Proverbs 25-29 - Copied by King Hezekiah's Men

Proverbs 25-29 start by saying, "These are more proverbs of Solomon, copied by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah." He reigned around 716-687 BC. He was a godly king who sought the Lord and brought a revival to the land. He would reach out to Isaiah especially during difficult times, as he sought the Lord. One of those times was when Assyria came to attack Jerusalem. One of the men that Hezekiah sent out was Shebna, the scribe, and it could be that he was one of those men who copied the proverbs of Solomon. Various topics that are covered in these proverbs are about kings and leadership, and how one should conduct himself before the king. There are a lot on the repercussions of our words. There are two categories in the proverbs, those of the foolish and the wise, and how their behaviors are very different. There are also proverbs on the sluggard, the busybody, and the malicious person. There are some about keeping our affairs in order, the importance of justice, law and wise leadership. As C. Hassell Bullock said, "At the very heart of wisdom literature is the motive to hold up before youth these two models for life and to show how the advantages of the righteous life FAR outweigh those of the wicked." Proverbs are not "Thus says the Lord," but they are words from  people to people. They are not necessarily promises from God, but time tested truths which when we ponder, and allow the Lord to apply them to our lives will make us wise and righteous.