PSA Bible Reading Challenge 2023-2024

There are a couple of verses here that I want to look at.  Look first at vs.17 where we read “iron sharpens iron”.  It goes on to say that we are able to sharpen the wits of each other.  The literal Hebrew is that we are able to sharpen the “face” of each other.  This verse is used consistently to refer to how when we hold each other accountable it allows us to sharpen each other.  Normally this verse is used to how Christians are able to help each other out and strengthen each other as we go about our daily lives.  Iron sharpens iron.  We are able to sharpen each other.

The other verse I would like us to look at is vs.25 where it speaks of when the grass is gone, new growth appears.  I’ll never forget driving along in the countrysides of Italy and seeing the shepherds with their flock of sheep and seeing them setting fields on fire so that once they were burned down to nothing, grass would soon grow and it would provide their flocks places to graze.  It strikes me a bit strange that we transition from making sure that the reader is not doing really evil things, to making sure that they are keeping care of their flocks by night.  These verses do reflect how important it is to know that what we do during the day will affect what our livelihood will be.  

So we find ourselves once again on the doorstep of a proverb which teaches us how to act.  The fool is not to be trusted and what they say is to be regarded as chaff in the wind.  The fool thinks they are wise in their own mind, and think that all those around them should beckon to their calling.

He transitions from speaking out against the fool to speak out against the lazy person.  The lazy person refuses to leave their bed and says that there is imminent danger right outside the door so it would be foolish to leave the home.  The lazy person makes up stories in order to justify their position.  

From the lazy person to the gossiper the author states that the one who “whispers” is one whose words go all the way down into the soul of a person.  The danger of a whisperer, a gossiper,  is that what they say actually does affect the person and actually does make a difference in someone’s life.  The old saying: “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me,” simply is not true.

So, in all we can say that one should not be a fool, not be lazy, and not be a gossiper.  That’s pretty good counsel.

This might be one of my favorite Proverbs, simply because there are so many New Testament parallels that we can lift up.  Let’s start at vss.6-7 where we find that a person should never put themselves too close to the seat of honor, but rather there is more dignity in being asked to move forward.  We find the same message given to us in Luke 14:7-11 where Jesus tells us to always put ourselves in the back row so that we can be moved up,  and not vice-versa.  The opposite of this can be seen in James 2:3 where the wealthy person is asked to sit up front in worship.  Yeah, that isn’t going to fly either.

This reminds me of this commercial which was popular so many years ago:

Basically Proverbs here is telling us: don’t be a Bob Uecker.

But there is also vs.22 which is picked up again by Paul in Romans 12 and especially verses 9-21 where we actually read in vs.20 a direct reference to treating your enemies with respect and assistance because by doing so you will be heaping coals upon their head.  Who doesn’t want to heap coals on their enemies’ heads?  

Once again this chapter is broken down into two sections.  The second part is called further sayings of the wise and it begins at vs. 23.  I couldn’t help as I was reading it to think of those who are convinced the stronger they are,  the louder they are, the more effective they can be.  There are those who believe that they are able to talk themselves out of anything, even those things which are fundamentally wrong and even evil.  We read a castigation to those who would say to the wicked that they are innocent.  The implication is not that they are saying it to the wicked, but rather trying to justify them to the rest of the world.  

The beginning of this chapter once again gives us the juxtaposition between wisdom and folly.  

This is a real beating on those who drink in excess and focuses on alcohol as the source of their enjoyment.  The author draws a straight line between those who drink and those who have woe, sorrow, strife, complaints, are wounded, and have redness of eyes.  He equates alcohol to a snake which at first might be pretty and almost hypnotic, but when you actually get close to it, and try it out, it bites you and leaves you bleeding and about to die.  The author looks at alcohol as an addiction which cannot be broken and which drives the person to ruin.

This is not the only place where literature describes alcohol in such a way.  But it is very strongly worded her.  We see this approach especially at the end of this chapter.  In the middle we hear a warning to not be among the “winebibbers”.  Now, that is a new word, and one that I have never heard before.  

At the beginning of the chapter he warns the reader to stay away from the wealthy who take pride in their wealth and find their identity only in their wealth.  There is a warning in vs.10 about encroaching on the fields of orphans and that if you dare do that then their redeemer will come to their aid and you will not be able to stand up against him.  Throughout these chapters you have these random warnings about alcohol, and prostitutes, and pride, but then you have this wonderful verse which reminds us of what Jesus’ primary message about the kingdom of God was all about.  It was about making sure that everyone knows that they are welcome to the banquet table.  I like that.

It is almost as if this chapter contains two distinct parts.  The first part goes from vs.1-16, and then the second part goes from 17-29.  In the first section I want to focus on vs.9 which states that those who are generous are blessed, because they share their bread with the poor.  The blessing that comes with identifying yourself as a child of God, and then being able to identify all other people the same way, regardless of the means that we have accessible to us, is a blessing ultimately to us.  Our ability to help others ultimately is an incredible blessing to us.  We should never feel entitled because we have the resources.  We should never feel as if people should be coming to us on our terms because we have the means.  No, instead, God has placed us in that situation as someone who has an opportunity to be blessed because they have a task to do which is God inspired.  We are the ones who are blessed when we bless others with material goods.

There are a couple posts where Solomon lifts up what he would call the misery of being with a wife who is either contentious or fretful.  It seems like Solomon probably had some life experiences which made him calloused to the role that women, and especially wives, played in his day and age.  A big part of that would have been the number of wives which he had.  This had to, I am sure, translate into a disrespect and view of women that was not healthy at all.  Solomon was very flawed and those flaws do reveal themselves even in these Scriptures.  

If you look at vs.17 you will find a counter intuitive truth.  If you love pleasure you will always be needy.  If pleasure is your pursuit, then you will never have enough and you will never be satisfied.  That is a sad state of affairs for that person.  But he goes on.  If you love wine and oil, the finer things in life, then you will never gain material possessions beyond your pursuit of wine and oil.  Now, let’s be clear, becoming rich should not be anyone’s goal or pursuit.  I know, this may sound counter intuitive to some of you.  Our goal ought not to be to amass as much material goods as we possible can.  If that is our goal, then we will never be satisfied.  What a terrible way to live with this goal.

Not super crazy about that last verse here, let’s not read into it, although that was certainly the mentality that beatings cleansed the innards and righted the ship.  We have come  a long way, fortunately, from that verse.  

My focus on this chapter, though, is recognizing the role that alcohol plays in some people’s lives.  He begins this chapter not as a teetotaler, but rather as someone who preaches prudence.  It is something that can easily lead astray.  Interestingly enough he follows that up with a statement on anger, and I can easily see how these two can be related.  

A couple verses caught my interest.  Look at vs.17 where it states that bread gained by deceit is sweet, but then it turns to gravel.  The other verse which struck me was vs.20 where we are told to stay away from the gossiper, not because they will tell us gossip, but because they more time we spend with them then the more they will find out about us and tell others about our lives.  Just stay away from them and they won’t be able to speak poorly about you.

Do you feel like these chapters seem to run together and overlap each other?  There continues to be advice on how to live and underlined is the necessity to treat the poor with dignity and respect.  I love the line where it states that when you give to the poor, you are giving to the Lord.  Look at vs.17.  There is not the sense that we see in some circles today that the poor just haven’t applied themselves enough and so are to be scoffed and mocked and not taken seriously.  We simply do not know their story or why they are in the position in which they find themselves.

Since we do not know that story then we are to treat them with the same dignity and respect that we treat our own family members because they should be considered family.  We do see a lot of emphasis on how we ought to treat the poor and I like that in Proverbs.  It is a bit ironic because we have a king, King Solomon, writing about the poor when he was the richest man in the land.  But he was also a man of God, so I guess he got it.

As I was reading this Proverbs I couldn’t help but think of this song, even though I know it comes from Psalm 61:3.  But look at vs. 10 and maybe you can understand why I thought it was an appropriate Scripture.