[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
Today's inspired verses, Proverbs 5:4-6, are in red
and my questionable comments are in blue.
turn your ear to my words of insight,
2 that you may maintain discretion
and your lips may preserve knowledge.
3 For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey,
and her speech is smoother than oil;
4 but in the end she is bitter as gall,
sharp as a double-edged sword.
4) [See why you need to read the whole chapter every day? Verse four needs to be read in the context of the verses above.] The ultimate bait and switch trick is illustrated here. What man, or woman, who has been seduced into adultery, ever found the temptation as "bitter as gall" that very first day, or "sharp as a double-edged sword" that first night? No. That shocking realization comes later.
5 Her feet go down to death;
her steps lead straight to the grave.
5) Too bad that no one warns us of these things! How can we be held responsible for our sins if God didn't give us a head-up? Such dire consequences as these should be written down somewhere and distributed across the planet! Oh yeah. They are.
In the quaint little poetical collection of cute proverbs we find that death and the grave follow from what our society calls frivolous and fun; what we consider a 'fling', God tells us in no uncertain terms, leads "straight to the grave"!
6 She gives no thought to the way of life;
her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.
6) We follow our hormones and our emotions. And sometimes our societal gurus who try to comfort us with the foolish idea that an affair might somehow spice up our marriage. This type of cultural counseling is an example of giving "no thought to the way of life."
I have often marveled at the woman who has confidence in a man who abandons his wife for her, never thinking that he will do the same to her one day! She thinks her affair is taking her somewhere good and right? Indeed, Solomon, "her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it."
We would all do better to read this book for the warnings about things we have no doubts about. What paths might we be on that are truly "aimless"?
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, Proverbs 5:4-6, are in red
and my questionable comments are in blue.
Proverbs 5
Warning Against Adultery
1 My son, pay attention to my wisdom,turn your ear to my words of insight,
2 that you may maintain discretion
and your lips may preserve knowledge.
3 For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey,
and her speech is smoother than oil;
4 but in the end she is bitter as gall,
sharp as a double-edged sword.
4) [See why you need to read the whole chapter every day? Verse four needs to be read in the context of the verses above.] The ultimate bait and switch trick is illustrated here. What man, or woman, who has been seduced into adultery, ever found the temptation as "bitter as gall" that very first day, or "sharp as a double-edged sword" that first night? No. That shocking realization comes later.
5 Her feet go down to death;
her steps lead straight to the grave.
 |
| No, these guys are not nearly as dangerous as adultery! |
In the quaint little poetical collection of cute proverbs we find that death and the grave follow from what our society calls frivolous and fun; what we consider a 'fling', God tells us in no uncertain terms, leads "straight to the grave"!
6 She gives no thought to the way of life;
her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.
6) We follow our hormones and our emotions. And sometimes our societal gurus who try to comfort us with the foolish idea that an affair might somehow spice up our marriage. This type of cultural counseling is an example of giving "no thought to the way of life."
I have often marveled at the woman who has confidence in a man who abandons his wife for her, never thinking that he will do the same to her one day! She thinks her affair is taking her somewhere good and right? Indeed, Solomon, "her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it."
We would all do better to read this book for the warnings about things we have no doubts about. What paths might we be on that are truly "aimless"?
7 Now then, my sons, listen to me;
do not turn aside from what I say.
8 Keep to a path far from her,
do not go near the door of her house,
9 lest you lose your honor to others
and your dignity[a] to one who is cruel,
10 lest strangers feast on your wealth
and your toil enrich the house of another.
11 At the end of your life you will groan,
when your flesh and body are spent.
12 You will say, “How I hated discipline!
How my heart spurned correction!
13 I would not obey my teachers
or turn my ear to my instructors.
14 And I was soon in serious trouble
in the assembly of God’s people.”
do not turn aside from what I say.
8 Keep to a path far from her,
do not go near the door of her house,
9 lest you lose your honor to others
and your dignity[a] to one who is cruel,
10 lest strangers feast on your wealth
and your toil enrich the house of another.
11 At the end of your life you will groan,
when your flesh and body are spent.
12 You will say, “How I hated discipline!
How my heart spurned correction!
13 I would not obey my teachers
or turn my ear to my instructors.
14 And I was soon in serious trouble
in the assembly of God’s people.”
15 Drink water from your own cistern,
running water from your own well.
16 Should your springs overflow in the streets,
your streams of water in the public squares?
17 Let them be yours alone,
never to be shared with strangers.
18 May your fountain be blessed,
and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.
19 A loving doe, a graceful deer—
may her breasts satisfy you always,
may you ever be intoxicated with her love.
20 Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife?
Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?
running water from your own well.
16 Should your springs overflow in the streets,
your streams of water in the public squares?
17 Let them be yours alone,
never to be shared with strangers.
18 May your fountain be blessed,
and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.
19 A loving doe, a graceful deer—
may her breasts satisfy you always,
may you ever be intoxicated with her love.
20 Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife?
Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?
21 For your ways are in full view of the LORD,
and he examines all your paths.
22 The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them;
the cords of their sins hold them fast.
23 For lack of discipline they will die,
led astray by their own great folly.
and he examines all your paths.
22 The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them;
the cords of their sins hold them fast.
23 For lack of discipline they will die,
led astray by their own great folly.
Footnotes:
- Proverbs 5:9 Or years
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