Today, I am reading and commenting on  Proverbs 22-24.

Much like the past few days today’s passage consists of sayings which contain wise advice.  I want to focus on three of the themes contained in these sayings which I think have great relevance to what is happening in the world today.  The writer tells us, “Buy the truth and do not sell it.”  He adds that we should also work for wisdom, instruction, and insight.  In this day people talk about misinformation and disinformation, but how many of them have sought the wisdom and insight to know what is true versus what is misinformation or disinformation.  The writer tells us we should pay for the truth using whatever “coin” necessary.  That “coin” may be money, it may be goods, it may be effort to seek it out.  All too many of us today are satisfied with those who tell us what we want to hear, or believe without question those who lied to us previously. 

Which brings me to the second theme I want to touch on.  The writer warns us to be careful who we hang out with, because we have a tendency to act similarly to those who we spend a lot of time around.  In these sayings the writer warns against spending too much of our time with those who do wicked things or fail to control their temper.  I have learned from other passages, and personal experience, that this has a corollary.  In addition to avoiding spending too much time with those who practice undesirable behaviors we should spend time with those who practice behaviors we wish to emulate.  So, how does this relate to “buying the truth”?  We should spend our time with those who value the truth and seek it out, limiting the time we spend with those who quickly embrace stories which prop up what they wish to believe without spending any time to discover if those stories are true.

Then we have the third theme from today’s passage which I want to touch on.  The writer warns us against envying the wicked, against envying sinners.  The writer had mentioned this previously, which tells us how important he thought this is.  Sometimes we become envious of those who do wrong in order to get what they want and forget why it is wrong.  In the context of what else I am writing about today, perhaps they are people who misstate facts in order to win an argument and we envy the ease with which they convince people to their side.  We may be tempted to follow their example, but that brings us up against the second part of that phrase I quoted in the first paragraph about not selling the truth.  The truth is more valuable than anything anyone can offer us for accepting, or promoting, a lie.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Proverbs 18-21.

Like yesterday, today’s passage contains many short sayings which sum up complex wisdom in short, pithy phrases.  Since these proverbs have many different themes I will focus on just a couple of things which feel the most important of these today.  The writer tells us about the importance of words, both those we choose to speak and those to which we choose to listen.  If we take more pleasure in listening until we understand than in telling others our opinions we both gain wisdom and demonstrate that we have it.  But when we listen we need to listen with discernment and be careful not to believe rumors of which appeal to our prurient interests, but otherwise have little value.  Even worse than listening to such rumors is succumbing to the temptation to spread them.  It feels good to be “in the know”, but the damage done is never worth it.

The writer also tells us how wealth brings friends.  He offers both a simple description of how things are and a warning, actually, two warnings.  First, he warns us that many of those we think of as friends will be nowhere to be found when we need them most.  Second, he warns us to not allow ourselves to only help those who can help us.  God rewards those who provide assistance to those who can never repay that aid.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Proverbs 14-17.

Today’s passage contains so many proverbs which sum up key points of wisdom in simple sayings that I never quite know how to write a blog on it.  I am going to try and find a few themes which I think are addressed from different viewpoints in several of these sayings, maybe I will even be able to connect these themes together.  First of these: the wise do constructive things which build up people, things, and organizations, making them better, while fools tear down people, things, and organizations.  Those who tear down often claim that the tearing down must be done in order to build back better, but a careful examination will usually reveal that they have no plans for what to do after they have destroyed whatever they claim to desire to improve.  One example of this comes from examining some companies which laid off employees in order to cut costs.  They cut staff to save money without ever truly understanding who their productive employees were.  I was reminded of that by this proverb: “Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty,
    but from the strength of an ox come abundant harvests.”                        The point of this being that the most efficient way to keep the manger clean is by getting rid of the oxen which soil it, but without the oxen you cannot harvest the crops which provide you with income.  Related to this we often find those seeking to destroy dishonest and deceitful, while those seeking to build honestly portray the risks they propose we take.  The former despise God, while the latter fear and honor Him.  Which brings me to the final point I want to cover from this passage: those who fear the Lord use restraint when speaking, while the destructive use words as one more tool to destroy and break down.  The wise wish to communicate clearly so they are careful to use words which mean what they wish to say, and which will not bring unnecessary hurt to the listener.  The foolish use words which cut  and can be easily misconstrued.  This truth is such that even the foolish appear wise when they keep their mouths closed.  In fact, if you fear that you are foolish a good way to gain wisdom is by listening to what others have to say while keeping your own thoughts to yourself.

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

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

The proverb writer in today’s passage spends a lot of time warning against adultery.  He goes on to link committing adultery to a lack of discipline.  I also find it interesting that the phrasing suggests that the writer endorses monogamy: the writer tells us to be satisfied with the wife (singular) of our youth despite the fact that tradition attributes these proverbs to King Solomon.  After indicating that being adulterous indicates a lack of discipline, the writer warns against a few other symptoms of lack of discipline: lack of industriousness (or laziness), and being deceitful.  Then he returns to warning against adultery, against allowing our sexual desires to govern our lives.  The writer warns us that all of these poor decisions result from not listening to wisdom.  Further, the writer goes on to tell us that wisdom calls out to us if we will but listen and look for it.  Acquiring wisdom does not require hard effort, or seeking obscure sources of knowledge.  Wisdom can be acquired merely by being open to the lessons around us.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Proverbs 1-4.

One gets the most out of Proverbs by taking note of Proverbs 1:7

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
    but fools^[c] despise wisdom and instruction.

All of it is important, but I think we often miss the important aspect highlighted by the translators’ note designated by that “c”.  That note points out that the word generally translated as “fool” in Proverbs, and much of the rest of the Old Testament indicates a person who is morally deficient.  We today view a fool as one who does things which they have not thought through, that a fool may be well-meaning but misguided.  However, Proverbs implies that foolishness results from trying to get away with the morally reprehensible.  You may imagine that doing something you know is wrong will result in positive outcomes for you, whether that will be pleasure, or wealth, or power, or something else which you think will benefit you, but, while you may get the outcomes you imagined, you will also get negative outcomes much greater than anything positive which comes from doing so.  On the other hand, you may imagine in certain circumstances that doing what you know to be the right thing will have negative consequences you do not wish to face.  Again, you may be correct, but you are passing on blessings of which you are unaware.  The writer of Proverbs tells us that doing the wrong thing will always come with a price higher than you would be willing to pay if you realized in advance you would have to pay it.  While doing the right thing always has a reward for which you would pay much more than whatever price taking that action costs you.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Proverbs 29-31.

I want to focus on three themes I find in today’s passage.  The first two I believe reflect on what we see going on around us today  And are closely related.   I have chosen four proverbs to illustrate these two themes.  The writer warns us that mockers stir people up and that fools fight and riot when they get angry, but that the wise seek to reduce tensions and bring about calm.

Mockers stir up a city,
    but the wise turn away anger.

Fools give full vent to their rage,
    but the wise bring calm in the end.

The writer also gives us insight into government figures who encourage the mockers and the fools.  Some do so because they have no concern for the destruction such things cause as long as they get their bribes and other benefits of corruption.  In fact, they will encourage such things in order to increase their benefits and power.  Others do so because they have listened to lies so long that they cannot distinguish lies from truth.

By justice a king gives a country stability,
    but those who are greedy for bribes tear it down.

If a ruler listens to lies,
    all his officials become wicked.

I am not going to quote specific proverbs for the final theme: Without discipline, order falls apart.  This has two aspects.  One must live a disciplined life and society must discipline those who do discipline themselves.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Proverbs 25-28.

Feeding the hungry and giving water to the thirsty is a basic tenet of Christianity, even if they have done us wrong, especially if they have done us wrong.  Here is how the proverb writer puts that message:

If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;
    if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.
 In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head,
    and the Lord will reward you.

Doing good to those who have done us wrong will shame those capable of being shamed, and God will deal with the rest.  Sometimes following the writer’s advice will turn an enemy into a friend.  More importantly, you will not fall to their level and God will reward you.

Yesterday I mentioned some proverbs which appear to contradict other proverbs.  Here is an example of such where one follows right after the other:

Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
    or you yourself will be just like him.
 Answer a fool according to his folly,
    or he will be wise in his own eyes.

I always read this as warning us against getting caught up in an argument with a fool without allowing them to think that we agree with them.  Another interpretation, which does not nullify the one I just gave says that we should not allow fools to define the scope of the debate.  I have seen this second point made by those who warn against allowing those we disagree with to define the words used to debate an issue, because most times the actual issue in dispute is the meaning of those words.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Proverbs 22-24.

I am going to follow the pattern I have used the last couple of days; pulling a few of the proverbs out of today’s passage and commenting on them.  The first two I want to look at have related messages:

Rich and poor have this in common:
    The Lord is the Maker of them all.

Humility is the fear of the Lord;
    its wages are riches and honor and life.

The second one that those who fear the Lord are humble.  Which means that those who are not humble do not fear the Lord.  Elsewhere the proverb writer tells us that fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,  Taken together these tell us that those who are arrogant are not wise.  This brings me to the first of these two proverbs.  Any claim to greatness I may have comes from the fact that I am made in God’s image.  Yet, everyone can make the same claim.  We should humbly recognize that we are no better, and no worse, than others.  True humility means recognizing this fact: I am neither better than others, nor am I less than others.  We often fail to recognize that considering ourselves inferior to others is a kind of arrogance and as much to be avoided as considering ourselves superior to others.

I was tempted to conclude with the previous paragraph, but I think the lesson from putting these next two proverbs together too important to leave out.

The prudent see danger and take refuge,
    but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.

The sluggard says, “There’s a lion outside!
    I’ll be killed in the public square!”

The first of these proverbs says that we should carefully plan for danger.  The second of these warns against using danger as an excuse to not work.  One could easily see them as contradictory., but, like several other proverbs, they should act as warnings that we can take good ideas too far.  On the one hand, we should be alert to danger and take refuge from it.  On the other hand, we must not use imaginary danger as an excuse to not take get anything done.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Proverbs 18-21.

Like yesterday, I pulled out a few of these proverbs to focus on, but there are many more which are worth thought.  The first two I want to look at are chapter 19:10-11.

It is easy to read these and overlook how they fit together because of the way so many of today’s proverbs are just little tidbits mostly independent of the one before and the one after.  In fact, I had not realized before today that these two go together.  There are numerous proverbs which refer to how the wealth of the rich protects them.  But in this case, the proverb warns rather than declares.  The righteous run to the name of the Lord and ARE SAFE. On the other hand, the rich IMAGINE their wealth a wall too high to scale.  So, we are warned to put our trust in God, not in our wealth, no matter how much of it we have.  I am tempted here to discuss how this applies to things which are going on in society around us, but instead want to focus on making it personal.  I must not allow the wealth I accumulate, however limited it may be, to replace God in my life.

There were some other proverbs in this passage which I had pulled out to possibly write about., But I am going to include just one more:

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