The Proverbs 31 Project: Commenting March 18th on Proverbs 18:5-8

                                    March 18th?     Read Proverbs 18!

[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, like most months have 31 days, 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, 5-8, are highlighted in red

                                          (and my questionable comments are in blue).

Proverbs 18

1 An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends
and against all sound judgment starts quarrels.

2 Fools find no pleasure in understanding
but delight in airing their own opinions.

3 When wickedness comes, so does contempt,
and with shame comes reproach.

4 The words of the mouth are deep waters,
but the fountain of wisdom is a rushing stream.

5 It is not good to be partial to the wicked
and so deprive the innocent of justice.


5) I just heard of a recent case in Pennsylvania where a Muslim man assaulted an atheist guy who was dressed up as a zombie Mohammed in a parade.  No, I did not make this up!  Anyway, the judge announced from the bench that he was Muslim and went on to defend the assaulter as a man properly defending Islam, and then dropped the charges.  No matter what the circumstances, the innocent must be protected.

6 The lips of fools bring them strife,
and their mouths invite a beating.


6) "Oh YEAH?" or "Come over HERE and say that!" come quickly to mind.


7 The mouths of fools are their undoing,
and their lips are a snare to their very lives.


7) Didn't he just say that?  Although I guess a 'life snare' is worse than a beating.  I love how the Old and New Testaments continually verify each other's message.  For example, James 3:5 says:
Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.


8 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;
they go down to the inmost parts.


8) Mmmmmmm!  Juicy gossip is delicious!  But the indigestion can be terrible and enduring!


9 One who is slack in his work
is brother to one who destroys.

10 The name of the LORD is a fortified tower;
the righteous run to it and are safe.

11 The wealth of the rich is their fortified city;
they imagine it a wall too high to scale.

12 Before a downfall the heart is haughty,
but humility comes before honor.

13 To answer before listening—
that is folly and shame.

14 The human spirit can endure in sickness,
but a crushed spirit who can bear?

15 The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge,
for the ears of the wise seek it out.

16 A gift opens the way
and ushers the giver into the presence of the great.

17 In a lawsuit the first to speak seems right,
until someone comes forward and cross-examines.

18 Casting the lot settles disputes
and keeps strong opponents apart.

19 A brother wronged is more unyielding than a fortified city;
disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel.

20 From the fruit of their mouth a person’s stomach is filled;
with the harvest of their lips they are satisfied.

21 The tongue has the power of life and death,
and those who love it will eat its fruit.

22 He who finds a wife finds what is good
and receives favor from the LORD.

23 The poor plead for mercy,
but the rich answer harshly.

24 One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

The Proverbs 31 Project: Commenting January 17th on Proverbs 17:1-4

January 17;  Proverbs 17, 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 17

¹ Better a dry crust with peace and quiet
   than a house full of feasting, with strife.

 ² A prudent servant will rule over a disgraceful son
   and will share the inheritance as one of the family.

 ³ The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold,
   but the LORD tests the heart.

 ⁴ A wicked person listens to deceitful lips;
   a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.

1) What is feasting except an additional bonus to a great life?  And what is a great life if it is not free of strife?  We all face some measure of conflict every day, and we need to take it in stride.  I take the proverbialist (?) to mean steady, ongoing, regular and maddening marital strife as the bane of an otherwise hopeful existence with regular shares of peace and quiet.  Yes, I would choose the dry crust.

2) What father would not appreciate the 'interference' of a good servant, if his son were wayward?  If he ends up virtually saving the son from a disgraceful ruin, he should end up sharing the young man's inheritance.  Better half for the boy, than nothing!

3) Crucibles are hot!  We are told here that we should expect equal or greater 'treatment' from the Lord.  Full of impurities and debris, we need to have those contaminants removed, and should embrace the heat by envisioning what finished product we may become in His good hands.

4) Which comes first I wonder.  Does the listening to lies foster the wickedness inside?  Or does such attention produce the liar?  It doesn't matter; if we can avoid believing lies, we will certainly be better off.  I think the first step is to stop WANTING to believe the lies that might promise to be a benefit.