand out to you and meditate on them during the day. Meditation is a great way to shape your mind with the wisdom of Proverbs.

If you want guidance on a particular topic, search Proverbs for the verses that apply to it and write them down. Put the verses together and see what emerges. This is a way to let the Lord guide you through his Word.

Proverbs is a great book for underlining and making notes in the margin. If you are comfortable with the idea, you can turn your Bible into a workbook and it will be your own living document. I love coming across thoughts from previous years of reading through the Bible.

Make a Meal of It

Proverbs offers so many great thoughts to hang on to that it’s hard to remember them all after we finish reading. It’s easy to get frustrated about how quickly we forget what we read in the Bible. It helps a lot to make notes and meditate on particular verses, but there are too many good verses to do justice to all of them.

Reading the Bible systematically each year really helps because we re-visit the same passages year after year, and discover something different each time. But whether we read the Bible front to back each year, or dip into it occasionally, we tend to forget some of what we read.

Here’s the good news, the Bible feeds our souls whether we remember all of it or not. Do you remember what you had for lunch a week ago? Probably not, but your body digested and used what you ate and you benefitted from it. You’re probably healthier today because of all the meals you ate in the past.

It’s the same with the Word. When you read, study and meditate on the Bible, it feeds your soul and you become spiritually healthy.

Earlier I talked about Proverbs as a book you can mine for treasure, but you can also think of it as a spiritual buffet for your soul. It probably has too many tasty morsels – and you will have to pick and choose what you take with you – but eat what you can at each sitting and you will see the benefit over time.

The next few days of reading contain many good things to think about. Whether you mine your way through and collect some gems to keep, or enjoy what you learn as a meal for your soul, you will be blessed because you read Proverbs.