The Proverbs 31 Project: Commenting July 10th on Proverbs 10:15-19

Got 31 days in the month?  

God's got 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs! 

What a coincidence!

For each date then, again this month, you will find commentary on a few verses from the corresponding chapter. There are 7 months in the year with 31 days, so I divided each chapter into 7 parts and spread them out so that each verse will be reviewed on the date related to its chapter by the same number name.  No, I am not deliberately trying to make this explanation complicated! (But, if you can explain my system any better than I have tried to do in the past three 31-day months, there is probably a proverb proclaiming your wisdom, and you will be recognized here for your high achievement!).

Below this introduction you will find the whole chapter representing today's date, with this month's verses highlighted in red, and my amateur comments for today low lighted in blue. Enjoy!

PROVERBS 10

Proverbs of Solomon

1 The proverbs of Solomon:


A wise son brings joy to his father,
but a foolish son brings grief to his mother.


2 Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value,
but righteousness delivers from death.


3 The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry,
but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.


4 Lazy hands make for poverty,
but diligent hands bring wealth.


5 He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son,
but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.


6 Blessings crown the head of the righteous,
but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.[a]


7 The name of the righteous is used in blessings,[b]
but the name of the wicked will rot.


8 The wise in heart accept commands,
but a chattering fool comes to ruin.


9 Whoever walks in integrity walks securely,
but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.


10 Whoever winks maliciously causes grief,
and a chattering fool comes to ruin.


11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.


12 Hatred stirs up conflict,
but love covers over all wrongs.


13 Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning,
but a rod is for the back of one who has no sense.


14 The wise store up knowledge,
but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.


15 The wealth of the rich is their fortified city,
but poverty is the ruin of the poor.

15) I sometimes fear for the rich.  Even in my simple life, I have recognized the tendency to rely on what I have: the furnace, electric power, batteries, gas stations, grocery stores, insurance.  These basic elements of life are so important, but so tenuous.  Things go wrong, and seem more likely to go wrong in recent years than in previous times.  But the rich get used to so much more going so much better that when it all falls in, how will they cope?  Poverty ruins the poor, but when it hits the rich, it will hurt all the more.  As a back-slidden Christian is so much more badly injured than a steady unbeliever, because he knows what he has forsaken.

16 The wages of the righteous is life,
but the earnings of the wicked are sin and death.

16) Why do the righteous get one thing (life) but the wicked get two (sin and death)?  Because the wicked include sin in an otherwise pure gift of life, and it is the sin that cancels life, leading to death.  We are all born into sin (as a fallen race) but if we do not repent and forsake the sin, it stays intact and does its deathifying work.  

17 Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life,
but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.

17) It is interesting that accepting discipline shows promise and benefit in a passive manner, but declining correction has an active, corrupting result in the lives of others.  Might one say then that God the Holy Spirit is a gentleman, and that the Devil is a bully?


18 Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips
and spreads slander is a fool.

18)  It must be better then, to reveal and even declare one's hatred as an exercise in truth telling.  At least then the air is clear and the hatred can only go as far as the subject of the hate.  But if it is hidden, hatred morphs into other perversities like gossip, slander, blackmail or murder.  It's import is lost and its potential justification is never tested.  Valid, but concealed hatred will be ineffectual in righting wrongs, and wrongful, undeclared hatred will go unchecked. 

19 Sin is not ended by multiplying words,
but the prudent hold their tongues.

19) Another proverbial indicator that speaking too much is a bad sign.  If not of plain foolishness, then perhaps of deceitfulness or some other sin.

20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver,
but the heart of the wicked is of little value.


21 The lips of the righteous nourish many,
but fools die for lack of sense.


22 The blessing of the Lord brings wealth,
without painful toil for it.


23 A fool finds pleasure in wicked schemes,
but a person of understanding delights in wisdom.


24 What the wicked dread will overtake them;
what the righteous desire will be granted.


25 When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone,
but the righteous stand firm forever.


26 As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,
so are sluggards to those who send them.


27 The fear of the Lord adds length to life,
but the years of the wicked are cut short.


28 The prospect of the righteous is joy,
but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.


29 The way of the Lord is a refuge for the blameless,
but it is the ruin of those who do evil.


30 The righteous will never be uprooted,
but the wicked will not remain in the land.


31 From the mouth of the righteous comes the fruit of wisdom,
but a perverse tongue will be silenced.


32 The lips of the righteous know what finds favor,
but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse.
[Anyone willing to author an explanation of my system, let me know, and if it makes more sense than my attempts (how could it not?) I will use it in October.]


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