The Proverbs 31 Project: Commenting May 12th on Proverbs 12:9-12

[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 9-12.  Today's inspired verses are in red, and my comments are neither       (neither inspired, nor red).

PROVERBS 12

1 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but whoever hates correction is stupid.


2 Good people obtain favor from the Lord,
but he condemns those who devise wicked schemes.


3 No one can be established through wickedness,
but the righteous cannot be uprooted.


4 A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown,
but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.


5 The plans of the righteous are just,
but the advice of the wicked is deceitful.


6 The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood,
but the speech of the upright rescues them.


7 The wicked are overthrown and are no more,
but the house of the righteous stands firm.


8 A person is praised according to their prudence,
and one with a warped mind is despised.


9 Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant
than pretend to be somebody and have no food.


9) I'll take a servant!  I do believe I qualify.


10 The righteous care for the needs of their animals,
but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.


10) It's that simple isn't it?  You can tell a "righteous" person by the way they treat their animals.  I remember the first time I heard about kids my age torturing cats.  What a stunner that was for me.  That is not to give evidence that I am "righteous", but to say that I discovered how corrupted these two guys were.  Only by grace, did I avoid the circumstances that sent them down such a road.


11 Those who work their land will have abundant food,
but those who chase fantasies have no sense.


11) Stirring up memories, these verses are (Yoda)!  I've never had any land to speak of (other than my little field of flamingos), but I remember somebody telling me years ago that my plans were "a pipe dream".  The fact that they were probably right does not much abate the sting.  Yes, there have been many times when I can testify that I did "have no sense".  Can you agree with me, that following God's ways--either His rules and commandments, or His general principles (Proverbs), or His "little voice"--is always a safe approach?


12 The wicked desire the stronghold of evildoers,
but the root of the righteous endures.


12) Does this suggest that the wicked live in fear?  Fear of being found out, fear of one day admitting they were lying to themselves all along, fear that their full understanding of wickedness proves their co conspirators are unsafe.  The "stronghold of evildoers" is a bastion of shouting down correction, of resistance to conviction, and denial of truth.  In essence; this is the "unpardonable sin" that the Bible calls "blaspheming the Holy Spirit.

13 Evildoers are trapped by their sinful talk,
and so the innocent escape trouble.


14 From the fruit of their lips people are filled with good things,
and the work of their hands brings them reward.


15 The way of fools seems right to them,
but the wise listen to advice.


16 Fools show their annoyance at once,
but the prudent overlook an insult.


17 An honest witness tells the truth,
but a false witness tells lies.


18 The words of the reckless pierce like swords,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.


19 Truthful lips endure forever,
but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.


20 Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil,
but those who promote peace have joy.


21 No harm overtakes the righteous,
but the wicked have their fill of trouble.


22 The Lord detests lying lips,
but he delights in people who are trustworthy.


23 The prudent keep their knowledge to themselves,
but a fool’s heart blurts out folly.


24 Diligent hands will rule,
but laziness ends in forced labor.


25 Anxiety weighs down the heart,
but a kind word cheers it up.


26 The righteous choose their friends carefully,
but the way of the wicked leads them astray.


27 The lazy do not roast[a] any game,
but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.


28 In the way of righteousness there is life;
along that path is immortality.




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