The Proverbs 31 Project: Commenting March 25th on Proverbs 25:6-8

                     March 25th?     Read Proverbs 25!

[Please note: The first two paragraphs below are repeated each day for new readers. My amateur comments are offered below each of today's verses from Proverbs.]

Have you ever noticed that, as most months have 31 days, so the Book of Proverbs has 31 chapters? Fascinating right? Well, it is at least interesting, and coincidentally beneficial to those who would like to read a portion of thought provoking scripture every day of the month. You might like to read the calendar coordinated chapter from Proverbs every day this month (I've included the whole chapter below!) and then see if my comments on a few of those verses line up with your own observations. My plan is to go through the year, writing my response to about one seventh of each chapter's verses every day, during each of the 7 months that have 31 days.  Clear as mud? That's what I thought.

I hope you check in, and leave a comment. Especially if I say something really off base and need to be corrected, because, as we will learn this month on the 27th, Proverbs 27:5 says

                                "Better is open rebuke than hidden love." 

                                          Today's inspired verses, 6-8, are highlighted in red

                                                (and my questionable comments are in blue).

Proverbs 25

More Proverbs of Solomon 

1 These are more proverbs of Solomon, compiled by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah:

2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter;
to search out a matter is the glory of kings.
3 As the heavens are high and the earth is deep,
so the hearts of kings are unsearchable.

4 Remove the dross from the silver,
and a silversmith can produce a vessel;
5 remove wicked officials from the king’s presence,
and his throne will be established through righteousness.

6 Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence,
and do not claim a place among his great men; 

6) Perhaps we should get the idea that we should not 'exalt ourselves' in anybody's presence!  But if we try to strut our feathers in front of the wrong person, someone in authority, we are likely to end up highly embarrassed, if only because a king, or a boss, can implement what other's only hope to do to a braggart. 

7 it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here,”
than for him to humiliate you before his nobles.

7) I like to think about Jesus growing up as a Jewish boy reading these very proverbs.  And then as a young man, a student of the scriptures, delving deeper and deeper into all the existing Word of God (the Old Testament).  And then during His mere 3 teaching years, Jesus would sometimes rephrase this commonly shared  'media' of the day to reiterate its truths and emphasize what He wanted.  

For Solomon, it came naturally to analyze the goings on in his every day kingly world.  Jesus used a different setting, one more understood by the common folk he dealt with in His blue collar world as a carpenter, to teach the same principal, in Luke 14:7-11.

7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8 “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. 11 For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

We have a God who not only wants us to be freed from our burden of sin and be saved for eternity (!), but He cares enough to advise us on how to avoid the just plain awful feeling of being humiliated in public!  And Jesus makes the lesson universally applicable by tacking on the immutable truth in verse 11.

What you have seen with your eyes
8 do not bring[a] hastily to court,
for what will you do in the end
if your neighbor puts you to shame?

[It seems here that someone assigned the verse number in an unnatural place.  Did you know that the chapter and verse designations were never part of the inspired work?  These are simply tools applied to God's work by men for our benefit.]

Can you imagine thinking you saw what you thought you saw that neighbor you despise doing, and calling 911 to get him in trouble and then when you get in the witness stand and you think you're about to put him under for good and it turns out that what you thought you think he did was just the opposite and now you are actually testifying to your own shame?  {Can you imagine making sense of that long question?}  So again we see that haste makes waste.
9 If you take your neighbor to court,
do not betray another’s confidence,
10 or the one who hears it may shame you
and the charge against you will stand.

11 Like apples[b] of gold in settings of silver
is a ruling rightly given.
12 Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold
is the rebuke of a wise judge to a listening ear.

13 Like a snow-cooled drink at harvest time
is a trustworthy messenger to the one who sends him;
he refreshes the spirit of his master.
14 Like clouds and wind without rain
is one who boasts of gifts never given.

15 Through patience a ruler can be persuaded,
and a gentle tongue can break a bone.

16 If you find honey, eat just enough—
too much of it, and you will vomit.
17 Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house—
too much of you, and they will hate you.

18 Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow
is one who gives false testimony against a neighbor.
19 Like a broken tooth or a lame foot
is reliance on the unfaithful in a time of trouble.
20 Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day,
or like vinegar poured on a wound,
is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.

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

23 Like a north wind that brings unexpected rain
is a sly tongue—which provokes a horrified look.

24 Better to live on a corner of the roof
than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

25 Like cold water to a weary soul
is good news from a distant land.
26 Like a muddied spring or a polluted well
are the righteous who give way to the wicked.

27 It is not good to eat too much honey,
nor is it honorable to search out matters that are too deep.

28 Like a city whose walls are broken through
is a person who lacks self-control.
Footnotes:
Proverbs 25:8 Or nobles / on whom you had set your eyes. / Do not go
Proverbs 25:11 Or possibly apricots

The Proverbs 31 Project: Commenting January 21st on Proverbs 21:1-5

January 21;  Proverbs 21  Verses 1-5

[Please note: The first two paragraphs below are repeated each day for new readers.  My amateur comments are offered below the verses from Proverbs.]

Christians looking for a simple way to review the Bible regularly, have long been convenienced by the fact that the book of Proverbs has 31 chapters, the same number as most of our months.  Each chapter includes multiple bite-sized verses (uhm, proverbs) and can be read through simply in one sitting, one appropriately numbered chapter per day through the month.  A person might read through the Proverbs a chapter a day during any month, but why mess with your head (reading an extra chapter on one, two, or three days!) like that when there are 7 months every year perfectly suited for the endeavor?

My idea here is to reprint about 1/7 of the verses from each day's chapter throughout this year, every time a 31 day month pops up, and then offer a few comments from The Barking Owl.  So in January, we will get through the first few verses of every chapter and then in March, the next group, and so on, until December comes around and we can finally get to the last set of verses in each chapter and complete the book's reading.  If you are smarter than I am (is there any doubt?), you will read the whole chapter every day, every 31 day month, and then you will have read the whole book 7 times this year!  By then you are guaranteed to at least be wiser than The Barking Owl , though no one will ever match the wisdom of Solomon!

[All Bible passages are from the NIV, and are copied from www.Biblegateway.com]

Proverbs 21


1 In the LORD's hand the king's heart is a stream of water
   that he channels toward all who please him. 


1) [Yes, this is a new format.  What do you think?]
The king's heart is in the LORD's hand?  Does that mean that the Lord is responsible for everything the king does?  Like a robot's maneuverings follow the will of a controller?  I don't think so.  There is too much sin evidenced by many kings, including many corrupt kings of the ancient divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah.  But, when a King (or any leader, at any level) chooses to exercise his authority as our good God would (when he submits, and essentially PUTS his heart in God's hand), then God uses His given freedom to direct that king's work in a way that is a blessing to the many non-kings who would also submit to God's authority.


If I'm getting too tired to drive, and I relinquish the driver's seat to my wife (I put my whole life in her hands instead of maintaining my own claim), she will channel that car to a good end for both of us.  If I refuse to admit my weakness, and cling to control, we, along with any strangers in the way, will suffer badly.

2  A person may think their own ways are right, 

   but the LORD weighs the heart.

2) We should be more open to the idea that we may be all wet.  There is nothing to fear from God's judgement, until we stubbornly hold that our own judgement is better.  Declaring "I am King of the World!" is only cool if it's true.  (It's not)

3 To do what is right and just

   is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

3) The prophet Samuel had to tell Saul that "to obey is better than sacrifice."  Yes, the sacrificing of animals was an important thing.  For one, it brought home to the folks, just how horrible and gross and ugly and deadening sin is.  But it did not create the positive relationship between God and man that obedience can produce.  And it is a relationship, a personal relationship, that God wants with you.

4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart-

   the unplowed field of the wicked-produce sin.

4) Wow!  How poetically powerful is this verse?  This is another reference to the evil work of pride in our lives.  What corruption grows freely when we are not properly 'taken down a notch'?  Being humbled, and even sometimes humiliated, is better therapy than the building of a rickety and pretentious high self-esteem.

5 The plans of the diligent lead to profit

   as surely as haste leads to poverty.

5) Get rich QUICK scheme anybody?  If only Ralph Kramden and Fred Flintstone had learned this verse!  The writer's of those two TV shows could always get a hit by showing Ralph or Fred jumping into one "can't miss" idea or another!  We loved to laugh at their clear-cut foolishness.  And poor Solomon was never listed in the credits!

PLEASE let me know what you think of the format!