The Proverbs 31 Project: Commenting March 27th on Proverbs 27:5-8

                    March 27th?     Read Proverbs 27!

[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, 5-8, are highlighted in red

                                                (and my questionable comments are in blue).

Proverbs 27

1 Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring.

2 Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth;
an outsider, and not your own lips.

3 Stone is heavy and sand a burden,
but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.

4 Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming,
but who can stand before jealousy?

5 Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.


5) TA-DAAA!  I've been telling you all month that we would get to this verse!  PLEASE speak up if someone you love needs some redirection!  Even if it's ME, and you THINK I said something stupid on this blog.  Then I will have a chance to give you some open rebuke!  See how that works?


Seriously, I would rather find out if I'm way off base, than to hear a bunch of cyber snickering.  And so would you right?


6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
but an enemy multiplies kisses.


6)  Every wound hurts, but the deserved ones heal faster, and are certainly forgivable.  This is probably how we define a friend; an acquaintance who can get away with saying the hard things we need to hear.


Too many kisses, or compliments, or agreements are a bad sign, if there is not the occasional rebuke or constructive criticism to reassure us that the appraiser is honest.

7 One who is full loathes honey from the comb,
but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.


7) I fear this is the danger of our living in such a rich society.  Even the 'poor' in most of America have cell phones and flat screen TVs.  Things that nobody has to have but when they are lost, the bitterness will set in.

8 Like a bird that flees its nest
is anyone who flees from home.


8) This proverb seems odd to me.  I might 'flee' my home if it were on fire.  Or if there was a massive earthquake (haha).  But that would be a good idea in such circumstances.  It seems a bird might leave its nest  if the tree was being cut down, or if a larger bird was attacking, but maybe Solomon is talking about a fledgling that thinks he can fly and jumps flapping furiously but futilely over the edge.  And of his counterpart; a teenager who is convinced his parents are stupid megalomaniacs and runs away from home.  Has nothing changed in the adolescent mind in these 3000 years?

9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart,
and the pleasantness of a friend
springs from their heartfelt advice.

10 Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family,
and do not go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes you—
better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.

11 Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart;
then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt.

12 The prudent see danger and take refuge,
but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.

13 Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger;
hold it in pledge if it is done for an outsider.

14 If anyone loudly blesses their neighbor early in the morning,
it will be taken as a curse.

15 A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping
of a leaky roof in a rainstorm;
16 restraining her is like restraining the wind
or grasping oil with the hand.

17 As iron sharpens iron,
so one person sharpens another.

18 The one who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and whoever protects their master will be honored.

19 As water reflects the face,
so one’s life reflects the heart.[a]

20 Death and Destruction[b] are never satisfied,
and neither are human eyes.

21 The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold,
but people are tested by their praise.

22 Though you grind a fool in a mortar,
grinding them like grain with a pestle,
you will not remove their folly from them.

23 Be sure you know the condition of your flocks,
give careful attention to your herds;
24 for riches do not endure forever,
and a crown is not secure for all generations.
25 When the hay is removed and new growth appears
and the grass from the hills is gathered in,
26 the lambs will provide you with clothing,
and the goats with the price of a field.
27 You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed your family
and to nourish your female servants.
Footnotes:
Proverbs 27:19 Or so others reflect your heart back to you
Proverbs 27:20 Hebrew Abaddon