Bible Reading Challenge Blog

That first verse is a bit harsh.  Whoever loves discipline, loves knowledge,  but those who hate to be rebuked are stupid.  Ouch, but true that, still ouch.  If you do not mind,  and in fact are encouraged, after you are told how to do things correctly, then you actually want to learn and understand how to do things better.  If you are someone who is mortified by a correction and would never speak to that person again who corrected you, well, according to Proverbs, you are stupid.  That is a bit harsh, but it is also a bit true.

We find the ying and yang again in this chapter but this time it is between wisdom and folly.  Earlier in the chapter we read about the distinctions between righteousness and wickedness, but then the contest does point to the adversaries being wisdom and folly.  Fools show their anger at once, but the prudent (read wise) ignore an insult.  This is just great stuff.  If you look at vss. 15-20 you find the section that I prefer most in this chapter.

The primary theme of this chapter is that people basically get what they give back.  People get what they deserve is what we hear.  Now as we looked at Job we realized that this Job’s primary point was exactly the opposite, that people do not get what they deserve, but rather we serve a God who doesn’t let us in on His plans, and that His plans don’t normally line up with what we would expect.  The rain does fall on the evil and on the good.  But this chapter in Proverbs encourages the reader to do good, to be righteous, to be generous.  The motivation for this action is that you will be repaid on this earth for all of those actions and for that way of life.  Look at some of the particulars as the author also uses the opposite as true.  Not only do the good get good, but the bad get bad.

We hear that righteousness saves and wickedness leads to trouble.  There are all of these ying and yang statements that when they are read on face value the person reading it has to say: yeah, that makes sense.  But as much as it makes sense, it doesn’t describe the reality in which we live, a reality that Job knew only too well. The wicked do not receive death as a reward on this earth.  Do I need to remind you of where we learn this lesson?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERWREcPIoPA

I know, Billy Joel isn’t Scripture, but we do know that justice is not always seen on this earth, but Proverbs encourages us to live a certain way because we are able to see the opposite which leads to wickedness.  I am not encouraging people to not be “good”, but I am trying to display a dose of reality where good or bad does not dictate longevity or blessing in this life.

Let me point back to something that ought to be our guiding light.  We live our lives not to receive a reward, we live our lives as a testament of gratitude to the one who created and redeemed us.  That has to be our motivation.  If our motivation is to receive all those good things that the author of Proverbs states, then we will be sorely disappointed and find ourselves questioning why God does certain things.  We are the potter and He is the clay, we ought to leave it at that and live our lives in complete thanksgiving for anything that we have.

Here is a classic Proverbs line…: “Like vinegar to the teeth, and smoke to the eyes, so are the lazy to their employers.”  He really doesn’t hold many punches, especially since we know that he as king probably hired a lot of people.  Once again we see this logic and this appeal for wisdom as right living: righteousness, is contrasted with wrong living: lying lips.  Listen to this line:  Whoever winks the eye causes trouble, but the one who rebukes boldly makes peace.  Now that is counter intuitive.   

We live in a place where silence is part of the culture so if something is wrong or if something should not be so we are trained to keep silent because the person will figure it out or someone else will let them know  that it needs to be corrected.  But often no one does anything about it and the culture of silence wins out again and a wrong goes unaddressed.  This proverb tells us again to make sure that we are aware of what is wrong and what is right and to stick to that which is right.  It is moralizing, no getting around that, but it is a moralizing that we find in Scripture which allows us to recognize that God is calling us to a higher standard as His children.

We find the classic memory verse for Proverbs in this chapter and specifically at vs.10: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”  As you read through this chapter you are able to pick out verse after verse which just has some really good, well, wisdom in it.  For example, if you try to give constructive criticism to a fool, they will not appreciate it.  They will, in fact, make you an enemy.  If you give constructive criticism to a person who is mature and wise (vs.6) then they will be a better person for life.

You have had those experiences where you were trying to help someone and you realize that in helping they in turn have become bitter against you?  Now, there is a limit.  If you are the one who is always trying to help others in a not so helpful way, and then when someone tries to correct you  you snap off their head, well, that is not exactly what I am talking about.  In that case maybe you are the fool.  This chapter is pretty cut and dried and if we read through it I think we will be able to gain some great insight.

We see a very clear delineation between Proverbs 7 and 8.  In 7 we read about the one who leads others astray.  In 8 we read about wisdom who is the exact opposite of the one that we read about in chapter 7.  The key to wisdom is found in vs. 35 where we read her say: “Whoever finds me find life.”  

Throughout this chapter we read how wisdom was always close to the creator God who was in control then and will be in control forever.  Wisdom also describes herself in very flattering terms as we read: “For wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.”   The author makes it clear that if you have to choose between the person described in chapter 7 or the one described in chapter 8, there really isn’t much of a choice.  Wisdom is the clear favorite.

Here we have a classic Scripture of a father admonishing his son not to pursue after the prostitute.  But do you notice how the son is almost pictured as a victim, while the prostitute is definitely seen as the aggressor in these verses?  It is really interesting how today we know for sure that the prostitute is almost always forced into the role because of fear of violence, or destitution as a result of events beyond her control, or trafficked and forced to play that role.  The john who uses the prostitute is not an innocent victim, he is the one who is propitiating this vicious and tragic cycle.

The last verse describes how strong the author feels: Her house is the way to Sheol (read hell), going down to the chambers of death.  Just so we are clear, the son is the one who would be responsible for his own downfall, not the person who owns the house to where he is invited.

We cover a lot of ground in this chapter in Proverbs.  The first topic that is addressed is laziness and how it leads to poverty.  I love the analogy that is made to describe a hard worker as someone who is like a gazelle being chased by a hunter, so always alert, and always ready to do work to get from point A to point B.  

The next topic that is addressed is adultery and infidelity.  The author expresses a deep disdain for the one who would lie with the wife of another.  He makes a distinction between the prostitute and the wife of another man.  This distinction might be made as a result of one being unlawful, adultery, and the other lawful, prostitution.  This is not a delineation that I make, but it is something that the author lifts up as important.  

Tucked in the midst of these verses are the seven deadly sins that have gotten so much leverage in some Christian circles.  Here you see them in detail in Villa Cimbrone which is a villa that we visit every time that we have a mission trip in Italy.  It is owned by a Protestant family that were members of the church while we were there.

In Proverbs 6:16-19 they are mentioned as: haughty eyes, lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, hear that devises wicked plans, feet that hurry to run to evil, lying witness, and one who sows discord in the family.  

Interestingly enough according to Christian tradition the seven deadly sins are: envy, gluttony, greed, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath.  These are not mentioned anywhere in Scripture as the seven deadly sins but have just come on down the line through tradition.  I like biblical examples better.

So does it strike you as a bit surprising that Solomon, who according to I Kings 11:3 had 700 wives and 300 concubines, is giving advice to his children about fidelity and not aligning themselves with adulteresses and loose women?  It does strike me as a bit of a hypocrisy, but still it is good advice.  There is a Scripture that rings so true to me and that it would be great to think through.  If you look  at I Corinthians 6:12-20 we read that if we are with another person in a sexual way then that person becomes one with us.  Yes, it mentions physically, but I would argue that it is true in so many other ways.   I would guess that every person remembers vividly all of their sexual experiences, for better or for worse.  As a result, what a dishonor that is to your spouse.

The author speaks about this as he states: “Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth.”  This chapter gives you advice on how important it is that fidelity be understood as a mandate directly from God.  Maybe it is advice from someone who walked on the wrong road and is learning from his mistakes.  If you look at vs.8 and following you read the author encourage his child to stay as far away as possible from the door of the house of the loose woman.  Now, of course, truth be told, if there is a loose woman, then there is also a loose man.  Isn’t it interesting that even today in our cultural perspective we don’t think of a loose man but rather a macho man.  After all, boys will be boys, but girls aren’t allowed to be girls.

Yeah, that doesn’t work any longer and never should have worked in the first place.  Those who are able to follow the advice of allowing our intimate relationships to be confined to marriage then the better off we all would be.

Once again we hear Solomon addressing his children and he speaks about how he was brought up in his household with wisdom.  So he would have been speaking about being brought up in King David’s household with all the turmoil and drama that occurred in that house.  Once again, the emphasis is on pursuing wisdom as a precious commodity that ought never be turned down for anything temporal.  

Let’s think about that for a moment.  The gift of wisdom from the Lord is one that is often overlooked.  We aren’t talking about education, or book smarts, or intelligence.  We are talking about the ability to discern right from wrong and the ability to choose right over wrong.  These are two very different gifts.  We are not going to devolve into moralizing here, but think about the role that wisdom plays in your life.  If you have children then you know the role that it plays.  When do I exercise my authority and when do I allow them to learn on their own?  If you are in a supervisory role at work you can ask the question when do I make decisions that may be risky and yet produce profit or benefit, and when do I choose to take the more conservative approach?

If you look at vs. 17 you will see one attribute of wickedness which also came up in chapter 3 but I didn’t mention it.  Violence, violence is a clear sign that someone is not quite following the wisdom that God has gifted us.  Violence is a sign that we have surpassed our own ability to control our emotions and have decided to go out on our own on this one.  Violence is always a sign of God not being allowed into the situation and we having taken the situation into our own hands and shoving God away.  There are now exceptions.

So far the last two chapters have begun with the words: “My child…”  If it was Solomon writing then he would be writing to his children as they looked to take on the daunting task of preparing themselves for the rule of the kingdom.  He would have needed to write a few things down so that they could be prepared.  But his words are also useful for us as Scripture as we look to live our lives in a fairly perilous world as well.

There are a lot of memory verses in this chapter alone.  Look at vs.5-8 and who of us hasn’t heard before: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths.

This chapter does contain some statements that make us think that the Lord’s favor is with the righteous and that favor will play itself out on this world.  We seem to have a bit of a prosperity gospel approach in verses 9-10 where we read that if we honor the Lord in all of our ways that he will then shower us with plenty.  Verses 11-12 are also memory verses for those times that people are down and out feel as if God is punishing them.  We hear that punishment builds character, well here we read that punishment is a sign that God loves you.  Not sure I would take that logic too far.

We once again have an emphasis on wisdom and how precious and important it is.  As a juxtaposition we find evil and wickedness (vs.27-35) especially in the light of dealing with our neighbors.  The whole concept that Jesus gives us, which is to love our neighbors as ourselves, is not new to the New Testament.  Here we hear it repeated where we are told not to plan harm against our neighbor, not to withhold something that we have that they may need, not to quarrel with them for no reason.  All great advice.  It helps us live our lives as examples of disciples of our Lord.