Month: October 2018

We find the classic memory verse for Proverbs in this chapter and specifically at vs.10: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”  As you read through this chapter you are able to pick out verse after verse which just has some really good, well, wisdom in it.  For example, if you try to give constructive criticism to a fool, they will not appreciate it.  They will, in fact, make you an enemy.  If you give constructive criticism to a person who is mature and wise (vs.6) then they will be a better person for life.

You have had those experiences where you were trying to help someone and you realize that in helping they in turn have become bitter against you?  Now, there is a limit.  If you are the one who is always trying to help others in a not so helpful way, and then when someone tries to correct you  you snap off their head, well, that is not exactly what I am talking about.  In that case maybe you are the fool.  This chapter is pretty cut and dried and if we read through it I think we will be able to gain some great insight.

We see a very clear delineation between Proverbs 7 and 8.  In 7 we read about the one who leads others astray.  In 8 we read about wisdom who is the exact opposite of the one that we read about in chapter 7.  The key to wisdom is found in vs. 35 where we read her say: “Whoever finds me find life.”  

Throughout this chapter we read how wisdom was always close to the creator God who was in control then and will be in control forever.  Wisdom also describes herself in very flattering terms as we read: “For wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.”   The author makes it clear that if you have to choose between the person described in chapter 7 or the one described in chapter 8, there really isn’t much of a choice.  Wisdom is the clear favorite.

Here we have a classic Scripture of a father admonishing his son not to pursue after the prostitute.  But do you notice how the son is almost pictured as a victim, while the prostitute is definitely seen as the aggressor in these verses?  It is really interesting how today we know for sure that the prostitute is almost always forced into the role because of fear of violence, or destitution as a result of events beyond her control, or trafficked and forced to play that role.  The john who uses the prostitute is not an innocent victim, he is the one who is propitiating this vicious and tragic cycle.

The last verse describes how strong the author feels: Her house is the way to Sheol (read hell), going down to the chambers of death.  Just so we are clear, the son is the one who would be responsible for his own downfall, not the person who owns the house to where he is invited.

We cover a lot of ground in this chapter in Proverbs.  The first topic that is addressed is laziness and how it leads to poverty.  I love the analogy that is made to describe a hard worker as someone who is like a gazelle being chased by a hunter, so always alert, and always ready to do work to get from point A to point B.  

The next topic that is addressed is adultery and infidelity.  The author expresses a deep disdain for the one who would lie with the wife of another.  He makes a distinction between the prostitute and the wife of another man.  This distinction might be made as a result of one being unlawful, adultery, and the other lawful, prostitution.  This is not a delineation that I make, but it is something that the author lifts up as important.  

Tucked in the midst of these verses are the seven deadly sins that have gotten so much leverage in some Christian circles.  Here you see them in detail in Villa Cimbrone which is a villa that we visit every time that we have a mission trip in Italy.  It is owned by a Protestant family that were members of the church while we were there.

In Proverbs 6:16-19 they are mentioned as: haughty eyes, lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, hear that devises wicked plans, feet that hurry to run to evil, lying witness, and one who sows discord in the family.  

Interestingly enough according to Christian tradition the seven deadly sins are: envy, gluttony, greed, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath.  These are not mentioned anywhere in Scripture as the seven deadly sins but have just come on down the line through tradition.  I like biblical examples better.