The 'BARKING OWL' always has something to say, and like the feathered version, can be either WISE...............or ANNOYING!







Saturday, May 19, 2012

The Proverbs 31 Project: Commenting May 19th on Proverbs 19:10-13


[If you have been here before, in May, then you might want to skip down below the green for today's post.]


"Thirty days hath September, 
April, June and November
All the rest have 31
Except February which has 28
Except during leap year when it has 29"

NO I DID NOT WRITE THIS "POEM"!  (Talk about free verse!)

Why didn't somebody just point out that the four months that do NOT have 31 days (except February, and everyone knows all about February The Exceptional) come every other month except that there is no 30 day month between July and August?  The silly poem above mixes up the order just to hide the fact that the real 30 day months come in two orderly pairs: April/June and September/November.  Can somebody please write a non-silly poem for us that will make this clear, and stick in our minds, but without gooping them up with exceptions (and please just leave February out of it!)?

And to make matters (far) worse, MILLERWRITES has created a Proverbs Pull-A-Part Plan that decimates that fine collection of wisdom in the book of Proverbs, by spreading commentary on each chapter out over 7 months (the good 31 day months)!  Oh don't ask me to explain his system.  You can try to decipher what he said about it at the top of any P31P posts from January or March if you like, or just follow along this month and figure it out.
All Bible passages are from the NIV, and are copied here from Biblegateway.com


REMEMBER: My ideas may be oh so mesmerizing, but you will get more benefit from simply reading the chapter itself!


So here I offer my amateur comments on verses 10-13.  Today's inspired verses are in red, and my comments are neither       (neither inspired, nor red).

PROVERBS 19

1 Better the poor whose walk is blameless
than a fool whose lips are perverse.


2 Desire without knowledge is not good—
how much more will hasty feet miss the way!


3 A person’s own folly leads to their ruin,
yet their heart rages against the Lord.


4 Wealth attracts many friends,
but even the closest friend of the poor person deserts them.


5 A false witness will not go unpunished,
and whoever pours out lies will not go free.


6 Many curry favor with a ruler,
and everyone is the friend of one who gives gifts.


7 The poor are shunned by all their relatives—
how much more do their friends avoid them!
Though the poor pursue them with pleading,
they are nowhere to be found.[a]


8 The one who gets wisdom loves life;
the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.


9 A false witness will not go unpunished,
and whoever pours out lies will perish.

10 It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury—
how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!


10) Question: Is it fitting for ANYBODY to "live in luxury"?  If we are called to help the poor (and we all are), or to serve the needy (and we all are), then how can anyone claim to be so special that they can spend it all on themselves?  But yes, Solomon; a fool living it up, or a slave taking revenge, are two horrible ideas to contemplate.
11 A person’s wisdom yields patience;
it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.


11) I think I touched on the second part here a few days ago.  I recognize that patience factor.  The older I get, the more I realize that I just have to waiaiaiaiait for a younger guy to figure stuff out for himself.

12 A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion,
but his favor is like dew on the grass.

12) I guess that's the King's prerogative.  He can express his condition with impunity.  Most of us have to couch our terms, and disguise our motivation, and stifle our natural reactions; in order to get along.  A King never has to feel like he's walking on egg shells, because he has the authority to smash all the eggs he wants to.

13 A foolish child is a father’s ruin,
and a quarrelsome wife is like
the constant dripping of a leaky roof.


13) (Speaking of egg shells...  What can I say?)  Only kidding.  But he is right.  What matters more to a father than the well being of his children?  All else may go swimmingly (so I've heard), but mistakes and bad decisions of a precious son (no matter if they reflect the same things the father did) can "ruin" the father's peace indeed.  And that "quarrelsome wife" thing....I know NOTHING about!


But on a completely different subject:  I found FOUR cans of roof tar in my garage just yesterday!

14 Houses and wealth are inherited from parents,
but a prudent wife is from the Lord.


15 Laziness brings on deep sleep,
and the shiftless go hungry.


16 Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life,
but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die.


17 Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,
and he will reward them for what they have done.


18 Discipline your children, for in that there is hope;
do not be a willing party to their death.


19 A hot-tempered person must pay the penalty;
rescue them, and you will have to do it again.


20 Listen to advice and accept discipline,
and at the end you will be counted among the wise.


21 Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.


22 What a person desires is unfailing love[b];
better to be poor than a liar.


23 The fear of the Lord leads to life;
then one rests content, untouched by trouble.


24 A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
he will not even bring it back to his mouth!


25 Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence;
rebuke the discerning, and they will gain knowledge.


26 Whoever robs their father and drives out their mother
is a child who brings shame and disgrace.


27 Stop listening to instruction, my son,
and you will stray from the words of knowledge.


28 A corrupt witness mocks at justice,
and the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.


29 Penalties are prepared for mockers,
and beatings for the backs of fools.


By the way...MILLERWRITES copy is COPYRIGHTED. Why cut and paste when you can simply copy the link?

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