Ken Boa

The opening chapters of the book of Proverbs offer us more than scattered sayings; they are a sustained call to wisdom, framed as a father’s loving instruction to his son. These ten “sermonic exhortations” serve as foundational preparation before we encounter the shorter proverbs that begin in chapter 10. They are the training ground where wisdom is cultivated and hearts…

As we enter the third portion of our journey through Proverbs, we come to some of the most penetrating moral exhortations in all of Scripture. These chapters—5 through 9—round out the introduction to the book and prepare us to receive the many short, practical proverbs that begin in chapter 10. But first, we are given a series of powerful and…

As we turn the page from the opening exhortations of Proverbs (chapters 1–9) and move into the collected sayings beginning in chapter 10, we shift from broad, thematic instruction to short, concentrated pearls of wisdom. These pithy, often parallel verses don’t follow a continuous narrative, but they carry a unified heartbeat: the cultivation of wise character. In this study, we…

Our words matter. In the grand scheme of godly living, Proverbs dedicates enormous attention to the subject of speech. In fact, over 150 verses speak to the way we use our tongues. That tells us something: our speech isn’t just peripheral—it’s central. The wise person not only walks with integrity and humility; he also speaks with discernment and grace. In…

In this sixth part of our journey through the book of Proverbs, we turn to a topic that affects every one of us in deeply personal and practical ways: money. Scripture speaks often and candidly about wealth—not with shame or sentimentality, but with wisdom. And Proverbs offers one of the richest collections of insights on how we are to view,…

Why did God create us? Why did He make us like Himself? And how should that shape the way we live? These questions lead us to one of the most important issues we can consider: our purpose. Most people I encounter have never carefully wrestled with the question, Why am I here? Yet I believe every one of us has…

In the previous article, we considered the authority of Scripture. If the Bible is truly the Word of God, then to disbelieve or disobey Scripture is ultimately to disbelieve or disobey God. This naturally raises another question: Can the Bible contain errors? This brings us to two important qualities of Scripture: inerrancy and clarity. Inerrancy concerns whether Scripture affirms anything…

In the previous article, we saw that the “Word of God” can refer to several things. Most importantly, Jesus Christ is the living Word. He is the fullest and clearest revelation of God. Hebrews 1:1–3 tells us that God spoke in many ways through the prophets, but “in these last days” He has spoken through His Son. Jesus is “the…

When we speak of the Word of God, what do we mean? And how can we know that the books in our Bible are the books God intended us to have? These questions matter because we are assigning enormous authority to Scripture. If these words are to shape our beliefs, choices, and lives, we should have confidence that what we…

As we bring this series to a close, we step back and ask: What is the theology behind the book of Proverbs? What vision of life and God lies beneath its concise sayings and vivid contrasts? Proverbs is not just a collection of helpful aphorisms or ancient moral code. It’s a guide to living wisely in God’s world—rooted in the…