Today, I am reading and commenting on  Proverbs 5-8.

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I struggled with composing my thoughts about yesterday’s passage.  I never really got a good feeling about what I should write.  But after reading today’s I am bursting with thoughts about what to say about the passage.  The writer begins by addressing those younger than himself and telling them to learn from his wisdom.  By doing so they will learn to be discrete and to guard knowledge.  I actually almost missed the importance of this.  From the context I believe the writer is telling us to avoid gossiping.  In particular about the next subject.

Which brings me to the next subject.  The writer continues by warning against adultery.  Specifically, he warns young men against adulteresses, but I think that today the same warnings can be given to young women against adulterers.  Those who actively cheat on their spouse are smooth talkers, but their path leads to the grave.  Getting together with another man’s wife, or another woman’s husband can easily lead to you losing all honor and to ending your life alone and in misery.  Instead keep yourself for your spouse that you may grow old together.  Promiscuity is but one way in which one fails to stay disciplined, but it easily leads to the others.

The writer then spends a little time on a couple of other subjects which he warns against repeatedly: do not cosign a loan for someone else (if you do be prepared to pay the loan off yourself), do not be lazy about preparing for the future, do not be dishonest and deceitful sowing disagreement among those who would otherwise get along with each other.  Connecting closely with that, he lists seven things which are an abomination to God: looking down on others, compulsive lying, shedding innocent blood, those who devise wicked plans, those who are drawn to evil, false witnesses, and those who sow discord.

The writer goes back to discussing the dangers of adultery and warning against it before going on to explain how to distinguish wisdom from foolishness.  Speaking noble things, truthful things, righteous things, and what is right shows wisdom.  Speaking wicked and deceitful things shows folly.  Wisdom seeks knowledge, folly is satisfied that which makes one feel good.  Those who fear the Lord hate evil, while pride and arrogance leads one into the paths of folly.  Whenever we see the writer say that the fear of the Lord leads to certain behavior we need to remember that near the beginning of the first chapter of the Book of Proverbs the writer tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  Finally, the chapter wraps up by telling us that seeking wisdom and seeking God are complimentary endeavors.  If we seek wisdom without seeking God, any wisdom we find will be limited compared to what is out there.  On the other hand, if we seek God without seeking wisdom we will not fully comprehend God if and when we find Him.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.