The Book of Proverbs

Solomon is believed to have written the Book of Proverbs (Pro 1:1) with the exception of the chapters 30 and 31 and parts of the chapters 22 and 24.
It's also believed that Solomon wrote the proverbs early in his reign before his
heart was drawn away from the Lord. It appears that the Book of Proverbs was compiled into the book 250 years later in the time of king Hezekiah (Pro 25:1).

It's a book of observations made by Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived on Earth with the exception of Jesus himself. Solomon received wisdom from God
and made observations in the Book of Proverbs. Some of the observations lack moral directives such as Pro 10:15, 18:11. He doesn't say there that a rich man should regard his wealth as his strong city. It's an observation he has made on rich men. He also writes that whoever trusts in his riches will fall (Pro 11:28a), see 
The Love of Money. See also Laying up treasures in Heaven in 
The Sermon on the Mount. Another examples of observations without moral 
directives are Pro 14:20, 17:8, 23. Many proverbs are observations without moral directives. The moral directives are found in other places in the Bible, see Exo 23:8.

It isn't a book of promises.

The book is about wisdom and presents life statements (Pro 1:2–6). In Jewish thought, wisdom means living skillfully from God's perspective. In our secular society, we can say that an unwise person makes poor choices. The proverbs are not all to be interpreted literally. For example: "Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings." (Pro 22:29). It means that a skilled person would be recognized and rewarded. See also time 17:25–20:19 in 
Bible Q&A With Pastor Paul │April 2024 | (Individual links in description).

The book of Proverbs is about wisdom. It's generalized. It's not necessarily
so specific. If having the financial mean to help a person with a loan and it's not a danger for me, it's OK to do it. Pro 6:1–5, 11:15, 17:18, 22:26–27 don't forbid that.
Wisdom here would advise against securing loans to someone who can easily send you into financial ruin. Jesus encourages us to lend money (Mat 5:42, Luk 6:30),
see Giving in The Sermon on the Mount. It's a sign of righteousness to do so
(Psalm 37:25–26, 112:4–5). Parents can do it for their children.

The purpose of wisdom is to protect us (Pro 2:12–17).
See Casting pearls before swine in The Sermon on the Mount. 

The source of wisdom is Jesus Christ (Col 2:2–3, 1 Cor 1:24). Wisdom existed before the creation and is the architect of the creation (Pro 8:22–31), 
see The Biblical Creation and the Fall of Man.

The wisdom from Heaven is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and sincere (James 3:17).

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." (James 1:5),
see Ask, and it will be given to you in The Sermon on the Mount. 
If asking, ask in faith believing this promise.

Several proverbs contain great warnings against marital infidelity and sexual
immorality (Pro 5:3–8, 18–20, 6:20–35, 7:4–27). See the comment to the
7th commandment in the The Ten Commandments. Physical intimacy, but also emotional and spiritual intimacy, is for marriage. Marriage is intended by God to be a blessing. It becomes a blessing when we decide in our hearts to love and appreciate the person we are married to.

Some proverbs contain warnings against being deceived (Pro 1:8–19, 4:14–15).
See also The Parable about the Wise and Foolish Builders.

We shouldn't despise the Lord’s discipline (Pro 3:11–12, 8:33, 10:8, 17, 12:1,
13:1, 18, 15:32, 17:3, 19:27, 23:12, Heb 12:5–7, 1 Pet 1:6–7). 
We should endure all hardships as discipline, see the first part of The Book of James.

See the proverbs in To Fear the Lord at the end of Fear of Man.

There are serious things things that are abominations to the Lord (Pro 6:16–19): 

• haughty eyes (an attitude of prideful superiority),
• a lying tongue (a person who doesn't speak the truth),
• hands that shed innocent blood (a murderer),
• a heart that devises evil plans (a person who plans and thinks
  about how to break the law and harm others),
• feet that hasten to run to evil 
  (a person who has a gravitational pull to do evil),
• a false witness breathing out lies 
  (a person who is willing to lie even in court to falsely accuse another),
• one who sows discord among brothers (a person who sows the seed of suspicion between people so that they end up hating each other).

Seven ways to know and be sure you're on the right track:

1. Be wise in all the counsel of God's Word. 
   It's important not to focus on one passage, verse, or idea to the exclusion of the rest of the Bible. That gives an imbalance in the understanding related to the Word of God.
2. Avoid the opinions of any person who claims unique insight. 
   This is how cults start.
3. Avoid the belief that only one Bible translation is true. 
   Although the wording is different, the message is the same in many different translations, see it explained in Bible Translations.
4. Keep praying for clarity. 
   See Ask, and it will be given to you in The Sermon on the Mount.
5. Be humble. 
   See 3) Blessed are the meek in The Sermon on the Mount. 
   This prevents pride from emerging and believing to have found
   the one true way that no one else has.
6. Avoid man-made religion and tradition. 
   See Confronting Meaningless Religion.
7. Trust that God will lead you to the truth. 
   See Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life.

At the end of Solomon's life, he took the same wisdom and applied it in a different way in The Book of Ecclesiastes. It presents conclusions based on human reasoning.

Some of the Proverbs:

"Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life." (Pro 4:23).
It means that we need to protect our mind, thoughts, desires, affections, as well as emotions and feelings. We need to set limits to the desires of our heart that may be contrary to God's Word: "Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure." (Pro 4:26).

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil." (Pro 3:5–7).
See To Fear the Lord at the end of Fear of Man.

"Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it." (Pro 3:27–28). See The Golden Rule in The Sermon on the Mount.

"A worthless person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech, with perverted heart devises evil, continually sowing discord, therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly." (Pro 6:12–15).

"What the wicked dreads will come upon him, but the desire of the righteous will be granted. When the tempest passes, the wicked is no more, but the righteous is established forever." (Pro 10:24–25). "When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down, but even in death the righteous seek refuge in God." (Pro 14:32). 
We reap what we sow (Gal 6:7b).

"The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it." (Pro 10:22). "The house of the righteous contains great treasure, but the income of the wicked brings ruin." (Pro 15:6). When any kind of wealth comes from the Lord's blessing,
it comes free from all the drama that saps the joy out of every moment of it.

"Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm." (Pro 13:20). "Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge." (Pro 14:7). The power of influence (Psalm 1:1–3, John 15:5,
1 Cor 15:33, Isaiah 32:5–8), see Psalm 101: How to live a holy life.

"The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body." (Pro 18:8). Human nature is very prone to believe the worst in man. Gossip is irresistible. But instead of believing in gossip and slander, we should reason if it matches reality. There are two sides to a story. "Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses."
(2 Cor 13:1b, Deu (5 Mos) 19:15).

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death." 
(Pro 14:12, 16:25). We may face persecution for our faith in Christ by people
who believe in their hearts that they are doing the right thing  (John 16:2).
Evil is very deceptive.

"Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate." (Pro 8:13b).
"The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They won't go unpunished."
"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." (Pro 16:5, 18). "Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor." (Pro 18:12).

"Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him." (Pro 26:12). "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom." (Pro 11:2). This is about a proud person who thinks his opinion is superior to someone else's and makes him difficult to teach, see the Sadducees
in Our Resurrection from Death.

"The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe."
(Pro 18:10). We can pray in Jesus' name (John 14:13–14).

"The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him." (Pro 18:17). There are always two sides to a story. It's important and necessary to listen to both sides before making a judgment. See also
Do not judge others in The Sermon on the Mount.

"Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed." (Pro 19:17). God has special concerns for poor people. God cares about them. When we help poor people, it is like giving to the Lord, see 
Peter Sent to the Gentiles.

"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." (Pro 22:6). This is an observation and not a promise, see it explained at time 40:42–43:14 in Bible Q&A with Pastor Paul.

"The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender."
(Pro 22:7). "Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; do not desire his delicacies, for he is like one who is inwardly calculating. 'Eat and drink!' he says to you, but his heart is not with you." (Pro 23:6–7). See these verses explained at time 4:26–6:18 in Bible Q & A With Pastor Paul │February 2024.

"If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small." (Pro 24:10).
It shows how weak we are in ourselves. We need to come to the Lord for strength.
Our strength need to be in the Lord (Eph 6:10–11).

"Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles." (Pro 24:17), see The book of Obadiah.

"If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you." (Pro 25:21–22, Rom 12:20). "Heaping burning coals on his head" is a figurative statement intended to describe that the enemy regrets his previous bad action and attitude towards you. The Lord will also reward you for doing good to the one who dislikes you. 

"The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it." (Pro 27:12). The ability to see danger from afar is high on the Bible's list of good things. Much pain can be avoided if we can look down the road, to consider consequences and apply biblical wisdom. 

"As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man." (Pro 27:19).
Jesus said: "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." (Mat 12:34b). What comes out of our mouth is a reflection of what is in our heart. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick;" (Jer 17:9a–10). "Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered." (Pro 28:26).

"Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it completely." (Pro 28:5). Justice comes from God, he is just and fair, see
God's Attributes. To know God is to know justice, something evil people don't do.

"Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy." (Pro 28:13). "We should confess our sins to one another and pray for one another, so that we may be healed." (James 5:16).
Hiding sins only makes it worse. Doing so is part of our sin nature.

"Partiality in judging is not good." (Pro 24:23b). "To show partiality is not good." (Pro 28:21a). This is unfortunately common in human nature. Showing partiality
is a sin (James 2:9, Luk 20:21, 1 Tim 5:21, Mal 2:9, Lev 19:15,
Deu 1:17, 10:17, 16:19, 2 Chron 19:7, Job 13:8–10, 32:21, 34:19).

See also The Old Testament of the Bible.

Song of Solomon

King Solomon is the author of the Song of Solomon. He wrote over 1000 songs. This one should be his Song of Songs and is considered his masterpiece.

It's a literary and powerful picture of romantic love between a man and a woman.

In Greek there are four main Greek words for love:

• Eros:
  Passionate and romantic love between the sexes. Gives the word erotic.
• Phileo/philia:
  Brotherly love. A love between friends. (John 11:1, 3, Rom 12:10a).
  This is how Peter loved Jesus (John 21:15b, 21:16b–17),
  and also how Jesus loved John (John 20:2). 
• Storge:
  Family love. Not used in the New Testament.
• Agape/agapao:
  Unconditional love (Mat 5:44), see Love and not revenge in
  The Sermon on the Mount. It's the highest form of love. Most love is
  self-directed, but not agape. It's a choice to love that way. That's how
  God loves us. God has chosen to love us so, no matter what (Eph 2:4–5).
  This is how Jesus loved John (John 13:23, 19:26, 21:7, 21:20).
  This is also the way we are called to love one another (John 13:34). 
  This is how a husband should love his wife (Eph 5:25).
  It's beyond us, not possible for us to achieve in our own strength. 
  We need the Holy Spirit to work it out in us. 

The Song of Solomon is about erotic love. The kind of love a husband has for his wife and the wife has for her husband.

When God created erotic love, he had a plan and a purpose for it, see the commentary on the 7th commandment in the The Ten Commandments. Lovemaking is a gift that God has given to marriage. God created it for his own purpose and knows best how it should work. When applied outside God's plan and purpose, it becomes a man-made perversion. 

The Song of Solomon contains the following types and symbols:

• The bridegroom: Solomon.
• The bride: The Shulamite virgin (Sng 6:13 (12 in some translations)).
  Her skin is dark (Sng 1:5).
• Wine: It's an image of something that brings joy.
• To bring her into his chambers (Sng 1:4): It's a picture of marriage.
  This couple is married. (Sng 2:7, 3:5, 8:4).

This married couple loves each other. They communicate and express their love with words to each other. (Eph 5:25–28). A wise man would learn what his wife likes, and a wise woman would learn what her husband likes and adjust accordingly. They must be faithful to each other (Sng 8:6), see the commentary to the 7th commandment in the The Ten Commandments. 

See also The Old Testament of the Bible.