101 Most Powerful Proverbs in the Bible

by Steve Rabey, Lois Rabey, J. Stephen Lang

Book Overview

101 MOST POWERFUL PROVERBS IN THE BIBLE takes the best of the proverbs and details them for us. Filled with illustrations of daily life, it seeks to remind us of what's truly important--living wisely, kindly, and well.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0446532150
• ISBN13: 9780446532150
• Release Date: February 2004
• Publisher: Faithwords
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.7" x 8.7"
• Age Range: 13 years and up

Customer Reviews

Open Anywhere, It's All Good

This book has something in common with the Bible's Book of Proverbs - you can open it to any page and find something good. The chapters are only 2 or 3 pages each, and each one focuses on a particular Proverb. My wife and I bought this book to give as a gift to our minister, but we got to thumbing through it and liked it so much we kept it for ourselves and bought him something else. I have a very hectic work schedule, and to be honest I really don't have time to do any heavy reading, but this book has a nice "bite-size" quality to it, so I can grab a chapter here and there without committing myself to reading it from page 1 to the end. I figure in time I will get the whole book read! Proverbs is full of sensible, practical wisdom, and so is this.

A Genuine Joy to Read

What attracted me to this book when I opened it in a local bookstore was a chapter with the title 'Pig Snouts and Sequins.' With that provacative title, I just had to read on. That chapter looks at Proverbs 11:22, a verse about a 'beautiful woman without discretion.' Well, every woman (and man) I know has met that type of woman, and the author of this book shows a real understanding of her type, and of the verse from Proverbs. I was hooked enough to buy this book, which has truly deepened my appreciation for the insights of Proverbs. Each short chapter looks at one particular verse from Proverbs, and gives some insight into everyday matters--gossip, honesty, temper, beauty-without-discretion, materialism, and the list goes on. I like all the books in this '101' series, but this is my favorite, since I think it is really the most practical book about the Bible I've read in a long long time.

Practically Enjoyable

I mean this literally, for this book is practical and enjoyable, just as the Book of Proverbs is. I'm one of those people who has zero interest in theology, but I do have an interest in the Bible as a guide to living in the world. That is what the Proverbs are all about, ditto for these 101 brief meditations on some of the best Proverbs. The author does what some of the best preachers and writers do, pairing off Bible references with incidents from his own experience, relating to marriage, children, self-control, and other nuts-and-bolts matters we all deal with on a daily basis. This isn't "fancy" writing, just very direct, presenting readers with the Bible's very sane view of how to get along well (and morally) with one's fellow human beings. Most of the chapters were well written, but in particular the story about the "women without discretion," who had aged well on the outside but was an immoral wreck inwardly. Don't we all know people like that? Anyway, a hearty thumbs-up for this book.

Readable, and a Great Gift Book for Practically Anybody

I have to admit I'm not that fond of most so-called "devotional" books, since they seem a little stuffy. This one isn't, not a bit. The chapters dealing with 101 verses from Proverbs take a unique and refreshing perspective on these ancient bits of wisdom. Just one curious example, a chapter on Proverbs 22:2, which reads "Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all." The chapter talks about, of all things, iced tea, which is called "the Great Southern Exercise in Democracy," noting that in the heat of summer, rich and poor Southerners all quench themselves with the same refreshing drink. My first reaction to this chapter was that it seemed a bit shallow, but it occurred to me that it was a perfect parable illustrating the Proverb. I also liked the chapters dealing with child-rearing. The Bible takes a pretty sober view of kids and the need to discipline and correct them, and so does this book, which includes some rather painful stories about how children behave when adults let them do as they please. Anyway, all in all I found this very enjoyable to read, especially since it introduced me to some Proverbs I wasn't familiar with. Since the chapters cover practically every sphere of human activity, this would make a nice gift book for practically anyone, especially with its attractive cover.

A Great Book About a Great Book

The Book of Proverbs in the Bible is, in my opinion, seriously underrated. I think this book on the 101 Most Powerful Proverbs may help to remedy that, for it makes these 2000-year-old bits of wisdom come to life. I was truly amazed at how contemporary the Proverbs are. The author has chosen a wide selection of the Proverbs on a variety of topics--parenting, marriage, gossip, self-control, time management--and devoted a short chapter to each, illustrating each individual proverb with lessons from his own experience or from history. I think the best of the chapters dealt with self-control, or maybe that's just my own bias (since everyone I know, myself included, seems to need a lot more self-control!). It is a good book for just browsing through, and if the other books in this '101' series are this good, I think it's going to be a great series.