Stand---Book Review

I received the book Stand-Unleashing the Wisdom of God, a discovery of Proverbs from Tyndale House Publishers a while back. It's a Focus on the Family Resource written by Alex McFarland.

This book is a brief overview of the book of Proverbs. I actually gave it to my son as part of his reading for devotions. It's appropriate for teenagers and up. It's a rather compact book, but the information covering this Bible book is thorough.

The Introduction explains a little about Solomon, who is credited with the book of Proverbs. The author describes who Solomon was, what he did, etc., but best of all is the comparison of Solomon and Jesus. He points out that although Solomon's wisdom was great, his choices in life didn't line up with what he said. However, Jesus not only preached wisdom, but He also lived it.

In the first chapter, there is valuable background information on the book of Proverbs. Information that explains facts about Proverbs, the importance of God's words, terminology used in the Proverbs, and why Proverbs is included in the Bible. From there we enter the Proverbs themselves, starting with the explanation of wisdom and moving through the chapters of the book. For parents offering this to their teens, they should be aware that there is a chapter dedicated to the topic of sex. It is very straight forward with the information presented in this chapter and although it is biblical, parents should read this beforehand to make sure they are ready to pass this to their teens so they can discuss this together.

Overall, this book impressed me with its content. There is no wasted space, just a valuable brief overview that will help anyone reading through Proverbs.