The Proverbs 31 Project: Commenting May 26th on Proverbs 26:9-12

[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 26

1 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,
honor is not fitting for a fool.
2 Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow,
an undeserved curse does not come to rest.
3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,
and a rod for the backs of fools!
4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
or you yourself will be just like him.
5 Answer a fool according to his folly,
or he will be wise in his own eyes.
6 Sending a message by the hands of a fool
is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison.
7 Like the useless legs of one who is lame
is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
8 Like tying a stone in a sling
is the giving of honor to a fool.

9 Like a thornbush in a drunkard’s hand
is a proverb in the mouth of a fool. 

9) Isn't good imagery a fantastic thing?  This word picture, of a  "thornbush in a drunkard’s hand", is very scary.  And then to compare THAT to what seems so simple, "a proverb in the mouth of a fool" is very telling.  We begin to imagine how hurtful it is to use a proverb carelessly.

10 Like an archer who wounds at random
is one who hires a fool or any passer-by.

10) Some kids in Wisconsin did this recently.  One shot an arrow and hit a 10 year old girl in the back, and then they ran away pretending nothing happened.  Fortunately, their sin did find them out.  But the point of the proverb is that people are not all the same.  All are equally made, and have the same rights, but not all are equally qualified to perform a specific task.  Discernment (egad, even JUDGEMENT) is necessary before hiring, before honoring, before celebrating, before marrying; indeed before making any personal commitments.

11 As a dog returns to its vomit,
so fools repeat their folly. 

11) I object strongly (read: scream) when I see my dog do this gross thing!  But to her it's some kind of natural instinct (I guess).  Would that she would interfere (read: bark savagely) when I am about to repeat one of my natural follies!

12 Do you see a person wise in their own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for them.

12) I just heard a message this week about self-confidence.  It is oft promoted, but Mary Whelchel suggests that it is greatly overrated.  We are better off living our lives with "God-confidence" because the self will certainly fail us.

13 A sluggard says, “There’s a lion in the road,
a fierce lion roaming the streets!”
14 As a door turns on its hinges,
so a sluggard turns on his bed.
15 A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.
16 A sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
than seven people who answer discreetly.


17 Like one who grabs a stray dog by the ears
is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own.


18 Like a maniac shooting
flaming arrows of death
19 is one who deceives their neighbor
and says, “I was only joking!”


20 Without wood a fire goes out;
without a gossip a quarrel dies down.
21 As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire,
so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.
22 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;
they go down to the inmost parts.


23 Like a coating of silver dross on earthenware
are fervent[a] lips with an evil heart.
24 Enemies disguise themselves with their lips,
but in their hearts they harbor deceit.
25 Though their speech is charming, do not believe them,
for seven abominations fill their hearts.
26 Their malice may be concealed by deception,
but their wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
27 Whoever digs a pit will fall into it;
if someone rolls a stone, it will roll back on them.
28 A lying tongue hates those it hurts,
and a flattering mouth works ruin.




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

The Proverbs 31 Project: Commenting March 23rd on Proverbs 23:6-9

                                       March 23rd?     Read Proverbs 23!

[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, 6-9, are highlighted in red

                                                (and my questionable comments are in blue).



Proverbs 23

Saying 7

1 When you sit to dine with a ruler,
note well what[a] 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;


6)  We are back to the "30 sayings of the wise" that began in chapter 22.  With my odd system (there, I admit it!) of proverbial review we won't get to the first wise saying until July 22!  We will just have to gain our wisdom out of order.  And no, there is not a colon or a hyphen after wisdom in that sentence.


Are you surprised at what kind of thing ranks as a 'wise saying'?  It seems that I would come up with something more universally relevant than this, if I were called upon, though I see that it is indeed a valuable truth.  Who wants to eat the food of a grouch?  We don't even want a meal to be sullied by a tired waitress, let alone an unwelcoming host!


7 for he is the kind of person
who is always thinking about the cost.[b]
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.


7) I think about cost a lot, but the last thing I would want is for my guests to know that.  Better to withhold an invitation than to send one with a note of regret attached!


8 You will vomit up the little you have eaten
and will have wasted your compliments.


8) Is this proverb rated PG?  Yuck!  "Wasted Compliments".  There's a book title for you.  But I got dibs!


Saying 10


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


9) If this guy were writing now, do you think he might say "Do not comment, like, post, tag, poke or friend fools, for they will scorn your prudent status updates."?  I think so too.

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.

Saying 12

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

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.

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?”
Footnotes:
Proverbs 23:1 Or who
Proverbs 23:7 Or for as he thinks within himself, / so he is; or for as he puts on a feast, / so he is