Tag Archives: Proverbs 22

July 15, 2024 Bible Study — Fear of the Lord Leads to Humility

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Proverbs 22-24.

Throughout the Bible we are told to fear the Lord.  Today’s passage talks about the behaviors which follow from that.  The writer tells us that fear of the Lord leads to humility.  More precisely he tells us that if we are not humble it means that we do not truly fear the Lord.  Also, if we fear the Lord we will not envy the wicked, nor we will fret because of the apparent success of those who do evil.  Fear of the Lord will quell any desire we might have to share in their lifestyle because we will realize that they have no hope for the future.  As importantly, we will not gloat when misfortune comes upon those who have tried to bring us harm.  We will not rejoice when their actions come back on them.  Instead, we will mourn that one whom God loves is suffering.  The writer also tells us that those who fear the Lord will not turn a blind eye to injustice and mistreatment of the innocent.  When others are being led to their deaths, do not pretend that you do not see what is happening.  While this applies to not pretending that something like the Holocaust is happening, as some Germans did during World War II, it also means not turning a blind eye when people are being convinced to harm themselves.  Which brings me to one of those short proverbs which means more to me every day, and which all too many of those who speak in the “public square” today do not heed:
Buy the truth and do not sell it—
   wisdom, instruction and insight as well.
All too many who claim to be in the business of informing others willingly sell the truth for their own agenda and spread lies instead.  Often choosing to believe the lies themselves, even though they know them to be lies.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

July 15, 2023 Bible Study — Avoid Imitating Those Who Model Ungodly Behavior

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Proverbs 22-24.

Today’s passage continues the pattern of those from the last two days, starting out with each verse being a single stand alone proverb.  It then transitions into a series of more complex sayings which each take several verses.  Nevertheless there are several ideas which the writer refers to several times.  The writer repeatedly writes about the importance of disciplining children.  In particular, he points out the need for negative reinforcement to train children to avoid foolish behavior, and that corporal punishment is one of the most efficient forms of negative reinforcement.  On what I consider a related theme, the writer warns us against making friends with those who cannot control their tempers, or who engage in other foolish behavior.  He warns that such behavior might rub off on us.  I consider it related because it is a lesson which children often struggle to learn.  I also find this challenging because Jesus calls on us to associate with sinners in order to show them His love.  I believe that the contradiction between these two teachings (the proverb writer teaching us to avoid those who act in undesirable ways and Jesus teaching us to spend time with those who demonstrate a need for His love with their actions) can be resolved by thinking about the reason the proverb writer gives for his warning.  He warns us that such behavior might rub off on us.  We learn from this that the behaviors of those we spend time with will influence our behaviors.  Therefore, we must make sure that we spend large amounts of time around those who model the types of behavior which Christ encourages us to imitate, while not excluding those who fail to do so.

 

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

July 15, 2022 Bible Study — Do Not Sell The Truth

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Proverbs 22-24.

Much like the past few days today’s passage consists of sayings which contain wise advice.  I want to focus on three of the themes contained in these sayings which I think have great relevance to what is happening in the world today.  The writer tells us, “Buy the truth and do not sell it.”  He adds that we should also work for wisdom, instruction, and insight.  In this day people talk about misinformation and disinformation, but how many of them have sought the wisdom and insight to know what is true versus what is misinformation or disinformation.  The writer tells us we should pay for the truth using whatever “coin” necessary.  That “coin” may be money, it may be goods, it may be effort to seek it out.  All too many of us today are satisfied with those who tell us what we want to hear, or believe without question those who lied to us previously. 

Which brings me to the second theme I want to touch on.  The writer warns us to be careful who we hang out with, because we have a tendency to act similarly to those who we spend a lot of time around.  In these sayings the writer warns against spending too much of our time with those who do wicked things or fail to control their temper.  I have learned from other passages, and personal experience, that this has a corollary.  In addition to avoiding spending too much time with those who practice undesirable behaviors we should spend time with those who practice behaviors we wish to emulate.  So, how does this relate to “buying the truth”?  We should spend our time with those who value the truth and seek it out, limiting the time we spend with those who quickly embrace stories which prop up what they wish to believe without spending any time to discover if those stories are true.

Then we have the third theme from today’s passage which I want to touch on.  The writer warns us against envying the wicked, against envying sinners.  The writer had mentioned this previously, which tells us how important he thought this is.  Sometimes we become envious of those who do wrong in order to get what they want and forget why it is wrong.  In the context of what else I am writing about today, perhaps they are people who misstate facts in order to win an argument and we envy the ease with which they convince people to their side.  We may be tempted to follow their example, but that brings us up against the second part of that phrase I quoted in the first paragraph about not selling the truth.  The truth is more valuable than anything anyone can offer us for accepting, or promoting, a lie.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

July 15, 2021 Bible Study — Those Who Fear The Lord Are Humble

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Proverbs 22-24.

I am going to follow the pattern I have used the last couple of days; pulling a few of the proverbs out of today’s passage and commenting on them.  The first two I want to look at have related messages:

Rich and poor have this in common:
    The Lord is the Maker of them all.

Humility is the fear of the Lord;
    its wages are riches and honor and life.

The second one that those who fear the Lord are humble.  Which means that those who are not humble do not fear the Lord.  Elsewhere the proverb writer tells us that fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,  Taken together these tell us that those who are arrogant are not wise.  This brings me to the first of these two proverbs.  Any claim to greatness I may have comes from the fact that I am made in God’s image.  Yet, everyone can make the same claim.  We should humbly recognize that we are no better, and no worse, than others.  True humility means recognizing this fact: I am neither better than others, nor am I less than others.  We often fail to recognize that considering ourselves inferior to others is a kind of arrogance and as much to be avoided as considering ourselves superior to others.

I was tempted to conclude with the previous paragraph, but I think the lesson from putting these next two proverbs together too important to leave out.

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

The sluggard says, “There’s a lion outside!
    I’ll be killed in the public square!”

The first of these proverbs says that we should carefully plan for danger.  The second of these warns against using danger as an excuse to not work.  One could easily see them as contradictory., but, like several other proverbs, they should act as warnings that we can take good ideas too far.  On the one hand, we should be alert to danger and take refuge from it.  On the other hand, we must not use imaginary danger as an excuse to not take get anything done.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

July 15, 2020 Bible Study Doing God’s Will Does Not Lead to Us Being Blessed, It Is the Blessing

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Proverbs 22-24.

Today’s passage contains the end of the section of single verse proverbs before changing over to a different format, almost as if the next section was written by a different writer.  Before I touch on the proverbs from the section ending (and some from the new section), I want to talk about an important piece of advice the new section begins with.   The writer advises us listen to the words of the wise and apply ourselves to instruction.  We should keep these sayings in our hearts and ready on our lips.  This advice applies not just to the proverbs, but to verses from the entire Bible.  We should seek to memorize many aspects of the Bible.  I was reminded of this the other night when the verse, “Taste and see that the Lord is good,” was what a friend needed to hear.  It was not that they did not know it, rather my saying it was an affirmation of their belief that it applied to the situation.

I could go on and on about these proverbs, but I want to focus on just a few today.  The writer tells us that humility and fear of the Lord leads to wealth.  An important aspect of that humility comes from the knowledge that no matter what divides us, no matter what you might think makes you better (or worse) than another, all of us have one thing in common: the Lord made us.  If you think you are worth more than others, you need to remember that they were important enough to God for Him to send His Son to dies on the cross.  If you think you are worth less than others, remember, God made you for a purpose, for His purpose, and that purpose is important to Him.  Finally, when you think about that wealth, remember that God does not value things the same way humans normally do and we should strive to learn to value what God values.  The writer tells us that the generous will be blessed, and that blessing is that they have helped others.  Feeding the poor does not cause us to receive blessings, rather doing so is a blessing in and of itself

July 15, 2019 Bible Study — Seek the Truth and Do Not Sell Your Word

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Proverbs 22-24.

There are so many wise instructions in this passage that if I try to touch on them all, there would be no point in you reading what I write.  You could just read the passage.  However, I will touch on a couple of things.  Again and again this Book emphasizes that we should not envy sinners or hangout with the wicked.  The wicked have no future.  Further, evil people stir up trouble and violence.  If you hang out with them you will get caught in it.

Today’s passage also reminds us to seek justice.  Do not look the other way when people are unjustly punished.  Speak up.  Other people may believe you if you later claim that you did not know, but God will know better.  If you rob the poor or exploit the needy God will pay you back.  Of course, if you give to the poor and help the needy, God will pay you back there as well.  Related to this, the writer tells us to get the truth and never sell it.  In this context I realize that he means seek out what is true about a situation and tell others what you have found.  Do not allow anyone to convince you to keep such truth silent, whether with bribes or threats.

July 15, 2018 Bible Study — Choose Who You Hang Out With Wisely

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Proverbs 22-24.

    Today’s passage begins with the final few short proverbs that we have been reading over the last few days, then transitions into a section of longer sayings. The shorter sayings are one phrase long, the longer sayings are two or three phrases long. All of these sayings contain wisdom which can help us live richer, fuller, happier lives. However, they are not really connected to each other in any other way.

    However, once again there are themes here which the writer returns to multiple times. The writer reminds us that God looks after the poor. If we use our resources to aid the poor God will bless us, but if we use our resources to oppress the poor, God will make us pay. The writer goes into more depth on his advice that we choose who we spend time with and who we seek to emulate with care. If we spend time with people who cannot control their temper, we will learn not to control our own temper. On the other hand if we spend time with people who are wise, we will gain wisdom. Evil people stir up trouble, if you spend time with them, or even just emulate them, you are likely to find yourself caught up in that trouble. Spend time with those who do good and you will find yourself doing good, which will lead to more blessings than you can imagine (Do not mistake blessings and material wealth. While blessings are sometimes material wealth, the ones to be truly desired are not). Seek to emulate the good done by others and you will find eternal happiness and joy.