The Proverbs 31 Project: Commenting May 23rd on Proverbs 23:10-14

[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 10-14.  Today's inspired verses are in red, and my comments are neither       (neither inspired, nor red).

PROVERBS 23
Saying 7

1 When you sit to dine with a ruler,
note well what is before you,
2 and put a knife to your throat
if you are given to gluttony.
3 Do not crave his delicacies,
for that food is deceptive.
Saying 8


4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
do not trust your own cleverness.
5 Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,
for they will surely sprout wings
and fly off to the sky like an eagle.
Saying 9


6 Do not eat the food of a begrudging host,
do not crave his delicacies;
7 for he is the kind of person
who is always thinking about the cost.
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.
8 You will vomit up the little you have eaten
and will have wasted your compliments.
Saying 10


9 Do not speak to fools,
for they will scorn your prudent words.

OK, so we find ourselves in the middle of "30 Sayings of the Wise".  My "Proverbs Pull-A-Part" system wreaks havoc here.  For example; if you want to know what I think about the first wise saying, you have to wait until July 22nd, and number 6 doesn't come up until December 22nd!  In January of this year, I wrote about sayings 7 and 8.  My best advice?  Read the whole chapter that goes with each day of the month and you will read all of Proverbs in all of its correct order.  My comments don't matter that much, and they just come along when they do!

Saying 11

10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone
or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
11 for their Defender is strong;
he will take up their case against you.

10,11) Guess who "their Defender" is.  Throughout the scriptures we see many attributes of God highlighted.  His care for widows and orphans ranks near the top of His priorities.  If you want to get in trouble quick; pick on a "fatherless"!  This concern, I think, also reflects God supreme interest in welcoming home each and every one of us who have left His home for the promises of being a prodigal, and would find loving redemption back under His care.

Saying 12

12 Apply your heart to instruction
and your ears to words of knowledge.

12) Back to basics.  I know one young lady in particular (who used to be a Miller) who seemed to think she should not go in to a class until she already knew what they were going to teach her (?).  Silly girl!  Your heart was always "applied to instruction" and your ears to "words of knowledge":  These are the only prerequisites for any class, and serve you well for a good life of many years.  Being so teachable is vital, and I am proud to be your Daddy (ooops)!

Saying 13

13 Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.
14 Punish them with the rod
and save them from death.

13,14) I love Solomon's understatement; "they will not die."  And I see from his need to say it, that there were folks in his day decrying, probably, the "abuse" of the rod!  It's good to know that this fear is not some kind of pinnacle of the ages, but just another repetition of the cycle's namby-pamby phase.

Remember though, that while some "wise guy" is the author of this saying, we count the whole Bible as God's inspired Word.  So it is God who has connected punishment with "the rod" and the saving "from death"!

Saying 14


15 My son, if your heart is wise,
then my heart will be glad indeed;
16 my inmost being will rejoice
when your lips speak what is right.
Saying 15


17 Do not let your heart envy sinners,
but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.
18 There is surely a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.
Saying 16


19 Listen, my son, and be wise,
and set your heart on the right path:
20 Do not join those who drink too much wine
or gorge themselves on meat,
21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor,
and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
Saying 17


22 Listen to your father, who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 Buy the truth and do not sell it—
wisdom, instruction and insight as well.
24 The father of a righteous child has great joy;
a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.
25 May your father and mother rejoice;
may she who gave you birth be joyful!
Saying 18


26 My son, give me your heart
and let your eyes delight in my ways,
27 for an adulterous woman is a deep pit,
and a wayward wife is a narrow well.
28 Like a bandit she lies in wait
and multiplies the unfaithful among men.
Saying 19


29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaints?
Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30 Those who linger over wine,
who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.
31 Do not gaze at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup,
when it goes down smoothly!
32 In the end it bites like a snake
and poisons like a viper.
33 Your eyes will see strange sights,
and your mind will imagine confusing things.
34 You will be like one sleeping on the high seas,
lying on top of the rigging.
35 “They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt!
They beat me, but I don’t feel it!
When will I wake up
so I can find another drink?”












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

The Proverbs 31 Project: Commenting May 1st on Proverbs 1:8-12

"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 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 decided to make 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 my system.  You can try to decipher what I 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.

So today I will offer my amateur comments on verses 8-12.  Today's inspired verses are in red, and my comments....are not (either red, or inspired).

PROVERBS 1

Purpose and Theme

1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
2 for gaining wisdom and instruction;
for understanding words of insight;
3 for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,
doing what is right and just and fair;
4 for giving prudence to those who are simple,
knowledge and discretion to the young—
5 let the wise listen and add to their learning,
and let the discerning get guidance—
6 for understanding proverbs and parables,
the sayings and riddles of the wise.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Prologue: Exhortations to Embrace Wisdom

Warning Against the Invitation of Sinful Men

8 Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. 

8) ALWAYS a good idea!  Especially if 'listen' means, at least CONSIDER CAREFULLY, what Mom and Dad have to say  (THEN ignore their counsel).

9 They are a garland to grace your head
and a chain to adorn your neck.

9) NOW I know what I should have told my kids:  "No really son, my instructions are like a garland to grace your head, and a chain to adorn your neck"!  This description may seem silly, but ANY claim for credibility coming from the parent, or any instruction giver, seems by its very nature,  to be self-serving.  Exactly like God's own claim that HE has all the wisdom and that we should obey HIM!  So if we parents are right; that our kids would be better off if they listen to us....so God is right; we should humble ourselves, and in obeying Him, we will be graced and adorned with garlands and chains!

10 My son, if sinful men entice you,

do not give in to them.

10) I'm glad this verse is followed with expanding the idea.  It would be nice if one simple command were enough, but of course our kids need some justifying explanations.

11 If they say, “Come along with us;
let’s lie in wait for innocent blood,

let’s ambush some harmless soul;

11) And here is an explicit example of what the "son" might expect in the form of enticement.  The first part is more of a generic, all inclusive type of example, but it allows the enticeable one to replace the hyperbole with something he may have actually heard: "Hey, let's go down and drop rocks off the overpass", or "Come on Petey, we're goin' for the five-finger-discount", or "We're going thumpin', you in"?
12 let’s swallow them alive, like the grave,
and whole, like those who go down to the pit; 

12) Here the enticing gets rather melodramatic.  No street thug describes his activities like this, but maybe this description is God's interpretation of what is going on behind the heart of such a bully.  He may not even know it, but acting as an agent of the Devil himself, the given-over reprobate is attempting to do the work that really belongs only to 'the grave'.

13 we will get all sorts of valuable things
and fill our houses with plunder;
14 cast lots with us;
we will all share the loot ”—
15 my son, do not go along with them,
do not set foot on their paths;
16 for their feet rush into evil,
they are swift to shed blood.
17 How useless to spread a net
where every bird can see it!
18 These men lie in wait for their own blood;
they ambush only themselves!
19 Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain;
it takes away the life of those who get it.

Wisdom’s Rebuke

20 Out in the open wisdom calls aloud,
she raises her voice in the public square;
21 on top of the wall she cries out,
at the city gate she makes her speech:
22 “How long will you who are simple love your simple ways?
How long will mockers delight in mockery
and fools hate knowledge?
23 Repent at my rebuke!
Then I will pour out my thoughts to you,
I will make known to you my teachings.
24 But since you refuse to listen when I call
and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand,
25 since you disregard all my advice
and do not accept my rebuke,
26 I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you;
I will mock when calamity overtakes you —
27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm,
when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind,
when distress and trouble overwhelm you.
28 “Then they will call to me but I will not answer;
they will look for me but will not find me,
29 since they hated knowledge
and did not choose to fear the Lord.
30 Since they would not accept my advice
and spurned my rebuke,
31 they will eat the fruit of their ways
and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.
32 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,
and the complacency of fools will destroy them;
33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety
and be at ease, without fear of harm.






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

The Proverbs 31 Project: Commenting January 28th on Proverbs 28:1-4

January 28;  Proverbs 28  Verses 1-4


[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 28


1 The wicked flee though no one pursues,
  but the righteous are as bold as a lion.


1) I guess I have been on both sides of this fence.  I remember that  feeling of pursued guilt.  The one that makes you so jumpy because surely somebody is just about to call you out.  It was really God (I almost typed "only God") speaking to, or perhaps only threatening, my guilty conscience with His high standard.


I also remember standing with a very angry foreman in my face.  His judgement was off base, but even as his anger rose and he began to refer to my "church going" as an epithet, and I thought "this guy is going to HIT me!", I was able to stand my ground and give him the soft answer treatment we heard about back on the 15th.


2 When a country is rebellious, it has many rulers,
   but a ruler with discernment and knowledge maintains order.


2) What an interesting take on rebellion.  I guess, now that I think about it, that bad ideas and motivations multiply.  A bunch of rebellious people seldom carefully choose a leader.  They each want to take control of the mob and it ends up going off in 10 directions at once and ultimately falls apart.  Anarchy is its own self-defeating cure.


3 A ruler who oppresses the poor
   is like a driving rain that leaves no crops.


3) Jesus said: He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  Mathew 5:45


I've always enjoyed this truth.  Sun and rain come to everyone in time.  And, sun and rain both are seen as a blessing and a curse.  It all depends.  Folks all over pray for rain when it is lacking, but mourn the devastation of a flooding downpour.  Here, in verse 3 of Proverbs 28, it's the ruin of rain that compares with a poor oppressing ruler.


4 Those who forsake instruction praise the wicked,
  but those who heed it resist them.


4) I have been shocked sometimes by the enthusiastic support given to some people.  Usually it is granted freely to obvious "fools" (to use Solomon's freedom), without thinking.  But given just a little bit of "instruction", the would-be followers say "Oh", and turn away.   Certain reps in Wisconsin were so excited to meet Ian Murphy, and pose for pictures with him because he fooled their political enemy.  Then they were "instructed" on Murphy's earlier famous writings: revealed here.